we need a bigger car for our expanding family, but no idea whats good and whats not.
only thing we have looked at so far is a ford c max estate. any one had any experience with one of these? were looking at spending between 6 to 8 grand.
cheers for any help.
budget?
Zafira
I hear the range Rover is a nice car. Possibly a land rover discovery, they are nice. Or do you have a budget?
quite fancy a range rover, but a little beyond our budget i think.
i know a bloke who works at a vauxhal garage, so a zafira might be worth a look.
We've got 3 kids and got a VW Sharan 7yrs ago. It's fab, can fit bikes, camping stuff and dogs in. Keep thinking of another car but keep coming back to the Sharan. The only other option for us would be a Landrover Defender. But be prepared for transporting other peoples kids!
We looked at C and S Max and ended up buying a Toyota Verso...didn't like the look of the Zafira
I"ve got a Zafira SRI 1.9 CDTI 150.
Have had a few niggles, egr valve, cim module. They are the same as an Astra H underneath and there are loads of forums on the web that show you how to diagnose and fix most things.
Plenty of chips available which give them good performance and a sports button that basically means you eat fuel but it stiffens suspension and improves throttle response.
I love mine, its great for throwing bikes in, going to tip etc. Gets good mpg on a run. Tons of space and quite well built inside.
The exterior pack models with skirts and 18's beef them up somewhat and make them look quite nice IMO. Look better than Berlingos and Multiplas by miles.
C-max owner here.I've got the 1.6 tdci(110bhp),which gives a good performance/economy compromise,owned it for 2.5 years,covered 22000 miles in that time & had no issues with it whatsoever.The driving position is ideal,no aches & pains after a long journey.
I got the car specifically for bike carrying duties,& as such run it 95% of the time with the three rear seats removed,its superb for that.Here's the rub,though,if you're intending using it for '5 up' family duties,& intending carrying luggage,you'll struggle,as the boot isn't that big.The boot is taller than,say,a standard Focus estate,but nowhere near as long.
Another option is,as already mentioned,a Zafira,o.k.they're a 7 seater,but the 2 rearmost seats fold flat into the floor to give extra luggage space.
cheers gary, my only concern was the size. great for the school run, but could struggle with anything else.
We've got a Citroen C4 grand picasso, very pleased so far. 7 seats if needed, but massive boot when just using the front 2 rows. Probably not the most exciting drive, but that's not why we bought it. I narrowed the options to that or the S-max, and I could get newer/better fitted C4 on our budget. The bigger people carriers (galaxy etc) have full size rear seats but have to be removed and stored in your house if not in use. Cmax boot small if you've got 5 in the seats.
my sister has just got a picasso, so gonna see how they get on with theres.
chers tom.
my sister has just got a picasso, so gonna see how they get on with theres.
cheers tom.
top end zafira here (wifes car) which i can certainly recommend. big, comfortable, quick, economical, not hideously ugly if that matters. has been reliable so far and dealer servicing is pretty cheap. s-max is probably *better* but when we were looking they were much too expensive.
we've got a Grand Scenic got it 6 months old for £8800
awesome family car been twice to France in it
VW Touran here.
I wanted a Zafira but wife had one as a hire car(often)and hates the driving position. Neighbour had(until last weekend)a Vectra which spent most weekends in the garage, now has Honda F/HRV
Wife resisted my attempts to buy(she drives more than me)buy asmall mpv in the past with the "too big" excuse until she started her new job and uses hire cars every other month ranging from XTrails to last weeks 307.
She does like the Citreon btw.
We regularly use the 7 seats in the Touran having 2 grand kids.
Can get 3 bikes/riders inside with seats folded/out.
Large estate like Mondeo/Mazda 6/Pug 407SW??
Our family car is a zafira and its a great workhorse, plenty space in the back, or occasional 7 seater, handles well, ultra reliable (touch wood), comfortable, and you can get all your family in plus luggage, and four bikes on the roof rack.
Great family motor
TomB, the new Galaxy's full size 3rd row of seats do not have to be removed, they fold flat into the floor along with the 2nd row.
This creates a vast load area when needed.
have a cmax here - great car, but not really big enough for family holidays 5 up although we have just about managed. Used to have a scenic, which was bigger, but much less nice to drive and be in. Fortunately been able to rethink our cars and the cmax is now the wife's school run and short trips with the kids car and I have a new company car on the way. cmax is an 08 1.8 petrol - not good on the fuel though - it does mostly short trips and averages 27mpg.
Fiat Multipla?
Saab 9-5 estate - quick, cheap, massive, comfy, reliable.
thanks all, think ill have a look at a zafira, and the galaxy.
Citroen Berlingo can happily fit in camping equipment and 5 people and a dog for a weekend, but struggled once we got into biking, but the new shape is bigger - ours had plastic floor in boot, great for 2-3 muddy bikes. Now have a Galaxy (older version not one with seats that fold into the floor) - 3 bikes on the back, 2 on the top and a roof box if camping for more than a week to minimise that stressy feeling of will it all go back in! Both brilliant in their own way.
We are a family of 5, tried a lot of the options listed here over the last few years, owned some and test driven loads.
Current car is the C4 Grand Picasso, best car for a family of five without a doubt. I found a limiting factor with a lot of cars was the rear seat arrangement, the C4 GP has three equally sized rear seats which makes it easy to get three car seats in. Massive boot, by far the biggest in its class and even with the 7 seats in use there is still usable space behind and under the rearmost seats. Handles well too.
The Zafira is a bag of kack, the worst car i've ever owned by some distance. And I had a Renault 18 that I bought for 50 quid back in the day, even it was better.