Michael McAleeranswers your questions
From Paul Campbell:
I heard a radio ad for the Fiat Grande Punto which claims that "thanks to its low CO2 emissions, the Grande Punto comes with reduced VRT now". How is this possible if the planned VRT changes do not come into effect until July 1st?
Simple: Fiat is paying the tax difference between now and July 1st. That ranges from between 2.5 per cent and up to 10 per cent on the 1.9-litre Multijet diesel version. Of course, these percentages are not of the actual sales price, but rather the open market selling price. This is agreed between the manufacturer and Revenue officials and is rarely the same as the price you see on the car's windscreen when you go to buy.
According to a Fiat spokesperson: "It was the view of Fiat Auto Ireland that many intending buyers who had been considering buying a new Grande Punto in January would postpone their purchase until July, to get the full benefit of what will be a significant price reduction.
"However, Fiat had already ordered enough stocks of cars for dealers to cope with demand in the period January to March (the busiest period for sales of new cars) and the company did not want these cars to sit on forecourts until July. So, Fiat's difficulty has been translated into a big opportunity for buyers."
From Rosaleen Murphy:
Regarding the reader's question last week seeking advice about driving in France, we've been taking our car to France for many years, and generally find driving there quite pleasant. There are plenty of useful websites as well.
However, I've never seen a mention of a feature that frightened the life out of us, both as pedestrians and as motorists, a few times until we got used to it.
At a junction controlled by traffic lights, when your light goes green, be extra careful when turning right because pedestrians will frequently have a green man at the same time and will be crossing in front of you quite legitimately. Presumably French drivers are taught to proceed with caution at a green light, and to treat it as we would a flashing amber. And yes of course, pedestrians always have right of way.
Another word of warning- we have noticed in the past couple of years that some of the smaller villages in Brittany have re-introduced the dreaded priorité à droite in order to slow down traffic on the main road through the village, so you have to watch out for, and yield to, cars emerging from side roads on your right.
A yellow diamond signals that you have priority once again, and can proceed as you would at home. Also, the urban speed limit (50km/h) begins at the sign bearing the village name - you won't usually see a separate speed limit sign. Hope the reader enjoys the trip.
From Pat Flynn:
Regarding the question about driving in France, I just thought I should mention that it's important to be familiar with the priorité à droite rule. I've almost come unstuck several times in towns or villages when people unexpectedly, but legally, shot out in front of me from side-roads on my right.
Thanks to both readers for their advice. In particular the issue of "priorité à droite" can be a real headache for Irish motorists.
From Brian McMahon, Dublin:
Following the Budget, it would seem to make financial sense after July to buy a diesel car.
We do about 7,500 miles per year, nearly all of which is city driving. I had heard before that diesel engines need to be driven at higher speeds regularly or the filters get blocked. Is this still true?
That is pretty low mileage for a diesel car. Under the current tax system it would have been hard to justify the added costs of a diesel engine, compared to a small petrol one.
As a general rule of thumb, if you are doing less than 15,000 miles then it will take you four years or more to make up the difference through fuel savings between a petrol and diesel equivalent.
However, with a drop in prices for several diesel models against their petrol counterparts from July 1st due to lower CO2 emissions, that should theoretically make it far more viable to opt for diesel.
Previously car firms claimed that diesel technology was more expensive to develop and produce and this was why teh engines were more expensive. . However, the tax changes should make several diesels significantly cheaper than the petrol version as the emission figures are better. Combine that with better fuel economy, and you can see the clear benefits of opting for an oil burner.
In terms of blocked filters, they are an issue with diesel cars, but only after many thousands of miles.
There are self-cleaning systems in place depending on the make and model of the car. Some use chemicals or extra fuel to clean the filters while others use heat from the engine to burn off any deposits.
In many of these cases the cleaning system requires the engine to be run at high revs, and that will mean a motorway drive or good run on a national road. You are unlikely to reach high enough revs in city driving.
How often you need to do this depends on the car in question, but it is something you should bring up with the salesperson when buying, to ensure they tell you the manufacturer's recommendations and also the potential cost of cleaning the filters if this has to be done in the garage.
From Desmond Smart:
I was interested in last week's assessment of the new Mitsubishi Lancer. The "factfile" stated that the Lancer is equipped with "ABS with EBD". I know about ABS and turned to the Abbreviations Guide on page 7 to find out about EBD. There is no sign of it there, but of course ESP is listed. I know you are an advocate of ESP, and have said so more than once. I think that ESP should be standard on all cars or at least on all "proper" cars. I wonder if EBD is a version of ESP? If so, could the Abbreviations Guide indicate that?
EBD stands for Electronic Brakeforce Distribution. The system uses sensors to judge road conditions, speed, loading and the like.
The key attribute of the system is to alter how much of the brake force goes to the each wheel - particularly front versus rear wheels - in order to prevent the car from skidding or spinning if the brakes lock.
Depending on the surfaces encountered by each wheel, a different amount of braking is required before any wheel locks. This system maximises the braking effect while minimising the risk of locking up.
• Send your queries to Motors Helpdesk, The Irish Times, Tara St, Dublin 2 or e-mail motorshelp@irish-times.ie