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Hi Gabriel,

Dacias are fine, to be honest, you just have to make sure you know what you're getting into. They're not sophisticated, nor are they especially modern, but they're cheap and genuinely quite cheerful. Best of the bunch is the Sandero supermini, which combines decent build quality with surprising refinement and a  emptingly low price.

The Duster SUV is also pretty good, albeit it's quite an old design now and lacks things like electronic stability control as standard. Still, it's rugged, tough and refreshingly simple. The newer Logan estate and Stepway crossover are just variations on the Sandero theme and are there for those who need either an enormous boot (Logan) or a bit of 4x4-esque style (Stepway).

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Hi Gerard,

I write this as a former (recovering?) Laguna owner and the best I can tell you is to tread very, very carefully. Admittedly, I owned the previous generation Laguna that was quite simply a reliability disaster and one that cost Renault a fortune in warranty claims. The third-generation car, the one you're looking at, is much better in reliability terms, but still, you need to be suspicious of anything that uses electricity – make sure absolutely everything electrical is working properly and watch it like a hawk to check for failures. The 1.5 dCi engine is actually pretty good, and robust too, and you should pretty easily get high-forties mpg out of it. However, you're going to be on a pretty steep depreciation slope as nothing loses value faster than a big French car. That's fine if you're planning to keep and use it until it dies, but not so good if you're planning to trade-in in a few years. As a family car, it's actually quite good though – spacious and comfy, with a big boot and Renault has an excellent reputation for safety too.

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Hi Katy,

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Hi Seamus,

A Mondeo 2.0 TDCi is, frankly, a great choice - spacious, comfy, well made and superb for that kind of long-haul journey. Just as a suggestion though, it may be worth coming down a class and having a look around, just as a way of potentially keeping your running costs as low as possible. Perhaps a Honda Civic diesel or a Skoda Octavia TDI? Both are massively spacious (so would carry your height with plenty of space behind for baby seats etc.), but would also be a little cheaper to run than the Mondeo, and almost as comfy on the long haul. Worth a thought, but if you fancy the Mondeo, go for it. Buy one with a full service history and you won't go wrong.

Let us know which way you go in the comments below.

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Hi Danielle,

An updated Polo is indeed imminent, but from what we've seen it won't be a massive change from the current car, certainly in terms of styling, and the only major mechanical change will be the addition of a new 1.0-litre TSI turbocharged petrol engine. While that will probably make for an enticing drive, it's a sad fact that the current 1.2-litre Polo is a touch sluggish to drive, and the mechanically similar SEAT Ibiza has some refinement issues. On that basis, we'd go for the Rio - it's neatly styled, comfy, well made and lively to drive. And it comes with that seven-year warranty. It's a tough package to beat.

Let us know how you decide in the comments below.

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Hi Trevor,

It'd suggest a Nissan Qashqai, or if you need something a little bigger on the inside, perhaps a last-gen Honda CR-V. As a matter of fact, I have elderly relatives with a CR-V and they report no issues with getting in and out, and it's an especially comfy car on the move. Actually, with the Honda brand in mind, if you need something a little bit smaller than either of those, but still with a slightly higher seating position, try a Honda Jazz – not only are the seats quite high up, but the doors open particularly wide, making it easier to get in and out. As always, try thoroughly before you buy and don't be afraid to ask sales people for some help and advice – the best ones will be more than happy to help you.

Let us know how you get on in the comments below

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Hi Noel,

We can’t tell you if a particular car is worth buying or not, but we do like our Jags and the 2003 onwards XJ was a very nice one. Common problems include broken door handles, leaking boot seals, a rattling from the engine caused by faulty tappets, broken ABS sensors, knocking suspension meaning the dampers are shot, leaking dampers, failed air suspension pumps and basically anything electrical.

While the XJ was always well made and reliable, you’ve got to remember that they’re hugely complex cars and need to be cared for properly to remain reliable. If there are any gaps in the service history, or the car seems tired or worn out, then walk away.

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Hi Katie,

We've been on to Renault about this, and its response was that no current Renault models come with flat-beam headlights, and that your best bet is to use stick-on beam deflectors that can be bought from any good motor factors. 

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Hi John,

The lowest price seems to be around €24k, but I'd expect to pay a little more than that on average - say between €26k and €27k for one from a main dealer with low mileage.

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Hi Bill,

There’s no one blanket answer to this, as much depends on where you do your mileage and how you drive. Basically the issue is one of heat. The DPF needs the exhaust system of the car to reach full operating temperature in order for it to burn off the excess carbonised soot that it filters from the exhaust. If you don’t generate that heat then the DPF gets full and clogs up and causes problems. So, you can do relatively low mileage, but if it’s mostly on the motorway and you’re running at a constant 120km/h for, say, 30 minutes or so each day, then you probably wouldn’t have any problems. If you do lots of miles but they’re all in town, stuck in traffic, creeping along, then it doesn’t matter how much mileage you do, you’ll have problems. As a rule of thumb, we usually say that circa 20,000km a year is the changeover point, but as I say, driving style and where you do your driving enter into it too.