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Hi Shay,

I'd suggest a little T-Cut to take off the unwanted paint (gently, you don't want to get down to bare metal) and a good buff with a colour-restoring wax (Turtle Wax has some good ones or you could splash out on Autoglym). Mind you, you should probably keep a can of touch-up paints to hand during all of this, and if it's a big scrape in an especially prominent area, you might be better to bite the bullet and get a professional in to help...

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Hi Brian,

Yes it is. All CR-Vs up to the latest 1.6 diesel have had four-wheel drive only. The latest 1.6 is the first offered with front-wheel drive only.

Best of luck with your purchase.

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Hi Tara,

Well none of the above. Not really at any rate.

Early build (i.e. 2000-2001) MINIs had some issues with fuel pumps, but other than that they suffer from no major repetitive reliability problems. The exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve on the 1.6 diesel can be a weak point but other than that, as long as you keep it serviced on the button, you shouldn't have any problems. 

Fuel consumption is only a problem if you go for an early, supercharged Cooper S. Regular 1.6 Coopers should easily do 40mpg and I have personal experience of the fact that a 1.6 diesel Cooper will do better than 60mpg.

As for the back thing, well, I myself suffer from a bad back and I own a MINI and can report no problems. They are a bit low slung for climbing in and out of but the seat and driving position are excellent. Try before you buy and see how it feels.

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Hi Nappa,

It depends. A sume of €4,000 is a small amount of money to pay for what was a truly cutting edge car when it came out, and an especially rewarding car to drive. But it’s also a very complex car, which is now 15 years old, so you need to buy very carefully, don’t buy anything that doesn’t have a full service history and be prepared to spend to keep it maintained and serviced.

As for diesel costs, it depends on how you drive, where you drive and how far you drive, but around 30mpg is what you should expect in terms of fuel economy.

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Hi Tom,

Surprisingly, given Suzuki's reputation, there are a few issues, although they're more in the category of annoyances than actually stopped-by-the-side-of-the-road stuff. 

Watch for a heavy or obstructive gearshift, as this indicates that the gearbox is on the way out, and listen for graunches or other horrible noises from the brakes.

Front tyre wear can be high, so make sure the front wheels are properly balanced and aligned and that the tyres are at the correct pressure. 

Paint can be an issue too so watch for stone chips or other damage or for just a generally poor paint finish. 

Interior rattles are common, with a particularly annoying and hard-to-reach one deep behind the dash a common culprit. Finally, look for poor crash damage repairs. The Swift uses expensive wraparound bumpers and low speed impacts can lead to high bills, so many owners have resorted to quick or bodged repairs.

Hope that all helps. We actually quite like the car despite all that!

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Hi Phil,

"Most economical" is something of a loaded question as it's really much more dependant on your style of driving and the routes you use as much as anything else. 

What I can tell you though is the car in that class I've been able, consistently, to get the best economy from. It's a Golf. To be precise, it's the Mk VI Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDI BlueMotion. Test driving it on a warm, sunny day with the air conditioning going and not paying a huge amount of attention to being economical, I managed an average of 65mpg. I haven't yet driven the latest Mk VII Golf BlueMotion but would suspect you could do even better again, possibly as good as 70mpg.

Come back to us if you need more assistance choosing.

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Hi Jimmy,

Try a Skoda Octavia 1.2 TSI petrol. It's massive inside and has a huge boot, and it can easily reach 50mpg in daily driving, with around 900km to a tank possible.

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Hi Frank,

We reckon a motor or window regulator should sort that out for you.

Let us know how you get on.

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Hi Francis,

Can I suggest then chopping it in for another Hyundai, this time an i40 Tourer? It's massively spacious so you won't (aside from the seat height) feel like you're trading down. It's also very comfy and, with your long-haul runs and high-ish mileage in mind, hugely economical. Drive the 1.7 115hp CRDi version gently and you should top 60mpg. 

If you don't fancy another Hyundai, then picking a similar estate from the Ford Mondeo, Opel Insignia, Volkswagen Passat or Peugeot 508 ranges should do the job just as well.

Let us know what you end up doing

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Hi Paxton,

Well, it depends what you mean by SUV. Large? Small? Proper 4x4 or front-wheel drive? Our favourites run the gamut from Peugeot 2008 to Skoda Yeti to Honda CR-V to Kia Sorento to BMW X5, but it just depends what you’re looking for.