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Hi Dan,

Hmmm. Generally for your mileage I would recommend a petrol car, but the bad news is that in your size bracket, petrol engines are a little thin on the ground. You could go for either a straight replacement for your Corolla by getting a Toyota Auris 1.4 D-4D, which is a very fine car, or you could, as you suggest, branch out and snap up a Hyundai i30 1.6 diesel - again a very fine car and with that five-year warranty, a very tempting buy. 

But, with your mileage profile, I would suggest taking a good long look at petrol alternatives. The Ford Focus 1.0 EcoBoost is a terrific car with a great engine and well worth a look. That said it's a little tight in the back seats for two teenagers so I'd say the best all round bet is a Skoda Octavia 1.2 TSI. It's more affordable than the diesel version, damn near as economical and has a big boot and lots of space in the back seats for those teenager-filled weekend runs. Great quality and reliability too.

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Hi Charles,

Ah, the second-generation Avensis - the taxi drivers' friend. Hardly surprising you see so many on the rank of a Friday night, as they're dependable, comfy and spacious. 

This Avensis was from the last line of big family cars that came mostly as petrols, so the 1.8-litre VVTi engine is the most common. It's a good one too, economical and smooth if just a touch noisy by modern standards. The 2.0 and 2.2 D-4D diesels are rarer, noisier and have iffy clutches - one of the Avensis' few mechanical weak points.

Cabins are robust, hard wearing and massively spacious, which is all good, but listen for rattles from the steering column - not a major issue, more of an annoyance. 

Finally, check the suspension and steering for any wear and tear, they're the only other mechanical weak points.

Actually, this Avensis is also, somewhat secretly, rather good to drive - it used the same steering and rear suspension as the last-generation Celica coupé and while it's no hot-rod, it's better than you might think.

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Hi David,

Depends on your driving style, but 55mpg should be a gimme, 60mpg if you're a bit careful and 70mpg if you're driving with baby kittens under the accelerator pedal.

You're quite right about 1.2 engines, at least for now. They usually have to be worked too hard to drive at normal speeds to get the best economy and, for now, 1.6 seems to be a displacement sweet spot. That will change though - just check out the economy you can get (with some effort) from Volkswagen's 1.2 TSI petrol unit.

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Hi Paul,

The coil pack would be the first place to start, as they fail regularly in that model Laguna. The vibration, we suspect, is from misfiring at low speeds.

It's definitely a job for a qualified mechanic, but let us know how you get on.

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Hi Noel,

Yes, unreservedly. One of the most reliable cars around and also comfy, nice to drive and, in the current version, really rather handsome too. The only issue has traditionally been a very limited engine range. On older versions, 1.8- and 2.0-litre petrols were your lot, more recently there has been 2.0 and 2.4 petrols and a 2.2 diesel. Currently, only the 2.2 diesel (in 150- and 180hp forms) is on sale in Ireland. As long as that doesn't bother you, go right ahead.

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Hi Susan,

Wow, you're a glutton for punishment aren't you? You pretty much couldn't have picked two less reliable cars. The Discovery is best avoided. If you could afford to trade up to a third-generation model I'd say that's worth a go, as Land Rover was starting to get on top of its quality issues by then, but the old Series II is just bad news. Gearboxes go, electrics go and even the suspension can fail. I know what you mean about falling in love - it's happened to me too with old Land Rovers, but you're looking at a very high-maintenance partner there.

The Espace is a little better, but not by much. The diesel engines are very fragile - check for smoke, check for oil levels and if there are any signs of overheating, run don't walk away. Check anything with an electrical wire coming out the back of it too as it can all go wrong, although the electronic parking brake and electric windows are especially prone to wrongness. Also, keep an eye on the tyres. Espaces go through them like butter and 20,000km is about as much as you'll get out of a set.

If you really want a seven-seater that works properly, can I suggest either a Mitsubishi Pajero or Toyota Land Cruiser? Not as cool as the Discovery, but they won't let you down.

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Hi Andy,

I take it you mean from an insurance point of view? No, late thirties shouldn't be a major issue as long as you have a decent no claims bonus. As far as the car is concerned, I think you need to box a bit clever here. The kids are only going to get bigger (trust me, I know...) and you'll need something with a decent boot and big back seats for increasingly long legs. So, get yourself a Skoda Octavia RS. They've been around since 1999 in original form, but you need to be looking at the second-gen model, from 2006 onwards. Go for that and you get a car with excellent handling, a terrific engine (the diesel one is more economical, obviously, but the petrol 2.0 turbo is still reasonable in terms of running costs) and the boot is as big and practical as you could possibly need. They're also solidly reliable. It's the thinking man's hot hatch.

What do you think?

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Hi David,

OK, if you're determined to go diesel and you need a reliable 60mpg plus then the only safe option is to get yourself a Golf BlueMotion. Your Polo plus your budget should get you easily into one, but you have to remember that getting good fuel economy is actually all about your driving style. We recently managed to get better than 60mpg out of a 1.2 TSI petrol Skoda Rapid, and that was with four big blokes on board...

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Hi Jay,

Well, that's pretty much all you'll ever see at a taxi rank in Berlin or Munich so draw your own conclusions. Just watch the 2002 - 2010 E-Class like a hawk. They were pretty shoddily built my Merc standards and developed a lot of electrical, braking and transmission problems.

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Hi Bernard,

Oddly, they're identical. According to the official figures both the 2001 1.8 turbo 150hp Golf GTI and the 2006 Octavia RS 1.8 turbo 180hp return 35.3mpg on the combined cycle.