By Gerry Murphy

A man in Cork has just surpassed the one million kilometre mark in his Kia Sportage that he bought in 2007. Ben O’Connor is a Sales Manager for New Holland Tractors and has accumulated a phenomenal 1,010,359km in his Kia Sportage 2.0 Diesel GSE 4×4. That’s a testament to the reliability of the car and why Kia has been flourishing over the years.

As the powers that be try to change the mindset of the Irish motorist to convince them that electric driving is the answer, there a growing reluctance out there and sales of EVs, while increasing all the time, are not quite as rampant as we are led to believe.

Irish car-sales statistics reflect a changing marketplace in 2022. Petrol accounted for 30.16%, Diesel 26.77%, Hybrid 19.29%, Electric 14.90%, and Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV) 6.76%. Petrol remains the most popular engine type for 2022, despite a decline in its market share last year (32.16%) while hybrid, electric and plug-in hybrid continued to gain market share in 2022 and now account for 41% of the market.

However, electric vehicles on their own account for just 14% of sales in 2022. That is a long way off the Governments targets.

For those who wish to go greener, the transition from internal combustion engines to complete electric may yet be a step too far. The solution may lie somewhere in the middle. Hybrids and Plug-in Hybrids (PHEV) might be the bridge that will convince more drivers to invest in greener vehicles.

Take the Kia Sportage PHEV for instance. Here is a car that will allow you to travel up to 70kms in electric mode before you need to avail of petrol power. If used properly on a daily basis – by plugging it in to charge every night – the dreaded range anxiety can be overcome by using EV mode for short commutes.

The Sportage PHEV is offered in two trims – K3 at €47,000 and a K4 model (tested) at €49,500. The K3 comes with 19” alloys, dual zone climate control, smart cruise control, highway driving assist, heated front and rear seats, power adjustable front seats and 12.3” infotainment screen with Kia Connect (UVO Connectivity).

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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