Expert answer

Hi Colm,

Glad you're enjoying our reviews and that's a good selection of cars to be choosing from.

The Born is, as you probably know, a five-door hatchback, with a relatively low-set driving position, sporty detailing inside and out and a boot volume of under 400 litres. It has a flat rear floor so three can sit across there, but it's better for two. It drives in a much sportier and more dynamic way than either the MGS5 or the Tavascan, no matter which version you go for, yet it's also really efficient in terms of energy consumption. The cheapest model officially does up to 426km on a charge, while the longest-range version manages up to 593km.

The Cupra Tavascan very much sits above the Born in the lineup, with a larger boot (540 litres) and interior space. Unsurprising given how much bigger the Tavascan is on the outside. It also gets a higher driving position, befitting the 'coupe-SUV' genre. It's not as efficient as the Born as it's bigger and heavier, but the entry-level model comes with a range of 568km, nonetheless. It's a quick car by any measure and drives well, if not with the vim of the Born.

In terms of interior space, there's not much to choose between the MGS5 and Tavascan, though the MG's boot is smaller (453 litres). The Cupra's cabin is more distinctive looking and, given the price gap between them, it should be of no surprise that the Tavascan's feels a grade above. The MG has the lowest performance of the three, but that's not important to many people. Its range of up to 465km is of use, but again most people don't need all that.

In summary, we'd never have put these three up against each other as natural rivals. One is a sporty hatch, one a sporty crossover and another a sensible SUV and they're only vaguely similar in terms of price. The MG is undoubtedly the best value of the three, though you can't expect it to be better than the Tavascan in all ways, either.

As ever with these things, we highly recommend you go and test drive all three for yourself to form your own opinions and then balance that with the maths of the deals you can get.

If there's anything specific you'd like us to cover that I've not mentioned above, please come back to us.

And please do let us know what you end up with.

Expert answer

Hi Fergal,

That's actually becoming a bit of a challenge as regular cars such as the Mondeo have fallen out of favour with buyers, so the carmakers are slowly doing away with them. At the same time, demand for diesel engines is waning. Nonetheless, here are a few possibilities:

- Audi A5 'Saloon' (it's actually a five-door hatch)
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class saloon
- Skoda Superb (another hatchback and the closest match to the Mondeo today)

That's pretty much it. A leftfield alternative could be the Peugeot 508 SW, which is the estate model. It can be had with a diesel engine still, but the five-door 508 fastback cannot. We reckon it looks stunning.

How do these strike you?

Expert answer

Hi Jurgen,

According to our figures, your car's CO₂ emissions (it's a 2015 Audi A4 saloon 1.8 petrol) are in the 156-170g/km range according to the old NEDC system. 

For such cars, registered before January 2021, the tax band is D, costing €600 a year. 

A car registered after that date with a WLTP rating of 151-160g/km would cost €280 a year and the €400 rate you mentioned is for cars with an emissions rating of 141-155g/km so perhaps the dealer was mistaken.

Expert answer

Hi Declan,

Nothing has been announced as yet, but I'd put money on the X-Trail adopting the same e-Power improvements as the Qashqai is getting. It certainly won't be before the middle of 2026, though.

Expert answer

Hi Mary,

You've not told us the year of your car so we can't realistically estimate the price. Take a look at what dealers are selling similar cars to yours for on the large classifieds websites.

If you sold your car privately yourself then you'd likely get a little less than those figures – as you can't offer the warranty that they will all come with. However, if you trade in the vehicle against a new car, then you will be offered considerably less, as the dealer needs to prepare the car for sale, offer a warranty and turn a profit.

How much you are offered will vary by dealer depending on how much they do/do not want your car, so shop around.

Expert answer

Hi Nestor,

We'd need a lot more information to be able to give you any estimates of the costs involved, but generally speaking, if the car is coming from England, Scotland or Wales, you will be liable for VAT and import duty on top of VRT and the NOx levy. Cars coming from Northern Ireland usually (though not always) only attract VRT and the NOx levy.

To estimate the VRT you will need the official CO₂ rating and a guess at the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) according to Revenue. Give us the car's engine details and we should be able to make a good guess at all that. 

I highly recommend you read our guides on the subject first:

Guide to Importing Cars from the UK
Guide to Importing a Car from Northern Ireland

And it isn't really possible for us to estimate your insurance cost as there are so many factors involved. Best bet is to ring around with a registration number of a very similar existing car in Ireland to get a feel for the price.

