Nissan Problems

The Tiguan is getting old and the Qashqai is brand-spanking, the latter also with much better warranty and service back-up. Neither is my favourite in the class but I'd go for the Qashqai.

If you're heading down the SUV road then the Qashqai is fine but the new 308 is a ripper car that gets The Tick from me. I would go for either Peugeot option.

There is a lot more to car choice than one safety aspect. If you're not happy about one missing feature, you should look further into the class at something like the Mazda CX-5 which I give The Tick.

It isn't unusual to have a problem with the auto at that sort of mileage. Most appear to be down to a problem with the oil cooler splitting, which allows coolant to enter the transmission, which can then cause problems with the inbuilt ECU.

It's unusual to have a major failure of the front diff, unless it has been left in low range four-wheel drive on the highway. If that hasn't happened I would request a full explanation of the reason the diff has failed.

The CX-5 is the best vehicle in your line-up and gets The Tick from me.

More than 80 per cent of cars sold in Australia are now automatics and that share is still rising, fast. When companies are looking to cut cost and complications from their line-ups, it's easy to drop a manual that few people want. Between X-Trail and CR-V I give The Tick to the Honda.

We compare vehicles against their class rivals and the Captiva is well behind its direct competitors in quality, driving and resale value. It is likely to be more costly than a Dualis — now called Qashqai — because, particularly as a Captiva 7, it is bigger and heavier.

The GTI is a much better drive and a much better car. But if price comes first you'll will get a great fantastic deal on a Pulsar, including the ST-S that comes with the SSS engine and is still hugely overstocked.

Nissan spokesman Peter Fadeyev replies: "Nissan Australia has encountered only a handful of episodes where the Dualis shifter has been broken but these have been observed in rental cars and cars with certain aftermarket accessories fitted. The cause of the breakage is excessive force applied to the shifter to engage the car into gear without the driver applying sufficient force to the brake pedal to allow the car to be disengaged from the Park position. This matter hasn't involved recall."