Expert answer

Hi Mike,

The A6 is a cracking choice - reliable, frugal, stylish and hugely comfy, but it's not as sweet to drive as the 5 Series. That said, it is more spacious and if you can track down an Avant estate you'll have one of the best looking cars around. 

If you're concerned about driving on snow and ice there are two avenues you should explore, no matter which car you go for. One is to look into fitting either winter tyres (which you'll need to swap back over to normal tyres in the spring) or all-season tyres, such as the new 'CrossClimate' one from Michelin. Better again, go on a winter driving techniques course. BMW runs one at Rally School Ireland in Monaghan and the skills you'll learn there would get you through even the worst blizzard, no matter which set of your car's wheels are driven.

Further reading:

Audi A6 review

BMW 5 Series review

Expert answer

Hi Dave,

Average annual mileage for petrol cars in Ireland is around the 17,000km mark. It's about 24,000km for diesel.

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Hi Shay,

Just as with motor tax, Vehicle Registration Tax is calculated based on the CO₂ emissions of the car in question. It starts at 14 per cent of the wholesale price of the car (inclusive of options) for cars in the lowest tax band, 0- to 80g/km of CO₂ rising to a maximum of 36 per cent for the highest band, for cars emitting more than 225g/km of CO₂.

The most common bands are Bands A2 to A4 and B1 and B2, which run from 15 per cent to 19 per cent.

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Hi Thomas,

I've just emailed you the full PDF brochure from Audi, but the spec highlights are:

Priced from: €63,350 on-the-road (€2,600 extra for S Tronic automatic)

Standard:

- 19-inch five-arm alloy wheels

- Metallic Paint as standard

- Fine Nappa Leather upholstery with S embossing

- Extended Leather Package

- Super Sports Seats

-LED Headlights

- Anti-Theft Alarm

- Virtual Cockpit (S Model Specific with rev clock front and centre)

- Audi Drive Select

Hope that's of help

Expert answer

Hi Una,

If you had said the old-shape Note, then I'd say yes. It was always a nice car to drive, and both spacious and reliable too. If you mean the new one, then no - it just feels cheap and built down to a price. Not a nice car at all. However, if you fancy something Nissan-y for a bargain price, then I have good news. Nissan Ireland is currently offering up to €4,000 trade-in bonus on the new Pulsar. Now, it's perhaps not the most exciting car on the road, but it's comfy, roomy, well-built and well-equipped. Definitely worth a look.

Further reading:

First Irish drive of the Nissan Note

First drive of the Nissan Pulsar

Expert answer

Hi John,

You can't claim it back. The Revenue rules are that if a vehicle is less than six months old or has less than 6,000km on the clock, you must pay the VAT on importing it here, regardless of whether or not the VAT has been paid in the UK. The only way you could claim the VAT back from the UK HMRC would be to be VAT-registered in the UK.

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Hi Tony,

We asked Honda Ireland and the response was:

"The original OEM 17-inch tyre was 225/50 R17 98V. The minimum allowed by homologation is 225/50 R17 92V."

Hope that helps

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Hi Sam,

We're not quite sure why SsangYong Ireland doesn't appear to have any prices on its site at the time of writing. Our latest information is for the following prices:

- Korando ES: €25,995

- Korando EL: €29,495

- Rexton W 'Limited Edition': €44,475

- Rexton W 'Limited Edition' auto: €48,184

Our drives of the cars:

SsangYong Korando Sports

SsangYong Korando

SsangYong Rodius

Expert answer

Hi Francis,

We've been in touch with Hyundai Ireland about this and it was suggested that the best place to go to find an appropriate roof rack is Thule (www.thule.com). Hyundai itself doesn't have any roof rack kits for the Montana currently in stock.

Hope that helps a little.

Expert answer

Hi Joe,

I presume you're asking this from a classic car point of view? The bad news is that pretty much all petrol sold in Ireland conforms to E5, or in other words has been blended with a five per cent mix of bio-source ethanol - alcohol derived from plants. The good news is that there's no evidence that running an older engine on E5 has any unpleasant effects. If the car has already been updated to accept unleaded petrol then you should be fine. The only issues arise when the car is left standing for a long time with the fuel sitting in the tank. Then the ethanol and petrol can separate, which can cause corrosion in the tank and/or fuel lines.