Nissan Problems

It's a great way for dealers to make money. I would never approve it on my car.

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.

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.

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

It could be a number of things, like the suction control valve on the fuel pump, although that's unlikely given that the pump has been replaced. It could be a problem with the fuel rail pressure sensor, but the first thing I would suggest you try is clean the Mass Air Flow Sensor in the intake.

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.

I would go for the Qashqai ahead of the Tiguan and Compass.

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."