Expert answer

Hi Pat,

First up, we thoroughly recommend the Peugeot 3008 itself. It's an excellent family car with a high quality, well thought out interior and it drives pretty well.

However, we're not sure that the Ecomatique version makes any sense in Ireland, unless you absolutely have to drive an automatic car. It's not a conventional smooth automatic gearbox; instead it features a robotised manual, which means that the clutch and gear change are operated automatically. Sounds great in theory, but in practice the gear changes feel slower and progress is jerkier than in a manual car. That's partly perception and you can learn to smooth out the changes yourself, but overall we reckon it detracts from the driving experience.

On the positive side, the Ecomatique 3008 is a little more economical than the regular 1.6 HDi 110hp version. However, it's only a difference of 0.2 litres per 100km on the official combined cycle. Given that the Ecomatique is more expensive to buy in the first place, you'd have to cover a lot of distance to start making savings and even then we'd argue that in real world conditions the manual version will be just as econonomical.

In some countries, the Ecomatique's lower CO₂ emissions would reduce your tax bill, but it's still in band B in Ireland, just like the regular version.

Hope that helps with your decision. If you'd like to know more, feel free to add a comment in the box below.

Expert answer

We spoke to Jane direct to find out a little more information. She currently lives in Northern Ireland and has a 2008 Nissan Qashqai Tekna to trade in. She wishes to downsize and will be moving to the Republic soon with her new car.

Initially Jane believed that she could bring a car to the south VRT-free so long as it was over six months old, but in fact the legislation states that she must have owned the car herself outside the state for six months before importing it.

Jane fancied changing to a Nissan Note, but was unsure of its reliability. We confirmed that the Note has had no major problems and so Jane is going ahead with a swap for a six-month old Note Tekna with only 4,000 miles on the clock. This is a highly specced version with satnav, alloys, Bluetooth etc.

Expert answer

Hi Ger,

We are likely to see the new EcoBoost engines in the facelifted version of the Mondeo, which is expected to make its debut at the Paris Motor Show later in the year.

The new EcoBoost engine will be similar to that about to make its debut in the new S-MAX. This is a 2.0-litre petrol engine (which has 203hp), but there will also be a 1.6-litre EcoBoost at some stage later this year. The 1.6-litre EcoBoost will make its debut in the new C-MAX and Grand C-MAX models. We are guessing at the power, but I think 130-150hp from the 1.6 EcoBoost would be about right. 

Ford EcoBoost combines a single turbocharger with a direct injection fuel system, delivering, as Ford says, V6 performance from a four-cylinder with fuel economy improvements of at least 10 percent. 

Expert answer

Hi Arthur,

I assume you mean a second-hand Skoda Octavia, of the 1998 - 2005 generation. The problem reported relates only to the 20-valve 1.8-litre petrol engine. Its timing belt is prone to snapping if it isn't changed on time and this can wreck the engine. However, if a car has a full service history, including timing belt changes, there should be no reason to worry about it.

We'd rather have the diesel engine, but I don't believe it will be easy to find in Ireland on conjunction with an automatic gearbox.

If you need to know anything else please just pop a comment in the box below this answer.

Thanks

Expert answer

Yes, your car is eligible for the scrappage scheme. The best car you could get, if your budget stretches, is the Renault Fluence, which would cost €15,800 under the scrappage scheme. 

Renault also has a special option for taxi drivers:

"Renault has a specific extended warranty programme of up to 5 years with unlimited mileage for taxis.

Renault Ireland is the first car company on the Irish market to offer very high mileage customers like taxi drivers who purchase a Renault, this extended warranty programme. Drivers can opt for a 4^th year or 5^th year extended warranty with unlimited mileage from €529.00."

Hope that helps.

Expert answer

Hi Tanya,

Without knowing your budget just yet, it is a little difficult to guess, but a car that is a top buy for a family, with a great boot is something like a Skoda Octavia. One like this has low mileage, a frugal diesel engine and will be perfect for a lot of mileage. It is solid and has a great sized boot too.

The Nissan Qashqai has been a massive seller in Ireland of late, with good reason too, as it is very good value, has a brilliant safety record, looks great and is perfect for a family. Here is a fully loaded 1.5-litre diesel for €20,950 with low mileage. 

You could have the choice of a number of family hatchbacks too, such as a Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Auris or perhaps even a small MPV.

Come back to us with more details and we will try and help you further. Just add your comment to the comment box below.

Expert answer

Hi Emer

As you know Toyota don't offer the Rav4 with seven seats in Ireland (but they do in the USA) so that is off the list.

We have spoken since and I now know you have a 2005 Toyota Rav4, petrol with 40,000 km on the clock, which is very low mileage. I would hope you would get about €6,500 - €7,000 for your Rav (perhaps even a bit more) as a trade-in against a new model and with the €15,000 on top of that to play with you have quite a few options.

