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Hi Robert,

Nope, that’s exactly right I’m afraid. When you tax a commercial vehicle for personal use, you revert to the old by-engine-capacity tax system, and the rate for vehicle of 1.5-to-1.6-litre capacity is €514. 

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Hi Chee,

The Countryman SE plug-in hybrid can, potentially, be capable of tremendous fuel economy, but it all depends on how you use it. If you (a) have a driveway or a garage and (b) can install a home charger and (c) tend to do short hops around town most of the time, then conceivably you could get from one end of the week to the next without burning any petrol at all. The Countryman SE will do in and around 30-35km (realistically) on a full charge of the battery. If you’re regularly taking on longer journeys, though, it gets a bit thirstier and can dip as low as 25mpg if you’re really using all the power. That said it is, as with pretty much all MINI models, really good to drive.

The RAV4 is not. Well, not that it’s bad to drive or anything, but it’s not sharp and rewarding like the MINI. That said, it’s squishy and comfortable, so if you’re on lots of long journeys, it’s great, and it’s massively roomy inside, much more so than the MINI, so with one kid and another on the way, that’s worth taking into account. Being a closed-loop hybrid with no plug-in version (yet) it’s also better for you if you don’t have a driveway or can’t install a charging point. Figure on about 6.0-6.5 litres per 100km overall, although you can get better than that on longer, gentler runs. Oh, and it should be more or less faultlessly reliable, too. 

Read our MINI Countryman reviews here

Read our Toyota RAV reviews here

Expert answer

Hi Bill,

You can absolutely tax and insure a commercial vehicle for private use and, as it is more than 30 years old, it’ll be really cheap to import and to tax — the VRT will be a flat rate of €200 while the motor tax will be €56.

Insurance will, as ever, be the wrinkle — generally, if you want to put it on a classic scheme, most insurers will insist that you have another ’normal’ car for everyday use, and it might be tricky putting down your son as a named driver. I’d suggest getting in touch with a good local broker, who might be able to unearth a better deal for you than just searching around on the internet. 

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Hi Nicola,

Sadly, that is the correct rate. A 2009 Auris, which would have been on the CO₂ tax system from the get-go, with the 1.4-litre VVTi petrol engine, has CO₂ emissions of 163g/km, and is therefore liable for €570 a year in motor tax or, as you currently pay, €160 every quarter. 

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Hi Phil,

According to the NCTS, all of its centres (bar those in Kildare right now because of Covid restrictions) are open and running fully, so you should make a new appointment to have that under-vehicle inspection carried out. If the car has done more than 5,000km since the original inspection, you’ll need to have a brake test and suspension test done as well, but these will all be free of charge. 

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Hi Lokeshwar,

How much? Lots. Who? Hardly anyone. Sorry to be cruel, but when you’re under thirty and your engine size is over 1.4, most insurers won’t even touch you, and those that do will be looking for a second mortgage for the first year’s premium. Get a good broker on your side and see what you can dig up, but it won’t be easy I’m afraid to say. 

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Hi Mark,

Unfortunately, that’s correct — DS has disappeared from these shores for now. Apparently it’s because DS dealers have to meet certain minimum standards for decor and presentation, and no-one in Ireland is quite prepared to make that investment right now. 

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Hi James,

You mean get it re-registered? Yes, you have to — it’s the law. Thankfully, as it’s a change of address, as long as you can demonstrate six months' previous tax and insurance in the UK, it will only cost you the price of the new numberplates. 

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Hi Laura,

It'll be difficult to get three child car seats into the back of a Tucson I'm afraid, as the rear seat just isn't wide enough. There may be particularly slim child seats out there that make it possible, but even so, our experience is that it's not an ideal set-up. Recommending specific child seats is outside our remit I'm afraid, as we don't habitually test various models of seat.

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Hi Christopher,

Technically, no, I’m afraid not. For any car (any vehicle, for that matter) to be legally driven on the road, it has to be both taxed and insured. Your best bet is to get it trailered to the garage, really.