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Hi Manav,

The Jazz basically has the Suzuki beaten in every metric you’ve mentioned here, except for boot space (the Baleno has a single, solitary, extra litre of boot volume) and, depending on which model you go for, power.

The Baleno can be had with either a 90hp 1.2-litre petrol engine or a 111hp turbocharged 1.0-litre petrol ‘BoosterJet' unit. The Honda comes with a choice of 1.3 or 1.5-litre VTEC petrol engines, with either 102hp or 130hp, but it’s worth remembering that the basic Baleno comes as a mild hybrid, so it has a tiny electric motor that can boost power for a few seconds at a time, and is very economical.

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Hi John,

Yeah, it’s a bit of a catch-22 at the moment. The thing is that diesel is still entirely viable if you’re someone who covers a big annual mileage. Petrol makes the most sense for those covering short mileages, and primarily driving in town; ditto hybrid, while electric mostly only makes sense for those doing entirely urban mileage.

So, if you live down the country and rack up at least 25,000km a year, then diesel could still work for you. If you’re struggling to find a good second hand petrol car, it may be worth looking at buying new, and trying to find a really sharp finance deal.

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Hi Angela,

An absolutely cracking car, and a great combination of car and engine. The 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine is smooth and economical, and really does suit the Octavia very well indeed. The specification is decent, especially if you’re buying an Ambition model or above, and make sure you spec it with the eight-inch touchscreen, as that really lifts the ambience of the cabin. Fuel economy should work out at between 40mpg and 50mpg on average, depending on how you drive it.

Read and watch our Skoda Octavia 1.0 TSI review here

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Hi James,

The 2015 Skoda Octavia 1.2 TSI petrol uses a timing belt that must be changed at least at 240,000km first, and then every 30,000km after that, regardless of time.

It's the same interval for the 1.0 TSI engine's belt. It has only been in production since 2016 so there isn't a lot of data, but we've not heard about any issues with it.

Read our review of the Skoda Octavia 1.0 TSI here

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Hi Philip,

I spoke to Kia Ireland about this and though it won't be offering the 2.0-litre petrol model for sale here, it did confirm that service intervals for the 3.0-litre model will be 15,000km or once a year. The 2.2-litre diesel is 30,000km or once a year.

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Hi Kevin,

I must admit, you had us wondering... However, we took a detailed look at the UK and Ireland price lists and discovered that the 1.0 TSI 95hp engine is only offered in conjunction with a DSG automatic transmission here, whereas it can be had with a (cheaper) manual gearbox in the UK. That pretty much explains the large price jump.

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Hi Shevaun,

Simple: ignore the engine size. The 1.4 TSI turbo petrol engine has 150hp and is totally at home and happy in either the Tiguan or the Passat. In fact, it’s arguably the best choice of engine in either car. Thanks to compact, low-pressure turbocharging, engine size is these days more or less irrelevant. Look at the power and torque figures instead.

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Hi Mark,

It should be worth in and around the €4,500 mark, a little less as a trade-in, but that will depend on condition and service history of course.

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Hi Peter,

In this instance, the sales people are being entirely truthful — the new 1.0-litre turbo engines are indeed equivalent to an old 1.6 or even 1.8 engine in the way they drive. You certainly won’t find them too ‘revvy’ on the motorway, as the small turbo increases low-down torque and makes the car feel very relaxed and easy to drive. Certainly that’s true for the Volkswagen Group, Ford, Honda and Renault-Nissan engines anyway. The best ones to go for, in our experience, are the VW Golf or Skoda Octavia (both using the same engine, of course), the Honda Civic (which should be the most reliable in the long term) and the Ford Focus (which can be a little on the thirsty side). Read our reviews below for more detail:

Skoda Octavia 1.0 TSI review

Volkswagen Golf 1.0 TSI review

Honda Civic 1.0 VTEC Turbo review

Ford Focus 1.0 EcoBoost review

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Hi Mark,

You’ll probably use a little less fuel, but overall you’re going to be spending more because of the cost of upgrading to what’s quite a pricey diesel version, especially with the automatic gearbox. Kia quotes official fuel economy for that model of 57mpg, but we’d expect to see more like 40-45mpg in real world conditions. That’s a little better than the Qashqai 1.2 petrol, but not very much better. If you want to do better on the economy front, consider dropping the automatic gearbox and getting a manual instead.