Eddie Cunningham

Ireland

Monitoring Editor at Irish Independent

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Articles

Tested: Hyundai Inster

1 week ago | motorshow.ie | Eddie Cunningham

It is difficult to overlook the new Inster electric mini SUV from Hyundai – on a number of fronts Tall, thin and angular, it certainly catches the eye. It is the sort of car you’d pick out in an airport or shopping mall parking lot. Whether or not it is your visual cup of tea is a matter for yourself. It looks like the Suzuki Ignis with sharper lines. I liked the look of it. Others most certainly did not and lamented the demise of design.
Tested: Volvo XC90 PHEV

2 weeks ago | motorshow.ie | Eddie Cunningham

It seems like only yesterday that Volvo launched its large SUV, the XC90. It was big, it was roomy and it showed back in 2002/3 what could be done when engineering, foresight, a good smattering of belief and luck all gelled to produce a family 7-seater that was as near to an instant hit as Beyonce. Iremember, at the time, analysts scratching their heads and doubtingthe viability of taking on established exponents of the genre bothmainstream and luxury marques so late in the game.
Tested: Peugeot e-5008

3 weeks ago | motorshow.ie | Eddie Cunningham

You can get a prize but also pay the penalty for taking a 7-seater mid-size electric SUV. I know that soundscontradictory but it is, I believe, a concise summary of the pros andcons of buying such a car. The prize is that youget three rows of seats: two up front, naturally, three across themiddle and two in the third row. The penalty is thatthird-row seating can, in many cases, be cramped – except for all butthe more agile and diminutive frames to climb in.
XPENG is the latest best thing from China

1 month ago | autotrade.ie | Eddie Cunningham

The relentless surge of Chinese models flooding on to the Irish market is an amazing phenomenon. Everybody is talking about them. And when you get people talking about something so much you create an awareness and a familiarity that enhances the chances of you buying into the genre. XPENG is the latest brand people are talking about, with its recent launch expanding into national news broadcasts – and that doesn’t happen too often.
Tested: Alfa Romeo Junior

1 month ago | motorshow.ie | Eddie Cunningham

Alfa Romeo has taken a fair few setbacks over the years. It lost its way a bit on a few false dawns, with questions over residual values and apparent inability to hold/win more buyers in a market of unprecedented change. Yet even when going through the tough times, it still managed to show glimpses of what it could do with power, pace and styling for which it was famous and why devotees have loved the brand through thick and thin.
Tested: Mazda CX-80

1 month ago | motorshow.ie | Eddie Cunningham

Mazda are either a little bit mad, exceptionally brave or blessed with foresight that has escaped the rest of us. It has made a car that, on first perusal, is way off the mark as far as most people would be concerned. The combination of a voluptuously large SUV body and a heavy-punch 3.3-litre 254hp diesel engine under half an acre of bonnet is surely anathema to the vast majority of potential customers who want to be perceived to buy ‘clean and green’.
BMW X3Motorshow | Motorshow

1 month ago | motorshow.ie | Eddie Cunningham

The old adage of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” applies in large measure to the approach BMW have taken with their mid-life revise of the X3. But there is something I’d like to mention in connection with pricing later. It felt so good to sit in for the first look around. Despite the cabin not getting much by way of extra bling from this facelift, it was fresh as a daisy. This, I told anyone who would listen, is how you make a fine mid-size diesel SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle).
Rolls-Royce introduces ‘immersive’ in-car fragrance technology

2 months ago | independent.ie | Eddie Cunningham

It has developed an “immersive fragrance” concept to complement the “rich aromas of materials” used in its cars. Rolls-Royce Scent was composed by an expert in-house perfumer of the Bespoke Collective. The technology releases fragrances subtly for a long-lasting experience. The initial fragrance combines notes of amyris, cedarwood, rosewood and iris. I thought I had read some esoteric puffs about cars in my time, but the following beats the lot.
There are two types of driver - and I know which I’d rather be

Jan 17, 2025 | independent.ie | Eddie Cunningham

One type sees driving a car as one of life’s great pleasures. It doesn’t have to be a super-smooth executive saloon or a mighty Maserati, they are happy in a well-mannered, well-minded piece of movement. And there are the others, who forget what a wonderful combination of elements they are commanding, because they use their cars so much for the rushed business of getting from the proverbial A to B.
Saturday review: Has Volkswagen overcome recent electric glitches with new estate?

Jan 17, 2025 | independent.ie | Eddie Cunningham

Buyers were understandably upset that blemishes blighted their BEVs (battery electric vehicles). After a lengthy mop-up and catch-up, matters have improved considerably. However, they are not yet completely rid of ailments. I still regularly get a few calls about lights coming on in the dashboard for no apparent reason and, in one extreme case, a driver unable to get Drive mode. It hasn’t been an easy fix time, especially as the brand was launching new electric cars at a fair rate of knots.