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Hi Rebecca,

Well, we can’t guarantee that there will be no parts issues, as despite being broadly the same car, there are bound to be a few market-specific differences between the two cars. Also, you’re not going to be able to get parts in your local Opel dealer, so if they’re going to go ahead with it, then I think joining a good owners’ club would be a good idea — always a great source of information, parts and help. As for legality, it should be fine, but you will need to check that the engine used in the South African market will meet 1990-era European emissions standards. 

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Hi PJ,

It has officially gone on sale here already, though there can't be many examples in the country yet. See our news story on the A-Class Saloon in Ireland here.

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Hi Geraldine,

Get it into your nearest BMW dealer as soon as you can. If the car is subject to a recall, then you should still be able to get the work done at no cost to yourself, as car makers are required, by law, to carry out recalls until all vehicles have been cycled through.

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Hi Brendan,

A couple of things. Obviously, any of the car’s on-board systems will be setup for Japanese language, so you will need to get those changed, and the radio may not be set to receive European FM frequencies, so the car’s entire audio system may need to be replaced. Generally speaking, a Japanese Passat will be mechanical similar to a European one, but there will inevitably be some detail differences in specification and equipment, so you may run into trouble further down the line with parts availability.

I’d suggest that you’d be better off looking at the UK market than the Japanese one — the Passat is hardly a rare car, so there may be an easier option out there for you.

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Hi Tony,

Currently you can buy the following hybrids on the Irish market: Toyota Corolla, CH-R, RAV4, Prius, Yaris, and there are probably a few run-out  examples of the Auris Hybrid out there still in dealerships. There’s also the Kia Niro and the Hyundai Ioniq. There’s the full Lexus range — CT, IS, RC, GS, ES, LS, NX, RX and LC. There’s the Ford Mondeo Hybrid, too. There’s the new Honda CR-V Hybrid, some Mercedes diesel-hybrids and petrol plug-in hybrids, oh and the new AMG 53 six-cylinder mild hybrids.

Suzuki does mild hybrids too — for the Baleno, Swift and Ignis. Then there are the plug-in hybrids — Kia Niro and Hyundai Ioniq again, plus the Volvo XC90 and XC60 T8 models, along with the S90 and V90; the BMW i8, 330e, 530e, X5 40e, 225xe, and the MINI Countryman S E; there’s also the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport plug-ins, the Mitsubishi Outlander, the Volkswagen Golf and Passat GTE, the Audi Q7 e-tron and the Porsche Panamera and Cayenne.

I bet I've forgotten some...

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Hi Simon,

Mercedes Ireland is staying very quiet about it so far (we asked again on receiving your question). We'd expect the A-Class Saloon to take over the old CLA's pricing and the new CLA to be more expensive, but that's just guesswork of course...

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Hi David,

It’s a tricky one. As a fellow bad back sufferer, I know the pain (literally) of sitting for too long on the wrong car seat, but the problem is it’s a case of one man’s meat is another’s poison. I, personally, find the seats in the Civic absolutely fine. You may, or may not — the only thing I can suggest is to ask your local Honda dealer for as long a test drive as possible, explaining the reason why you need it. Alternatively, you could always fit the utterly brilliant bucket seats from the Civic Type R as an aftermarket extra...

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Hi Roseanna,

First things first — if you’re doing mostly urban and motorway miles, you really don’t need an SUV. A more conventional hatchback, saloon, or estate is going to be more comfortable, better value, more economical and a better-engineered vehicle all round. If you’re looking for something with practicality then the likes of a Skoda Octavia Combi estate, a Volkswagen Golf Estate, a Kia Ceed SW, or the new Ford Focus Estate all have much bigger boots than any small-to-medium SUV (more than 600 litres, all of them, compared to around 450 litres for, say, a Nissan Qashqai), and they’re all better to drive and more frugal.

However, if you’re hooked on SUVs then we’d recommend a SEAT Ateca (plain wrapper, but it’s roomy, comfy and nice to drive) or a Toyota C-HR (small on the inside, relatively, but hugely stylish and the hybrid version is frugal). If you’re looking to ‘posh-up’ a bit, then the incoming new Audi Q3 is a bit of a stunner, or if you want something smaller and more affordable than any of those, try the updated Fiat 500X, which is kinda cute and charming.

Here are our relevant reviews for you to read more:

Skoda Octavia Combi review

Volkswagen Golf Estate review

Kia Ceed Sportswagon review

Ford Focus Estate review

Nissan Qashqai reviews

SEAT Ateca reviews

Toyota C-HR reviews

Audi Q3 reviews

Fiat 500X reviews

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Hi Arjun,

OK, let’s take these questions in order.

1: The BMW. The Honda runs it surprisingly close, but you just can’t beat the steering and rear-wheel-drive balance of the BMW.

2: How do you mean fast? They’re not performance models, but thanks to turbocharged engines with decent torque curves, they feel brisk enough in everyday driving. As long as you’re not planning to take on any Ferraris at the traffic lights, they’ll do.

3 & 4 together: The Honda. Nothing is as reliable as a Honda, not even a Toyota, and of the three cars here, while it may lack the premium badge, it also has the roomiest interior, will have slightly lower servicing and maintenance costs and, in the long term, should be more reliable than either of the German cars.

Read our reviews for more:

Audi A3 reviews

BMW 3 Series reviews

Honda Civic reviews

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Hi Thomas,

It’s possible. If your car is the 2.0-litre 140hp TDCi saloon with a manual gearbox, then its CO₂ emissions should be rated at 156g/km, which would give you a motor tax bill of €570 a year. However, if it’s the automatic version, then the CO₂ rating jumps to 189g/km, and that’s a €750 bill.