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Hi Mary,

No, you don’t need to be worried if the seat sides are touching or rubbing together. After all, as the car leans over in corners, the seats will lean too and rub in different ways, so it’s not really an issue. As long as you can safely reach the seatbelt release in an emergency, and as long as the seatbelts are fitting properly across everyone’s shoulders, you should be fine. And of course that there's no danger of one seat pushing the release button for another.

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Hi Aaron,

Not necessarily. Officially the emissions-based taxation system came into force from the 1st of July 2008. Everything registered after that date is automatically on the CO₂-based system. For cars registered between January 1st and June 30th 2008, it’s a little different. Initially, they would have been taxed on the old engine capacity system, but if the tax cost would have been lower under the CO₂ system, then the car should have been switched over at first renewal. If it hasn’t been switched by now, it probably means that it’s more affordable to tax on the old capacity system, so has been left on that one.

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Hi Lana,

I assume a mechanic took a look into the cylinder using a boroscope or similar to confirm that there is oil on the piston. Without knowing any details on your car or the engine, we'd suggest that some serious engine work is required. A good mechanic will advise where to start. 

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Hi Darragh,

If you’re taxing a commercial vehicle for private use then, yes, you do revert to the old engine capacity tax system. We don’t know why either — it’s a quirk of the Irish motor tax system. For a 2.0-litre Amarok, that tax is going to be €710 per year, while for the 2.2 Ranger it’ll be €951.

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Hi Mark,

Your dealer is definitely the starting point here. It is very annoying, I agree, but you'll need to work with them to sort this out. Hopefully there will be no further issues, but of course they are responsible for sorting those as well.

Best of luck.

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Hi Martin,

The price looks reasonable — about in the middle of the road for a 2015 A4, so the true value will depend on the car’s specification and its overall condition. A figure of 72,000 is a very reasonable mileage if it’s in miles (and if it is in miles check to see if the car was imported from the UK — that’s not necessarily a problem but you’d want to be a little more wary about its history if it is an import) and exceptionally low if it’s in kilometres. If it is 72,000 kilometres, rather than miles, I’d actually be slightly suspicious of that figure, as it may have had the clock turned back.

Audis are well-made, and generally very reliable and that 2.0-litre TDI engine is solid, but make sure that it’s had its software recalibrated to reduce its pollutants (the changes that were mandated after the diesel scandal became public) and make sure that it has a full and complete service history — these are complex cars that need looking after, so if there are any gaps in the service record, I’d walk away; there are plenty of other A4s out there.

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Hi Roger,

That is a significant change, leading us to suspect something may have been altered during the belt change. The tensioner could be too tight, for example, or the fuel pump timing might be out. Well worth bringing the car back to the garage and asking them to check all of this before it potentially causes problems with the engine.

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Hi Austin,

So far, we’ve only test-driven the BMW 330e in one specification — M Sport, which does include sports seats. Now, I’m a fairly chunky guy myself (38-inch waist, bigger tummy, 44-inch chest) and I didn’t notice the seats being especially tight. For reference, I find the bucket seats in the Ford Fiesta ST WAY too tight across the back and thighs. You could always get one that’s not M Sport — Sport spec on the 3 Series is a good half-way house between the basic SE versions and the M Sport models, and comes with seats that are not too heavily bolstered. 

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Hi Philip,

Well, you’re right about Toyotas being reliable. In fact, if reliability is your ultimate goal, then Toyota, Honda and Subaru are usually your safest bets. That said, Skoda is rarely that far behind the big Japanese names in reliability terms, and often is the best-performing European marque in that regard. In terms of load capacity, the answer is almost, but not quite. The roomiest boot in the in the Toyota range right now belongs to the Corolla Touring Sports estate. Now, this is one of our favourite cars right now — good looking, good to drive and with a seriously frugal and future-proofed hybrid engine, but with a 598-litre boot, it’s some 62 litres short of the Superb Combi. Still worth considering though, as, if you can live without the extra litres in the back, then it’s a more cost-effective purchase than the Skoda.

Another alternative is the new RAV4 Hybrid. Again, this is smaller than the Superb in the back — 580 litres when loaded up to the windows — but the boot is big and square, and again the hybrid engine is frugal and it’s got reliability on its side. 

Worth remembering though that Skoda is refreshing the Superb this year (order books are open now for delivery later in the year) and there will be a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid in fact, this time around, so it might be worth waiting for that before making a final decision.

Relevant reviews:

Toyota Corolla 1.8 Hybrid Touring Sports estate (2019) review

Toyota RAV4 Hybrid AWD-i (2019) review

Skoda Superb 2.0 TDI Evo Combi (2020) review

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Hi Margaret,

It depends entirely precisely which 2.0-litre hybrid saloon you’re talking about, as the tax system is based on the CO₂ emissions of the vehicle concerned. That said, if memory serves, the only 2.0-litre hybrid saloon currently on sale is the Ford Mondeo Hybrid. That has CO₂ emissions that range from 126g/km to 140g/km (depending on what equipment is fitted) so you’ll pay between €270 and €280 a year in motor tax.