My 2010 Mondeo is about to go to car heaven. I need to replace it. I'm looking for a car the same size for mostly motorway journeys but big enough to throw my bike in the back.
My initial thoughts was another Mondeo but I've seen a few horror stories about the EcoBoost engines.
So what large comfy motorway cruiser for £10-12k?
I think petrol engine this time as I only do 7-8k miles per year nowadays
This being STW, the answer should be Octavia or Superb
There’s a reason why most taxis are skoda superbs.
It’s not because they are expensive to run or unreliable.
And the rear cabin space is truly enormous.
I used to have a 2013 Octavia company car and I found the driving position a bit cramped for my long legs
V70? E class Merc? Passat?
ElShalimo
Full Member
My 2010 Mondeo is about to go to car heaven. I need to replace it. I’m looking for a car the same size for mostly motorway journeys but big enough to throw my bike in the back.My initial thoughts was another Mondeo but I’ve seen a few horror stories about the EcoBoost engines.
That only applies to the wetbelt version of the 1.0 as far as I know. If you look on AT, most (all?) of the new shape ones are the 2.0 petrol/diesel lumps in various forms.
There’s a reason why most taxis are skoda superbs.
They're either Superb's or Toyota Corolla's round here. Not sure the latter is quite as big as the Mondeo, but they'll certainly last.
Volvo V60 or Mazda 6, but personally I'd stick with a Mondeo
There’s a reason why most taxis are skoda superbs.
They’re either Superb’s or Toyota Corolla’s round here. Not sure the latter is quite as big as the Mondeo, but they’ll certainly last.
Octavias or Priuses here - with the odd Superb.
How about a Toyota Avensis though OP?
I'd run a mile from a Mazda, they still haven't got Skyactive right by all accounts.
Would stick with a Mondeo or Focus estate.
Skyactive is fine in petrol, it's the diesel one that is best avoided.
Currently have a Mondeo estate (diesel) and keep my eyes open for a replacement for it as we are now up to 120,000 miles in it. However, newer ones currently appear to be as rare as hen's teeth plus we know that the supply isn't going to be getting too plentiful as the Mondeo is going to be killed pretty soon anyway. Given I don't know how long we will be sticking with this one we had the timing chain changed at its last service earlier this summer. If I had the cash I would be tempted by either the Merc C class estate or the E class estate. Maybe that's just an unfounded soft spot I have for them. I would also consider another Passat but they too seem to be fairly rare. And a bit more costly than a Mondeo. Same with the Audi A6 - if we are going to hit all of the STW stereotypes. 😉
Just last week my 2014 Mondeo Estate 2.0 tdci went to the auction, part exchanged it for an Octavia 1.4tsi. The Mondeo was on 160K miles, and had a long expensive list of work needing doing, shame as I loved that car. It's been brilliant to me.
I couldn't find a decent, well priced Octavia estate (they are popular), and time was running out, so I have a Octavia Hatchback. So far really enjoying it, and getting 55mpg on my commute, which is great for a petrol. It'll take bikes in the back, it's pretty big. But I'm going to get a towbar on it, and will carry the bikes on a towbar rack.
I would have had another Mondeo Estate, but the MK5 isn't as good apparently. And MK4s were not in plentiful supply.
Would stick with a Mondeo or Focus estate.
IMO the Focus is not half the car the Mondeo is. I also thought the Octavia was much smaller inside than a Mondeo.
OP - I know you say budget of £10-£12k, but thats not far off Tesla money for a fairly new model 3
FunkyDuncFree Member
Would stick with a Mondeo or Focus estate.
IMO the Focus is not half the car the Mondeo is. I also thought the Octavia was much smaller inside than a Mondeo.OP – I know you say budget of £10-£12k, but thats not far off Tesla money for a fairly new model 3
It's interesting they've depreciated that much now, good car for that money, but the OP asked for a car you can 'throw a bike in the back of'. Unfortunately the boot on the model 3 has a really small opening.
I'll chuck in my two penneth worth.
I had a mk4 Mondeo (titanium X sport estate) for 5 years/75k miles, was comfy, solid, mine was a little noisy (odd tyre size on the pre facelift x sport meant that the only option were sticky tyres). Had a brief sojourn into an insignia estate (hateful thing, tiny inside compared to the mondeo and the seat/driving position combination was awful) while I waited for my Corolla estate (touring sports!) to be built/delivered (switched to company car). I've had the Corolla for 4 years/65k now, the seat is one of the most comfortable I've had (2013 Audi A4 was the worst incidentally) tech is pretty good, I've averaged 50mpg over the time I've had the car (1.8 hybrid - but I have a lead foot) and have had no issues with it at all other than consumables. But, it's not the most refined car out there, road noise is intrusive at motorway speed and it is significantly smaller inside than the mondeo was, my gravel bike will go in wheels on (back seats folded flat - there are levers in the boot to fold the seats) but the mtb (XL 29er) has to have the front wheel off.
Used Skoda wagons aren't cheap as they're a very popular used option. You can buy all sorts of much more expensive German options of a similar age and mileage for the same money but most of them have smaller boots.
We drove a couple of Superb's and they were supremely quiet and comfortable but unnecessarily massive in the back. We went with an Octavia VRS DSG in the end. Swallows all my bikes and a pile of kiddy stuff no problem and drives like a dream.
So what large comfy motorway cruiser for £10-12k?
I think petrol engine this time as I only do 7-8k miles per year nowadays
Diesels aren't a poor choice for low mileage, they're a poor choice for short trip distances. If you genuinely want a "motorway cruiser" I'd be looking at another Mondy in a 2L diesel flavour. There must be loads out there.
Ive literally just sold the perfect car for you (in my eyes anyway 🙂 )
VW Passat Estate 2.0 TDI bluemotion. Compared to my previous Octavia's the fit and finish is slightly better but feels more refined.
In the spirit of recommending what you have - 2018 era or newer petrol Superb Estate. Huge boot. I'm 6ft3 and can easily sleep in the back with the seats down. Around 50mph for my 1.4Tsi cruising at 65-70. 6 years old. No issues at 60k miles.
Note - I go my cambelt changed last year. This year I think Skoda changed the requirement to every 100k.
I had an Octavia before and drove the Octavia Scout at work. The Superb is a bit more refined. A few little touches the Octavia doesn't have. Boonet goes up on a gas strut. Rear boot light is on a magnet. Take it off it's a torch.
I set out to buy an Octavia estate a while ago and ended up with a Focus estate instead. Better spec for the money and plenty big enough. Just drove Borders to Aberdeen and back and car is showing 57mpg for the trip. I'm happy with my decision.
IMO the Focus is not half the car the Mondeo is
I have both, Mk4 estate and hatch respectively. TBH there's not much in it but I'd imagine a Mk5 Mondeo would be a slightly nicer place to be.
I was in the same situation. My old Mondeo had 125k on the clock and needed a lot of work to get it through its MOT. I tried a few Ford dealers and none of them could supply a Mondeo estate, unless you were prepared to order a brand new one. I don’t understand, as this thread shows they were great cars! Cheap to run and buy. I would agree the Focus is nowhere near as good as the Mondeo ( I changed from a Focus to a Mondeo).
In the end it was between a Subaru Outback and superb estate for me. Neither have the boot capacity of the Mondeo.
Come on Ford bring back a decent sized estate car. The Kuga is now near as good!
Thanks so far
I prefer a hatchback so Passat and Avensis are off the list. The estates are pricey.
I'm not giving Musk a penny. I'd rather drive a Dacia Logan bag of crap for eternity
Mondeo's were always company/fleet cars with not many private buyers.
Companies have moved on to Mercs, BMWs and Audi's and now to electric cars with far better tax breaks.
Without the bulk orders Mondeo's no longer make sense to produce. You can't buy a new Vauxhall Insignia either.
Fashion plays a part also.
Ford canned the Mondeo because everyone wants a mini-SUV. We have a Seat Arona, if instead we'd wanted an Ibiza - essentially the same car - or a Leon the lead time was pushing a year. They're just not making them because no-one wants them.
We moved from a 1l eco boost focus estate under mileage with 75k on the clock to a nearly new Octavia estate.
So far it's been comfier and quieter with a bigger boot than the focus. We'll probably trade up to the superb when the boys are bigger.
My wife didn't want an SUV and I didn't want to have to get out a step ladder to put the bikes on the roof
Replaced my MK3.5 with a v60. It's a much, much nicer placer to be.
I do need to take the front wheel off to get the LLS bike in the back.
Currently on 238k miles too.
With the front wheel off we could get out tandem in the back of out Mondeo hatch, they're great cars, sad to see the massive SUVs that appear to be taking their place.
A Volvo, the ex and i did Kiel to Perpignan in a day in a V70 (1600 km), then down to Mallorca for a fortnight of training, then on the way back we did Barcelona to Malmo in one session (2000+ km) with a couple of longer stops and co driver sleeping in the car. Then the last 350 km home before 11 am the day after. Still fresh enough to get shopping, do the laundry, unpack the car (burn the shoes i'd been wearing for 2 days straight).
2.4D 163bhp. About 1200km/tank at euro M-way speeds (130kph).
You can get 4 medium ish sized road bikes in the boot or two decent sized (not LLS) FS bikes in there too.
Currently have a V60 SPA1 (my second) and have done 800km in a day on my own with no issues. (And 600+ towing a caravan). Only ones i've had in the last 15 years that i wouldn't want to drive really long distances in were the C30 and the V40.
The rest are all comfy and easy to drive long distances in.
Still fresh enough to
It's not relevant to the OP, but I've been driving for ~35 years and the only car I've ever owned that I've stepped out of after doing serious mileage feeling as fresh as when I got into it was a Ford Scorpio. It had a face only a mother could love and it oversteered like a bastard, but comfort-wise it was like driving a sofa.
If you prioritise something that works, will continue to work for a long time and cost as little as possible then a Toyota Avensis. Working backwards from there, stay as Japanese mainstream as possible until you get something you are willing to be seen driving.
I would buy another Avensis estate in a heartbeat. There are very many better ways to spend the extra money that owning anything else would cost.
Are the people comparing Focus' looking at Mk4 or the older ones?
I'd certainly agree the older ones are spartan but new ones aren't that far off.
I was in my cousin's almost new Focus estate recently. Like many modern cars it's big on the outside but quite cramped up front. Quite nice cabin though
You get a lot of insignia for the money
I would buy another Avensis estate in a heartbeat.
I think it's been the Corolla estate since 2019(?) we had some as fleet cars and they were good for motorway miles in terms of fuel efficiency and comfort, only seems to come in hybrid/auto config, I'd happily have one TBH.
Not sexy of course but, very much a discerning 'Dad car'... IMO of course.
Car prices have gone crazy. Closest I can find to my car is this Superb at £15k. I paid £18.3k brand new more than 6 years ago. £600 a year depreciation.
at the price they seem to be selling for the Suprb doesn't look good value compared to other options.
I paid £10.5k in 2022 for our 2015 Passat estate which had 106,000mi on it but was top spec. I think it was overpriced but had little choice at the time as my car had been written off in an accident and it was the height of price inflation.
I’ve put 20,000 more miles on it since and it’s been alright with no major dramas, just a few annoyances which I’ve had fixed. That being said I can’t say I’m particular fond of it in general for a few reasons like the seating position being all sorts of wrong for me, and the stupid 19 inch alloys which you feel every pebble on the road through.
Interestingly I've just been comparing a Golf estate and a Golf SV )on paper)
The SV has similar numbers and is obviously on the same basic platform, only it's supposed to be the MPV version but it's apparently only 100mm shorter and boot capacity is only 15L less (the key criteria for me looking at estates).
That minor pretty difference has me adding the Golf SV to my searches now. There must be a couple of other hatchback platform derived MPVs that cover very similar bases to the estate flavoured ones out there right?
I used to have a 2013 Octavia company car and I found the driving position a bit cramped for my long legs
I don't think anyone tall has weighed in yet? But as a fellow tall person I feel you. When I was looking I tried a bunch of Octavias and some are ok and some aren't. The different seat options make a huge difference if you're tall, combined with the roof type (pan roof/sunroof etc). So some seats/trims are ok and some aren't - sadly I forget which.
To give my answer, I ended up in a 5 series touring. Great for a tall person, I'm 6'4" and it's possible to put the front seats too far back, which is amazing. Every other car I've been in it's a case of seat slammed right down and right back to fit.
Interestingly I’ve just been comparing a Golf estate and a Golf SV )on paper)
I looked at both of these, the SV is taller hence the capacity. The boot seems a lot worse than the estate for carrying bulky stuff, like a bike.
As a left field suggestion, nobody’s mentioned Hyundai i40 that I can see.
I had an i40 for while. It was alright, I wouldn't run out and buy another but equally there was little to recommend against it either. Being a saloon rather than a hatchback was more of an arseache than I'd anticipated.
Oh, it was also the i40 where halfway up the M66 the glass "moon roof" spontaneously exploded. That focused the mind somewhat, it was one hell of a bang. I genuinely thought at first that someone had dropped a paving stone off a bridge. Design flaw apparently, there's another Hyundai model outside the UK with the same issue.
I looked at both of these, the SV is taller hence the capacity. The boot seems a lot worse than the estate for carrying bulky stuff, like a bike.
Dunno, you're either going to have to remove wheels and/or fold seat in either version right.
The main uses for our cars boot is luggage and shopping. 4" shorter and a wee bit taller might actually work ok. Transporting My bikes is a secondary consideration, and as ever a towbar mounted rack is ultimately the bestest solution anyway.
