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Hi Elaine,

The BMW X3 diesel is what's called a "mild hybrid", so it can't be plugged in. The plug-in hybrid only makes sense if you can plug it in at home to charge up the battery at every available opportunity. If you don't do that then it's essentially the same as fuelling a heavy petrol-only model.

In general, a diesel car is more efficient than a plug-in hybrid when it comes to long journeys and it sounds like that's what may suit your needs better.

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Hi Mark,

You're absolutely right, and it's something we're trying to do these days as the liquid-fuel consumption figure only tells half the story.

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Hi James,

You're not alone in having this issue. We can find that T-Roc on the MLIT website and get its CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption data, but we cannot see a document showing its NOx rating. The best we could come up with is a spec sheet for the 2025 model on sale today in Japan. Given that this should be the same as the 2022 version, Revenue may accept that. It's 150mg/km.

We've not heard of anyone successfully obtaining this information from a European brand directly, and it's unlikely that Revenue would accept data for the T-Roc sold in a country other than Japan, as there can be regional differences.

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Hi Hans,

Not unless it has been specifically calibrated to allow it, no. Toyota's engines in Europe require 95 RON fuel at a minimum.

You may get away with it, as the engine will have knock sensors to allow it adapt, but it is definitely not recommended.

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Hi Martin,

The information is supposed to be on this page but it's difficult to find your way around. First up, make sure you use whatever browser you have to translate to English.

Scroll down to the section marked '5. 1. Gasoline passenger car fuel economy'. We found the VW Up in the Volkswagen tab of the Excel file that downloads when you click on 'Imported vehicle (JC08 mode)'. However, that only gives the CO₂ emissions (106g/km) for a single version of the Up, so hopefully that's the correct one.

To find the NOx, we searched the page that link is on for "Volkswagen Up" and found a series of documents, including this one showing a NOx value of 0.013g/km.

Hopefully Revenue will accept both of those documents as proof.

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Hi Conor, 

There's a wealth of choice at that price point on the used market really. Here are a few options to consider, many of them early 2025 registrations:

Dacia Duster
Hyundai Kona (the newer model)
MG ZS (newer model)
Nissan Qashqai
Skoda Octavia
Volkswagen Taigo or ID.4 if you fancy going electric

I've added links to our reviews of the cars so you can take a look and see what you like the look of. Come back to us and let me know if we're on the right track here, and your thoughts on each of these as we help you narrow down your search.

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Hi Declan,

Nothing has been announced as yet, but I'd put money on the X-Trail adopting the same e-Power improvements as the Qashqai is getting. It certainly won't be before the middle of 2026, though.

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Hi John,

As you're considering changing car, I'm going to assume you have the previous-generation C-HR. Officially this used 4.8 litres/100km, which equates to 58.9mpg.

The new Alfa Romeo Junior hybrid's official figures are remarkably close, and our tester saw 6.5 litres/100km at the car's international launch. Cars are often driven quicker in these scenarios so that bodes well for the Junior to manage well under 6.0 litres/100km for most drivers.

You'll know yourself how the C-HR does at your hands - in comparison to the official numbers - so make a call on which would be more efficient for you based on that.

For what it's worth, we do really like the Junior. Read our first drive of the Junior Ibrida here.

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Hi Chevalier,

We have no way of knowing which setup your car's engine has remotely, but you are correct in that some of the engines from that year use a chain for the high-pressure fuel pump drive while others use a belt - alongside the main timing belt.

It doesn't really matter which your engine has, unfortunately, as the chain must be replaced just as often as the timing belt - at least every 200,000km or 10 years, whichever comes first.

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Hi Bernard,

The UK and Ireland cars are more or less identical and, according to this official MG Europe document, the 55-litre tank is standard across the board in the new MG HS.