The most obvious option for me, is the Nissan Qashqai+2. The Qashqai has been immensely popular and the +2 model adds extra seats to make it a seven seater. That only came on the market in 2009, so it might just not make your budget, but then again this depends on what you are offered for your Rav4. The cheapest of these is likely to cost around €25,000, so this might not be an option.

Never fear though, there are other good options. The Chevrolet Captiva was a lesser-known SUV that sold in small numbers but really was quite good and crucially, for you, came with seven seats. You should expect to pay about €17,000 for a 2007 one and you might even sneak into a 2008 for about €23,000.

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Chevrolet/Captiva/LT-VCDI-/201019198001210/advert?channel=CARS

Another good option would be the Mitsubishi Outlander. You could have a 7-seater one of those, with a 2.0-litre 140hp diesel engine and a 2007 one would cost you about €19,000, and a 2008 one would cost about €23,000.

This could be quite a nice solution actually

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mitsubishi/Outlander/2.0-DI-D/201013197400203/advert?channel=CARS

The other thing you could do, is totally lord it up and get a Land Rover Discovery which has one of the most generous rear row of seats around. This 2006 model is under €20,000. Yes it will cost you an arm and a leg to run and service, but at least we are giving you your options.

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Land-Rover/Discovery/3-TDV6-S/201015197653184/advert?channel=CARS

I do hate to use the 'S' word, but if you did think of something more sensible, then you couldn't really pass the Ford S-Max. Of the MPVs of that type, this is the best of them and it looks good too. Here is a 2007 diesel with low mileage for €19,300, leaving you plenty of change.

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Ford/S-Max/1.8TDCI-/200928194542104/advert?channel=CARS

Anyway, I hope some of this helps, but feel free to come back to us with your thoughts.

Expert answer

Hi Pat

The Nissan Tiida could probably be best described as an experiment that didn't really work in Ireland. Once Nissan had stopped production of the Almera, a car that was very popular in Ireland, Nissan were left with something of a gap in their product range. Rather than leaving this empty they took on the Tiida, which was a car that was sold in markets such as the Middle East, and as the Nissan Versa in the United States and in any market it was sold it was a budget buy.
There is nothing wrong with the Tiida, but it just isn't the most exciting car to drive or probably own and for that reason it has received a pretty lukewarm reception in Ireland.

There is €4,000 off the Tiida at the moment (including government allowance), so that means you would get the Tiida Diesel for €16,480. If you just want a car for getting from A to B then this will do the job perfectly fine.

However, the reason Nissan haven't been overly worried by the Tiida is that they have been selling shedloads of their Qashqai and that is a really excellent vehicle. It sits quite high up, is quite cheap to run and will be reliable. There is a new 2010 model too and there is a €4,000 scrappage offer on that too at the moment.

The Qashqai 1.5d XE costs €23,995 and with €4,000 off that you would be just about under budget and this would be an infinitely better buy than the Tiida, albeit a fair bit more expensive that the Tiida.

You can read our review of the new Qashqai here

http://www.completecar.ie/testdrives/article/Nissan/Qashqai/Qashqai/231/53

And details on the new Qashqai can be found at this part of the Nissan site

http://www.nissan.ie/new_vehicles/pricing.aspx?CarID=137

There are lots of other cars to consider with your budget

You could have a Hyundai i30, which is an excellent 5-door hatchback from €15,995 under the scheme.

The Ford Focus 1.6 Diesel would be well under your budget, or you could try the new Renault Fluence, if you fancied a saloon. Here is a review I did on it for The Irish Times recently http://tiny.cc/30ag3

I am not sure if any of these will float your boat, but please feel free to come back to us for more advice.

Out of this lot, I'd have the Qashqai though.

Expert answer

Hello Mark,

We checked in with the technical department of Fiat Auto Ireland and they told us the following:

"First have the air bag system checked with a Fiat Dealer to see what errors are present and they will advise on the repair. The problem could be with any part on the system so this check at the Dealer will save you time and money."

Hope this answers your question Mark.

Expert answer

Hi Anthony,

With a budget of €30,000 you can afford the most expensive five-door Mazda3 officially on sale in Ireland. It's called the Z-Sport and is powered by a 2.0-litre petrol engine with 151hp. It's priced at €29,495 plus the usual 'dealer related charges'.

You wouldn't have much left for accessories though...

Mazda's site shows what's available on that front (click here to go straight to the Mazda3 section). There are loads of roof attachments, including a Thule-made bicycle rack. Unfortunately there don't appear to be prices on the site for the accessories so you'll need to contact your local dealer.

Boot space for golf clubs won't be an issue.

If you'd like recommendations for alternatives to this Mazda please let us know in the comment box below and we'll see what we can find.