Expert answer

Hi Catherine,

The Ford's not bad actually, but make sure that it has been fully serviced and that the 1.6 diesel has had a steady diet of high-grade oil.

Your Passat should be worth about €7,000 to €7,500 as a trade-in.

Expert answer

Hi Brendan,

Worth checking out the Mazda6 2.0 SkyActiv-G estate, and the Ford Mondeo 1.5 EcoBoost isn't bad. Also have a look at the Skoda Superb 1.4 TSI although that's only available in Ambition spec.

Expert answer

Hi Graham,

I'm afraid not - it's simply not a model appearing on the official Volkswagen Ireland price list. You could try sweet-talking a Volkswagen dealer but they'll essentially just have to privately import it themselves so they'll just pass on the same costs to you.

We double checked the situation with Volkswagen Ireland and it confirmed the same.

Such a shame!

Expert answer

Hi Elaine,

You're kind of on the cusp of being better off with a diesel with that kind of mileage. There are a few cars that are worth looking at. Sticking with petrol? Try a Honda Jazz - small but very spacious, and the 1.2-litre engine is pretty frugal. Want to go for a small diesel? Try a Volkswagen Polo. Want something a little more fun, but still very frugal (albeit not very roomy in the back)? Try a MINI Cooper D.

Expert answer

Hi Simon,

If you go to the settings menu and see a menu heading titled ‘App Connect’ then yes, Apple CarPlay will work, but you might need to go to your Volkswagen dealer to get an activation code.

Expert answer

Hi Pat,

The dealers are, in fairness, being evasive because they don't have the full picture yet. None of us do, to be honest. However, there's no really good reason for not buying an A6. It's an excellent car, very frugal and lovely to drive, and beautifully built too. If it does turn out to be one of the cars on which the CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption has been under-estimated, then you will be compensated for any gap - Volkswagen Group has promised that customers will not be out of pocket as a result of all this. So I'd say go ahead - cracking car.

Expert answer

Hi Dan,

Expert answer

Hi Charles,

Yeah, with a small car like that (a) diesel is not generally available and (b) it would push up the price tag so much that you'd never earn the difference back in fuel savings. Of the ones you're looking at, I'd go with withe Hyundai i10 - it's really comfy and spacious for a small car, and should be sufficiently rugged to deal with the roads you're talking about. Plus the five-year warranty should help to keep the running costs down.

Relevant reviews:

Volkswagen up! review

SEAT Mii review

Skoda Citigo review

Fiat Panda review

Hyundai i10 review

Expert answer

Hi Martin,

I'd say you should advertise it for around €6,000 all things being equal. As for the diesel controversy, it's a bit hard to say - there's nothing at all wrong and an awful lot right with the 2012 Passat - it's a cracking car, it's just that you need to bear in mind that the overall engine performance may well be altered when Volkswagen begins its recall in January. If that's putting you off, then a Mondeo is definitely well worth looking at, but also take a gander at a Mazda6, Opel Insignia or Hyundai i40.

Expert answer

Hi Stephen,

The change interval varies depending on the engine fitted to your Golf. Our information is that the 1.9 TDI BlueMotion, 1.9 TDI PD, 2.0 SDI and 2.0 TDI all need their belts changed every 80,000 miles (nearly 129,000km), whereas the 2.0-litre petrol models (FSI or GTI) have 120,000-mile intervals (193,000km or so). Regardless of mileage, the belt should be changed at least every four years.

As to cost, that's not so easy to answer. An independent garage will charge a different rate to a main dealer and it may well depend on which version of the Golf you have. Best to ring around.