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Hi Claire,

Generally speaking the reliability record of the Fabia is pretty impressive and you shouldn't suffer any major problems. There are reports of the occasional 'nightmare' car where just everything seems to go wrong, but they appear to be few and far between. In terms of fuel economy, beware the 1.2. It's a very underpowered engine, and you have to thrash it hard to keep up with the flow of traffic, especially on the motorway, so it might be worth shopping around for a 1.4 depending on what kind of driving you'll be doing with it.

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Hi Ann,

I'm afraid the CT 200h's residual values aren't that great. The general buying public is still a bit suspicious of hybrids (the popularity of the Prius notwithstanding) and the CT's poor day-to-day fuel consumption marks it down relative to the likes of the rival BMW 1 Series and Audi A3. 

It's also quite cramped inside, with tiny rear seats and an almost useless boot. If you're looking for a classy small hatch, better stick with the Audi A3 or save yourself even more and get a nicely specified Volkswagen Golf.

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Hi Jacinta,

Essentially the old 1.9 TDI Pump Düse engine is just a bit less sophisticated than the newer, cleaner 1.6 TDI common rail engine. That said it's still pretty economical and while you could potentially get 60mpg from the 1.6 you should pretty easily get low-fifties-mpg from the 1.9.

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Hi Rory,

Both cars use dual clutch semi-automatic gearboxes, which are pretty slick-shifting, but Volkswagen's DSG transmission just edges it for smoothness and quickness. 

On the emissions front it's rather bad news I'm afraid. If you're buying 2008 model year cars then you're looking at emissions of 189g/km for the Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Powershift and 175g/km for the Passat 2.0 TDI DSG. That means tax of €750 a year.

It gets a bit better if you can spool forward to 2010 when the Passat's emissions drop to 158g/km so that means a tax bill of €570 a year. 

Just for reference, the Mondeo 2.0 diesel auto gets an official 39mpg while the 2010 Passat with DSG gets 47mpg.

To be honest, if you can live without an automatic gearbox you would be better to go for the 1.6-litre diesel versions of either car. Both have decent performance and much better economy and emissions. For instance, a 1.6 BlueMotion Technologies Passat gets 62mpg and has emissions of just 118g/km so tax of €200 a year.

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Hi Ger,

To be honest, I would just avoid that generation of Rio at all costs. They're not especially reliable (engines, suspension and ventilation systems all give trouble) and the 1.3-litre petrol engine is quite underpowered, meaning you have to thrash it hard to keep up with the flow of traffic, which wrecks the fuel economy. On top of which the cabin is small, narrow and made of some staggeringly cheap and nasty plastic and they're basically awful to drive.

That generation of Rio was really the last of the truly bad Kias, before the company started to make some really good cars. Go, if you can, for a second generation Rio, made from 2006 onwards in both hatchback and saloon form. They're much more reliable, quite nice to drive and decently economical.

Hope that helps

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Hi Paul,

A figure of 24mpg equates to 11.77 litres per 100km. That means that you'll burn through roughly 14.2 litres of fuel every time you do 120km. At today's average fuel price for petrol of 147.9c per litre, that means each 120km trip is going to cost you €20.88 in fuel.

Of course, that's also assuming that your Lexus is going to do a constant 24mpg all the time while you're on your 120km journey, which it won't. Hopefully the average will average out, but depending how you drive, what the traffic's like and how many hills you have to go up or down, you could land a bit either side of that figure.

Hope that helps

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Hi Pat,

If you're doing low mileage then you are way better off sticking with petrol. Even taking the higher tax into account, you'll still never make back the higher purchase price in fuel savings and with low mileage you're almost certainly going to run into diesel particulate filter issues. 

The good news is that the 1.6 Avensis is pretty economical for a small petrol engine in a big car. Drive it gently and you should regularly see the sunny side of 40mpg.

Hope that helps

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Hi Bertha,

To be honest, 70km a day is not an especially large mileage and buying an SUV for that kind of journey is simply not going to be good from a fuel consumption point of view. Neither the Citroen C4 AirCross nor the Peugeot 4008 are sold in Ireland so they're off the list. As you've suggested a Hyundai though, can I suggest in return an i30 or i40 estate? Both will give you the space and practicality of an SUV but at a much lower level of purchase and running costs.

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Hi Rosie,

Ah, toddler and baby. Been there. You probably don't need anything much bigger than a family hatchback, really. Probably best to track down a nice Skoda Octavia hatchback - the boot's big enough to cope with buggies and (eventually) bikes and scooters but they're not expensive to run. If your mileage is low, consider a petrol one as the lower purchase price will more than cover the extra cost of the fuel.

What do you think?

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Hi Paddy,

There aren't any major reported problems on the 1.4 TSI petrol Passat, but just watch the fuel consumption; it's a big car with a small (albeit turbocharged) engine so you may need to work it harder than you think to keep up with traffic. The DSG gearbox can give some problems though. Take a test drive and make sure that the automatic changes are crisp and almost seamless. If not, suspect a dodgy box an walk away.