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Hi John,

Yes, just go to the system settings menu (have a look at your owner's manual) and change the selection from Metric to Imperial. It takes a couple of seconds, but best to do it when you’re stopped rather than driving.

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Hi Philip,

On the Jaguar front, first of all thanks for the compliment. As far as noise goes, I don’t think I’d ever tire of the F-Type’s V6 sounds, but that four-cylinder model is hugely impressive (and very refined) all the same.

As for running a car up and down its rev range, yes, it’s a good idea. Engines perform best (especially in fuel economy terms) when held at constant, low rpm (such as on a long motorway journey), but from a mechanical point of view it’s a good idea, once in a while, to stretch things out, warm things up, and get things moving.

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Hi Jane,

I would say that if you're driving as you describe then sDrive is fine, as not only is it entirely capable it's also much better from a point of view of running costs. For normal on-road driving it's perfectly good enough, and if you're worried about winter conditions then consider fitting some winter or all-season tyres. 

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Hi Simon,

If you want the ultimate performance car driving course then I think that the Porsche Centre in Silverstone is the best one to go for. They’ve expanded the track there in recent years, so there’s more room to play, and it’s impossible to beat the appeal of a Porsche when it comes to honing your driving skills. Closer to home, the BMW course at Mondello is excellent, and obviously far more convenient, and it’s well worth checking out Rally School Ireland up in Monaghan, too.

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Hi Sharad,

Skoda reliability is hard to beat; in fact Skoda often does better in reliability surveys than its Volkswagen overlord, so knocking off a regular 1,000km journey will be no bother to it.

As for economy, we recently tested the 1.0 Octavia and got close to 50mpg out of it in daily driving, so it's pretty frugal, really.

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Hi Simon,

The Mokka is quite nice, and a bit of an underrated car actually, but we reckon the best car in this class is the Suzuki Vitara, which is affordable, genuinely rugged, reliable and quite nice to drive. Handsome too. The Dacia Duster is actually a terrific machine — you have to allow for a rough and ready interior and an unrefined driving experience, but for the money it’s nigh-on impossible to beat.

Opel Mokka X review

Dacia Duster review

Suzuki Vitara review

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Hi Naseem,

If you’re driving the M50 a lot, it probably  depends what time of day… Post-10am or pre-4pm and you’d probably get up enough speed to be able to keep the DPF clear and so it wouldn’t be a problem, even with the relatively low mileage. If you’re stop-start driving and not getting into a proper heat cycle, then no, go for petrol instead. Ford has that brilliant little 1.0-litre EcoBoost turbo petrol engine.

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Hi Steve,

Unfortunately no, we can’t. The Irish insurance sector is byzantine at best, and downright mendacious at worst. With a high-performance vehicle such as the XKR, you’re probably looking at at least a four-figure premium, in spite of your good record, but we’d suggest getting in touch with a good broker, who may be able to squirrel out deals that others can’t.

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Hi Liam,

OK, first off you don’t need and shouldn’t be buying a diesel. With that kind of mileage, and doing most of it in town, you’ll never get enough efficiency out of the engine and you’ll run into trouble with the particulate filter and more potentially.

Of the three cars you’ve mentioned, I think that the Mercedes B-Class might actually be the most sensible, and it’s certainly the roomiest if you’re concerned about carrying big loads. Worth remembering that for similar money you could probably get yourself into a nice C-Class Estate too, which is only a little smaller inside and a whole lot nicer to drive. I’d be tempted to stick with the Mercedes, too, for safety reasons, if your son is going to start learning to drive.

The Tiguan is another very good option, and there are versions with Volkswagen’s excellent 1.4 turbo petrol engine if you shop around. Again, safe and good to drive, if not quite as roomy as the B-Class. I’d avoid the Duster at this point — it’s diesel only, and not as safe as the Merc or Volkswagen.

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Hi Patrick,

To qualify as 'vintage' for tax purposes a car must be 30 years old or older. For insurance purposes a car can sometimes be younger than that,  but most insurers will demand that you have a more modern car for everyday driving as well as the classic.