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Hi James,

Yep, it sure is. European Union directive 2008/89/EC requires all passenger cars and small delivery vans first type approved on or after 7 February 2011 in the EU to come equipped with daytime running lights. The mandate was extended to trucks and buses in August 2012.

There's a lot of grumbling about DRLs or using dipped beam all the time - people (grumpy, ill-informed people) still seem to think that it's going to wear their bulbs out or something. Think on this though - in Sweden, the most safety conscious country of all, lights on with the ignition has been mandatory for decades while former F1 world champ Keke Rosberg, when asked what one thing he would change about motoring, said "make daytime lights mandatory."

It's not about making bulbs burn out quicker, it's about making cars easier to see (yes, even on bright, sunny days) and trying to stop us crashing into each other quite so much. 

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Hi Susan,

For your budget, you could consider an Audi A3 1.9 TDI five-door. Classy, good to drive and very economical. Perhaps not the most spacious car in the world in the back and boot, but it will take a buggy.

Or, how about a car based on the same mechanical package as the A3, but with the boot space to be able to handle a whole creche's worth of kiddy clobber? I speak of course of the Skoda Octavia. A brilliant car, with tonnes of space, and your budget would get you a 2008 model with the 1.9 TDI diesel engine in range-topping 'Elegance' trim. So, comfy then.

Skoda not your thing? Want something classier? I have just the thing... How about a 2008 Volvo V50 estate with the 1.6-litre diesel engine? An easy 50mpg, family practicality thanks to the estate body and your mind will be forever at ease on the safety front.

What do you think?

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Hi Kellie.

Generally speaking, they should be OK. All the mechanical bits are old, proven Renault and Nissan parts, and thanks to the fact that Logans are pretty well shorn of equipment, there's not that much that can go wrong. Dacias also come with an optional five-year warranty, which should put your mind at rest.

However, it's worth pointing out that the Logan estate we tested recently had a wonky driver's door, putting some doubt over the quality of the assembly and the German TUV (the national safety and quality testing organisation) rates the Logan as having a 13 per cent fault rate. Now, that figure is only a guideline and it does encompass the old Logan (the one that was never sold here) as well, but just for comparisons, the TUV rates a Ford Fiesta at a 4.8 per cent fault rate.

In other words, they're probably fine, but try and make sure you buy one with lots of warranty left, just in case.

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Hi Justin,

Two best choices here would be a Mazda6 2.0 TD from around 2003 or a Ford Mondeo Zetec diesel of similar vintage. As long as they're in decent nick, reliability shouldn't be a problem (the Mazda will do better than the Ford but not perhaps by the margin you might be expecting) and both are safe and spacious.

What do you think?

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Hi Sue,

Safety record? Not really. The XC90 was first crash tested back in 2003 when Euro NCAP only gave stars for overall performance and pedestrian impact. At the time, the XC got a full five-star rating (rare at the time). Since then its score has only been matched in the class by the Mercedes-Benz M-Class in 2008, the Volkswagen Touareg in 2004, the BMW X5 in 2003 and, in the past couple of years, the new Mercedes M-Class, the new Range Rover and the Hyundai Santa Fe. Out of those, only the X5 and the Santa Fe come with seven seats (optionally in the case of the X5) and neither can match the space or comfort of the Volvo.

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Hi Edel,

Yup, the current Yaris is about six inches (150mm) longer than its predecessor. Most cars are getting bigger with each new generation though as car makers try to keep up with growing occupants (we're all getting bigger too) and ever tougher safety requirements. Thankfully, the porky weight gain (the cars, not us this time) seems to have been reversed with recent improvements in construction and materials. Most new cars are now lighter, and more efficient, than their predecessors in spite of being larger.

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Hi Eddy,

I presume you mean the last, rather than current generation. Quite a nice car, actually, majoring on comfort and economy rather than pin-sharp handling and there's that fixed-hub steering wheel and central digital instruments to liven up the cabin. 

Best version to go for is either of the 1.6 or 1.4 HDi diesel models - the 1.4 petrol is just not up to scratch, although the rare 1.6-litre petrol Sebastian Loeb rally edition is worth seeking out as a rare slice of warm hatch - if that's your sort of thing.

In terms of reliability, it's a bit of a mixed bag. There are no huge mechanical issues, but you've got to watch for electrical glitches in the speed limiter and cruise control systems and keep an eye out for disintegrating cabin trim. 

You also have to make sure that all five of the safety recalls have been carried out, including ones for electrical fires, poor brake performance and faulty airbags.

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Hi Gerard,

It’s a very good family car from the point of view of safety and comfort, and yes that 1.5-litre diesel is hugely economical (you should see better than 50mpg on a regular basis). You just need to keep a close eye on electrical items such as the central locking, the key-card and the windows and beware of traditionally steep depreciation for large French cars.

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Hi Gabriel,

Dacias are fine, to be honest, you just have to make sure you know what you're getting into. They're not sophisticated, nor are they especially modern, but they're cheap and genuinely quite cheerful. Best of the bunch is the Sandero supermini, which combines decent build quality with surprising refinement and a  emptingly low price.

The Duster SUV is also pretty good, albeit it's quite an old design now and lacks things like electronic stability control as standard. Still, it's rugged, tough and refreshingly simple. The newer Logan estate and Stepway crossover are just variations on the Sandero theme and are there for those who need either an enormous boot (Logan) or a bit of 4x4-esque style (Stepway).

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Hi Gerard,

I write this as a former (recovering?) Laguna owner and the best I can tell you is to tread very, very carefully. Admittedly, I owned the previous generation Laguna that was quite simply a reliability disaster and one that cost Renault a fortune in warranty claims. The third-generation car, the one you're looking at, is much better in reliability terms, but still, you need to be suspicious of anything that uses electricity – make sure absolutely everything electrical is working properly and watch it like a hawk to check for failures. The 1.5 dCi engine is actually pretty good, and robust too, and you should pretty easily get high-forties mpg out of it. However, you're going to be on a pretty steep depreciation slope as nothing loses value faster than a big French car. That's fine if you're planning to keep and use it until it dies, but not so good if you're planning to trade-in in a few years. As a family car, it's actually quite good though – spacious and comfy, with a big boot and Renault has an excellent reputation for safety too.