{"id":655408,"date":"2026-08-25T09:42:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T09:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/655408\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T09:42:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T09:42:16","slug":"were-moving-from-the-netherlands-to-ireland-and-we-need-a-new-car-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/655408\/","title":{"rendered":"We\u2019re moving from the Netherlands to Ireland and we need a new car \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

We will soon be moving from the Netherlands to Ireland and will leave behind our 2014 trusty and very comfortable <\/b>Volvo<\/b><\/a> diesel XC60 because of driving on the left side of the road in Ireland. We are thinking of buying a four- or five-year-old Volvo XC40, ideally diesel, but there are very few on the market. What alternative would you recommend with a similar level of comfort and range (1,000km with a full tank)? From Philippe G<\/b><\/p>\n

First and foremost, welcome to Ireland. We hope you\u2019re going to be very happy here. <\/p>\n

When it comes to moving with a car from Europe, yes, you\u2019re right \u2013 our insistence on driving on the left is a bit of a blocker. It\u2019s certainly not impossible to use and drive a left-hand-drive model in Ireland. It\u2019s a pain in car parks and at toll booths. Insurance for left-hand-drive cars can also be problematic, but I digress.<\/p>\n

An XC40 would be an ideal replacement for the XC60 as it\u2019s more compact and more economical overall, but as you say a suitable replacement with a diesel engine are thin on the ground, largely because in the past five years in Ireland diesel sales have fallen off considerably, leaving a shortfall in good used stock with diesel engines. <\/p>\n

Indeed, in the age range you\u2019re looking at, we couldn\u2019t find a single diesel-powered XC40 available. There are a number of plug-in hybrid XC40 Recharge models available, but this would only be a viable option if you\u2019re moving to an address with a driveway or other off-street parking for overnight charging. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Volvo\u2019s new EX60 sets latest EV range benchmark of \u2018up to 810km on one charge\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

That could, in theory, reduce your fuel bills quite a lot if you\u2019re driving mostly short journeys, but it would reduce your long-haul range to around 650km on a combined tank of fuel and a full battery. So that\u2019s not a great option. <\/p>\n

A really good option, instead, would be a Toyota<\/a> Rav4. There are two options in this case: a standard hybrid, or a more powerful (but impressively frugal) plug-in hybrid. In either case, on a full tank, and driven with reasonable care, you could get as much as 800km on a fill-up, which is at least getting closer. <\/p>\n

There are other options, though. How about a previous-generation BMW<\/a> X3 20d? A 2022 X3 20d can be bought for about \u20ac40,000, and you should easily get up to 900km on a full tank of diesel. Plus, it\u2019s a terrific car to drive and has a really high-quality interior. <\/p>\n

Of course, you could simply exchange one Volvo XC60 for another. The XC60 diesel remained on sale in Ireland for some time, and you can easily pick up a 2022-2023 edition for about the same cost as the BMW X3. Nice and familiar, and you should get that magic 1,000km on a tank if driven with care. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Priced for stockbrokers, driven on school runs: Volvo EX90 testedOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an easier way of hitting 1,000km on a tank, though. It just means sitting down a touch lower. Get yourself a Skoda<\/a> Superb Combi (estate) TDI diesel. It\u2019s even roomier inside than the XC90, really smooth and easygoing to drive, and the 150hp 2.0-litre TDI should easily hit 1,100km on a full tank. You could even run it on HVO instead of diesel. <\/p>\n

If we\u2019re talking estates, of course, we have to consider Mercedes<\/a> and the awesome E-Class estate. There are few cars that so easily combine class, comfort, and carrying ability. <\/p>\n

Sadly, Irish buyers tend to shun estates, but we did find a 2022 Mercedes E220d estate on sale for \u20ac44,000, and that should easily break the 1,000km barrier on one tank. Plus it\u2019s a fantastic car to drive, with a gorgeous cabin. Easily one of the best cars on sale. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We will soon be moving from the Netherlands to Ireland and will leave behind our 2014 trusty and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":655409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[73],"tags":[3500,27674,79,18,8888,19,17,44700,8300,166007,55417,72132,117975],"class_list":["post-655408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-advice","tag-bmw","tag-business","tag-eire","tag-electric-vehicles","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mercedes-benz","tag-motors","tag-motorsq-a","tag-skoda","tag-toyota","tag-volvo-group"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117155498978879293","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=655408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/655409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=655408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=655408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=655408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}