Expert answer

Hi Rachel,

We'd certainly recommend the Tucson over the Kona. It's a larger, but crucially, more comfortable and refined vehicle. What's more, there are loads of them available in the classifieds within your budget - though we'd suggest seeking out one with the newer 1.6-litre diesel engine as it's a bit quieter and more efficient than the 1.7-litre.

What you might not know is that the Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson share the same mechanicals, so it's worth taking a look at examples of both so you can choose which you prefer.

Note that most of these vehicles are front-wheel drive only, which is perfectly fine for driving on the road most of the time. Don't buy a four-wheel-drive one unless you reckon you need the extra traction and ability during winter months on slippery surfaces, as they are not as economical.

Both Kia and Hyundai have a great reputation for reliability, though the Kias were sold with a longer new-car warranty so there may even be a portion of that still active, depending on how old a car you go for and its mileage. Ask the seller about that.

Our top tip to buyers of used cars is to test drive several different examples from different sellers so you get a feel not only for which you prefer, but also for how good – or not – a given car is.

Expert answer

Hi Tomas,

Revenue's website is only ever a guide in any case, so you should always do your own calculations, so you have an estimate. We can help with that but be aware that all figures below are only estimates.

First up, we're assuming you mean “GB” – i.e. England, Scotland and Wales – as opposed to “UK”, as the latter would include Northern Ireland as well. If the van is coming from Northern Ireland, the treatment of import duty and VAT is different.

Coming from GB, however, you will have to pay 10 per cent import duty and 23 per cent VAT.

The duty is calculated on the “customs value”, which is the price paid, transport and insurance together. If the van is £13,000, that's about €15,000, so the import duty would be a minimum of €1,500 before any allocation for transport or insurance.

VAT is charged on the sum of the import duty and the customs value. So if import duty is €1,500 in this case, and the customs value is €15,000, that's a total of €16,500. VAT is 23 per cent of that, at €3,795.

Unfortunately, regardless of where you are importing the van from, Revenue will treat a six-seat crew cab van as Category A for VRT, which means you'll have to pay the NOx levy (could be as high as €4,850 for a 2019 Trafic) and VRT based on its CO₂ emissions.

You'll need to get the official figures for this van, but if say the CO₂ emissions rating is 171-190g/km, then it's in Band 19 for VRT, at 35 per cent of the so-called OMSP.

That's the Open Market Selling Price, a value Revenue believes the van to be worth after registration in Ireland. It's not easy to guess. If it's €20,000, then the VRT would be 35 per cent of that, or €7,000.

This is all looking very costly, I'm sure you agree.

Expert answer

Hi Martin,

There are a few options for sure, starting with the plug-in-hybrid Audi A6, if that's not larger than you're looking for. There are plenty around within budget. Most are the less-powerful '50 TFSI e' model, though there are a few sportier editions as well, including the '55 TFSI e' variant. None of them will feel as agile as your BMW, but they're not bad cars at all.

If you've not been put off by your BMW's issues, then the 530e M Sport is a logical next step up. Again, not as agile as the 3 Series, but a fabulous car by any other measure. You could just about afford the Touring estate model as well.

From Mercedes you could get into the C 300 e instead. They're not as common as the others here, but the C-Class is a comparable size to your 330e, yet it has a dramatically more modern interior.

Finally, if you're open to estate cars, the Volvo V60 is an excellent option. It's powerful, great to drive, stylish, well-made and has a decent electric range. It would possibly be the one we'd choose from this selection.

If you want us to help narrow down your search, don't hesitate to come back to us again. Here are a few of our relevant reviews:

Audi A6 50 TFSI e review

BMW 530e review

Volvo V60 review

Expert answer

Hi Audrey,

At 160g/km, that car is in VRT Band 18, at 30 per cent of the OMSP. That's the Open Market Selling Price according to Revenue - i.e. the price it reckons it would sell for in Ireland after registration.

We can only estimate that for you, and for the purposes of our calculations we'd suggest a value of €95,000, meaning a VRT bill of €28,500.

The NOx levy would be on top of that.

Expert answer

Hi Leslie,

It's much better than hybrid Toyotas used to be for sure, though it still makes a bit of racket when you put the accelerator pedal all the way down for maximum performance. And it'll be noisy for short periods of acceleration as well, for example when joining a motorway.

But it's fine when up to speed and even at motorway speeds. And it drops into fully electric mode in stop-start traffic a lot so there's no issue there either.

Go test drive one for yourself before you commit to buying it though.

Expert answer

Hi William,

Kia Ireland confirmed to us that it can't order a car to the specification another country offers it in – Irish buyers can have the Kia Sportage HEV as a K3 or GT-Line.

You could of course import one from Northern Ireland, though there's a lot of hassle involved, and hence cost. And it will limit how you pay for the car in terms of finance and a trade-in.

The new Sportage in GT-Line S Hybrid spec (front-wheel drive) in the UK is currently listed at £42,175 and the CO₂ emissions rating is 130g/km.

Based on the €53,000 price of the regular GT-Line model in Ireland, let's assume Revenue places an Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) of €58,000 on the GT-Line S.

At 130g/km, the Sportage would be in Band 12 for VRT, at 17.5 per cent of the OMSP – i.e. €10,150. The actual figure paid could go up or down dependant on Revenue's determination of the OMSP – which would only happen after the car is presented for inspection with the NCTS within 30 days of arrival in Ireland.

The NOx levy will be on top of that, but likely only a few hundred Euro.

It's trickier to calculate the VAT and import/customs duty. We believe that import duty at 10 per cent will be required, but what that's calculated against depends on how the car is treated for VAT.

