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Hi Martin,

It will be safe in terms of the seatbelt mounting etc. The only thing to consider is that there is less room between the back of the car and the child in the case of a rear-end crash, but that's the case for nearly all seven-seat cars in fairness.

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Hi Stephen,

Currently, there isn’t one. Volvo Cars Ireland has confirmed to us that it hasn’t yet made many plans to introduce the Polestar brand or models here as yet, although given the huge success that Tesla has had in Ireland, we’d be surprised if it doesn’t happen at some stage. Most likely, it’ll be a combination of waiting to launch a couple of core Volvo electric models (the battery-powered XC40 especially) and then, once initial European and US roll-outs have taken place for Polsetar, then they’ll start to think about us.

If we had to hazard a guess, we’d say 2022 at the earliest. 

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Hi Peter,

Campers are now charged at the standard 13.3 per cent of the Irish market value, as defined by Revenue. They’re not subject to the NOx tax, though — that’s only for passenger cars. 

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Hi Marietta,

I think a Skoda Karoq might be a good bet for you. It’s a roomy car, and a safe one too, for the grandkids. Get it with the 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine and it’ll be economical on those short runs to town and back, and good enough on those four regular long journeys. It's cheap to tax, and Skoda makes reliable cars, so it should cover all bases. 

Read our Skoda Karoq reviews here

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Hi Ann,

We'd suspect the battery or alternator aren't performing at their best. Stop-start issues are very commonplace, across all cars. So much so that we've written a feature for drivers on the subject: Why won't my car's stop-start system work?

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Hi James,

The Qashqai has long been one of the most popular cars on the market, and with good reason — it’s roomy, quite stylish, decent to drive and mostly reliable. We say "mostly” as there have been reported issues with turbocharger problems (although those seem to affect the diesel engined version rather more) and suspension problems. With a five-year-old car, we’d recommend getting an inspection by someone like the AA to ascertain if there are any serious issues with the car, and of course do a full history and background check with Cartell.ie.

Other than that, as long as it comes with a full service history, it should be a good buy.

Read our Nissan Qashqai Mk2 (2014-2021) used car buying guide for more.

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Hi Eric,

The problem is that VRT, with fluctuating and uncertain second hand values, plus issues of equipment, history and condition to consider, is a constantly moving target. I would think that the €6,700 figure is much, much closer to the truth than the €23,000 one, but unfortunately, given the vagaries of the VRT system, you won’t know for certain until you get the bill. 

Hopefully you've read our feature on the subject - How Much VRT is Paid in Ireland?

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Hi Eduatd,

All 2008 cars should, by now, have been updated to the CO₂-based tax system, but the good news is that the 1.9 dCi-engined version of the Scenic has a CO₂ output of 159g/km, so costs €570 a year to tax, instead of the €673 you’d have spent on the old engine capacity system.

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Hi Alina,

It’s actually a pretty easy distinction. Motor tax is the Irish equivalent of the UK’s Road Fund Licence. It’s paid annually, and is based on the CO₂ emissions of the vehicle. The cheapest rate is for  cars that emit no CO₂ (i.e. electric cars), which cost €120 a year to tax, while the most expensive rate is for cars emitting more than 225g/km of CO₂, which is €2,350 a year.

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Hi Brian,

We get so many queries about stop-start systems (in all makes and models) that we wrote a feature about it: Why won't my car's stop-start system work?

However, in your case, perhaps there's something up with the alternator that prevents it from charging up the battery fully. 

It may be worth getting an auto-electrician to check it out.