Neil Briscoe

Belfast

Motoring Journalist at Irish Times

Motoring Correspondent at Cork Independent

Freelance car writer @IrishTimes, @CompleteCar etc. Dad, car nut, geek. Views my own. 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 🏳️‍🌈 Profile pics @popbangcolour @pmcgphotos Now on Bluesky

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Articles

Is Northern Ireland’s new car market overly reliant on disability grants?

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Neil Briscoe

Nearly half of all new car sales in Northern Ireland last year were through a scheme designed to assist drivers with disabilities. Details of the market’s seeming dependency on the Motability scheme emerged during a recent debate in the House of Commons in London, which was followed up with debates in local media in the North.
Subaru debuts its Trailseeker electric estate

1 week ago | completecar.ie | Neil Briscoe

Subaru has used the New York Auto Show to show off its first standalone electric model, the Trailseeker. What kind of car is the Trailseeker?
OHM Group expands Polestar plans in Ireland

1 week ago | completecar.ie | Neil Briscoe

OHM Group - which is already the Irish importer for Jaguar Land Rover - has announced an expansion of its ties with Polestar. 76 per cent rise in salesThe Chinese-Swedish brand, spun out from Volvo as an all-electric and high-performance marque, has seen a 76 per cent rise in its sales globally since the start of this year thanks largely to the arrival of key new models such as the Polestar 3 large SUV and the Polestar 4, a low-slung crossover.
No more motor tax discs in your windscreen

1 week ago | completecar.ie | Neil Briscoe

The Irish Government has just introduced new road safety legislation that aims to improve accident safety and streamline the motor tax system. No more tax discs in your windscreenThe new legislation, currently in draft form, is called the National Vehicle and Driver File Bill 2025. The biggest impact, in a day-to-day sense, for Irish drivers will be that you'll no longer have to display a paper tax disc once the legislation is in force. That will likely happen later this year.
What do I need to do to take my EV across France this summer? From charging station maps to payments

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Neil Briscoe

Q: Can you offer advice on what’s needed to take an EV across France this summer, in terms of charging station map apps you’d recommend, whether all stations take contactless card payments or require accounts and which subscription scheme is best for these sort of trips (Ionity, WeCharge, ChargeMaps etc). – MT, Co KildareA: With summer heading our way, and the school holidays looming, this seems like a great time to answer this question.
You can now play Pac-Man in your Volkswagen

1 week ago | completecar.ie | Neil Briscoe

Bandai Namco. Two names seared into the memories of those of us of… ahem… a certain age, flashing up onto screens as we feverishly fed 20p coins into the slot. Well, those two names can now be joined by a third - Volkswagen. And we probably don't need the stack of 20p coins anymore. What are Bandai Namco and VW up to?
McMurtry Spéirling can now drive upside down

1 week ago | completecar.ie | Neil Briscoe

We've become used, now, to the remarkable feats of the McMurtry Spéirling. The 1,000hp single-seat electric car, which uses fans mounted underneath to suck air from beneath the chassis, developing more downforce than the car weighs at precisely 0km/h, is a truly amazing thing. It obliterated the record of the Goodwood hillclimb. It went faster than a V10 Formula One car around the Top Gear test track. And now it can drive upside down. Special rigNope, that's not a typo nor a belated April Fools.
Drogheda Motor Show wants to put you on screen

1 week ago | completecar.ie | Neil Briscoe

The Drogheda Motor Show, the annual event in the Co. Louth town where the local car dealers get together to show off their latest vehicular wares, is launching a new road safety campaign, and it wants you to be the star. What am I starring in? The new safety campaign is backed by First Citizen Finance, Drogheda & District Chamber, the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), Louth County Council, An Garda Síochána and the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and will consist of a series of short films.
Will Verne autonomous taxis put carmaker Mate Rimac leagues ahead of the competition?

2 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Neil Briscoe

Elon Musk might be trying to launch his vision of a two-seat, all-electric, autonomous robotaxi called the Cybercab but how do you top an 1,800hp hybrid hypercar? Or, indeed, a 2,000hp full-electric hypercar? For Mate Rimac – Croatia’s answer less to Musk than to both Enzo Ferrari and Henry Ford – that question may have seemed daunting, but the man from Zagreb had a simple answer: you follow them up with a two-seat autonomous taxi called the Verne.
Nissan plans better autonomous driving in 2027

2 weeks ago | completecar.ie | Neil Briscoe

Nissan has announced that it's planning to introduce an advanced new autonomous driving system as soon as 2027 - or, to be more precise, the company's 'Financial Year 2027', which does, of course, give it slightly more wiggle room, as that carries on into 2028. What kind of tech are we talking about? The new self-driving setup is Nissan's most advanced version yet of its ProPilot technology. It relies on clever new LIDAR scanners and artificial intelligence software provided by Wayve.