If the seller does not zero-rate the car for VAT for export, then you'd pay UK VAT within that £42,175 price and also Irish VAT on top when you import it. That would make it prohibitively expensive.

Assuming you could get the dealer to zero-rate the car, and UK VAT is 20 per cent, that means the value of it with the VAT knocked off is £35,146. At today's exchange rates, that's about €40,500.

Import/customs duty of 10 per cent is therefore €4,050.

Now, you will have to pay Irish VAT, and this will be charged as 23 per cent of the cost of the car plus the import duty, i.e. €44,550, so the VAT works out as about €10,246.

Totting it all up in Euro:

Pay the dealer (if they zero-rate for VAT): €40,500
VRT based on OMSP assumption: €10,150
Import duty: €4,050
Irish VAT: €10,246

Add those up and it comes out at €64,946, and that's before you travel to the North to bring the car back and pay for registration plates, etc.

Sure, there are a few assumptions built into this calculation, and it's only a rough guide, but it probably indicates that it's really not worth the money or hassle to go down this route.

Expert answer

Hi Gerard,

Before even looking at pricing, I will say that the Superb is a much nicer car to drive aside from the lack of engine and transmission noise in the Enyaq. The Superb is smoother on the road and more stable in general, also feeling more agile despite its dimensions.

We also prefer the dashboard and interface of the Superb, as the Enyaq is too reliant on the touchscreen for our liking. On top of that, the Superb has a much larger boot.

However, the Enyaq has a flat floor across the rear, making life more comfortable for any passenger in the middle row. And in general, you sit higher up in the Enyaq as well, which some people like.

The Superb Combi (to give it its official name) starts at €50,900 for the 204hp plug-in hybrid. It's from €51,435 with a 150hp petrol engine, or €500 more for the 150hp diesel. All are front-wheel drive.

At the foot of the Enyaq lineup is the '60' model at €43,790 (after all State incentives), which has a 204hp electric motor and an official range of 430km, though the next rung up the ladder, the '80' makes a lot more sense at €45,980 as it has a bigger battery for a 575km range, plus a 285hp motor.

There are several other, more expensive, Enyaqs in the lineup, including the Sportline cars and the top RS model with all-wheel drive, but there's nothing in the existing Superb Combi range to compare, really.

In terms of performance, though the Enyaq is a heavy thing, it's generally faster accelerating than the Superb because of the instant-torque characteristic of electric motors. The Superb in PHEV guise is the only one that just about match even the least powerful of the Enyaqs.

So there's the data to help you decide, depending on your priorities and budget. Feel free to come back to us with your preferences if you want us to help you narrow things down further.

Expert answer

Hi Igor,

Unless you need the long-distance economy of the diesel, we'd suggest you stick with the 2.0-litre petrol model. It should cost less to maintain in the long run and the 2.2-litre diesel has a known issue with its timing chain.

Expert answer

Hi Dillon,

It would make no sense to import such a car from GB (England, Scotland and Wales) as it would attract VAT at 23 per cent and import duty at 10 per cent, on top of the VRT and NOx levy. That is unavoidable in the case of the Tiguan – and assuming you are an Irish resident already, not someone moving here from the GB.

The same vehicle imported from Northern Ireland may not be subject to any VAT or import duty, so long as it was either sold new in the North or it has been imported into the North according to the Windsor Framework and then used there. You will need paperwork to prove all of that.

Assuming you find a car that qualifies in NI, then it's just VRT and the NOx levy. The latter will be a minimal amount for the PHEV as emissions of NOx will be ultra-low (likely no more than €200, depending on precise specification of the car).

Likewise, CO₂ emissions should be sub-50g/km (check this, as it depends on the specification), so VRT is calculated as seven per cent of the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP), with a minimum fee of €140.

The OMSP can be tricky to estimate as it's the figure Revenue reckons the car is worth once registered on Irish plates. A quick scan of the classifieds suggests this could be in the region of €45,000-€48,000.

Assuming the worst case – i.e. an OMSP of €48,000 – then the VRT bill would be €3,360.

So, aside from travel/transport and insurance, this Tiguan should cost a good deal less than €4,000 on top of its purchase price to import.

If you can find one that qualifies for importation without VAT or import duty, and its purchase price is equivalent to a value lower than €40,000, then you are potentially making a saving.

Just double-check all your paperwork. It will obviously be more hassle than buying at an Irish dealer, with no option to trade your existing car in, so weigh up the savings to ensure it's all worth it.

Expert answer

Hi Shona,

Before we take a look for potential cars for you, I would say that you should avoid diesels, as they're not suited to mostly city driving and will end up costing more in maintenance. Stick with petrol, or hybrid if something comes up within budget.

A small estate such as the Skoda Fabia Combi could work well for you. There are plenty within budget, they're reliable and they have huge boots. The only reservation I have is that the rear seating isn't huge, which might be a problem if you have two rear-facing child seats in there. Worth going to take a look at one and making that decision for yourself. The SEAT Ibiza ST (Sports Tourer) is pretty much the same car underneath, incidentally, if you prefer the look of that.

There are VW Golf and Passat estates on the market within budget and with petrol engines as well, and they come with much more rear legroom than the Fabia, but you'd likely have to make do with an older model for under €10,000.

On a completely different tack are cars such as the Nissan Note and Kia Venga, which are more upright than most hatchbacks that take up the same amount of space on the road, to the benefit of interior space. They beat the Fabia for rear legroom, for example, but their boots aren't huge. I wouldn't want to be carrying a travel-system-style buggy as well as anything else. Nonetheless those ones I've mentioned are reliable and within budget.

The Honda Jazz is similar and it's an excellent choice.

Let me know if we're on the right track with this and if you need further help narrowing your search.