I'm starting to think about changing my car, but haven't got a clue what to look at so I'm asking for some ideas please.
Current car is a mondeo petrol 2 litre hatchback. Like the drive but for the next car I want something a litle bit smaller, although still hatch or estate so a couple of bikes can be loaded easily, or enough space to get weekend camping gear for 3 to 4 peole in, probably something Focus size ish. Although the mondeo is fine for what it costs, I would prefer something slightly better biult, a 'prestige' brand would be fun but doesn't have to be, jsut something biult well. Audi, VW or Skoda, merc, lexus, honda are makes I've thought about, but not exclusively.
Having had a look at a few in passing (just glancing at ones I've seen in the street) or looking at parkers guide reviews, everything seems either huge, or too small in the boot, or a saloon which is no good. For example, golf and A3 are quite a lot smaller than the focus on boot space, A4 avant is pretty huge and seems mondeo sized again. Skoda superb is big, fabia seems smaller than the focus. Lexus are saloons, honda civic....now it appears small to my eyes but maybe not? Parkers seems to suggest it is pretty huge inside...actually I've started to doubt all the parkers guide boot space stats...they seem a bit random.
Price and spec wise I'd be variable. I'd look at something abut 3 years old, give or take, and say, 12k, but could go newer or older for a good car/deal.
So, anybody got an idea, or real world experience of something, perhaps something to prove to me that Parker's boot sizes are misleading me? thanks
I struggle with long sentences
Skoda or Berlingo or Audi
[i] A4 avant is pretty huge and seems mondeo sized again.[/i]
Ah, no - the Mondeo is a big car.
tbh anything smaller is a bit difficult for a 3 up camping expedition, unless its an Estate.
A3 sportback?
S40 volvo?
Passat/Golf estate?
A4 Avants are not that big, I've had all of them the latest one has a really bad sloping back end so you loose lots of height in the boot.
You can get a Lexus estate
http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/car-reviews/car-and-driving/lexus-is200-sportcross-1003614.html
oh okay, a4 avant back on the list then perhaps...quite fancy it for looks and a bit of prestige....if I won the lottery there are the quattro or rs versions...but in the real world I know I'd be very happy with the drive of a 'normal' one with a 2 litre ish engine.
sportsback? is that the avant or something else?
br - yeah I agree, the mondeo is mahoosive and it only just swallows camping and rock climbing gear for 4 and a weekend away, which is why I don't want to go too much smaller. Happy to go down a bit and have less comfy rear seat passengers though 🙂 or get a roof box. Mondeo is just ....too huge.
The usual car suggested is the Octavia Estate isn't it? They are Golf sized but seem to have a bigger boot area.
Octi is nice, looked at them when I bought the mondeo (not estate though), nearly as big. Recently replaced by the truly giant Superb isn't it?
No the Superb is above the Octavia. The Superb is more like an extended Passat.
The Octavia will continue to be sold.
Ah, ok thanks.
Don't waste your money on a "prestige" brand unless you can afford stupid expensive service/repai bills
Been there done that.
Get a focus or a golf or something. Estate for extra space. Diesel not worth the extra unless you live near a motorway.
Having had a good peak inside a mates Octi estate that is definately a possibilty. Also saw in a super market a SEAT I didn't recognise so went and checked it then looked it up....the Exeo. It came out in 09 and is (says Honest John) the last model of A4 but snazzied up, so for several grand less than an A4 B8 avant I'm loking at the SEAT Exeo ST (sports tourer?), aka the A4 B7 Avant with lots of wistles and bells but not many engine choices.
Also I'm interested in the Vauxhall Insignia. It looks a little bit smaller than the Vectra it replaced and oooh so pretty 🙂 Anyone got one and want to share views?
Oh and the V40 looks a posibilty from the reviews too, so any comments from owners of those?
what about the honda civic i have one and its perfect for putting 2 bikes in
We had an Exeo ST demonstrator police car for a while, a 170bhp diesel. Went like lubricated weasel shit. No rear legroom mind, but that was all I could find against it. Very nice to drive.
