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Hi Stephen,

Unless your surname happens to be Axa or Aviva, you need to stick to a 1.0-litre engine. Now, depending on your budget, that might not be the motoring purgatory that you think it is. If you can stretch to it, a Volkswagen up!, Skoda Citigo or SEAT Mii are all terrific to drive and funky to look at and all come with a rev-happy little 1.0-litre lump. Ditto recent versions of the Ford Fiesta with the non-turbo version of the three-cylinder Ecoboost engine.

Need to buy something older and cheaper? Track down an Opel Corsa 1.0. Not the most exciting car, but safe, solid and decent to drive. Older again? Consider a Nissan Micra from the '90s. Yes, it's slow but it's more enjoyable in the corners than you might think and they go forever on minimal maintenance.

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Hi Michael,

If you want to go petrol then there are few better options than Volkswagen's 1.2 TSI turbo, and when it's fitted to the Skoda Octavia, you've got a near-perfect combination. Drive it gently, and you'll probably get very little difference in the overall fuel consumption compared to your old 407. That engine hasn't really been in the market for all that long, so it's a little hard to get a handle on whether or not there are any reliability landmines out there, but in general we've heard nothing bad. 

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Hi Mick,

Well, there's a significant difference here in that the Juke is much smaller (and in fairness less expensive) than either the Yeti or Sportage. It's fun to drive too but to be honest I think its lack of rear seat and boot space counts it out here (though the 2015 model has a larger boot than before in two-wheel drive guise). 

The Sportage is a good choice - good looking, high quality and with that long Kia warranty. But it's the Yeti we'd go for. It is well made, good to drive and massively practical.

Further reading:

Skoda Yeti review

Skoda Yeti vs. Fiat 500L Trekking twin test review

Nissan Juke review

Kia Sportage review

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Hi Luke,

That light means that something somewhere in the engine that affects the emissions has gone wrong. It really could be anything and may not be really noticeable to the driver. It's still worth having the car checked with a diagnostics reader at some stage, as it could be doing long-term damage. Also, it won't pass its NCT with that light on.

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Hi Aisling,

You won't go far wrong with the Octavia. Get the 1.6 TDI and you've got a potential 55mpg car with lots of space and terrific build quality and reliability. If you're looking for alternatives, then there's always the Volkswagen Golf (mechanically the same as the Skoda but less spacious inside) or the Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi (terrific to drive and good value but poor standard equipment and they're tight in the back).

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Hi John,

We've seen them on for as much as €22k but that seems staggeringly ambitious. I'd say between €16-18k is your ballpark.

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Hi Harry,

It's very difficult to assess such a thing remotely, but here are a few things to check:

1 - Are you carrying extra weight in the boot?

2 - Check your tyre pressures, condition and alignment - makes a big difference.

3 - Check the cleansiness of your air filter. Very important.

4 - Have it serviced if it has not been in a long time.

5 - Check that none of the brakes are binding - jack up each corner in turn and with the car out of gear and the handbrake off you should be able to freely turn each wheel. If not, the brakes may be binding and need to be looked at.

6 - Only when you've exhausted the simple stuff should you look into getting the car hooked up to a diagnostic machine. Some versions of the TDI engine had problems with injectors and turbos that could lead to higher fuel consumption, but the fix is expensive.

Let us know how you get on

Expert answer

Hi Barbara,

It's always cheaper overall to stick with the car you've got and repair it, unless we're talking about an old Ferrari or something...

I'd say a new timing chain could keep your Micra going for a good long while yet but if you really want to change to something new then your best bets, in terms of similarly sized cars, are the Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris, Skoda Fabia, Volkswagen Polo or SEAT Ibiza.

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Hi Aoife,

The most reliable small car? Pretty much, yep. I'd say the only others that match it are the Honda Jazz and Mazda2. The Volkswagen Group triplets - Polo, Skoda Fabia and SEAT Ibiza - would come close to that level of reliability too and the Nissan Micra's not bad either.

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Hi Des,

It depends entirely on your priorities. If you favour style and badge appeal, go for the Golf. There are few better cars. If you're a practical type, get the Octavia as it has significantly more rear seat and boot space than the Golf and is more or less identical to drive.