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Hi Eva,

Actually, these are two quite different cars - the Tucson is a heftier vehicle. If we were comparing new Hyundai ix35 with new Qashqai then I'd have to give the nod to the Qashqai, but in the case of these older versions, I think the Hyundai just might shade it. It's bigger inside, with more space in the back seats and boot than the first generation Qashqai.

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Hi Dave,

Average annual mileage for petrol cars in Ireland is around the 17,000km mark. It's about 24,000km for diesel.

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Hi Eva,

All of the ones you picked there are quite low slung but they're also all comfy so shouldn't present any major issues with seat height. 

The Mazda and Hyundai are going to be the most reliable and generally I'd go for the Mazda, but you'll want to go for the 1.5 petrol (if you're doing short journeys mostly) or wait for the new 1.5 diesel as the 2.2 diesel is just too thirsty day-to-day.

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Hi Douglas,

Quite a difficult car to value that, as there are (a) so few 206 SWs around and (b) that 2.0-litre engine is going to make it quite a hard sell. On that basis I'd say you'd be lucky to get €2,500 for it retail. Even less on a trade in. 

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Hi Aisling,

You won't go far wrong with the Octavia. Get the 1.6 TDI and you've got a potential 55mpg car with lots of space and terrific build quality and reliability. If you're looking for alternatives, then there's always the Volkswagen Golf (mechanically the same as the Skoda but less spacious inside) or the Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi (terrific to drive and good value but poor standard equipment and they're tight in the back).

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Hi Brian,

There's a serious, serious issue at the moment in the chasm between what the car makers claim you will get in economy terms from a car and what you actually get in real-world driving. There are changes to the official testing regime coming down the pipe, but the car makers are resisting that with all their lobbying might as it means that their CO₂ ratings will go up too.

In the meantime, and this is based purely on personal experience, a Golf BlueMotion should get close to 60mpg in daily driving, and you may even crack the 65mpg mark, though 70mpg is probably not going to happen, being realistic.

Further reading:

Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion review

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Hi Mossy,

All good choices, three cars that it's very difficult to separate. I guess the best thing to do is to use the classic car-buying technique - go for the one in the best condition and with the fullest history file - the more receipts, the more paperwork, the more stamps in the service book the better. Forget the mileage, always buy on condition and history.

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Hi Marie,

Prices still seem to be holding up for the 407, probably because most of them came with Peugeot's frugal and low-tax 1.6 HDi diesel engine. We've seen them on for as little as €8,950 but others seem to be hovering around the €11,000 mark.

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Hi Michael,

It does indeed. Ford recommends ever 10 years or 125,000 miles (201,000km roughly) - whichever comes first. We'd always recommend having it done sooner.

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Hi Christina,

We don't think that it's staggeringly high mileage and as long as all the service intervals have been hit spot on, you shouldn't have any major troubles. Besides, there's another year of full manufacturer's warranty yet to run, so you're covered for a little while at least (again, assuming that all scheduled servicing has been carried out correctly - the warranty can be invalidated if the previous owner has skimped). The 1.6 diesel i30 actually uses a timing chain, not a belt, so it should just need an inspection and an adjustment at regular servicing time, not a full replacement.