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Hi Brian,

It depends on the age of the car and where you’re buying it from. If it’s young enough to still be under its official manufacturer’s warranty then it’s fine — these are pan-European and will be honoured. Being as the Rifter was only launched last year, it should be fine. The trouble comes when you have either an older car that has a ‘local’ warranty from the dealer selling it, or a newer car with a one-year manufacturer warranty and a two-year ‘dealer top-up’ warranty. In the case of the latter, it MIGHT still be honoured here, but best to check with your local Peugeot garage before taking the leap. 

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Hi John,

The quoted weight on the V5 should be sufficient as the only thing that matters come inspection time is the maximum gross vehicle weight, the limit for which is 3,500kg. As long as you’re not carrying a two-tonne load (which the van wouldn’t take anyway) you should be fine. 

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Hi Michael,

It does indeed. In fact, cruise control will be standard on all versions of the new Peugeot 208, from Active spec on up. Read our Peugeot 208 reviews here

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Hi Sinead,

Bit of an odd one for that model, but for cars built up to July 2012 and registered up to that date, the interval is every 240,000km or 10 years, whichever comes first. For cars registered after that date, but with the same build period, the interval is 180,000km or 10 years. Either way you still have some time to go before your car needs a change.

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Hi Nathan,

Generally the Ford 1.6-litre diesel (also used by Mazda, Peugeot, Citroen, Volvo and MINI down the years) is a rugged and reliable unit, but there are a few things to bear in mind. First off, this is an engine that needs a regular diet of high-grade synthetic engine oil, otherwise a nasty sludge can build up in various parts of the engine, choking performance. Make sure you check the service history to ensure that a good quality oil has always been used. The stop-start system can occasionally cause starter motor issues, especially if the car has mostly been driven in town. If it has been mostly driven in town, or has very low mileage, be wary of potential issues with the diesel particulate filter, too.

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Hi Margot,

Well, you could go for the alternative option to both — the Toyota Auris Hybrid estate. Lots of space and excellent economy. I’ve put my reputation on the line recommending these to a couple of friends recently and so far, I’ve not been told off for sticking them with a bad car...

Other good alternatives are the Peugeot 308 SW, the Kia Ceed SportWagon, the VW Golf Estate and the Skoda Octavia Combi. The only issue, really, is finding any of these — estate sales in Ireland are so small that you may have to consider an import.

Here are our relevant reviews to help you decide:

Toyota Auris Touring Sports review

Peugeot 308 SW review

Volkswagen Golf Estate review

Skoda Octavia reviews

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Hi Kevin,

It goes by engine size if you privately tax a commercial vehicle, so the motor tax on that would be €514 per year.

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Hi David,

We don’t know yet as the car hasn’t been launched on the Irish market, but we can hazard a guess at around €32-33,000, net of VRT rebates and the SEAI grant.

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Hi Andy,

It’ll be on sale next year, but probably not until quite late in the year for Irish buyers, as the conventional models will be launched first.

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Hi Mick,

We don't have a date for that as yet, but hopefully it will be before the end of this year. Keep an eye on the Peugeot 2008 reviews page for updates.