Top-end customers have two new beasts to whet the appetite, the Audi Q8 concept car and the most powerful ever E-Class Mercedes, says Declan Colley.

Mercedes-Benz’s timing in revealing details of their new two-door, open-top C-Class Cabriolet — the first convertible model produced in C-Class form — could not be better, given the recent spate of good weather.

ALTHOUGH the strength of the euro has driven down car prices in Britain, we are still paying some of the highest prices in Europe. According to the latest figures from the internet research site, Eurocarprice.com, Irish car prices have risen 7% faster than the European average over the last five years.