Expert answer

Hi Gerard,

Expert answer

Hi Fergal,

Sadly, for all us Mondeo fans, it will die in its current form soon (most likely in the next 18 months or so). Now, it will be replaced, but most likely not by another saloon, but a crossover of some description instead, sitting above the Kuga in the current Ford range, and likely with a seven-seat option. 

Happily, there are still a few proper, full-sized four-door saloons around for you to choose from, and they’re good ‘uns. Our list starts with the Skoda Superb (massive inside, smooth to drive, handsome to look at and really good quality) and the VW Passat (all of the above but not quite so big inside). The Mazda6 is a big favourite of ours, too, not least because it’s so engaging to drive, and has such high quality and reliability levels, but Mazda is dropping the diesel engine option, so you might want to snap one up soon, before they’re all gone.

If you fancied going down the hybrid route, then Toyota’s excellent Camry is well worth a look, and there’s the Opel Insignia (probably one of the most underrated cars on the market) to consider too. If you fancy something a little moore stylish, check out the very slinky Peugeot 508. 

You could go up a grade, as you suggest, to the likes of a BMW 3 Series or Audi A4, but the problem is you need to spend a LOT extra to get one with decent spec, so our recommendation would  be to stick with one of the mainstream brands.

Here are our relevant reviews to help you decide:

Skoda Superb reviews

Volkswagen Passat reviews

Mazda6 reviews

Toyota Camry reviews

Peugeot 508 reviews

Opel Insignia reviews

BMW 3 Series reviews

Audi A4 reviews

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Hi Paul,

Yes, that's correct, but you need to watch out for the fact that Revenue will be 'uplifting' the CO₂ figures of imports. So, if a 2016 car you're looking at now has CO₂ emissions of, say, 165g/km, and it's a diesel, Revenue will uplift that to 201g/km, and that's the number that will determine your VRT and motor tax going forward.

Full details of the uplift formulas etc. can be found in our Guide to Importing Cars from the UK.

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Hi Con,

Assuming that the car is registered here already, and that it has CO₂ emissions of 132g/km, there will be no change for 2021. The car is already in Band B2, costing €280 per annum.

However, if this car were to be imported and registered after 1 January 2021, its CO₂ emissions rating would be 'uplifted' to 163g/km, meaning annual motor tax of €420.

See below links for more:

Motor Road Tax Prices in Ireland Explained

Guide to Importing Cars from the UK

Expert answer

Hi John,

First of all, the VRT applies on the date of registration, so it doesn't matter when the order is placed. If you register a car after 1 January 2021 then it will be subject to the new VRT rates.

Now, BMW has not published its new pricing so we're going to have to do some estimating based on the current advertised price on the BMW Ireland website. To do that I am also assuming that the displayed value of the BMW X3 xDrive20d xLine, €57,859, is at the 21 per cent VAT rate introduced last month.

The NOx figure for that car is not readily available, but a bit of digging suggests it should be about 100mg/km, so the NOx levy right now, within that price, should be €1,085.

So, the price of the car including VAT and VRT, but without the NOx levy is €56,774.

According to BMW, the NEDC CO₂ rating is 126g/km, which would mean 18 per cent VRT on the old system.

So, the VRT was €56,774 x 0.18 = €10,219, which makes the price of the car including VAT at €46,555.

So now we have the core cost of the car and can work on a 2021 price estimate.

We need the WLTP CO₂ rating, but can't find it for that car. So let's apply the government's own 'uplifting' formula for diesel cars' NEDC CO₂ rating: WLTP CO₂ rating = (126g/km x 1.1405) + 12.858 = 157g/km.

That places it in the new Band 18 for VRT (see our How Much VRT is Paid in Ireland? feature), at a rate of 26 per cent.

So the estimated cost of the car including VAT and VRT is €46,555 ÷ 0.74 = €62,912.

The NOx levy calculation has changed a little as well. It works out as €1,300 for this car from 1 January 2021 (if the 100mg/km figure for its NOx is correct).

Hence, the estimated total retail cost of the car is €64,212 as of 2021.

Disclaimer: All of these figures should be taken as estimates only. We have rounded off to Euros throughout and who knows how BMW will adjust its pricing to suit the market rather than just calculate the new tax?

