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Hi William,

We'd be tempted to say that you should be grand - Hyundais in general, and the old Sonata in particular, are built like tanks. That said, with that kind of mileage, you need to make sure that the service history is complete and that all the major replacement jobs (clutch, brake pads and discs, timing belt) have been done. The Sonata has also always been a popular car with taxi drivers so check it carefully for signs of heavy use and abuse. If it all checks out though, and the service history is there, then you should be fine.

Let us know how you get on

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Hi Tony,

In short, yes it is. It has a lot of torque so is still up to big towing. Just don't expect it to win any traffic light grand prix! Here's our first drive of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class powered by that engine.

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Hi Thomas,

It seems to be a bit all or nothing with the Voyager and reliability. Some owners skate through life with nary a problem, others have no end of hassle. The primary issues seem to be electrical, including wiper motors, ignition systems, fuel pump controls and electric tailgates and sliding doors. The interior is also pretty fragile in places, and items such as interior lights and instrument lighting can give trouble, as can the radio systems. 

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Hi Wayne,

Depends on the age and on the condition. The 1.5 dCi diesel is a pretty solid engine (look for turbo problems though) and if a Scenic is properly cared for and serviced on the button, they can be fine. Beware of electric gremlins on older cars and don’t buy anything that doesn’t come with a full service history.

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Hi Bridget,

Do you mean medium or large seven-seater? If it’s a medium one, then the best ones are the VW Touran, Kia Carens, Toyota Verso, Citroen C4 Picasso, or Renault Grand Scenic. If you mean a bigger one, then the best ones are the Ford S-Max or SEAT Alhambra. Here are our reviews of them all:

Volkswagen Touran review

Kia Carens review

Toyota Verso review

Citroen C4 Grand Picasso review

Renault Grand Scenic review

Ford S-Max review

SEAT Alhambra review

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Hi Liam,

It’s not up to Toyota Yaris levels of reliability (what is?), but actually it shouldn’t be too bad. If looked after properly, the Punto should be fine, in terms of reliability, but the problem is that, at that age, it’s very likely to have been owned by someone who tried to run it on the cheap, which is not good news. Check the history carefully before buying with Cartell.ie.

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Hi Vincent,

They're massively reliable. No common faults to report and the German TUV testing brigade rate them highly for reliability.

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Hi Jason,

I would imagine that the simplest thing to do would be to contact your nearest Renault dealer and ask if they can update or upgrade the software in your Megane. There is a faint possibility that the system might not be compatible with newer phones, but I think a call to the service department should get things moving.

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Hi there,

There is no one-source fixed list, so it depends on whether you mean proper two-seat commercial versions or the ‘tax-dodge’ five-seaters with commercial status. Of those second category, they’re becoming thinner on  the ground as  the tax loophole closes, but Mitsubishi still offers an ‘Executive’ version of the Pajero, Volkswagen offers a version of the Touareg and you can get a dealer-converted version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. There are also independent convertors who can alter a great many larger SUVs to ‘business’ status with five seats intact, but obviously you’ll want to shop around and find the best and most reputable.

Expert answer

Hi Barry,

Right, the problem here is trying to balance the budget for buying (and running) against the need for seats plus luggage space. It's a tough equation to work out, especially as the bulk of MPVs on the market are the compact seven-seat type (think Opel Zafira) and in those, once you're using all seven seats, you effectively have no boot.

Now, there are a couple of ways around this. We did find a Chrysler Grand Voyager within the €10k budget, but with a 2.7-litre diesel engine the running costs may put it out of reach. If six seats is enough we did find a Honda FR-V within the same price range, and in that you still have a big boot even when every seat is full thanks to its three-across seating layout. It's reliable too so there shouldn't be any unexpected bills.

Otherwise it's go for a conventional compact MPV, and of the ones we found on sale, you'd be hard pressed to do better than a Toyota Corolla Verso - not the most exciting, but rigorously well built and your brother could always invest in a roof box if the boot's not big enough...