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Hi Gary,

It’s only available in the 310hp S3 model at the moment, and given the trend for down-sizing and having smaller, more efficient engines, I’d say it’s unlikely to be offered in a lower state of tune in a more affordable version. Mind you, the 1.4 TSI engine has a very healthy 150hp so is well worth looking at.

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Hi Declan,

For a private buyer, once an imported vehicle is older than six months or has more than 6,000km on the odometer then it's no longer liable for Irish VAT. However, it is a little different for a business and Revenue is closely watching such things to ensure that VAT is properly accounted for. We'd advise you seek professional advice from your accountant.

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Hi Lorna,

Do you mean motor tax or purchase tax? If purchase tax (VAT basically) then yes – the VAT must be paid before or when it’s imported. If it’s motor tax, then no. It would help if the car has been declared as legally off the road by the previous owner, and obviously you can’t drive it across the UK to a ferry port to bring it here (you’ll have to put it on a trailer), but the Irish authorities won’t be bothered if it comes in with no tax as long as you pay your VRT properly and then tax it here. Unpaid UK road tax is an issue for the UK authorities and the previous owner.

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Hi Iain,

It should be, but check it with your finance company first. You’ll probably need to keep your Sterling bank account active and transfer money to it from whatever Euro account you’re being paid into when you’re working in the Republic.

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Hi Marie,

Theoretically, as you're moving house and you've had the car taxed and insured at your previous address there should be only an administrative fee to pay. But I'm guessing it wasn't your name on the logbook while it was in the UK, which may put a spanner in the works (unless you and your dad have the same name of course...). I think your only option is to talk to someone on the Revenue help desk (and they really are very friendly and helpful) and explain your situation. There might be a loophole through which you can slip. 

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Hi Brendan,

According to the figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), 57 Passat 1.4 TSI models were sold in 2015 (53 saloons and four estates) and 42 so far this year (37 saloons and five estates). There were also two Passat GTE plugin hybrids registered so far this year, which also use the 1.4 TSI engine.

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Hi Fergal,

The new Ka+ will be here in June and will cost from €13,050. You can find out much, much more about it in our Ford Ka+ news item. The new Fiesta is a bit more of an unknown and we certainly don’t have prices for it yet. It’s due to launch in Europe in the first quarter of 2017, but Ford Ireland may decide to keep its powder dry and launch it here closer to the 172 registration change in July of next year. It’s likely to be a little larger than the current car (although not by much, as the same basic structure is being retained) and the engine line up will be entirely the new-generation three-cylinder EcoBoost petrol and the four-cylinder 1.5-litre TDCi diesels. It’s likely to also be more expensive than the current car – the fact that Ford is launching a five-door Ka at a cheap-ish price, and the continuing efforts to push the Ford brand upmarket (Vignale, Mustang, GT, Edge etc.) means that the next Fiesta will probably be more sophisticated but more expensive too.

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Hi Katalin,

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Hi James,

The big draw for the updated Kuga will be the availability of Ford’s 1.5 TDCi diesel engine, which will bring the Kuga’s running costs down significantly, not least because it will have a 115g/km CO₂ emissions rating. It’ll be here in the autumn, once Ford has finished launching the new Edge SUV, but given the nature of the Irish car market, supply will probably be a bit restricted until January 2017.

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Hi Gary,

The answer is partially yes, but it’s nothing to do with R sales, which we are told are actually perfectly healthy. The GTI Performance model is being replaced by the GTI Clubsport, which gets an extra 34hp and some chassis revisions  to make the handling even sharper than that of the GTI Performance Pack.