Expert answer

Hi Jim,

If you're talking about a regular combustion-engined petrol or diesel car and their 12-volt battery, then yes, assuming the alternator is working properly, it will be driven by the engine and will charge up the battery so long as the electrical load from the battery is less than it can supply.

If you're referring to plug-in hybrids, and their high-voltage lithium-ion batteries, then it's not as simple as that and it differs per model and even depends on the driving mode. Most will, by default, use the battery to the fullest before starting up the engine and then may not charge the battery much except for kinetic energy recovered during braking. The idea is that you plug them in to charge up the battery regularly for maximum efficiency. However, most of them have a setting to override that and actively charge up the battery using the engine. It's usually activated by a button or option in the infotainment menu.

Expert answer

Hi John,

For a petrol car, the new CO₂ rating = (old NEDC rating x 0.9227) + 34.554g/km
For a diesel car, the new CO₂ rating = (old NEDC rating x 1.1405) + 12.858g/km

Expert answer

Hi Terence,

It's not entirely clear as yet, as Audi has not published its new pricing, and doesn't appear to have changed its online pricing since the VAT reduction last month. 

Taking the Audi A6 40 TDI S line S tronic as an example: it's listed as €56,065 as of Jan 2020.

The NOx figure for that car is 41.9mg/km, so the NOx levy right now, within that price, is €5 x 41.9 = €209.

So, the price of the car including VAT and VRT, but without the NOx levy is €55,855.

Looking at our review of the Audi A6 40 TDI from 2018, the NEDC CO₂ rating appears to be 117g/km, which would mean 17 per cent VRT on the old system.

So, the VRT was €55,855 x 0.17 = €9,495, which makes the price of the car including VAT at €46,360.

Assuming that's at the 23 per cent VAT rate, it's €37,691 before VAT, or €45,606 at the current 21 per cent VAT rate.

So now we have the core cost of the car and can work on a 2021 price estimate.

We need the WLTP CO₂ rating. It varies according to equipment, so let's take the worst case of 158g/km. That places it in the new Band 18 for VRT (see our How Much VRT is Paid in Ireland? feature), at a rate of 26 per cent.

So the estimated cost of the car including VAT and VRT is €45,606 ÷ 0.74 = €61,630

The NOx levy calculation has changed a little as well. It works out as €238 for this car.

Hence, the estimated total retail cost of the car is €61,868 as of 2021.

With a CO₂ rating of 158g/km as used in these calculations, the annual motor tax (see our Motor Road Tax Prices in Ireland Explained feature) will be €280.

If I used the minimum CO₂ rating for this model of 145g/km, incidentally, the retail cost comes out as €56,891 so the final price is highly sensitive to that, while the motor tax would drop just €10 per year to €270.

Disclaimer: All of these figures should be taken as estimates only. We have rounded off to Euros throughout and who knows how Audi will adjust its pricing to suit the market rather than just calculate the new tax?

Expert answer

Hi Thomas, 

It certainly will.

The NOx levy calculation has been tweaked slightly, as detailed in our How Much VRT is Paid in Ireland? feature, with the €15 per mg rate starting earlier on.

The changes to the VRT bands will also likely have an effect, but the largest change is the 'uplifting' of the CO₂ rating to WLTP-equivalent values.

For a petrol car, the new CO₂ rating = (old NEDC rating x 0.9227) + 34.554g/km

For a diesel car, the new CO₂ rating = (old NEDC rating x 1.1405) + 12.858g/km

This will significantly raise the CO₂ rating, putting the imported cars into a higher VRT band, with likely much higher costs.

We did such a calculation for another reader here if you're interested: Should I register my imported Mercedes now?

Expert answer

Hi Grainne,

As previously noted, you’ll need to have a current and valid primary medical cert as new certs are not being issued right now thanks to a Supreme Court decision that  has thrown the rebate scheme for disabled drivers into limbo. However, if you already have the cert, you should still be able to avail of the VRT and VAT rebates, so that should be fine (although it’s worth checking ahead of time — it’s a bit of a moving target at the moment).

I think that a Skoda Kamiq might be the right sort of car for you. Not much bigger on the outside than the Merc, but more roomy within, and with the necessary automatic gearbox and reversing camera on the options list. Get it with the sweet little 1.0-litre petrol  engine and you’re onto a winner. It’ll be well within your budget, too. 

Read our Skoda Kamiq reviews here