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Hi Georgette,

I assume you are referring to the economy we got when we drove the Octavia in this review? We averaged 6.5 litres/100km - or 43.4mpg. To put that into context, we did very little motorway driving, mostly around town and into the mountains around Dublin. Not bad considering.

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Hi Martin,

As far as Brexit is concerned, you can basically pull out a random piece of string and tell us the length… Given the huge political turmoil taking place in the UK over Brexit, it’s literally impossible to predict what way car makers are going to jump, but we wouldn’t be at all surprised to see some actually raising prices, because of currency fluctuations.

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Hi Gerry,

Of the two, I’d prefer the 1.3 diesel. Neither is an especially refined engine by modern standards, but the 1.7 is a terrible old thing – incredibly noisy, rattly and prone to stalling when driving in stop-start traffic. The 1.3, if you get it with the 90hp output, has decent performance, is very economical and doesn’t seem to give too much bother. Great that you’re doing your own servicing, but beware of what effect that may have on the resale value as most buyers prefer to see a healthy book of dealer service stamps.

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Hi James,

It depends; do you mean the first-generation 9-5, which was in production from 1996 to 2009 or do you mean the short-lived last-of-the-line 9-5, which only survived in production for two years before Saab went bust?

If it’s the first generation car then the rating is a little mixed. It was always well thought of in terms of overall quality, comfort and driving dynamics, but there were a number of annoying, niggling reliability issues with that model, although at least with the 1.9-litre diesel engine you’re avoiding the troublesome 2.2-litre model.

If it’s the later, second-generation version of the 9-5 then it is indeed very well thought of, and generally considered one of Saab’s best cars. It’s just a shame that it was also its last.

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Hi Anne,

Actually, it’s not far off. I’d say, with a bit of practice, you should be able to beat 60-65mpg on a regular basis with that Polo, and to be honest you’re not going to get much better than that from any car. There are plenty of cars with official economy figures up in the 70s and 80s mpg, but those are laboratory figures and damned near impossible to reach in real world driving. If economy is your priority, then I’d stick with that Polo.

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Hi Conor,

The two best SUVs of similar elevation to the Freelander would be the Honda CR-V and the Nissan X-Trail. Both are excellent choices (and the X-Trail can be had with seven seats), but the Honda’s more spirited driving experience nudges it for us. Also worth looking at a Land Rover Discovery Sport (effectively the third-generation Freelander), although they’re pricier than the Honda or Nissan.

As for choosing a buying time, yes, if you wait until the end of January, depending on how new car sales go, there should be a few more trade-ins and the like cluttering up dealer lots so you might get a sharper deal. Any of the big car rental companies will set you up with a good deal on a long-term rent, and Enterprise is probably the best place to start.

Here are a few of our reviews to help you choose:

Honda CR-V review

Nissan X-Trail review

Land Rover Discovery Sport review

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Hi Garoid,

Well, it depends on the car and how you're taxing it. If you're taxing any vehicle as a commercial then it's €333 a year, but there are strict limits on usage, which include no personal driving, doing the school run, stopping at the shops etc. If you've taxed a car as a commercial but are using it for personal use then you're liable for a massive fine. 

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Hi Colin,

Very shortly. We'd expect to see a full price list and standard specifications within the next few weeks. We are driving it next week so keep an eye out for the full test drive on the Car Reviews page.

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Hi Tim,

The Fiesta should be mostly as reliable as the Polo. In extremis, I'd say the Polo will still have a slight edge overall in terms of quality,  but as long as you buy a Fiesta with a full service history and look after it properly it should be fine. The base 60hp engine is very slow though, so unless all of your driving is in town, we'd suggest upgrading to the 82hp version. 

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Hi Paul,

I’m assuming you’re looking at about a 2005 model year? If so, the official combined fuel economy figure was 42.2mpg, or 6.7 litres per 100km, but the actual fuel consumption will depend significantly on both the condition of the vehicle and your own driving style.