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Hi Jason,

No. Renault is still in the process of rolling out AdBlue, or Selective Catalytic Reduction, injection to its 1.5 and 1.6 diesel engines.

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Hi Ben,

That sounds like a pretty decent deal, and the 3008 – although it’s due for replacement later this year by an all-new model – is still a better than decent car.

As for the timing belt change, officially Peugeot says that the belt should last 10 years, or almost 250,000km, but to be honest we’ve always felt that that sounds way too long. I’d insist on a belt change every 100,000km at the most. Your car should be fine for now, but start thinking about it well ahead of the official schedule and beware – if the oil pump leaks on that engine it leaks onto the belt, potentially damaging it or causing it to slip.

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Hi Emer,

The cee'd is just about perfect for you, so. Reliable, comfy and actually pretty good to drive, plus the boot is massive on the estate. Just make sure it has a full service history and that it has always been serviced by a Kia main dealer so that the warranty is still active. 

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Hi James,

Nope, it's all down to how well it's been cared for. If it has a high mileage but a thick sheaf of service stamps, receipts and paperwork then it's fine. A lower mileage car without history would be far more worrying. 

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Hi George,

Yes, and I’m assuming you mean the 1.6-litre diesel model? It’s a very good engine – decently reliable and very economical and it needs long motorway miles to make sure that the diesel particulate filter doesn’t start clogging up. The particle filter also needs to be replaced at 120,000km. It needs a cam belt change every 160,000km, but you need to keep it checked at regular service time as the belt can stretch and slip. The water pump is also a weak point, so keep an eye on that. There are a few random electrical issues with these cars too, mostly to do with the ignition system and intermittent warning lights on the dashboard. They’re more niggles than serious problems though.

Oh, and don’t buy one without a full service history. That engine needs a steady diet of really high-quality oil at service time, or it can develop sludgy waste oil in delicate parts.

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Hi Sean,

Yes, the water pumps can fail, there can be issues with the turbo on diesel engines and the CD players can need re-coding. Also, if the spare key is missing, it’s hugely expensive to replace.

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Hi Karina,

You are, if I may say, a smart cookie. Yes, the Insignia is decently solid and pretty reliable, but the fact is that they do get issues with their electrics and, as we all know, ain’t nothing more reliable than a Toyota. Well, almost – have a good look at the Mazda6 estate too, as it's handsome, really good to drive and hugely reliable. A good foil to the Toyota. 

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Hi Simon,

Yes, it will be in all its 510hp glory, but it’ll probably be special order only and I’d expect prices to start at around the €100,000 mark for that one. A much more sensible Giulia diesel should only set you back around €38,000 though, and looks pretty much as good. Here are our reviews:

Alfa Romeo Giulia diesel review

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio review

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Hi Tony,

There's no major recurrent fault for the flywheel on a Q5 specifically (although dual-mass flywheels generally come in for a lot of reliability criticism across all brands), but there was a recall for Volkswagen Group 2.0 TDI diesel engines a while back to replace faulty flywheels, so it's worth checking to make sure that's been done. If it doesn't show up in the service history, get in touch with Audi Ireland customer services, as they should be able to find out if a specific vehicle has or has not had the work done. 

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Hi Laurie,

Deciding to go petrol or diesel is a simple matter of how much mileage you do every year. Do you do lots of mileage and plenty of long motorway journeys? Get a diesel then. If you do lower mileage (less than 16,000km a year, say) and mostly around town? Then go for petrol.