{"id":513641,"date":"2026-06-23T03:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T03:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/513641\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T03:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T03:06:12","slug":"the-best-new-cars-in-ireland-for-under-e60000-right-now-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/513641\/","title":{"rendered":"The best new cars in Ireland for under \u20ac60,000 right now \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. Mercedes-Benz CLA\"NewNew Mercedes CLA EV <\/p>\n

Now, this top position for the new CLA comes with a couple of caveats. Those being that we\u2019re less than enticed by the exterior styling; that the cabin is both over-reliant on too-fiddly touchscreen controls that simply don\u2019t work all that well; and that the interior quality is nowhere near the standard it really needs to be for a car with the three-pointed star. <\/p>\n

Still, it really is hard to ignore just how good the CLA is when you get down to the business of actually driving it. You can choose from either fully electric power, or a 1.5-litre hybrid petrol engine \u2013 the EV is rear-wheel drive, and the hybrid is front-drive; there are four-wheel drive variants of both, but those lie outside our budget remit. <\/p>\n

\"NewNew Mercedes-Benz CLA <\/p>\n

Speaking of which, we\u2019re going to bust the budget to the tune of \u20ac535 to get into a CLA 250 EQ in Progressive Line trim, which doesn\u2019t get the full-size battery for the longest range, but which still manages a creditable 671km on one charge, according to the paperwork at any rate (figure on a very useful 550km real-world). It\u2019s also impressively fast to charge when you need to. <\/p>\n

Better yet is just how well sorted this CLA is dynamically. The steering is light, but laser-sight precise, and the suspension is supple but well-tied down. The CLA is astonishingly good to drive on a challenging road \u2013 BMW\u2019s incoming new electric i3 has a dynamic fight on its hands. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not ready for batteries, the hybrid version is 99 per cent as good to drive, and impressively economical \u2013 5.5 litres per 100km in real-world conditions. There are a lot of ifs and buts when it comes to the CLA, but it\u2019s such an impressive car when the wheels start turning. <\/p>\n

2. BMW 2 Series Coupe\"BMWBMW 2 Series Coupe <\/p>\n

Scraping in just under our \u20ac60,000 budget, and leaving you a handful of euro for some options or just for the delivery charge, the BMW 2 Series Coupe is a perfect example of just enough being plenty enough. Our budget \u201conly\u201d gets you a basic model, but in this case that still means a 220i in M-Sport trim, with the 184hp 2.0 litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine, and the purity of rear-wheel drive (shame there\u2019s no manual gearbox option, but hey-ho \u2026). <\/p>\n

In many ways, this 220i is sweeter to drive than the full-on \u20ac125,000 M2 Coupe, thanks to being more gentle over bumps and easier on your cardiologist\u2019s workload at the fuel pumps. It\u2019s small inside but just roomy enough to count as practical, and you\u2019ll be having too much fun at the wheel to much care about your passengers\u2019 legroom. <\/p>\n

Wild card: Polestar 4\"PolestarPolestar 4 <\/p>\n

Polestar is still a brand that\u2019s not quite registering on many people\u2019s radar, but we love its Scandi-cool vibe, and this Polestar 4 \u2013 which lies in the centre of a Venn diagram made up of saloon, crossover, and four-door coupe \u2013 is impressive to drive, with a very decent usable range (620km officially) for the Long Range Single Motor model that slots into our budget.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0What are the best affordable cars for short trips?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Wonderfully sleek styling inside and out but, as with so many cars, it needs way more proper buttons on the inside. Masses of rear legroom for lanky passengers, but the penalty is a smallish boot. There\u2019s also no rear window \u2013 you get an electronic rear-view mirror instead, which takes a bit of getting used to. Cooler than almost any other comparably priced premium car option, though. <\/p>\n

Bring your pet everywhere? Here are the best cars for drivers with dogs<\/a>The Irish Times guide to the best affordable seven-seat family cars<\/a>The Irish Times best new car picks for summer 2026 \u2013 under \u20ac30,000<\/a>The Irish Times best new car picks for the summer of 2026 \u2013 under \u20ac25,000<\/a>Best second-hand first cars for learners and young drivers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"1. Mercedes-Benz CLANew Mercedes CLA EV Now, this top position for the new CLA comes with a couple…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":513642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[18041,8856,61,60,18039,14835,43,72394],"class_list":["post-513641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-bmw","tag-electric-vehicles","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mercedes-benz","tag-motors","tag-news","tag-polestar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=513641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/513642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}