Starting price of this VW California?
Hi,
Just wondering what the starting price is of the Volkswagen California Ocean Celebration model?
Kind regards
Sean
Sean Fallon (Wexford)Jun 2019 Filed under: pricing
Expert answer
Hi Sean,
According to the documentation, the Tumeric Yellow example in our video is €65,865 before options (it has over €20k of options on it!). It doesn't appear to be listed on the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Ireland website, though, which has the four-seat Ocean model starting at €67,300.
Best bet is to contact your nearest dealer to get an up to date price.
Looking for a new estate car...
Hi,
I am looking for a new estate car and would like to hear your opinion. I have been driving an Octavia Combi (1.6-litre TDI diesel, Ambition) for the past six years. I do approx. 25,000km per year, not many of those on the motorway. I really like the Skoda but would prefer something with a little more power and spec. I am thinking a 2.0-litre diesel in a high spec and have my eye on a one-to -two-year-old Superb or Passat. Any advice when choosing between those two? Also, I see if I go maybe one year older I could get an Audi A4 Avant. Would the A4 be a better option for comfort/spec over the other two?
Interested to hear your opinion.
Thanks.
M Lowe (Carrick On Shannon)May 2019 Filed under: choosing new car
Expert answer
Hi there,
The A4 would be a little better in terms of comfort, but not in terms of space or practicality, and to be honest the benefits are pretty marginal. Either the Passat or the Superb make fantastic estate cars. The Superb has an edge on luggage capacity (around 60 litres extra), but the Passat is a little sharper to drive, and has arguably a nicer interior. A marginal decision then, but we’d probably go for the Superb on balance. Or, just to throw a spanner in the works, have a look at the excellent Mazda6 Tourer before deciding…
A few reviews to help you decide:
Can I avoid VRT importing my own car?
Dear Team,
I moved to Ireland and brought my German car with me. It is a Volkswagen Caddy, built December 2014 with 115,000km reading on the clock. I had the idea of registering the car in Ireland, since I will be living permanently in Ireland for the next two years. Checking the VRT calculation online gave me a bit of a shock, since filling in the car information, as the system declared a VRT tax of €3,300. Could you please explain to me how to get around this tax? As I understood, since the car belonged to me before, it is not an import of a car (either new or used) in the normal sense?
Thanks a lot for your help
Regards
Dagmar Quandt
Dagmar Quandt (Galway)Apr 2019 Filed under: VRT
Expert answer
Hi Dagmar,
Thankfully, you’re absolutely right. As long as you can provide proof of transfer of residence to Revenue (such as a letter confirming your employment, proof of address etc), then you can import the car with no VRT cost whatsoever.
Which new hybrid SUV to go for?
I am a disabled driver and use hand controls for the brake and accelerator. For the last 12 years I have driven a Honda Accord 2.0 petrol automatic. It has been a fantastic car and now has 260k km on the clock. I am looking for a higher vehicle, an SUV, and am looking at the Honda CR-V Hybrid, Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and the Volkswagen Tiguan (I could wait for the hybrid later in the year). I live in rural Ireland and handling on twisty roads is important and accelerating to pass slower moving cars on those all too few straight stretches of road. Is this a good shortlist, and if so, which would you recommend?
Robert Joyce (Clifden)Mar 2019 Filed under: hybrid
Expert answer
Hi Robert,
Yes, it’s a very solid shortlist, although obviously we can’t comment either way on the Tiguan plug-in hybrid as we’ve not driven one yet. As for the Honda and the Toyota, the Honda is roomier and rather more engaging to drive (better for all those twisty roads) so is probably the one we’d go for. The new RAV4 is well worth looking at, though, and it has impressive performance, so it’s good for all that overtaking. Links to our reviews below:
What's up with this Polo's handbrake?
Asking for a parent: they have a new 191 VW Polo and the car is still moving when just the handbrake is on (a traditional manual handbrake, not an electronic one);, is this something that is a known issue with new Volkswagen Polos? Cure from manufacturer garage is a nut to prevent it from slipping?!
Simon Mac Mahon (Dublin)Mar 2019 Filed under: brakes
Expert answer
Hi Simon,
We don't know of any common issue with these, but to be honest it sounds like the issue is one of two things.
1 - The handbrake lever is not being pulled up enough (I doubt that is the case, but you never know!)
2 - The handbrake cable needs to be adjusted. As this is a new car, then the garage that sold it really should sort it out for no fee. If it's out of adjustment under the car near the lever then they may need to check the mechanism within the rear hubs to see if something has gone wrong with the adjusters.
Hope you get it sorted out.
Have you a list of all the hybrids in Ireland?
Do you have a list of hybrids?
Thanks
Tony O'Brien (Shankill, Dublin 18)Feb 2019 Filed under: hybrid
Expert answer
Hi Tony,
Currently you can buy the following hybrids on the Irish market: Toyota Corolla, CH-R, RAV4, Prius, Yaris, and there are probably a few run-out examples of the Auris Hybrid out there still in dealerships. There’s also the Kia Niro and the Hyundai Ioniq. There’s the full Lexus range — CT, IS, RC, GS, ES, LS, NX, RX and LC. There’s the Ford Mondeo Hybrid, too. There’s the new Honda CR-V Hybrid, some Mercedes diesel-hybrids and petrol plug-in hybrids, oh and the new AMG 53 six-cylinder mild hybrids.
