Gardaí in Kilkenny have sparked a conversation about what young drivers are getting behind the wheel of – and how different it is from the cars many older motorists started out in.

In a Facebook post, Gardaí looked back at the cars they drove when they were first getting behind the wheel.

They said that when they were younger, the cars available to new drivers were generally small 1.0 and 1.1-litre models such as the Micra and Fiesta.

‘These little machines were far from fast,’ they said, adding that they often dreamed of eventually driving a 1.4 petrol which ‘probably developed 70bhp and was still not exactly fast.’

Gardaí said they have noticed a big change in recent years, with young drivers now getting behind the wheel of much more powerful cars.

‘2 litre Audis, BMWs etc with performance abilities that some would argue demand experience and maturity,’ they said.

They also pointed out that many of these cars ‘may also be mapped to an even greater power output’.

Gardaí said they can only enforce the law as it stands, but urged parents to consider what their young son or daughter is driving.

They asked: ‘Should they be beginning their driving career in a powerful car?’

They also encouraged parents to consider how their children drive when they are not around and whether they may be affected by peer pressure.

‘Have you considered the possible bad outcomes?’ they asked.

The post has prompted a wider conversation about how much cars – and the driving experience of young motorists – have changed compared with previous generations.