Why are modern cars, like my wife's Volkswagen Touran, so complicated?

Surely there is something fundamentally stupid about the way we are building cars today? I drive a ten-year-old Toyota Yaris, a wonderful little car. My wife has a larger car, a Volkswagen Touran, for...

Why are your correspondents surprised that they can't match their car's official mpg figures?

Your letter-writers often complain that they can't match their car's official EC mpg figures. Surely it's common knowledge (or ought to be?) that these are measured while the car is driven in accordance...

Are your readers aware of all the major issues with electric cars?

Your column has correctly picked up on one of the fallacies of electric cars and you are the only writer that I can find that has told the truth about the disastrous effects on range that heating an electric...

Why are modern cars so complex and costly to run?

I am becoming increasingly alarmed at upgrading our cars to more recent models. My wife and I operate three petrol cars: a 1996 Ford Mondeo V6, a 2008 (original shape) Ford Ka and a 1971 MG Midget 1275cc....

Why was an EU committee meeting on motorcycle type approval dismissed by committee members?

On 28 February MEP Wim van de Camp, as Rapporteur, presented his report to The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) and representatives of the European Commission regarding the EU Commission's...

Why is our Land Rover Freelander 2 returning just 32mpg?

We purchased a brand new Freelander 2 MY2011 TD4 manual three months ago. Against a claimed combined fuel consumption figure of 45.2mpg, we are getting an average of 32.1mpg. We live in the country and...

Why is our FIAT 500 TwinAir returning just 30mpg?

I badly need your help. We bought a FIAT 500 TwinAir recently because it’s a quirky car, has no road tax, is Congestion Charge-free and we were told it would do 70mpg by the FIAT dealer. We are most disappointed...

Why is my Mazda 6 returning just 40mpg when it is advertised as returning up to 52mpg?

I bought a Mazda 6 estate 'Takuya' edition in September 2010. It’s a 2.2TDi (163ps) with an advertised mpg of 40.9 urban and 52.3 combined. Given the rising price of fuel, the mpg performance was a key...

Why does my Alfa Romeo MiTo only achieve 75 per cent of its quoted mpg figure?

I know from what you have written that official fuel economy figures are unachievable, but does there come a point at which they are misrepresenting the car? I bought an Alfa MiTo in August (pre-reg but...

Why doesn't my Hyundai ix35 achieve anywhere near its quoted mpg figure?

I bought a Hyundai ix35 4wd diesel manual at the end of October. We are delighted with the car except for its fuel consumption. When we first had it and it was running in I did not expect any reasonable...