Why are our handbrakes on the wrong side?

HELPDESK:Answering all your motoring queries

From P Kavanagh: I am interested in availing of the scrappage scheme and am looking at cars/crossovers. I’d like a fairly well-equipped car but it also needs to be family-friendly and spacious. I like the look of SUVs but also want the economical side. I need to be able to fit two baby seats and an adult in the back.

You don’t mention budgets, but the fact you need two child seats and an adult in the back is going to limit matters. I’m going to keep things economical and suggest a Skoda Superb Greenline 1.6 TDI diesel in the top Elegance grade. It might not be the SUV you want but it’s a big car and one of the few regular saloons that take two child seats and a passenger in the back. The boot is enormous, something just as important for all the paraphernalia that accompanies parenthood.

In terms of equipment, the Elegance comes with leather heated seats in front and rear, bi-xenon headlights, cruise control, Skoda’s parking assistance system, and a 20GB internal music storage drive with DVD playback features and in-built sat-nav. The price? €28,995, and it qualifies for scrappage given its relatively low emissions, falling into tax band A with an annual road tax of €104. It’s hard to argue against this car for family purposes.

From M O’S: I read up on the Mitsubishi i-Miev electric car about two years ago and was considering it before they announced the price at nearly €30,000. Are there plans for more electric models from the firm? I’m looking for something smaller than the Leaf – and significantly cheaper.

At present Mitsubishi is only offering the i-Miev but at Geneva this week it introduced the new Colt as a concept and rumours suggest that car could one day host an electric powertrain. In the meantime, Toyota is preparing to launch a test on its electric version of the IQ city car, though again that’s likely be a few years away. If you want to remain with mainstream brands then it’s really going to be 2013 before the choice and variety of electric cars really expands. I’d recommend you try out the Leaf, however. It’s a spacious car but it doesn’t feel big from behind the wheel.

From Tom Ryan: Why are handbrakes on the wrong side of most cars, with the exception of Japanese brands?

It’s simply down to cost: Japanese cars are right-hand drive so that’s why they suit Irish buyers so well. Engineers believe it’s unnecessary to move the handbrake simply for right-hand drive markets. In fairness it’s arguable whether it’s a cost worth paying for I’ve never found the handbrake awkward to reach and my days of doing handbrake turns are long gone. Besides, in many cases car firms are turning to electric handbrake switch systems to free more room.

Send your queries to Motors Helpdesk, The Irish Times, Tara St, Dublin 2 or email motorshelp@irishtimes.com