Which economical petrol car should we buy?

My wife and I both recently retired. We want to buy a new or used 4/5 door car. It would need to be economical to run and reliable over an annual mileage of 6000 - 7000 miles, I presume a petrol engine...

Will the Mazda 5 1.8i petrol model be reliable?

I'm looking at the Mazda 5. From what I can see the 2.0i 150PS is from 2012 onwards? Would it be fatal if I considered the 1.8i petrol? Should I automatically be looking for a deal or, as I am being picky,...

Can you recommend a large family car and a second runabout vehicle?

My wife and I both retired recently. We drive a 2003 Audi A3 and a 2004 Audi TT 3.2. Both cars are showing signs of ageing, such as engine management “lightitis”, high road tax and poor fuel economy. Our...

What's causing this engine fault on my Skoda Fabia vRS?

In June 2011 I bought a Fabia vRS new from SMC Skoda Exeter. At the second service, with 12,000 miles, I mentioned the high oil consumption plus the fact the car had gone into limp home mode after some...

Should I pick the Honda Civic 2.2 iCDTI or the 1.8 iVTEC?

I've been reading up about the Civic 2.2iCTDI on your website. It looks good, but the 1.8 iVTEC also looks good. I'm just wondering which one's going to end up costing the most to run with circa 20,000...

Could you recommend a van-like car for short trips and with lots of load space?

We recently had to scrap our second car, a 1996 Golf GTI that had fully foldable back seats, making it ideal for its later life of short journeys to and from the station, allotment and tip. I would love...

Should I buy a Lexus IS 250C to accompany my Mercedes-Benz SLK and Chrysler 300C?

I have three cars: a 2008 Chrysler 300C estate with a Webasto electric roof, unique stitched Nappa heated leather, fantastic Classic FM and Radio 3 Boston audio upgrade and Parrot, tinted glass, 57,000...

Can you recommend a petrol-engined four-seat coupe?

We are about to change cars and would like a good-looking coupe four-seater with comfort and a bit of luxury, petrol engine and manual gearbox. I am 80 and my wife is 70 and nowadays the majority of our...

Is it ok to buy a small turbocharged petrol vehicle for inner city use?

My 20-year old Mitsubishi 1.8i Space Runner automatic goes on and on like a faithful servant, but I fear replacement time will come next year. I wouldn't buy a diesel because of pollution but I am attracted...

Would you recommend the Volvo V40 to replace my 2004 Volkswagen Golf?

We are thinking of changing our 2004 Golf 1.9TDI. We would like something of a similar size although petrol as we do a lot of short and medium trips with a fairly low annual mileage. I note from reading...