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Family drivers have this instinct to cocoon them in as much metal as possible for fear of being in an accident so I understand where you are coming from.

The NCAP rating you mention is the European New Car Assessment Programme where the safety of cars is tested by crashing them into walls and pillars and all sorts under strict repeatable conditions. It's been a while since the Range Rover has been crash tested by the organisation, eight years in fact, so it was the first generation of the current Range Rover model and it managed four stars in the test. In summary, the model was good at protecting those in the car, but not those outside it. NCAP said in their report at the time:

"The Range Rover has an immensely strong body that provides for its occupants safe, well balanced protection in severe frontal and lateral impacts. Each of its doors could be opened normally after the tests and the amount of intrusion was slight. However, the driver experienced fairly high impact forces on his chest and, in a real crash, these pose a risk of injury. The child restraints worked well generally. But, unfortunately, the level of protection given to pedestrians proved to be dire."

The 2010 model is quite different from the 2002 version and is loaded with safety kit. Four-wheel, anti-lock disc brakes are standard, as is all-terrain traction control. Additionally, an adaptive cruise control system with Brake Assist will alert the driver if the car in front of the Range Rover starts to decelerate. When the system detects a crash is imminent, it primes the brakes so less force is required from the driver to apply full braking power. If no action is taken by the driver, the system will lightly apply the brakes to lessen the severity of the impact.

When it comes to airbags, the 2010 Range Rover is practically stuffed with them. In the front row there are front, side and side curtain airbags, plus a driver's knee airbag. In the second row, side-curtain airbags are standard.

Hope that all helps put your mind at ease.

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My NCT is coming up soon? Is it best to get the car serviced before the NCT or to go ahead with the test, then have identified faults repaired and return to the NCT centre? Which is most cost effective?

Hi Stephen. We would always echo the words of the manufacturers when it comes to servicing intervals. They are there for a reason so it is usually best to stick with them.

However, from personal experience - albeit with a much older car - the NCT can sometimes uncover things that you didn't know was a problem. If it isn't too long to the NCT, I personally would wait until the NCT and then get a retest if it fails because 9 times out of 10 this works out as a cheaper option rather than getting a service then having to go back to a dealer and get more work done at a later stage if the NCT uncovers anything. At least by having the NCT first you can get the car serviced and also get any faults identified by the test repaired in one go.

However, if your NCT is a long time away and your car is well overdue a service, I would get the service done first as you could end up causing your car some problems which could cost you a lot more to put right.

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Hi Paul, we contacted Ford in Cork on your behalf, and a spokesperson from their technical department said: "This is not the rev limit of the car and this seems to be an issue with the car in this case. We would suggest that the customer takes the car to his Ford Dealer as soon as possible to be checked."

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Hi Alison.

As your car is ten years old this year scrappage seems like the right solution and there are some amazing discounts on offer in addition to the Government's current incentive. The cars you mention are three of the best superminis on the market and because you use the car for quite a lengthy commute a diesel could be the best solution for you.

All three of these cars have diesel options. Opel's Corsa comes with a 1.3-litre 75bhp diesel with emissions now down from 119- to 114g/km. Prices for this start at €15,905 for the three-door version.

The Mazda2 is another very good option. With a 1.4-litre 68bhp diesel, emissions are just 114g/km so again you pay road tax of just €104 per year. The Mazda2 diesel starts from €15,930.

The Fiesta also has a 68bhp 1.4-litre diesel engine and emissions of 110g/km and this starts at €16,645.

All three of these cars qualify for the Government Scrappage Scheme, so would get a discount of €1,500. Much of the additional discounting available on any of these models is on the petrol models however, as dealers try and clear stocks of slow-selling petrol versions.

Of all these three cars the Mazda and the Fiesta are better cars so it would be down to these two in our opinions. We like the Mazda2 a lot, but we'd still say buy the Fiesta based on its looks and the way it drives. The Fiesta has been the outstanding small car over the last few years so if budget allows it is the car we would chose.

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Hi Paul,

That is a very interesting question. You only have to look at the difference in pricing through various different genre of cars to see that we have not had cars as cheap here in Ireland in years and even when you compare them to prices in Europe things are favourable. This is of course little solace to those who find obtaining credit virtually impossible.

Manufacturers are constantly streamlining methods of production and there is much greater co-operation between manufacturers in terms of powertrain sharing and platform sharing, but the simple explanation of the reduction in prices here in Ireland is of course the easing of taxation slightly. New cars, as I am sure you are aware, are now taxed according to their CO₂ emissions and this means that cars that might once have been subjected to 30 percent VRT under the old system are now only subject to 16 percent, because of advances in engine technology. When you look at cars like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW 5 Series now with emissions of less than 140g/km, as long as the present taxation system is in place, prices will remain quite low. Manufacturers are also likely to keep prices low to their retailers as every incentive needs to remain in place to keep sales moving throughout a sluggish global economy.