One final thing to be aware of: your Indian licence is only valid in Ireland for 12 months after you arrive in the country, regardless of whether you have access to a car.

Expert answer

Hi Cathal,

We'd be fools to suggest that you can be 100 per cent sure you won't have a problem if you do x, y and z, I'm afraid as there's just no guarantees with DPFs.

Saying that, modern cars such as the Tucson and Octavia you mentioned have way better DPF regen logic than they used to, along with more sophisticated exhaust monitoring than before so that's a good start, as is knowing the type of driving that's needed for diesel cars with DPFs – as you've indicated you understand.

You could ask the dealer selling the car (assuming you're not buying privately) for a diagnostic readout with the DPF information, but they're under no obligation to do that and some may not even know how.

My advice would be to insist on a detailed service history, scrutinise that for anything related to the DPF, then ask the seller if any work on the DPF has ever been done. Finally, take it for a decent test drive and, if possible, get someone else to drive it while you follow to observe the exhaust for any excess and obvious regen activity. You may see nothing with such modern cars, however.

The key thing here is to only buy a DPF-equipped car if you spend a portion of your normal driving at higher speeds, allowing the whole exhaust to get hot and work effectively.

Expert answer

Hi Thomas,

The Tiguan eHybrid officially manages up to 121 kilometres on a charge of its 19.7kWh battery. That's up among the longest-range PHEVs on the market right now. Cupra's Terramar is built on the same underpinnings and has more or less the same electric range as well.

In comparison, the Tucson PHEV and Sportage PHEV manage 70km at most as they have a smaller battery. Same story for the Toyota C-HR. The Toyota RAV4 PHEV goes slightly further on a charge than those, but we suspect that situation will improve further in the new generation that is about to be unveiled.

Expert answer

Hi Angelo,

Without the full details it sounds like this is more a question for the institution you're hoping to get the loan from than us - and it depends on so many factors. A few thoughts:

- It would not be possible to obtain a UK car loan without a UK address.

- If you have a UK address, it may be possible to get a car loan from a bank or similar as they are unlikely to check where the car is actually registered. They're not likely to be bothered about that either as the car is rarely considered to be collateral in such circumstances.

- If, however, you mean car finance - PCP or hire purchase for example - then the car would have to be bought and registered in the same country as that in which the finance is taken out. If you are actually living in Ireland as well as working here, then the car would have to be reregistered here on importation, which is highly likely to be against the terms of the finance agreement.

- Finally, if you are a UK citizen that is working remotely for an Irish company, and you are looking to buy a UK car for use in the UK, then there should be no issues. Every finance institution will have its own rules on lending of course, but so long as you can show you have the means to repay the loan, it shouldn't matter which country the money is coming from.

Expert answer

Hi Dana,

It really sounds related to the charging circuit and, before going through the list below, perhaps check that the battery was replaced by a 'silver-calcium' one that is compatible with the so-called “Ford Smart Charge System”. A regular lead-acid battery is not compatible.

We'd have hoped that a good mechanic would have tried the below things already, but if not:

Bad ground or wiring issue

- A poor ground connection or corroded cables can cause intermittent charging problems.

- Check and clean all ground connections (especially the engine-to-chassis ground and battery-to-body ground).

- Look for damaged or frayed wiring between the alternator, battery and fuse box.

Alternator not charging properly

- Even new alternators can be faulty. A voltage drop test should confirm if it's truly charging.

- With the engine running, check the voltage at the battery terminals. It should read around 13.5-14.5 volts.

- If it's much lower, the alternator isn't charging properly, or something is disrupting the circuit.

Smart Charge System

- The Ford Smart Charge system can fail and cause charging problems.

- Check the three-pin connector going to the alternator - if it's loose, corroded, or damaged, the alternator may not work correctly.

- Try disconnecting the Smart Charge system (forcing the alternator to work as a standard one) and see if the problem improves.

Parasitic battery drain

- If something is drawing power while the car is off, the battery might not have enough charge when you restart.

- A mechanic can do a parasitic draw test by pulling fuses one by one to find a circuit draining power.

Faulty ECU or sensors

- If the ECU isn't regulating voltage properly, it could be sending the wrong signals to the alternator.

- Some Ford owners have reported a faulty crankshaft position sensor or bad engine ground causing similar symptoms.

Fuse box or relay issue

- Check the engine bay fuse box for water damage or corrosion - this is common on older Fords.

- A failing alternator fuse or relay could intermittently stop charging.