Neil Briscoe

2 weeks ago | completecar.ie | Neil Briscoe

Opel is re-inventing its iconic GSE badge for a new era of sporty electric models. I thought GSE was for hot-hatches? It was, originally. GSE first appeared in 1970 not on a hot-hatch but on the big Opel Commodore saloon and coupe, badged as GS/E. Back then, the letters stood for Grand Sport Einspritzung, that being the German word for 'injection' so it's essentially Germanic GTI.

2 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Neil Briscoe

I think my views on SUVs are pretty well-known by now, but just to recap for latecomers – if you live up one end of an inaccessible goat track, and truly need four-wheel drive and lots of extra ride height, then by all means buy an SUV with the appropriate ability and agility to get you home on a cold, wet night.

2 weeks ago | completecar.ie | Neil Briscoe

Mazda is one of those car brands that just seems to have a better understanding of how to make materials, even humble stuff like plastic and steel, look and feel beautiful. To show us how that all works, the company has created a touring exhibition called: 'Crafted In Japan House: A Walk Through Hiroshima.'Do I have to go to Hiroshima to see it? No, thankfully for us Europeans the exhibition is coming to Madrid, and opens next week on 26 May.

2 weeks ago | completecar.ie | Neil Briscoe

The Road Safety Authority - the RSA - has published its plan to cut the waiting time for a driving test which, in some testing centres, currently exceeds ten months. Last week, Minister for International and Road Transport, Logistics, Rails and Ports, Sean Canney told the RSA that he wanted it to not only publish its plan, but 'deliver on it.' Well, the first part has been done…What's in the RSA's plan? The RSA's plan is to cut the waiting time for a driving test down to an average of ten weeks.

2 weeks ago | completecar.ie | Neil Briscoe

Fiat has shown off a concept version of a new Panda 4x4, which isn't really a concept at all but a thinly disguised production car designed to get us excited about a return of one of Fiat's all-time classics. Why does everyone love the original Panda 4x4 so much? The original Panda 4x4, launched in 1983, might have been based on Fiat's humble and affordable compact car, but it was such a serious off-roader that Fiat brought in Austrian specialists Steyr-Daimler-Puch to build it.