Expert answer

Hi Eamon,

That's quite a wide selection! Let's go through each model first of all:

Toyota RAV4:

Going by your shortlist you obviously need four-wheel drive and an automatic transmission. There's only a single Toyota RAV4 on sale fitting that, the RAV4 Sol in 4wd powered by the 'D-Cat 150 (2.2)' engine. That's a 2.2-litre turbodiesel. Choice stats:

• Price: €39,465
• CO₂ emissions: 189g/km
• Tax band: E
• Annual road tax: €630
• Combined cycle fuel consumption: 7.2 litres per 100 kilometres
• Maximum power: 150hp
• Maximum torque: 340Nm
• Towing ability: Up to 1,800kg

BMW X1:

The cheaper xDrive18d model doesn't seem to have an automatic option so you'd have to go for the xDrive20d SE at least. The stats:

• Price: €43,091
• CO₂ emissions: 155g/km
• Tax band: C
• Annual road tax: €302
• Combined cycle fuel consumption: 5.9 litres per 100 kilometres
• Maximum power: 180hp
• Maximum torque: 350Nm
• Towing ability: Up to 1,800kg

Hyundai ix35:

This is one of the newest SUVs on the market, but it's more of a crossover than an SUV really. That's emphasised by Hyundai only listing the two-wheel drive model with a manual gearbox on its website. It does say that "Automatic subject to availability. Please contact your local Hyundai Dealer", but we're not sure there is an automatic option available for this car as yet. We've asked Hyundai for clarification.

Kia Sportage:

There's an all-new Sportage launching later this year, so we assume you're thinking about that. Full details have yet to be released, though Kia tells us that, along with a new 1.7-litre turbodiesel engine a 2.0-litre turbodiesel 4x4 model will be offered on special order with an automatic gearbox. Tax will be band D, costing €447 per year. I'm afraid that's all we know at this stage. We're driving it next month for the first time.

Nissan Qashqai:

Nissan gave the Qashqai a facelift this year and it looks better than ever. For some reason the new look has not been applied to the seven-seat '+2' version on Nissan Ireland's website. However, the figures below refer to the regular five-seat version. The cheapest available with a diesel engine, four-wheel drive and an automatic gearbox is the Qashqai 2.0d A/T 4x4 SV. The stats:

• Price: €37,995
• CO₂ emissions: 191g/km
• Tax band: F
• Annual road tax: €1,050
• Combined cycle fuel consumption: 7.2 litres per 100 kilometres
• Maximum power: 150hp
• Maximum torque: 320Nm
• Towing ability: Up to 1,400kg

Summary:

So, let's leave the Kia and Hyundai out of the equation for the moment, as we don't have enough information to make an informed decision.

The Toyota and Nissan compare well to each other. Like the Qashqai, the RAV4 was given a makeover for 2010 so it's fresher than ever. In diesel, automatic, four-wheel drive guise, the Toyota appears to win that battle, as the Qashqai is very expensive to tax. The Toyota is the better tow car too.

It looks like the Toyota probably wins outright on paper. The BMW X1 xDrive 20d is more powerful, significantly better on fuel and a newer design than the RAV4, but it's also a lot more to buy to begin with. Even paying less tax and fuel costs, it'd take a long time to claw that price difference back. Pity the xDrive18d doesn't come with an automatic transmission, as that could be a better choice, but in this list, the Toyota wins the logical argument.

Make sure you test drive examples of both before you decide and please do let us know in the comment box below what you end up doing.

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 Marie,

I would expect that you will need about €12,000 - €13,000 along with your Primera to get into the cheapest of the 2008 Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCi models. However, dealers differ, so shop around.

Expert answer

Hi there,

We could do with a little more information. What is your budget and how many miles are on your Micra?

Expert answer

Hi Rory,

The Alfa 166 was never tested by NCAP so there are no results for that. The 1997 Nissan Primera was though, and received 3-stars. You can read the report here. 

Hope this 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

Hello Helen

Thank you for your enquiry. In this instance, we are going to look on the website beepbeep.ie, because that is the official classified website of SIMI, the Society of the Irish Motor Industry. Because we are looking at something on a budget we want to get something with as much history on it and as much security as possible for you. On that site, all cars come with a history check and they are also covered by the consumer protection act. 

A couple of things are important here. One is that your car is cheap and the second is that it will be reliable and I suppose, attractive would be good too?

You could never accuse it of being sexy, but this Nissan Micra on sale at a dealership in Drogheda has done 80,000 miles and has had only two owners. It will cost you just €1,550 and will be cheap to run, insure and service:

http://tinyurl.com/3y9m5fh

This Toyota Yaris from 1999 has done 130,000 miles and while that might sound like a lot, this little car is well able for it and this could be a decent little buy that won't cause you too much heartache:

http://tinyurl.com/3ydjl87

How about this? A 1995 Opel Corsa, which has only done 18,466 miles and has an NCT until early next year. That will cost you just €1,250:

http://tinyurl.com/3a59low

However, what I really think would be a great first car for you would be the Ford Ka, which is a great little runabout and still looks funky. This 1999 model has only covered 52,000 miles and has an NCT until 01/11. It is advertised at €1,850 but I reckon you could get it as a straight deal for a little less:

http://tinyurl.com/378vt9h

Let us know if any of these don't float your boat and we will put on our thinking caps again!

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

Hi there, 

The Nissan Note is a model that has been out for quite a long time and we don't have a new report done on it just yet, but is there anything you would like to know about it specifically?