Skoda Yeti?
Volkswagen Touran?
I like that Exeo actually...looks like a more reasonably priced A4 - bet there's a lot more equipment as standard too 🙂
Unless the design has changed somewhat, the A4 Avant doesn't have a lot of room in it - more than a BMW 3-series Tourer but not a huge amount of space.
Mondeo is a big car in all guises, so anything 'smaller' is going to be much smaller in comparison. I'd suggest an estate as you can then get good with the packing to get all the kit in, suspect a hatch of smaller size will still do the job but the packing will be very tight indeed (assuming you are also carrying the 3 people).
yep the Exeo is definatly looking promising....suspect I may be hunting for a good while to find a Petrol one as so many of them went to the fleet market they seem to be virtually all oil burners, but it looks a mighty fine car for the money....similar clearly to the Octavia (that is the same A4 floorpan I think....baically a stretched Golf/A3) but lots of whistles as standard and rear seats go flat without the need to fight the squab out by the looks of it.
PMSL - 'Lubricated Weasel shit' love it! 😆
civic was something I thought of, but they look small to me...is it bigger than it looks?
VW Touran? isn't that the Ford Galaxy? Oh..no...that's the Sharan...right off to look up the Touran
Bit smaller than the Galaxy from Ford and gets good reviews, S-Max.
From your criteria I'd say the Volvo V50 would fit the bill perfectly. Focus sized estate but a bit more 'premium' while still pretty much being a Focus.
Other one I'd have a look at is the Alfa 159. There's a huge amount of different reports online whether the reliability problems are sorted or not but they're soooo damn pretty!! Extended warranty should give you a bit of piece of mind too.
BMW 3 series, possibly the touring variant for you, is still the market leader.
S-Max is a Mondeo with a larger passenger compartment. C-Max is the Focus-sized equivalent. V50 is a Focus with a Volvo badge. S-Max is a great vehicle but when you fold the seats down, you loose some height in the compartment - they fold flat but they don't fold into the floot space, so you end up loosing about 3 inches of height - fine for the vast majority of things, but if I want to pack my bike in the car I need to remove wheels AND seatpost (assuming I want it upright as the other seats are in use).
I'd say Focus-sized car...I'd be happy with a Ford, but my dad would pay the extra and have the Volvo badge - for the same vehicle.
Get to a few garages and see what you can get in them as a test, probably the best way to judge which would be best...I think it would be really hard to find a real lemon of a car these days (even looking back over the last 5 years)...
I do loads of miles with work and have two kids. I cant see anything to rival the new Mondeo. The new 1.6 Diesel gives great economy I havent driven one yet and given the size I need it to not feel like a slug! however my 1.6Hdi Peugeot has been fine for 4 years so hopefully it will be OK.
Many others such as the Skoda seem incredibly bland and under specced IMO.
The Titanium X comes in around £20k online !
20k...on a car??? Christ man, find better things to spend money on...20k on a Mondeo...mental.
Some people say that about spending >£3k on a bike...
Have a look at the Honda accord estate. The new shaped one (08 onwards I think ) does look v nice indeed. Not cheap but fantastic build quality and reliability.
FWIW, I love my Octy vRS estate to bits. Much more than my old Mondeo ST TDCI. Boot space looks a little smaller than the Mondeo did but is actualy really good - got a double mattress in there last weekend and a 4x4 flat packed shed in there yesterday. A car that can carry a shed and keep pace with a Golf GTi etc and is very reasonably priced - brilliant!
Some people say that about spending >£3k on a bike...
I'm one of those as well...but have no issues with looking at a £2.5k bike...
It isn't the cost...it's the Mondeo...in my mind it just isn't worth that kind of cash...looking online you can probably get an S-Max for less than that - but it's probably down to popularity. I'm aware that the Mondeo is a very good car, just seems ridiculous to spend that amount of cash on one (again, in my opinion), but then I wouldn't ever consider spending that amount of cash on a car anyway so my perception is going to be different to those who would spend that on a car.
spending lots on a car...
