The whole CompleteCar.ie team decamped to the Limerick area over the August Bank Holiday weekend for the Irish Festival of Speed. Just three weeks before we attended the media preview day and, realising it would be something special, decided we should have a stand there to allow us to talk to visitors. Funnily enough, the car distributors loved the idea and we had offers of more cars to put on display than we had space for. Thankfully the organisers were very understanding and gave us a decent amount of space to accommodate a fleet of eight cars in total, with six on the stand at any one time.
Our plan was to simply open up all the cars for people to sit in and have a play and then come talk to us about them or anything else motoring for that point of view. As an ice-breaker we also conducted an informal survey to get an idea what people thought of the cars on display and Cartell.ie gave us boxes of free stuff to give away. It turned out to be a huge success. We don't know the final number of visitors attracted to the two-day event (held at the Limerick Racecourse in Patrickswell), but the organisers had estimated over 16,000 people per day and we reckon we spoke to about 2,000 people directly.
Nearly 300 of those were surveyed and below I'll go through the eight cars we had on display and what the public thought of them (in alphabetical order).
Ford Focus ST
Price: €36,800
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol
Transmission: six-speed manual
Body style: five-door hatchback
Rivals: Kia pro_cee'd GT, Mégane Renaultsport 265, Volkswagen Golf GTI
CO2 emissions: 169g/km (Band D, €570 per annum)
Combined economy: 39.2mpg (7.2 litres/100km)
Top speed: 248km/h
0-100km/h: 6.5 seconds
Power: 250hp at 5,000rpm
Torque: 340Nm at 1,750rpm
Given that the Focus ST was one of the oldest cars on the stand (and in a sober white colour in comparison to the 'Tangerine Scream' option) we were surprised at how much interest it garnered. It was undoubtedly one of the most popular cars of the weekend. Just goes to show how powerful the Ford badge is in this country. The survey results revealed the following averages:
Looks: 9/10
Price: 7/10
Running costs: 7/10
Performance: 9/10
A resounding thumbs up. Speaking to some of the respondents, one of the few complaints was that there was no three-door body style available. The average age of the respondents was 33 and they drove a vast selection of cars, from several Focus STs to a Honda S2000, Mercedes-Benz ML and even a Lotus Esprit.
Hyundai Veloster
Price: €24,995
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol
Transmission: six-speed manual
Body style: three-door coupé (kind of!)
Rivals: Mazda MX-5, Peugeot RCZ, Volkswagen Scirocco
CO2 emissions: 137g/km (Band B2, €280 per annum)
Combined economy: 47.9mpg (5.9 litres/100km)
Top speed: 201km/h
0-100km/h: 9.7 seconds
Power: 140hp at 6,300rpm
Torque: 167Nm at 4,850rpm
The Veloster really is a love or loathe it kind of car, and it appears that Hyundai wanted to enhance that image by lending us one in a vivid green colour! Nonetheless, it attracted a lot of attention and I saw plenty of people challenging each other to spot the difference side-to-side (there are two doors on one side and just one on the other in case you didn't know). Most people that hadn't tried it out for size before were really surprised with how much room there is in the back, though one potential female buyer was disappointed that there are only two rear seat belts. Apparently Hyundai Ireland is working on a way to get a child seat into the middle of the rear as well. The survey results revealed the following averages:
Looks: 9/10
Price: 7/10
Running costs: 7/10
Performance: 7/10 The jury was pretty evenly split between men and women with an average age of 37, though the range of cars was interesting. One respondent has a Lancia Thema, another an Alfa Romeo 166 and another the Nissan 300ZX.
Kia pro_cee'd GT
Price: €35,950
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol
Transmission: six-speed manual
Body style: three-door hatchback
Rivals: Ford Focus ST, Mégane Renaultsport 265, Volkswagen Golf GTI
CO2 emissions: 171g/km (Band E, €750 per annum)
Combined economy: 38.2mpg (7.4 litres/100km)
Top speed: 230km/h
0-100km/h: 7.9 seconds
Power: 204hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 265Nm at 1,750- to 4,500rpm
We did wonder if the crowds would recognise this car for what it is, Kia's first ever hot hatch, and they did, even painted white. It was one of the stars of our stand for the two days and, somewhat surprisingly, the price and tax didn't seem to put people off too much. The survey results revealed the following averages:
Looks: 9/10
Price: 6/10
Running costs: 6/10
Performance: 8/10
Several of the people surveyed had classic sports cars, such as the BMW 635 CSi and an AE86 Toyota Corolla, while one admitted to having a collection of cars, including a recently purchased 1968 Renault Caravelle. An Audi A5 owner was also very taken we noticed... Their average age was 36.