Suzuki does mild hybrids too — for the Baleno, Swift and Ignis. Then there are the plug-in hybrids — Kia Niro and Hyundai Ioniq again, plus the Volvo XC90 and XC60 T8 models, along with the S90 and V90; the BMW i8, 330e, 530e, X5 40e, 225xe, and the MINI Countryman S E; there’s also the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport plug-ins, the Mitsubishi Outlander, the Volkswagen Golf and Passat GTE, the Audi Q7 e-tron and the Porsche Panamera and Cayenne.
I bet I've forgotten some...
Can I retrofit a better wheel to my VW Golf?
Hi,
I have a quick question: does any company in Dublin do retrofiting of steering wheels on Volkswagen Golfs? I have a standard wheel on my car but I want to put a multifunction one on.
Thanks
Mateo Starcevic (Dublin)Feb 2019 Filed under: aftermarket
Expert answer
Hi Mateo,
I think the best thing to do is to go and have a word with your nearest Volkswagen dealer. I suspect that it may not be as simple as whipping off your wheel and hooking the new one on — there are complex systems and a lot of wiring to work out, so I’d say that a word with the experts would be the best place to start.
Should I buy a new electric car now?
Hello,
I am holding my breath before taking the EV plunge. The choice so far is between the Nissan Leaf e plus, the Kia e-Niro 64kW and the Hyundai Kona Electric. I know two of these will be 192-reg, but so far I have taken a test drive in the Kona and the current Leaf. Sorry to report that the Kona got the thumbs down on a few fronts.
Sadly the nit pickers have decided that they can throw the scraps to "poor Paddy". Smaller touch screen, standard cruise control and no spare. No height adjustment for front passenger seat. Just compare the UK offerings. Also quite a lot of road noise. To add insult the dealer padded his price to a ridiculous €40,000 after all rebates.
The test in the Leaf, albeit not the desired version, was a pleasure. It even had a slim spare wheel slung outside under the boot. Your review of the e-Niro doesn't mention the spare wheel, which is essential outside the cities. And as some drivers will want to carry one and the tools to fit it a lot of that space will be gone.
The Kona actually has a well under the boot floor, which houses the charging cable. How ridiculous is that! Imagine a young family going on an overnight trip. Pull everything out to find the cable... So finally, the question: should I go for the Leaf when it arrives or wait for the 2020 Volkswagen I.D.?
Peter
Peter Browne (Cavan)Feb 2019 Filed under: electric cars
Expert answer
Hi Peter,
You make a good point about the spare wheel, and it’s something we should look at more often. Actually, it’s a serious issue — a great many cars now come with no spare at all, as car makers trim them to save weight for emissions and economy tests.
Try the Kia e-Niro before you take the leap — it’s mechanically the same as the Kona but roomier inside, and should come with a slightly better standard spec. The Leaf is an excellent car, but we can’t comment on the longer range version as we’ve not driven it yet. Likewise the Volkswagen I.D., which looks set to be a game changer, but obviously as we’ve not driven one it’s hard to tell. Basically, the best advice is if you can hang on for a few months, that might be worth doing.
A few reviews to help you decide:
Hyundai Kona Electric review
Kia e-Niro review
Nissan Leaf reviews
How much VRT on this VW Transporter?
How much would it cost to clear a 2014 Volkswagen Transporter Kombi with 180hp, 65000 miles and a DSG transmission?
Darren Reynolds (Ballymote)Feb 2019 Filed under: VRT
Expert answer
Hi Darren,
It depends what you mean when you say ‘Kombi.’ If, by that, you mean a Transporter with windows and more than three, but fewer than ten seats, then that actually gets taxed as an M1 passenger car, and so you’re looking at CO2 emissions of between 169- and 174g/km, and so VRT of 28 per cent or 31 per cent of the Irish Open Market Selling Price (OMSP). That means, at a very, very rough guess, a VRT bill of around €4-5,000.
If it has three seats or fewer, or is a crew-cab (which means that the load area must be physically separated from the seating area), then it’s 13.3 per cent of the OMSP, which would be around €2,000 to €2,500 (again, that’s a very rough guess).
What full-size MPVs are left on sale?
We’ve been driving SEAT Alhambras for quite some time. Don’t want an SUV, want to move up a few years, but alas, SEAT is discontinuing the Alhambra.. The Sharan seems on the way out too. We don’t want to compromise on thrid-row seating, so the Kodiaq etc don’t get a look in either. The Touran would be too small. And we don’t want to get near eight-seaters or “van” territory. What options for us dinosaurs?
Kevin O, Callaghan (Cork)Jan 2019 Filed under: family car
Expert answer
Hi Kevin,
Well, Ford still has the Galaxy and S-Max on sale, and both of those are very strong bets, with the Galaxy obviously being a better bet if you really need maximum possible space in the rear seats. Other than that… Erm… Yeah, it’s suddenly looking very thin on the ground for full-size MPVs. You could consider importing a new-shape Renault Espace from France, but then you’d be stuck with left-hand drive. Or you could have a ring-round SEAT and Volkswagen dealers to see if they still have any Sharans or Alhambras in stock. There is bound to be a a few still lurking around the back of someone’s forecourt.