Expert answer

Hi Breon,

First of all, congratulations on the incoming arrival. As for finding the right car seat, we're really not the experts in terms of advice on specific seats, but we know some people who are. Pop in to your local branch of Mothercare or Halfords (or Tony Kealy's if you live in the Dublin area) and you should be able to get some very helpful advice on which is the correct kind of seat for your kids. As a rule of thumb, the longer you can keep them in a rear-facing seat, and then the longer you can keep them in a full-backed seat, with integral harness, the better. It's down to the size and weight of the individual child though. 

As for cars, you have several choices but they're all MPVs, I'm afraid. Sorry about that... Still, all is not lost, as the Citroen C4 Picasso and Peugeot 5008 are both pleasantly comfy, economical and easy on the eye. Kick up a price and size band and you'll find the Ford S-Max, which is one of our favourite cars, whether or not space is your priority. Handsome and good to drive, that one.

If you're in the second hand market, you could do worse than track down a good used Fiat Multipla (if you can live with the looks, it's got one of the best cabins of any car, ever) or there's always the evergreen Renault Scenic or the (slightly dour) Volkswagen Touran. Finally, there's the Toyota Verso, which isn't the most exciting choice but is solidly built and spacious. Finally, the six-seat Honda FR-V is a left-field choice that's one of those classic "try it and you'll never have anything else" cars.

Hope that helps.

Expert answer

Hi Philip,

The thing with Italian cars is that they're like the apocryphal little sister. When they're good, they're very, very good. When they're bad, they're 'orrible.

The Multipla is actually one of the more robust Fiats, and speaking from personal experience the 1.9 JTDM diesel engine seems to take all manner of abuse and high mileage in its stride.

The best bet seems to be to avoid the 1.6 petrol model, and check to see if a diesel is down on power or displaying obvious flat-spots in the power delivery. If so, it could be an exhaust gas recirculation valve, or a more serious crankshaft wear issue. 

Other than that, check and make sure that everything electronic is working right. Fiat has come a long way on reliability since the bad old days but irritating electrical gremlins remain the brand's Achilles heel.

Let us know how you get on

Expert answer

Hi Eric,

We received some very helpful tips from Valerie, the Munster secretary of the Irish Caravan Club, on this one:

"Hope this is of some help in answering your query:  The Caravan Club recommends taking 85% of the kerb weight of the car and this is the max weight of caravan you should tow.  Most 1.6-litre cars are around 1,300- to 1,400kg in weight so there would be a good margin to play with in this case. Remember there will always be added weight to take account of to include the awning, BBQ, Cadac, bicycles, aqua roll, to name but a few items! Correctly loading the caravan is very important, balancing the weight between car and caravan, but all this comes with a bit of experience. Joining one of the caravan clubs and talking with experienced caravanners is the best way to learn the ropes."

Hope this is of help

Expert answer

Hi Martin,

You're in an enviable position and, before going into more detail, we'd be very happy with any of those cars as an ownership proposition.

Personally, I'd be sorely tempted by the Evoque. There are plenty of colour and wheel options to change its appearance to your liking, it's much more of an occasion inside and it drives like a hot hatch (the chassis is very much road-biased, though it does well enough off-road when needed). Admittedly, certain versions of the BMW and Audi may be more economical, but I'd look at it very closely.

When the current BMW X3 came out it really took a leap forward from its predecessor in terms of comfort, quality and refinement, but between that and the Audi Q5 I may too be swayed by the fact that the Audi has had a more recent update. I also prefer how the Q5 looks. There's very little between them depending on which engines you're looking at.

The best advice is to go test drive each car for as long as possible, paying close attention to the specifications of the test cars.

In terms of automatic gearboxes, unless you're looking at a petrol Q5 (which I doubt!) or the high-performance SQ5 TDI model (fantastic) then the only option is the dual-clutch S-Tronic unit. This helps with efficiency and allows the driver more control when he wants it, but is not as smooth as a traditional torque converter gearbox, as fitted to the Evoque and BMW. They're both smooth systems, but the eight-speed item in the BMW is the most impressive, managing to minimise fuel consumption increases.

Hopefully that's of help, but come back to us if you need more

Expert answer

Hi Niall,

Most modern cars tend to use a little oil and the level should be checked regularly rather than leaving it to the car to tell you. We wouldn't be massively worried about it at this stage, though perhaps mention it to the dealer when it is time for a service.

There's no harm in doing the service a little earlier than planned for added peace of mind.

Expert answer

Hi Celsus,

As an overview, Skoda's cars are all reliable, quite comfortable and generally economical. Bigger wheels reduce comfort and the Yeti is less 'soft' on the road than say the Octavia and Superb. Most people stick with the diesel engines, which are very efficient.

If you'd like us to comment on something specific please come back to us.

Expert answer

Hi Donal,

The Discovery is one of our very favourite cars, especially for the way it can carry seven full-sized adults in luxury-car comfort down the motorway. With big mileage like that though you will be rocking up the fuel bills, as a 2.7-litre V6 diesel Disco will only get about 29mpg in normal driving conditions. That said, you won't get any better from any of its rivals, so there you go.

As for reliability, Land Rover has come on in leaps and bounds in this respect recently, but there's no getting away from the fact that its vehicles tend to be more fragile than the Japanese competition. Small electrical niggles are the most likely problems but both the gearboxes and the air suspension can give problems too and those are rather more serious issues. The V6 diesel engine is pretty solid though.

It would be worth checking out both a Toyota Land Cruiser and Mitsubishi Pajero too, but while both of those would be more likely to have better reliability, neither can hold a candle to the Disco's on-road refinement and comfort.

Let us know which way you go

Expert answer

Hi Eamonn,

Honda is justly famed for the reliability of its cars and you shouldn't experience any major problems. The paint on some Civics can be a bit on the thin side, which means that, where it wears, you can actually get a bit of surface rust appearing, which will need attention. Engine management system glitches can lead to a drained battery if the car is left sitting for a week or two as well. Other than that, there seem to be no other major issues. 

Compared to a Focus, you'll find the ride and handling a touch flat-footed, as Honda went with a cheaper torsion bar rear suspension, but it should compare very favourably to a Mazda or Toyota - Hondas generally feel noticeably more 'premium' than either of those brands.

Hope that helps

Expert answer

Hi Erwin,

Ignition coil packs and excessive oil consumption on higher-mileage cars seem to be the only major faults, but then again basic Polos were so stingily equipped that there's nothing much to go wrong. Watch for engine wear though - it's an underpowered car and you need to rev the nuts off it to get any decent performance, with consequent wear and tear issues. 

Keep it in town, at low speeds, where it was designed to work, and it should be cheap to run, with very cheap insurance too.

Expert answer

Hi Ronan,