Expert answer

Hi Des,

You've identified two great choices there. With our own money we'd buy the Skoda Superb Combi. It's a cracking estate car with a huge amount of room, great quality, good comfort and the 1.6 TDI engine is refined and economical. Unless you intend to tow regularly I wouldn't worry too much about the performance. This engine may not have a lot of power (105hp), but it has plenty of torque low down in the rev range, which is far more useful in everyday driving.

Admittedly, the Opel will feel faster and it's a nice car too, but make sure you test drive as many alternatives as you can. Where as Skoda only appears to offer one version of the Superb Combi that qualifies for the scrappage scheme, Ford has several Mondeo Estates that do - and it's a great car.

Worth paying a little more for is the brand new Volkswagen Passat Estate. It's a fabulous car and there are several Band A and Band B options.

If you need any more assistance come back to us of course.

Expert answer

Hi there,

We only drove one Audi A6 with a manual gearbox on the launch event and I didn't particularly notice that the pedals were offset. However, the cars that we drove were left-hand drive, so it could be that the car's pedals are offset when in right-hand drive. I can't say that it was anything that ever bothered me in the A4 or A5 before. 

Click here to read our First Drive of the 2011 Audi A6.

Expert answer

Hi there,

Well the obvious choice would be to go and get the latest Renault Laguna Sports Tourer, which could cost you as little as €23,090 under the scrappage scheme with a 2.0-litre diesel engine. This might be a bit over budget though. 

You are almost certainly going to get the best deal from a Renault dealership. The Grand Mégane is another option, but this only comes with a 1.5-litre diesel or 1.6-litre petrol. I am not sure why you would need it to be over 1.6-litre because the modern smaller engines are really good and the 1.5-litre diesel in the Mégane is really very competent. 

Hope that helps - if you need further advice please drop us a line in the comment box below

Expert answer

Hi Maurice,

If I were spending my own money on something like this I would probably narrow my search down to a few key models. I would also look at something that was pre-July 2008 as the road tax is a little easier to stomach.  You didn't specify whether you need it to be a 4x4, because this does tend to make them a little harder on fuel.

The Toyota RAV4 isn't massive but it is seriously well put together and you could have a 2.2-litre 2007 model with low mileage for €17,950.

Here's an example on beepbeep.ie.

Road tax at €860 is still a lot though, so that might rule this out.

If you don't need 4x4, then a Nissan Qashqai is quite an obvious choice. You could have a 2009 model, with low mileage and road tax of a just €156 per year, for €20,495. These are popular for a reason, but forget about it if you need to go off-road.

Here's an example on beepbeep.ie.

Again, no four-wheel drive options for your budget, but you could have a Skoda Yeti, which is a great SUV with a decent 2.0-litre TDI engine for €22,750 - although I'd be pushing for closer to €20,000 in a cash deal.

You could have a Nissan X-Trail too, although they can be a little hard to find. They are really good value. Most are two-wheel drive but there are four-wheel drive ones about. This one is a two-wheel drive version, but at €18,500 for a 2008 model it is great value.

Finally, the latest Land Rover Freelander is much better than the model that went before it. You can have it with a 2.2-litre diesel engine and four-wheel drive and that would be in and around the right money.

Here's an example.

Out of this lot, I'd be inclined to go for the Nissan X-Trail.

Hope that helps. Let us know what you end up going for.

Expert answer

Hi Fergal,

The Ford Kuga is a great choice and is really good value now as a two-wheel drive version. With the problems we have been having with the weather you can see why people would want to choose the four-wheel drive one. You pay about a €2,000 premium for four-wheel drive and if we are going to continue to have the weather we have been having then it might be worth it. 

We also really like the new Skoda Yeti 4x4. We drove it last week and it is super. You can have one with all the bells and whistles for about €31,000. The new Kia Sportage is really nice looking too and you can get the 2.0-litre "First Edition" model loaded with kit for €31,495. 

There are lots of options around now for the right money. I think out of this lot, I probably would choose the Kuga because it has the best interior and best road manners. 

Come back to us if you have more questions and let us know what you decide upon.

Expert answer

Hi Jerome,

I spoke to a representative from the National Car Test on your behalf who said that changing your speedometer or your odometer would not affect your NCT at all or the VRT inspection in any way.

I hope this helps

Expert answer

Hi Noel,

That's a good shortlist. We've only tried Hyundai's new 1.7-litre engine in a Kia Sportage, but it's an improvement in terms of economy, emissions and refinement over the 2.0-litre engine we tested recently in the ix35. Saying that, the Skoda Yeti is one of our absolute favourite crossovers. In comparison to the ix35, it feels of better quality and is much nicer to drive. The 1.6-litre TDI engine is a good one, though the Hyundai may feel a little quicker.

The Skoda's looks will split opinion, but that one's up to you!

Hope that helps.

Expert answer

The satnav giants are TomTom and Garmin and it is a bit like Coke vs Pepsi, in so far as people generally like one over the other. We tend to like TomTom here and the latest and greatest is the new Go LIVE 1000, which has live traffic updates and will change your route depending on the weather conditions, incidents and speed cameras. 

The Go Live 1000 costs €279 and TomTom LIVE is free for the first 12 months and then €49.95 for the second year of subscription. 

I have a couple of TomToms and they are great. Also if you have an iPhone, the TomTom App is really good and that means you don't need to carry two devices around.

Expert answer

Hi Chris.

The price sounds about right for both cars at that mileage. You would pay quite a bit less if you got something with higher mileage. But that aside I would normally say that you should go for the Polo because it feels a little more substantial and might have a bit more street credibility for your daughter. However, with the Yaris you are still getting the current model, while there is a newer version of the Polo so for the time being it will hold its value a little better I'd expect. 

Obviously, safety will be an important consideration, and the Yaris scored higher in the Euro NCAP safety tests, achieving five stars compared to the Polo's four, so perhaps a reason to choose the Yaris. 

Toyota Yaris NCAP result

Volkswagen Polo NCAP result

Hope that helps.

Expert answer

Hi Alan

The scrappage scheme has been good news and as you might have seen today SIMI is calling for an extension of this. Unless this happens, there would be no point in you getting a new car at the end of the year under scrappage because the €1,500 that you would get off this in the case of something like an Insignia would not be as much as you could lose eventually by buying a car later in the year. 

Sure enough, you could buy the Laguna and get €3,000 off. It isn't an awful car, but there really isn't anything remarkable about it and I personally wouldn't spend over €20,000 on one. I actually think the Renault Fluence is a better buy than the Laguna and it costs much less. It is a fine big car and really well equipped. 

However, with your budget we could do a whole lot better. Supposing that you get at least €1,000 for your Corsa, then you still have a generous budget. There is always the temptation to look at the German cars and as long as you realise that these can get pricey to service and run as they get older, they can be a great buy. 

You have a staggering amount of choice. For sheer ease of ownership I have noticed that Lexus IS models are really good value now. You can get a 2008 IS 220d for under €25k and that would be a pretty nice car to own. Here is an example. 

If you were buying new or almost new, this 2010 Subaru Legacy diesel is also within your budget. 

However, you could go a little larger and get yourself a 2007 BMW 520d. This example is from a main dealer and has tiny mileage and would be a really nice car to own. It has done just 20,000km and is an automatic too with a nice spec for just €28,000. I would find it very hard to pass up on this car to be honest. You could opt for one with a manual gearbox and get lower road tax, but to be honest, this is where my money would go.

I hope this helps