MINI John Cooper Works GP Hatch
Price: €47,040
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol
Transmission: six-speed manual
Body style: three-door hatchback
Rivals: Audi S3, Mercedes-Benz A 45 AMG, Volkswagen Golf R
CO2 emissions: 165g/km (Band D, €570 per annum)
Combined economy: 39.8mpg (7.1 litres/100km)
Top speed: 242km/h
0-100km/h: 6.3 seconds
Power: 218hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 2,000- to 5,100rpm (on overboost)
Though only on display for one day, the MINI was another undisputed star. That surprised us a little, as, though it is a very special car, it looks much like a done up MINI. And we saw a few people double-take at the price. Still, all stepped out of it smiling and the results from the survey say it all:
Looks: 10/10
Price: 6/10
Running costs: 8/10
Performance: 9/10
Opel Adam
Price: from €14,995
Engine: 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol
Transmission: five-speed manual
Body style: three-door hatchback
Rivals: Fiat 500, Toyota Yaris, Volkswagen up!
CO2 emissions: 119g/km (Band A4, €200 per annum)
Combined economy: 55.4mpg (5.1 litres/100km)
Top speed: 185km/h
0-100km/h: 11.5 seconds
Power: 100hp at 3,800rpm
Torque: 130Nm at 4,000rpm
If cars had feelings we might have felt sorry for the Opel Adam. It was, by some margin, the cheapest and least powerful car on the stand. However, due to its distinctive design, and no doubt its newness on the market, it attracted as much attention as anything else. And we reckon we could have sold a few as well. Once we demonstrated the LED 'starlight' headlining people were hooked! Survey results:
Looks: 9/10
Price: 9/10
Running costs: 9/10
Performance: 6/10 For some reason, the average age of the respondent on this car was higher than those above, at 43. Perhaps that reflected the state of the new car market, where fewer younger people have money or means to buy new cars.
Peugeot 208 GTi
Price: €27,995
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol
Transmission: six-speed manual
Body style: three-door hatchback
Rivals: Ford Fiesta ST, Clio Renaultsport 200 Turbo, SEAT Ibiza Cupra
CO2 emissions: 139g/km (Band B2, €280 per annum)
Combined economy: 47.9mpg (5.9 litres/100km)
Top speed: 230km/h
0-100km/h: 6.8 seconds
Power: 200hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 275Nm at 1,700rpm
Another favourite with the crowds. There are few of these on the road as yet. Hundreds of people sat into the GTi to check it out and all came away impressed with the quality and finish of the interior. However, a few did pick up on the unusual layout of the dashboard, where the driver looks over the steering wheel to see the instruments and one person in particular said it was a deal-breaker. Otherwise feedback was very positive. Quite a young crowd gravitated towards it, with an average age of 29.
Looks: 8/10
Price: 7/10
Running costs: 9/10
Performance: 8/10
SEAT Ibiza Cupra
Price: €22,875
Engine: 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Body style: three-door hatchback
Rivals: Ford Fiesta ST, Peugeot 208 GTi, Clio Renaultsport 200 Turbo
CO2 emissions: 139g/km (Band B2, €280 per annum)
Combined economy: 47.9mpg (5.9 litres/100km)
Top speed: 229km/h
0-100km/h: 6.9 seconds
Power: 180hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 250Nm at 2,000rpm
We did wonder if visitors to the CompleteCar.ie stand would pick up on the bargain price of the Ibiza and quite a few did. It undercuts the cars it competes with in terms of performance, yet is well equipped. Effectively it sits in its own little niche because it's so well-priced. Our respondents (average age 37) seemed to think it was a great all-rounder and cracking looking:
Looks: 8/10
Price: 9/10
Running costs: 8/10
Performance: 9/10
Skoda Octavia RS Combi
Price: €33,745
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel
Transmission: six-speed manual
Body style: five-door estate
Rivals: Audi A4 Avant, BMW 320d Touring, Volvo V40 Cross Country
CO2 emissions: 119g/km (Band A4, €200 per annum)
Combined economy: 61.4mpg (4.6 litres/100km)
Top speed: 230km/h
0-100km/h: 8.2 seconds
Power: 184hp at 3,500- to 4,000rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 1,750- to 3,000rpm
And so to the final car, the only diesel on the stand and the only estate. A strange choice? Not at all, it was one of the most sought after vehicles we had. Indeed, even when it wasn't on show we noticed people flocking to check it out. We genuinely could have taken deposits on it for Skoda and since the show one buyer has been in touch to get more information. The average age of the respondents was 49 and they scored the Octavia as follows:
Looks: 9/10
Price: 9/10
Running costs: 10/10
Performance: 10/10