In answering your question, I would say that the lowering of prices certainly hasn't finished, especially here in Ireland. This year there has been a lot of discounting from manufacturers such as Renault who is aggressively targeting market share. Even when scrappage ends in December I can't see an end to this straight away, as next year, without the scrappage incentives, manufacturers and retailers will need to come up with a whole new set of incentives to draw nervous buyers back into the showrooms.

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Prices have not yet been announced, though we're told that it'll start from €23,000.

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Hi Paul,

VRT (Vehicle Registration Tax) is the main cost. VRT is chargeable on registration of a motor vehicle in the State. All motor vehicles in the State, other than those brought in temporarily by visitors, must be registered with the Revenue Commissioners. A vehicle must be registered before it can be licensed for road tax purposes.

In the case of cars and small vans, the tax is a percentage of the expected retail price - including all other taxes in the State. This price is known as the Open Market Selling Price or OMSP. The VRO will calculate this tax for you or you may obtain the details online at Vehicle Registration Online Enquiry System.

Full details on how VRT works and all the charges can be found here.

Hope that helps

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That is a very good question. The scrappage scheme makes sense to a certain number of people, but it certainly isn't for everyone. It was set up to clean up the nation's car park and to that effect is designed to get cars of 10 years or more off the roads. Plus, there is the additional clause that any car bought under scrappage must be from Band A or B, with CO₂ emissions of less than 140g/km, which isn't going to suit all buyers either.

The Government has offered €1,500 off the VRT of the car and while you might argue that you could haggle this off in a cash deal, the fact is that you will get this for even the worst car that could be worth barely €50. Even the most skilled haggler is unlikely to get more than €1,000 off the price of a small car from a cash deal, but you will get this in a scrappage trade-in.

Also, in many cases the manufacturers are offering further incentives for scrappage deals such as additional discounts. In the case of Renault for example, there are thousands given to owners of cars of 8 or 10 years or older that you wouldn't get if you were buying in cash. So in this case scrappage is a strong incentive and is worth it.

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Firstly, there are probably more diesel automatic cars in Ireland than you might think, but they tend to be executive models rather than mainstream family cars because it seems that there still isn't a huge demand for them.

Toyota does in fact sell an automatic version of its Avensis. It is a 2.2-litre 150bhp diesel and that costs €35,530. Since you mentioned the Toyota Avensis we must assume that you are after a family saloon or hatchback so for a start you could have a Ford Mondeo 2.0-litre TDCi Style Auto for €32,225 - that comes as a saloon, hatchback or estate.

For you a few quid more you can have the run out version of the Jaguar X-Type 2.2 Diesel Auto for €32,995 or you could have the Mercedes-Benz B180 CDi Auto from €33,640.

There are loads of versions of the excellent Opel Insignia available with a choice of 130- or 160bhp diesel engines in saloon, hatchback or estate body styles. There are 24 different Insignia diesels available in total. Prices start at €30,380. You can have a Renault Laguna 2.0-litre dCi 150 TomTom Edition for €36,890.

A Volkswagen Passat 2.0 TDI with the excellent DSG gearbox will cost you from €35,960 and Skoda will sell you something with DSG for even less. How about an Octavia RS 2.0-litre diesel with 170bhp and DSG for €31,195? For us, that last car is the top choice. However you could stick with Skoda and go much bigger and that would be the Superb. You can have that with DSG and 170bhp for €31,195.

There is a fuel economy penalty in some cases and that is because the traditional automatic transmission has a torque converter. Automatic cars are generally a little heavier too, to the detriment of economy. Saying that, the latest generation of dual-clutch automatics and some of the newest conventional autos have massively improved.

Fuel economy and CO₂ emissions are directly linked, so often the manual version of a car can be in a lower tax band than their automatic siblings, but this is starting to change as mentioned above.

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For this we spoke to Gerry Devine in Team PR Reilly: "There are three things that need to be done to fix this problem. Step 1, remove the bird poo from the car with Turtle Wax Bug and Tar Remover. Spray some Bug and Tar Remover onto the affected area and leave for approximately 45 seconds to let it work. Wipe off all bird poo and residue. Step 2 is to rectify the burnt spots on the car. We suggest you use a cutting compound to try and get rid of the mark left behind (we recommend Turtle Wax Safe Cut liquid). Step 3 is to polish the car using a polish with a slight cut in it (we recommend Turtle Wax Original). Make sure the car is clean and dirt free before polishing. This should do the trick. If the bird poo has been embedded on the car for some time, the burnt spot may be too bad to remove yourself and you may need to get the job done professionally."

Hope that helps Maura.