What car should you buy? The answer is generally whichever Skoda best suits your needs

This time of year, it’s an occupational hazard for the Auto Express team to be cornered by friends, colleagues or family asking for advice about buying a new car.

It’s the second most dreaded question after “What’s your favourite car?”. That one is tricky because the answer changes with your mood – like your favourite song.

The pitfalls of the “What Car Should I Buy?” question are slightly different – partly because you know you’ll cross paths with that person again once they’ve bought their new car. But the problem is mainly that, in many cases, they’ve already got an idea of what they want – or may even have decided – and are looking for an expert to validate their choice, rather than advise.

It’s a mistake you only make once. A few years back, my father-in-law asked what I thought of the Chrysler 300C. And it was only after a minute or so of listening to my honest and not massively complimentary opinion that he dangled a shiny Chrysler key fob under my nose. There’s no digging yourself out of that hole. Believe me, I tried.

With time, it gets easier to spot the people who want you to endorse the choice they’ve already made. In which case you find positive things to say, unless they’re making a stinker of a decision. There aren’t many really bad choices these days, so it’s not worth telling someone they’re wrong

if their heart and mind are set. And if they feel good about a car and it makes them happy, then they’ve made the right move.

But for the ones who are truly unsure about, and in many cases baffled by, the options, you switch on your work brain.

There is a stock answer. A brief poll in the Auto Express office concluded that it’s generally whichever Skoda best suits their needs. In other words, a practical, sensibly priced car that generally ranks well in the Driver Power customer satisfaction survey.

You end up asking people questions they hadn’t considered about how they use their car – whether they need something as big as they think they do, and increasingly if an EV might fit their lifestyle, especially with the way prices for used examples have fallen within reach. The elephant in the room is always how much they will spend, but if they’re flexible and patient, the right car will normally emerge in the end.

It’s always fun shopping with someone else’s money, and especially satisfying when you can guide them into a smarter choice. Just don’t mention the 300C round the Barker Christmas dinner table.

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