Expert answer

Hi Alan,

All are, in general, pretty solidly reliable cars as you would expect,  but the issues come with the added weight and complexity of those folding hard-tops. All three can suffer roof failure (often at the point of being half way up or down) and all three suffer equally from increased tyre and suspension wear relative to their hatchback cousins, not to mention higher fuel consumption. None, to be honest, are especially pleasant to drive.

Of the three, I’d say the Eos is the best built, the Focus by a slim margin the best to drive and the Astra fractionally the roomier in the back seat. As an alternative, what about an Audi A4 Cabriolet? You’d have to go for an older one to match the price, but it’s a better car and a better convertible than any of these. Alternatively, if you don’t need the back seats, get a Mazda MX-5 – literally the only small convertible that’s actually worth buying.

Expert answer

Hi Tom,

The CX-5 has what we'd call a sporty gearchange, which some may not like. However, in case there is something wrong, you should bring the car back to the dealer and ask them to have a look and, to put your mind at ease, let you try another car to prove that yours is no different.

Let us know how you get on

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Hi Brian,

Well, it's all down to the CO₂ emissions because it's that on which the rate of VRT will be applied. You need to do your homework though as cars that can be quite affordable in the UK can be wildly over-priced in the Irish market leading to you paying more VRT than you really should do.

Ideally, you need to be spending above €30k on a car to make it truly worth your while on importing a car, thanks to the exchange rate. The BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class are all well worth looking at, as well as higher-spec versions of the likes of the Skoda Superb, Volkswagen Passat and Mazda6. 

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Hi Philip,

We don’t have exact pricing details for either as yet, but you can probably figure on paying an extra €1,500 to €2,000 for the convertible in the case of the Merc or the hard-top in the case of the Mazda.

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Hi Martin,

A really impressive car, although it is looking a touch expensive compared to the likes of the Hyundai Santa Fe or Ford Kuga now. It's good to drive, with surprisingly sharp steering and lots of space in the back, plus the promise of rugged Toyota reliability. The Hybrid version is perhaps not as satisfying as the diesel (and is even more expensive again), but is perhaps worth considering if you live and do most of your driving in town. Rivals worth considering are the aforementioned Ford and Hyundai, and also Honda, both HR-V and CR-V, and the Mazda CX-5.

I've added links to our reviews of all these cars above so hopefully that's of help.

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Hi Billy,

The Fiesta EcoBoost is a really sweet little car, lots of fun to drive, roomy and very frugal. It's a little difficult to know how reliable it will ultimately be in the long-term as the engine itself is a relatively new design and hasn't been around long enough for us to be able to tell exactly how robust it is. That said, Ford's quality record has been good of late, so I'd say it's a reasonably safe bet.

As for which model, it just depends on what your priorities are. A Titanium will have more standard equipment, but it may well be that there's a lot of extras that you simply won't need nor use, so you're probably better off going for the better value of the Zetec.

Other cars that are worth considering would be a Toyota Yaris, Mazda2 and Skoda Fabia. Hope that helps.

Relevant reviews:

Ford Fiesta review

Toyota Yaris review

Mazda2 review

Skoda Fabia review

Expert answer

Hi Ray,

The new Fabia Combi might well be worth looking at as the boot is absolutely enormous, but you may find the back seats a little tight as the kids get bigger. A Toyota Auris Touring Sports estate would certainly make a good buy - roomy and hugely reliable and Toyota's old 1.4-litre petrol engine has always been a good unit. Also worth looking at the Kia cee'd Sportwagon or Skoda Octavia Combi.

Relevant reviews:

Skoda Fabia Combi review

Toyota Auris Touring Sports review

Skoda Octavia Combi review

Expert answer

Hi Amrinder,

There was a recall for 2.2-litre Mazda6 diesels to replace a stretching timing chain, so check to see if that work has been carried out and don't buy a car that hasn't had the work done. Any car with a full (and preferably Mazda main dealer) service history should be fine though.

However, the DPF issue is down to your driving - if you're not putting in the miles, the DPF can't get hot enough to clean itself out and that's when you get problems, so don't go for one of these cars (or any diesel, really) if you're only doing low mileage and short hops.

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Hi Una,

The 2010 1.5 Mazda2 has CO₂ emissions of 135g/km, so that'll be Band B2, and motor tax of €280 a year.

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Hi Brendan,

There is no specific market data for Ireland in this respect. The old rule of thumb still holds true - if you want ultimate reliability, buy a Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Suzuki, Subaru or Mazda. You could probably pretty easily add Kia and Hyundai to that list too now.

The best I can do for you is to point you towards the results of the JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study for the UK market in 2015. An independent research agency, JD Power ranks the various brands surveyed by problems per 100 cars - although it's worth remembering that those problems can range from minor electrical niggles to total engine failure, so you can't read everything into the stats. The last set of figures, ranked from best-performing to worst, were: