'I have driven a company car for years but am about to retire. What should I buy?'

SeriesThe Car Clinic

Our readers get expert answers.

AS THE FACE of DoneDeal Cars and with 25 years’ experience in the industry, Paddy Comyn is ‘the’ car guy to everyone in his life and he has widened out that role to you, The Journal readers.

In his Car Clinic series, he answers all your motoring questions and queries. Have one? Send it with the subject line CAR CLINIC to motoring@thejournal.ie – we will publish all answers on Mondays on The Journal. (Your questions will be anonymised.)

Please let Paddy know what your budget is if you’re asking about your next big purchase.

Here’s this week’s question:

Hi Paddy,

I’m about to retire. I have been driving a company car for years, so will be buying myself a car after I retire. I have always remained as a named driver on my wife’s car insurance so I have a record of a clean driving record for reference when getting my own insurance policy.

I’m looking for something reliable, reasonably economical to run.

I’m looking to spend around €50,000 for a used Volvo XC60 PHEV or maybe a RAV4 PHEV or HEV.

I will have a home charger installed if needed. I have Solar already.

I’m not completely locked in on those two, something similar to that would also be considered. 

Firstly, happy retirement. The two cars that you mention are really solid choices, in particular I really like the RAV4 PHEV which for me is one of the best PHEV models around. Your €50,000 budget will get you a 2025 RAV4 PHEV with pretty low mileage from a main Toyota dealer.

This is without doubt one of the best plug-in hybrid cars on the market, so your instincts are really good. They are quite hard to find though but there are a few in your price range on DoneDeal Cars right now and you won’t have to go back too far, with a 2024 or 2024 well within your budget.

Don’t be afraid of higher mileage with these either as they are superb. If I was buying a used PHEV this is what I would buy, but let’s look at a couple of others.

You could have a 2025 or 2026 Volkswagen Tiguan PHEV within your budget. Again, another lovely car and you could definitely get into a 2026 model with little or no miles for your budget and that would be an appeal. The latest Tiguan is very refined, has a lovely interior and good infotainment and the EV-only range is now genuinely very impressive thanks to a larger battery.

The Volvos you mention are of course an option but you will have to go back a few years to work within your budget. You might be back to a 2024 to get a low-mileage XC60 PHEV, which is fine if you aren’t planning to do high mileage, but I also have to ask if you aren’t planning to do high mileage then an EV would be a good option, but maybe you don’t feel like making that jump yet.

The Volvo, of course, is super-refined, very safe and it looks and feels upmarket.

This would be my shortlist. Of these, I’d have the Toyota.

Paddy Comyn is the head of automotive content and communications with DoneDeal Cars. He has been involved in the Irish motor industry for more than 25 years.

Journal Media Ltd has shareholders in common with DoneDeal Ltd.