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Hi Peter,

As I guess you already know, Shane, Dave, Paul and myself from CompleteCar.ie are all on the APMP voting jury for Car of the Year, so we'll take this point by point if that's OK.

The Audi A3 Saloon was the model specifically being looked at, and while it's certainly at the pricey end of things for many families, more and more family buyers are being tempted in by the attractive repayments and resale figures offered by the German 'Big Three' premium brands. As for cabin and boot space, the A3 sits roughly between, for instance, a Golf and a Passat in this instance, and isn't far off the cabin space of  the current Audi A4. As a father of two, I've had my family out and about in various A3 models and can confirm that they're perfectly acceptably spacious.

It's a similar case for the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Size-wise, it's pretty much spot on a rival for the Passat or Mondeo. Perhaps it's a little tighter inside, but not by much, and that's the price paid for a less space-efficient rear-wheel drive platform. Again, while it's at the expensive end of things for a family purchase, there are plenty out there defecting from the more traditional 'mass-market' brands such as Ford, Opel and Toyota to get themselves a slice of the premium action. Once again, it's often down to the tempting finance packages on offer.

As for the Outlander, it is, strictly in size terms, somewhat in-between things. Taking the BMW X5 as an example, it's slightly shorter (200mm) overall, but has a similar wheelbase measurement and it's slightly larger than the next BMW down, the X3. We judged that, given its overall exterior dimensions, its large boot space and the availability of a seven-seat version when specified with the diesel engine, that Large SUV was the best fit. A perfect fit? Perhaps not, but given the continual fracturing of the car market into ever smaller and more narrowly defined niches, it is close to impossible to find a perfect market segment for every car on sale without having an award 'for everyone on the audience'. We put the Outlander PHEV into the Large SUV category because we felt it would compete strongly there. Seeing as it took two awards home on the night (its PHEV drivetrain took the APMP Innovation Award) it looks like we were right.

The categorisation was discussed long and hard by the membership and somebody somewhere will always disagree.

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Hi Aidan,

Personally I'm a sucker for the E-Class Estate. In fact, if my Lotto numbers came up I think it would be the first car in my dream garage - right alongside the 911 GT3 and the Twisted Defender...

That 250 CDI diesel is an excellent engine too. A touch noisy, but very economical and if it's practicality you're after, the E estate's boot is a massive 700-odd-litres. Spacey. 

The S-Class is still a cracking car of course but it's thirstier, more expensive to fix when it goes wrong and far less useful than the E-Class.

Let us know what you decide do go for.

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Hi John,

Clearly no car is utterly immune to breakdowns or component failures, but the Lexus LS 430 comes closer than probably any other. It is staggeringly reliable. We have heard tales of people buying the (older) LS 400 model from the '90s for under a grand and still finding every single electrical item working perfectly. Try that with a 7 Series or S-Class...

The Lexus is also hugely comfortable and deeply luxurious and actually better to drive than you might think. No hot hatch, obviously, but still more capable than the roly-poly reputation would have you believe.

Downsides? Colossal motor tax costs and it helps if someone else is paying for your fuel...

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Hi Paul,

I presume you're talking about the 'new' 9-5 - the last car Saab launched before everything went pear-shaped? It's a little hard to tell on the reliability front how good or bad they are, simply because there are so few on the ground. That said, all of the mechanical and chassis parts are shared with the Opel Insignia, and that's a car that has proved very reliable, bar the occasional electrical niggle. 

I know what you mean about the shape and style - you're talking to a long-term Saab fan here, and the 9-5 was an especially nice car, massive for the money (practically Mercedes-Benz S-Class sized for the price of a BMW 3 Series) and, in the fine Saab tradition, had a huge and comfy interior. It's also pretty decent to drive, not BMW good perhaps, but nice all the same and the 1.9-litre turbodiesel engine should prove very frugal.

It is a bit risky, I suppose, but a risk I reckon might just be worth taking. Might be worth taking out an aftermarket warranty mind, just in case...

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Hi Paul,

Generally speaking not too much trouble although it's worth bearing in mind that the 2006-on S-Class comes from a time when Mercedes-Benz was still suffering from problems in the electrical department. It's those electrics that are the most fragile point of any S-Class, especially the complicated Comand  infotainment and satnav system. Make sure everything works and budget some extra for problems in the future.

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Hi Peter,

Yes, apparently so, but possibly still not quite so popular as the evergreen Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

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Hi Willie,

Generally speaking, the S-Class rides imperiously over any concerns as meek as reliability issues. Which is another way of saying that they're very solidly built. But, they are hugely complex cars with more wiring and computer power than most space craft (that's not an exaggeration either) so make absolutely certain that every button and switch works properly. It's a mammoth task, so we'd recommend bringing some expert help along on the day, or buying a car that comes under Mercedes' own approved used programme.