Car 6

Mercedes-Benz is starting a pilot automated car ride-hailing project in San Jose, California, to progress the development of self-driving cars, writes Brian Byrne . The vehicles will be S-Class cars equipped with Bosch and M-B systems that help with self-driving. Selected people in the city will get an app which allows them to engage the service, which will shuttle between the west side of the city and its downtown area on two key streets. Though the cars will drive themselves, there will be a 'safety driver' aboard to monitor things and take over if there's an emergency situation. The city of San Jose in 2017 became the first metro area to invite private companies to carry out field tests of automated driving.

New Mercedes-Benz GLB SUV Mercedes-Benz has raised its SUV range offerings to a new level with the launch of their new GLB to the compact SUV segment, writes Trish Whelan . It is one of 22 newcomers from the luxury carmaker set to arrive here in 2020.   It’s likely to appeal to families with children to transport as it gives the option of seven seats. While it stays within the current eight-strong Mercedes-Benz compact car family (alongside the A-Class, A-Class Saloon, B-Class, CLA Coupe, CLA Shooting Brake and GLA), the brand says this new GLB blows open the definition of a compact car by offering exceptional levels of spaciousness and passenger capacity not naturally associated with its category.   New GLB is the first Merc in its class to offer a third row, seven-seat option. The additional two bucket seats are fully retractable and provide seating for small passengers. The second row seats split 40:60. The GLB has the longest wheelbase of the ...

With every third Mercedes-Benz vehicle now being an SUV, the new GLB compact SUV will fill a slot between the GLA and GLC, writes Brian Byrne . Available with an optional third row of seats, the car has a longer wheelbase than the B-Class compact car, offering more interior room. The rear seats are essentially for children, with a height of 5'6" available. The engines are 1.3 petrol and 2.0 diesels with outputs respectively of 163hp and 224hp. A 306hp AMG version will also be available. All are automatics. An AWD drive version will be available. Driver assist systems include an automatic speed adjustment facility related to the terrain and conditions ahead, as picked out with the map and navigation data. It also comes with the MBUX graphic display and connectivity systems. The GLB will be the first of a range of Mercedes-Benz cars to arrive in Ireland in 2020, followed quickly by the GLA, GLE Coupé and GLS. The EQA and S-Class will arrive later in the year, most pr...

A second generation Mercedes-Benz GLA will be revealed on 11 December in an exclusively online reveal , writes Brian Byrne . Retaining the current car's hatchback format, the new car is higher. It is also shorter, but with more legroom for rear passengers. It will be built on the same architecture as the latest A-Class and CLA and the new GLB SUV.

Not for the many, Daimler has just revealed a super-luxury version of the GLS top end SUV, the Mercedes-Maybach GLS, writes Brian Byrne . Features include an exclusive to Maybach 558hp V8 engine, reclining rear seats, and extra noise insulation, as well as running boards which automatically deploy when a door is opened. The car is due to arrive on the market in the second half of next year. No prices as yet.

The new Mercedes-Benz Actros has won the 2020 International Truck of the Year award, writes Brian Byrne . The vote was given by 24 commercial vehicle editors and senior journalists, representing 24 major trucking magazines throughout Europe. They praised the introduction of the Actros MirrorCam system, which replaces the traditional exterior rear-view mirrors and supports the driver in manoeuvring, cornering or changing lanes. It also saves fuel by improving the aerodynamics of the truck. Fergus Conheady, Sales Manager for Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles in Ireland, said this latest award is a recognition of the giant leap forward in terms of innovation and technology that makes the new Actros a standard-setter in the field of long-distance haulage. The new Actros was recently launched in Ireland.

Mercedes GLB The pace of new model introductions from Mercedes-Benz planned for 2020 shows no sign of letting-up with no less than 22 model arrivals scheduled, writes Trish Whelan . The 2020 line-up will be ‘the most inclusive and ecologically attuned range of models ever introduced by Mercedes-Benz’.   Of these, six will be conventionally powered vehicles with a further 16 arrivals to be made up of new PHEV plug-in electric hybrid models. This breakdown underlines the transition by Mercedes-Benz into the manufacture of alternative energy vehicles. With launch dates to be announced during 2020, the six new conventionally powered models will be a new GLS SUV, a mid-size GLB SUV that includes a 7-seater version; a GLE Coupe, a GLA Compact SUV, and a new S-Class. GLE Coupe The brand also plan a second model from their EQ stable which will be a fully electric powered EQA SUV. Its introduction alongside the recently launched EQC will see Mercedes extend...

