THE WILD WEST

The Wild Atlantic Way is 1500 miles of sinuous roads with awe-inspiring scenery along the west coast of Ireland. Matt Prior explores its southern reaches in a Kia Picanto 

-  Matt Prior

When I found a packet of French Fancies in the Co-op reduced to 57p on account of their rapidly approaching best before date, I had a good feeling about this trip.

As well I might have. Spoiler alert: Ireland is my new favourite driving destination. How have I not driven these roads before? There's all the talk of Scotland's North Coast 500, of which I've driven and ridden large parts, batting off midges and taking in sensational views. But this, part of Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way, tops it.

I think this tops all other long drives I've had too. I've driven a Land Rover Defender to Portugal; taken a Honda NSX across Route 66; ridden a motorbike to Berlin in a day; driven the Pacific Coast Highway, the national parks of Victoria, Australia, France's most noted Cols, the best bits of Spain and Portugal, some unrestricted and closed roads on the Isle of Man... and yet one evening, for a solid, unstinting, unrelenting hour and a half, close to my doorstep, comes easily one of the best drives I've ever had.

In a Kia Picanto.

We like the Picanto a lot here at Autocar. And me more than most of my colleagues. The Picanto and the Dacia Sandero occasionally vie for the title of cheapest car on sale - not quite as aggressively as two nearby supermarkets undercutting each other on unleaded prices, but there's some to and fro and resulting pride.

At the moment, it's advantage Picanto, at £13,665 versus £13,795 for the Sandero, doubtless to the annoyance of the good people at Dacia. And while the overall magazine's view is that the Sandero is the superior car- owing in large part to its spaciousness because it's a supermini not a city car - my preference, to drive, is the Kia.