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Hi Cyril,

The A4’s a nice car, very comfortable and refined, but it’s not as roomy as the Passat. Don’t go for the 120hp, as it’s just underpowered. As for reliability and problems, it’s a solid car, but you need to keep an eye on the diesel particulate filter (DPF), water leaks from the air conditioning unit, glove box lids that don’t fit properly and worn seatbelt sockets. Check for signs of uneven tyre wear, and noisy suspension is probably the anti-roll bar drop links. No other major problems to report.

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Hi John,

The Skoda. Both the Volvo and the Volkswagen are decent, solidly built and generally reliable cars, but Skoda always seems to beat Volkswagen in major reliability surveys, so go for the Octavia if reliability is paramount.

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Hi Declan,

If it is, you’ll get a letter from Volkswagen to ask you to book the car in for an inspection. If you’re still concerned, contact your local dealer to check.

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Hi Fionna,

Well, to be honest, I would have thought that a Passat was an ideal car for a family of four. What you need is four roomy seats and and a a big boot - and the Passat has those. If you fancy something that looks a bit more like a family car, and here I mean an SUV or an MPV, then stop for a tic and have a think. Are you buying an image? After all, a ‘normal’ saloon such as a Passat (and the Mazda6, Toyota Avensis, Hyundai i40 and Kia Optima all make good alternatives) is generally speaking just as good at family duties and has lower overall running costs. Worth thinking about, at any rate.

Here are some of our reviews to get you thinking:

Volkswagen Passat review

Mazda6 review

Toyota Avensis review

Kia Optima review

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Hi Debra,

It’s kind of difficult for us to diagnose a car over the internet unfortunately, but it sounds as if you may have a whole host of problems there. You’re quite right in that rattles are often something to do with either the timing belt or chain or the camshaft mechanism, but if you’re getting multiple fault codes on a diagnostic it could be that there’s a bigger issue that is causing lots of systems to develop issues. Have you brought it to a Volkswagen main dealer yet? That would be our recommended course of action.

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Hi Mike,

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Hi Ciaran,

No major glaring problems. They can develop electrical gremlins, especially with the central locking and alarm systems, and the boot seals can leak, letting in water, but as long as you buy one with a full service history you shouldn’t have too much to worry about.

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Hi Clare,

Well, if I gave the impression that I wasn’t too impressed, then that’s not quite right as we haven’t yet driven a new Citroen model equipped with the new Advanced Comfort suspension system. It won’t go into production until next year (2017). We have just driven the new Citroen C3, which has a very impressive ride quality on standard springs and dampers, so the omens for the new system are good.

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Hi Fergal,

In a purely objective sense? No, there’s nothing. Will you get an interior that looks and feels a bit classier? Yes. Will you get a badge that has a bit more appeal? Yes. Do these things really matter? Not to everyone. If you’ve got a Mondeo then you already have a well-made, comfortable car that’s good to drive. So upgrading to an Audi or BMW will get you… a shinier badge. If you want something that feels as good as the premium stuff but costs less, have a look at a Volkswagen Passat or Mazda6 as a potential replacement. The only area in which the German cars are quantifiably better is in resale value.

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Hi Michael,

I’d suggest that a Passat GTE or 330e would be about perfect with that kind of mileage and usage. It will help, of course, if you have a driveway where you can fit a charging point, but once the batteries have drained and you’re running on normal hybrid power, both of those cars will average better than 40mpg. Here are our reviews:

BMW 330e review

Volkswagen Passat GTE review