Expert answer

Hi Philip,

Well, you’re right about Toyotas being reliable. In fact, if reliability is your ultimate goal, then Toyota, Honda and Subaru are usually your safest bets. That said, Skoda is rarely that far behind the big Japanese names in reliability terms, and often is the best-performing European marque in that regard. In terms of load capacity, the answer is almost, but not quite. The roomiest boot in the in the Toyota range right now belongs to the Corolla Touring Sports estate. Now, this is one of our favourite cars right now — good looking, good to drive and with a seriously frugal and future-proofed hybrid engine, but with a 598-litre boot, it’s some 62 litres short of the Superb Combi. Still worth considering though, as, if you can live without the extra litres in the back, then it’s a more cost-effective purchase than the Skoda.

Another alternative is the new RAV4 Hybrid. Again, this is smaller than the Superb in the back — 580 litres when loaded up to the windows — but the boot is big and square, and again the hybrid engine is frugal and it’s got reliability on its side. 

Worth remembering though that Skoda is refreshing the Superb this year (order books are open now for delivery later in the year) and there will be a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid in fact, this time around, so it might be worth waiting for that before making a final decision.

Relevant reviews:

Toyota Corolla 1.8 Hybrid Touring Sports estate (2019) review

Toyota RAV4 Hybrid AWD-i (2019) review

Skoda Superb 2.0 TDI Evo Combi (2020) review

Expert answer

Hi Noreen,

If it’s taxed on the old engine capacity system, then it’ll cost you €636 a year. Theoretically, though, you could apply to have it taxed under the CO₂-based system, and with emissions of 162g/km, it’ll actually be a little cheaper, at €570 a year.

Expert answer

Hi Jacinta,

Yes, you can. Anyone can buy a commercial vehicle and take advantage of the lower rates of VRT — that’s fine. The only tricky part comes, as you rightly point out, when it comes to taxing them. Then you have to tax the vehicle as a private car, and that means (for some bizarre reason) reverting to the old  by-engine-capacity tax, which obviously is going to be a bit pricey for a 3.0 Hilux. Maybe consider a 2.0-litre turbo VW Amarok, as that will bring down your annual motor tax bill considerably. 

Read this for more: Buying a commercial vehicle for private use

Expert answer

Hi Thomas,

Well, APR isn’t actually charged on motor tax, but you will pay extra if you’re paying by the quarter — which is, I guess, a form of interest one way or another. The rate for a 3.5-litre car on the old engine capacity system is €511 per quarter, so you’re paying an extra €235 overall. 

Expert answer

Hi Maria,

Basically the same rules apply irrespective of the vehicle itself. If it’s currently registered and taxed as a commercial, then you can indeed tax it as a private vehicle. To do that, you revert to the old by-engine-capacity tax system, which might be bad news depending on which version of the Ibiza we’re talking about. If it has a 1.2-litre engine, you’re fine — you’ll actually pay the same €330 rate as if it were a commercial. If it’s a 1.4, though, then you’ll have to pay €385.

Expert answer

Hi Bernie,

As long as it’s registered as a commercial vehicle and used only (and strictly only) for work purposes, it’ll cost €333 a year to tax. If you want to use it for family or social driving, then it goes onto the old by-engine-capacity tax system, which is €951 a year on that vehicle. 

Expert answer

Hi Raymond,

Sadly, it’ll be €994. For some arcane reason (which no-one has been able to explain to us in a way that actually makes any sense), if you register a commercial vehicle as a private car, you have to go back onto the old by-engine-capacity tax system.

Expert answer

Hi Brendan,

We do love a bit of car-related man-maths around the CompleteCar.ie office. Yes, in theory, you could save that €425 per week travelling cost with a Tesla Model 3, once we make a couple of assumptions, and bearing in mind that a Model 3 is not free — a basic Standard Range Plus model is quoted at €625 per month in repayments on Tesla’s Irish website. With a claimed one-charge range of 409km, your theoretical Model 3 should be able to get from Dublin to Monaghan and back in one charge, with a little left over for safety (assuming it’s around 135km door-to-door). If you can charge at home and charge in Monaghan, then each full charge will cost you around €8-10, depending on your electricity tariff and how low the battery gets before you plug it in. That should put a significant dent in your travelling costs. It would also be helpful if you could charge up at work, but that’s more for ensuring you have a full charge in case you need it — the shorter intra-Dublin commute wouldn’t put much strain on your battery.

So, that’s all good. Buying in the UK, though? Not worth it. We ran the maths on this a while back and working off the base model prices — £38,500 in the UK and €48,900 here, a quick conversion at today’s rates shows that the equivalent Euro price of a new Tesla Model 3 would be €45,069. A saving? No — although the VRT would cost you nothing at the point of import (thanks to the €5,000 rebate), you would have to pay VAT on entry, as it’s a new car, and so the price would go up by €10,350. You’re better off buying local in this instance.

Expert answer

Hi Joe,

It’s actually €710, the rate for cars with engines sized between 1,901cc and 2,000cc (the Amarok 2.0 is actually 1,968cc). As we’ve said before, for some bizarre reason, if you’re taxing a commercial vehicle as a private car, you go back onto the old by-engine-capacity system.

Read this for more: Buying a commercial vehicle for private use

Expert answer

Hi David,

If you are using the Navara strictly for business work, and not for social, domestic or pleasure use, then you can tax it as a commercial vehicle for €333 a year. If you are using it for any personal driving, then you have to transfer it back to the old by-engine-capacity tax system and, with a 2.3-litre engine, that’s going to work out at a hefty €994 a year, I’m afraid.