Expert answer

Hi Dave,

I'm surprised to hear that from a new truck where the battery will be in good condition, but stop-start systems regularly don't work as people expect. The system measures loads of variables before deciding whether the engine will be stopped, including the temperature of the engine and even the outside temperature. If it's cold weather, it may not work at all. If you're using items that are a big electrical drain, it may not operate. 

Read our Why won't my car's stop-start system work? feature

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Hi Ruth,

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Hi Michael,

You only need to show proof of business use if you’re taxing it purely as a commercial vehicle. If you’re taxing it for private use, then all you have to do is let the local motor tax office know, and they’ll shift you to the old by-engine-capacity tax system. As for insurance, just talk to your insurer or broker and they’ll get your sorted. 

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Hi Patrick,

We’d go for the slightly later, slightly more expensive Outlander, and sacrifice a couple of options. That update was a major one, not just on the styling front, but on the mechanical front too. The second-generation Outlander PHEV was more refined than before, and there were some significant improvements to the electric part of the powertrain, which make it both a bit quicker under electric-only power, and a bit more economical overall. 

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Hi Ultan,

When you tax a commercial vehicle as a private car, it means you revert to the old by-engine-capacity tax system, so with a 2.5-litre engine, a 2014 L200 is going to cost you €1,080 a year in road tax.

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Hi Jacinta,

Yes, you can. Anyone can buy a commercial vehicle and take advantage of the lower rates of VRT — that’s fine. The only tricky part comes, as you rightly point out, when it comes to taxing them. Then you have to tax the vehicle as a private car, and that means (for some bizarre reason) reverting to the old  by-engine-capacity tax, which obviously is going to be a bit pricey for a 3.0 Hilux. Maybe consider a 2.0-litre turbo VW Amarok, as that will bring down your annual motor tax bill considerably. 

Read this for more: Buying a commercial vehicle for private use

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Hi Tracey,

OK, the Triton is basically the same as our L200 pickup, so it’ll be assessed for Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) at 13.3 per cent of the Irish market selling price. An L200 of that sort of age, depending on condition, will be worth around €10-12,000 so you’re probably looking at around €1,500 or so in VRT costs. Because it’s an older car you won’t  need to worry about VAT, but because it’s coming from outside the EU, there will be customs duty to pay, which is usually charged at 10 per cent of the vehicle cost plus shipping. When you bring the car in, you have a week to officially notify Revenue that the car is in the country, and then 30 days to book your VRT inspection appointment and complete the process. 

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Hi Tony,

Currently you can buy the following hybrids on the Irish market: Toyota Corolla, CH-R, RAV4, Prius, Yaris, and there are probably a few run-out  examples of the Auris Hybrid out there still in dealerships. There’s also the Kia Niro and the Hyundai Ioniq. There’s the full Lexus range — CT, IS, RC, GS, ES, LS, NX, RX and LC. There’s the Ford Mondeo Hybrid, too. There’s the new Honda CR-V Hybrid, some Mercedes diesel-hybrids and petrol plug-in hybrids, oh and the new AMG 53 six-cylinder mild hybrids.

Suzuki does mild hybrids too — for the Baleno, Swift and Ignis. Then there are the plug-in hybrids — Kia Niro and Hyundai Ioniq again, plus the Volvo XC90 and XC60 T8 models, along with the S90 and V90; the BMW i8, 330e, 530e, X5 40e, 225xe, and the MINI Countryman S E; there’s also the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport plug-ins, the Mitsubishi Outlander, the Volkswagen Golf and Passat GTE, the Audi Q7 e-tron and the Porsche Panamera and Cayenne.

I bet I've forgotten some...

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Hi Dara,

The best plug-in hybrids around at the moment are the Kia Niro PHEV, the Toyota Prius PHEV and the Volkswagen Golf GTE (assuming you can find a GTE in stock...). Now, these are smaller than your Qashqai inside, so you may need to make that compromise in order to get the plug-in hybrid efficiency. The revised Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is massive inside, and rather nice, but thirsty if you’re not plugging it in all the time and making maximum use of the electric part of the powertrain.

A conventional hybrid might also be worth a look, especially given that you’re driving mostly in town. Honda is just about to launch a hybrid version of the hugely impressive new CR-V, and the new Toyota RAV4 is arriving in dealerships around now. Both are well worth considering if you can stretch the budget out to something brand-new.

Here are some relevant reviews:

Kia Niro PHEV review

Toyota Prius PHEV review

Volkswagen Golf GTE review

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV review

Honda CR-V Hybrid review

Expert answer

Hi Ann,

The XC40 is a really likeable car, but you’ll probably find that it’s neither as refined, nor quite as comfortable to drive as the S60 (the ride quality just isn’t as good). It’s also less roomy in the boot. The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is a very clever vehicle, but to make the most of it, you need to have a driveway and a charging point, and be covering most of your mileage around town. The battery pack, on a full charge, should get you around 35km of electric-only driving, but if you head out on the motorway a lot, you’ll run the battery down very quickly and then fuel consumption will hover at around the 30mpg mark.

Read our reviews below:

Volvo XC40 reviews

Mitsubishi Outlander reviews