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Hi Donal,

Well, fuel consumption depends very much on your own driving style and where (and to an extent when) you do most of your driving. That said, in general, we wouldn’t expect that 1.0 TSI engine to be much thirstier overall than the 1.6 diesel. In our tests, both engines are in and around as economical as each other and you should expect to get around 50mpg from either with a light foot. The diesel may be a little better than the petrol option at a sustained high-speed cruise. However, with such low annual mileage, we suspect that the petrol engine will cost less to maintain in the long run. It's probably the best option for you.

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Hi Brian,

It’s a tricky one. The problem is that a 330e gets amazing fuel economy as long as you keep it plugged in as much as possible (which would work nicely for your short commutes), but that all goes to pot a bit on long motorway journeys (which is obviously not going to be good).

We think it’s a good idea to start moving away from diesel and towards hybrid and electric, but you’re going to struggle — overall — to match your A5 TDI’s economy with the 330e. Now, the thing is you can maybe make this work from the perspective of overall running costs. If you can charge up at work as well as at home, and stick to electric-only power as much as possible for your three short commuting days, then it’s just possible that might balance out the thirstier longer runs on the other two days.

Unfortunately, we can’t be more certain than that — the only way to know for sure is to try it out. If you don’t fancy making that leap of faith, then I guess it’s back to 320d diesel power and wait for truly long-range electric cars to arrive.

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Hi Elroy,

The only 1.6-litre engine fitted to the 2014 Kuga was the petrol-fuelled EcoBoost unit. It uses a timing belt, which must be changed at least every 200,000km or 10 years - whichever comes first.

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Hi David,

Short answer: it’s not easy. The best online source for NOx figures is the British government's Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), which has an online database of fuel economy, CO₂ and NOx figures. Sadly, it’s not an exhaustive resource — some models are not covered. The only source that really matters, as in the one that will be accepted by Revenue as the legally official NOx figure, is the one on a car’s Certificate of Conformity, which is kind of like a birth cert for a car. Sadly, you’d need to get the CoC for the specific car you’re looking at buying, which is not the easiest. 

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Hi Paul,

Basically, rocking up to an inspection with a Lamborghini is a licence for Revenue to charge you whatever it fancies… I wouldn’t be surprised to see a VRT bill of more than €30-40,000 for this one. 

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Hi Andrew,

That’s a tricky one as you’ve not told us the precise cars in question. The thing is, an electric car with a price of €30,000 has probably already had the VRT rebated on it, so you won’t make as big a saving — you’ll only save the VAT, which will represent a discount of around €5,000, bringing the price down to around €25,000. 

With the hybrid, assuming it has CO₂ emissions of under 100g/km, and therefore is in the 15 per cent VRT band, you could make a huge saving. It’s a rough guess, but we reckon you’d save €4,000 worth of VAT and €3,000 worth of VRT, bringing the price down to €17,000. 

Now, these are just rough calculations, and the final, proper figures may differ, but on the face of it the hybrid model offers a better up-front saving, but then you have to work in the potential for much cheaper running costs with an electric car when it comes to fuel and servicing. 

Expert answer

Hi Robert,

The M50d has more peak power and torque and is quicker accelerating than the hybrid model, no question. However, the six-cylinder diesel engine is a lot louder and less smooth than the straight-six in the xDrive45e model and obviously, when the hybrid is running in electric mode it is far far quieter again. As you say, the PHEV comes with compromises, and may not be as economical over a long journey where the battery cannot be charged from an external source. 

Read our BMW X5 xDrive45e review

Read our BMW X5 M50d review

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Hi Roger,

That is a significant change, leading us to suspect something may have been altered during the belt change. The tensioner could be too tight, for example, or the fuel pump timing might be out. Well worth bringing the car back to the garage and asking them to check all of this before it potentially causes problems with the engine.

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Hi Leo,

It kind of depends on how big your kids are and what kind of car seats they need. If you need three individual seats in the back, I’d recommend something like a VW Golf SV or a similar mid-size MPV. Or you could go for another Alhambra of course — it’s a great car. 

I’m assuming you want a change from the Alhambra though, and, MPVs in general, so how about a medium-sized estate? Lots of space, roomy back seat, but smoother and more agile to drive, with better fuel economy. How about a Skoda Superb Combi? Vast boot, massive back seat for packing the kids in and one of the nicest cars on the road. 

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Hi Daniele,

Lots of things can cause slow starting of a modern diesel engine, including issues with the fuel system or glow plugs, or indeed the battery. You'll need to get your car along to a good mechanic to have it checked over.