Honda Problems

The two new arrivals this year, the Mazda2 and Jazz, both get The Tick from me. The Jazz is better value in the basic car and the Mazda rival has a more substantial feel. Go for the Honda.

None of the above. It's the Volkswagen Polo, which recently had a significant price cut, that gets The Tick from me.

I would doubt that you aren’t covered for this sort of problem. I would suggest you don’t park the car under trees, or anywhere else where leaves might fall on it while it’s parked.

Before you jump out of the Honda, head to a tyre specialist (Bob Jane T-Marts is usually good) and talk about switching to a quieter tyre. A change of tyres can really help and it's a lot cheaper than a change of cars.

I would suggest you take it to a Honda dealer. They should be able to fix it, or send you to someone who could.

Things have changed since you bought the Civic, with most Japanese carmakers going backwards through the GFC. As for our Euro bias, we actually think the Koreans now make better cars than most of the Japanese brands.

Don’t do it. It’s usually a waste of money if you’re prepared to keep the car clean and polish it very occasionally.

So you still have to consider the Mazda3, which definitely gets The Tick. Forced to choose, I'd take the Focus because it's a nicer drive and the Civic is really nothing special in 2014.

The Swift is good but the Honda Jazz is better and my recommendation.