Declan Colley test drives the new Mazda2 model, but finds it falls short in the highly competitive supermini segment

Car manufacturer Suzuki, fake tan company Cocoa Brown, and laser eye clinic Optilase have all been rapped by the advertising watchdog for breaching advertising standards.

The woman whose car was blown into the air and spun 180 degrees after a joyrider smashed into it during a rampage near Cork city said she’s lucky to be alive.

Ott Tanak (Toyota Yaris WRC) took maximum points and a maiden win on Wales RallyGB to strengthen his grip on the Drivers’ title in the World Rally Championship where his team mate Tyrone’s Kris Meeke helped their Toyota Gazoo Racing team close to within eight points of Hyundai for the Manufacturers’ crown.

Irish drivers Kris Meeke (Toyota Gazoo Racing) and Craig Breen (Hyundai Motorsport) may have to park their own desire to win the Wales Rally GB to ensure their respective teams have the best possible platform to win the WRC Manufacturers’ title.

The new Vitara is a robust and able car offering practicality and comfort,writes Declan Colley.

Three young children had a narrow escape after a car accidentally reversed through two electricity pillar boxes, two front gardens before smashing into a house in Co Clare.

Wheelchair users are set to experience the thrill of high-speed boat rides thanks to the delivery of new ‘inclusion powerboat’ on the south coast.

A late entry, Donegal’s Declan Gallagher (Toyota Starlet) and co-driver Derek Heena had an emphatic win in the Acesigns Laois Heartlands Rally. With the best times on all six stages, they finished a minute and 32.4 seconds ahead of the Ford Escort of fellow Donegal crew Mark Alcorn/John O’Donnell. Oldcastle’s Gary McNamee co-driven by Brian Brady took an impressive third in their Class 16 Honda Civic — 11.2 seconds further behind.

When an 80-year-old bachelor saw a paramotor in the skies he decided he wanted to fly one himself. His dream has now become a film, writes Esther McCarthy.

Gardaí in Limerick are investigating a serious assault and robbery which happened in Dooradoyle on Saturday night.

They are a funny crowd, those guys at Mazda.

A BUDDHIST monk will often retreat by foot to the mountains to find some zen. But when RTÉ rugby pundit Brent Pope wants inner peace, he heads to the Wicklow Mountains on his cruiser motorbike, a burly Suzuki Volusia.

Judges at the Special Criminal Court have said they will not now deliver a verdict in the case of Frederick ‘Freddie’ Thompson, who is accused of the murder of David Douglas, until October.

The Four Seasons Hotel Monaghan Rally ended in dramatic fashion as the Donegal/Monaghan pairing of Donagh Kelly/Conor Foley guided their KN Group liveried Ford Focus WRC to a final stage victory to deny long time leaders, the Monaghan/Cork duo of Sam Moffett/Karl Atkinson (Ford Fiesta R5).

Given the limitations of many in the class, the Kia actually can hold its head high, says Declan Colley.

Declan Colley looks back over his choice motoring picks of the year. Yet again, some of his selections may come as a surprise.

The super new Suzuki Swift is lighter and stronger, and features a terrific one litre turbo charged three-pot petrol engine, writes Declan Colley

In England, a man has died after being shot up to 10 times by armed police close to a busy motorway, according to eyewitnesses.

Time was when the micro-mini segment was populated with cars which between them were equipped with little more technology as could be seen on, say, a wheelbarrow. Dodgy plastics, terrible seats, appalling designs, poor chassis, and absolutely no kit was the order of the day.

A serial thief has been convicted of attempting to rob Premier League striker Andy Carroll of his £22,000 wristwatch in a drive-by heist.

A jury has started deliberations in the trial of a man accused of attempting to rob West Ham striker Andy Carroll of his £22,000 wristwatch.

A man is in a serious condition in hospital after he was shot in the stomach in Limerick.

SHORTLY after the arrival of the ‘flame orange’ Suzuki Ignis at my house, my phone chirped with an incoming message. 

AS THE annual West Cork Chamber Music Festival settles comfortably into its third decade, a stellar line-up of musicians will again gather from all over the world for a classical music festival cum country house party on the edge of the Atlantic, writes Cathy Desmond.

If you’ve ever travelled the South Ring road that skirts Cork City, particularly on a weekend, you may have heard the engines scrambling and the occasional guttural roar from up behind the Kinsale road roundabout.

Suzuki’s Ignis has made it to the final three cars in the new Urban Car category of the 2017 World Car of The Year.

Úna Ní Fhlannagáin is a harpist and harp teacher based in Co Galway. She recently won the Seán Ó Riada Gold Medal for harp in a competition broadcast live from Cork on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.

Suzuki’s Ignis has made it to the final three cars in the new Urban Car category of the 2017 World Car of The Year.

Declan Colley looks back on the automotive year that was 2016 and picks out the best wheels he has driven in the last 12 months — some of his selections may well surprise you.

Pricing has been announced for the new Suzuki Ignis, which goes on sale here in January with a price tag from €12,995.

The Irish Car of the Year Awards — in association with Continental Tyres — took place last week in Dublin and the new Mercedes E-Class was a worthy winner of the top prize.

THEY once called themselves the “biggest small car maker in the world” and, in many ways, it summed up Suzuki perfectly.

The new Baleno hatchback model from Suzuki will go on sale here Ireland in June.

There is a certain irony in the fact that as one of the fore-runners of the whole crossover genre, the Toyota RAV4 now finds itself swamped by a whole host of wannabe contenders. As one of the original of the species, the RAV4 was designed and built to give drivers an off-road look with very much an on-road demeanour, writes Declan Colley

A Corkman caught with €32,000 worth of heroin who claimed he had only gone to Limerick to get papers for his pet chihuahua was sentenced to 10 years in prison yesterday.

WE’VE written extensively in these columns in recent times about the revival of the Opel brand and how, after an asphyxiating couple of years, the European arm of General Motors has had new life breathed into it and how cars such as the Corsa, Astra, Insignia, and Adam are now in the process of re-establishing the brand as a viable, serious automotive player once again, writes Declan Colley

New fuel-efficiency tests that reflect real-world conditions have revealed the most economical small car in Ireland.

THERE was much gnashing of teeth and angry outbursts from the public when Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond had their involvement in Top Gear brought to a sudden and premature end over that “fracas”.

A Cork woman had a dramatic encounter with a swan on the Cork-Limerick road yesterday, in what has quickly been dubbed ’Swan Brake’.

Here’s a quick summary of all the latest motoring news.