Fergus Conheady, Sales Manager for Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles in Ireland. The new Mercedes-Benz Actros – latest version of what is one of the most successful trucks ever to run on Irish roads – has been  launched in Ireland, writes Trish Whelan .   Flags hip of the Mercedes-Benz trucks range and a multiple Truck of the Year winner, this standard-setter in the field of   long-distance haulage comes equipped with a range of high-tech features that will surely make it a driver’s dream machine. Commenting, Fergus Conheady, Sales Manager for Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles in Ireland, said: “Whilst retaining all of the operational excellence that have made successive Actros models the truck-of-choice for so many, this latest version represents a giant leap forward in terms of innovation and its application of latest technology”. Arguably, its most talked-about feature will be  MirrorCam , a new televisua...

New GLB SUV Mercedes-Benz will unveil a new GLB SUV at the forthcoming Frankfurt International Motor Show, writes Trish Whelan .   The GLB is positioned between the smaller GLA and larger GLC and is the most versatile compact SUV the company has ever built. Sharing its space will be a high-performance AMG GLB 35, AMG A45 and the AMG GLC 43 variants from Mercedes-AMG. Alongside a new EQV all-electric MPV and the recently launched EQC 400 4MATIC SUV, there will be a number of new plug-in hybrids from the EQ Power range, the A250 PIH, B250 PIH, GLE 350 PIH. The all new GLE Coupe will also make its debut at the show. The show is open to the public from 12-22 September.

While the first of a range of electric cars from Mercedes-Benz is now available to order in Ireland, buyers will in reality have to wait until 2020 for delivery, writes Brian Byrne . Those who do acquire an EQC will also number no more than 60 next year as that's all that the Irish distributor expects to be allocated. But the car is here, and for those prospective customers, demonstration drives will be available over the remaining months of 2019. Such a drive will likely enhance their wish to have one. The Irish media launch today offered motor journalists like myself a relatively short opportunity to drive the EQC, a crossover that offers almost supercar acceleration in a much more refined manner. The car is based on the GLC crossover, but looks and feels larger. The stylists appear to have consciously avoided making the car seem significanly different to the current crop of 'normal' Mercedes-Benz SUVs. Though the EQC badging tells the electric tale. Insid...

On the eve of the launch of the first Mercedes-Benz electric car in Ireland, the EQC, the company unveiled its first electric MPV at an event in Stuttgart, writes Brian Byrne from the reveal. The EQV is based on the very successful Vito van and specifically its V-Class upscale passenger shuttle companion. It is scheduled to come to Ireland in early summer of next year. The EQV has an underfloor 100kWh lithium-ion battery which the company says provisionally will give it a range of 405kms, substantially more than the 150kms of the electric eVito van. The EQV is targeting young upmarket families in its home market, especially a slice of its present V-Class customers who wish to be at the cutting edge of environmental technology.

A new generation of the Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake has just been revealed by the company, writes Brian Byrne . The car is longer, wider and lower than the outgoing version. Identical to the CLA Coupe as far as the B pillar, the roofline is considerably higher after that. The designers have also revamped the tailgate so that it opens wider than before. The 2.0 diesels which will be available at launch are compliant with the Euro 6d requirement due to come into effect next year. Mercedes-Benz says the voice control element of the MBUX interface is now able to answer a wider range of queries. The car also comes with some of the semi-autonomous features which were debuted in the S-Class.

Mercedes-AMG CLA45 S — be quiet, now. The snarly sound of most sports-oriented cars is one of the attractions to buyers, but the EU figures that doesn't help the quality of life of those on the street who have to hear it, writes Brian Byrne . So a new regulation aims to trim back the current maximum permitted noise levels from cars. At the moment that is 74 decibels, but the regulation will have it down to 68 decibels by 2026. Carmakers are taking note. One option is to have artificial exhaust notes, working through the car's audio speakers. But the Mercedes-Benz AMG division is staying natural, routing the sound directly into the cabin before muting it as the exhaust expels through the tailpipes. So, for pedestrians and cyclists and other audio-unprotected road users, the 'snap, crackle and pop' of the super sports cars will in future be only in their Rice Krispies.

Mercedes GLC SUV The pace of new models from Mercedes-Benz is nothing short of breathtaking and difficult enough to keep abreast of, writes Trish Whelan . So far this year, five new models have already arrived here - B-Class, A-Class Saloon, GLE, CLA and now the GLC - with seven more wholly new and face-lifted models yet to come before year-end, many bearing the youthful appeal that is now a hallmark of Mercedes-Benz production. Amongst them will be the latest GLC Coupe and AMG variants plus a mid-range trio of SUVs modelled to an extent on the larger new GLE which arrived here only weeks ago. Those to come include a new V-Class, GLS, EQC, CLA Shooting Brake and new GLB 7-seater which arrives in October. GLC SUV interior (LHD) The new face-lifted GLC is now arriving in dealer showrooms. First introduced in 2015, it is a model that occupies a pivotal position within a seven-strong family of Mercedes-Benz SUVs of which more than five million have been delive...