I think it depends on the situation... If you are spending a lot and getting a rock solid car - something that is cheap to run and will last a long time it might make sense
over 5 years you could sink a grand on road tax just running a Fuel Guzzla.. some cars are 0 tax
Petrol/Diesel will only go up over time too
If you [b]rely[/b] on a car for work.. you might finding yourself spending to get something that will not give you any grief maintenance wise
If the 20k mondeo was kept for 10 years and didn't do anything bonkers it may well have proved a good purchase
If the space is still pretty important, the only thing that comes close to the size of a mondeo or vectra estate without being as big I found was the Saab 9-3 estate - in terms of fitting a harp in anyway as it needs 6'x 4' with no wheel arch intrusion. A4/octavia/golf were all too short with massive wheel arch intrusion.
In the end, Saab was out of budget, Mondeo was a better drive than the Vectra and not badly built to be fair.
We looked at the 93 - very pretty car but just didn't 'get' the dash which was supposedly styled like a fighter plane - just looked wrong and dated compared to other stuff. Shame as it was lovely otherwise...
20k...on a car??? Christ man, find better things to spend money on...20k on a Mondeo...mental.
I need a car for work and do about 25k work miles a year. I get an allowance for it plus mileage. I am not a badge snob and the Mondeo is the biggest, cheapest and best specced for that price with the lowest running costs. I also keep my car for 4+ years so not so "mental" after all.
Liking my Octavia Vrs here.
Although not super car fast it is well quick enough to raise a smile. The boot is big enough for 1 bike (large) to be fully covered, rear seats up, it returns 50mpg (diesel) it pulls my caravan, takes us on holidays but can still rip along A roads sticking to the road like glue.
After 2 years owning it and 40,000 miles covered in it, its proved to be comfier than we expected, reliable, cheap to service, fun, practical and well equipped.
Personally I'm not convinced VW build quality any better than Ford.
Having said that Mrs FD has a Seat Altea XL. But different but good for what it is. We like it so far after a year and although slightly smaller than our Mondeo the useable space is very practical.
Seat Exeos are the last generation A4 so ok but not the best to drive.
A4 Avant here. IMO go with a diesel purely for torque and economy. 1.9/2.0 are perfectly sound - no need to go for a 2.5 or bigger in the real world.
Have just bought a Saab 93 sportwagon too (missus can't drive my manual A4). Surprisingly good car - plenty of VFM. However, it doesn't have the sure-footedness of the Germanic brands (all IMHO of course) but it's quick, torquey, fairly roomy, full of good kit, and all in all better than expected.
[i]Have just bought a Saab 93 sportwagon too (missus can't drive my manual A4). Surprisingly good car - plenty of VFM[/i]
I've just got rid of mine 🙁
Lovely car but servicing is expensive. The 72k service was looming, with a cambelt change & 4 new tyres it was going to cost me over £1000 to keep it on the road. Make sure you budget for servicing as they are not cheap. The Saab dealer offered me a £1000 servicing pack on 0% finance, which would have covered the 54, 72 & 90k services. Couldn't afford to take it at the time, I wish I had done
JD: service costs are invariably not good whatever you do (other than use indie specialists etc). Saab, however, admit some of their 93's can go [u]2 years[/u] or 18000m, even though they pretty much don't make this public. I only found out by asking around - so I told the dealer and he admitted that if you (the customer) are aware of this then they have to stick to it. Certainly saves a few £hundred/year.
IMO go with a diesel purely for torque
Buy a car purely for the amount of torque? Thats a new one on me.
Seat Leon FR. Petrol and diesel options, decent boot, especially one seats are folded flat. Significantly cheaper to buy and insure than a vw or Audi too.
mine had an 18k service interval, but for me that's less than 1 year's driving; this one would have been the 72k, which also requires a cambelt change - at £600+ that was going to be a big hit (and that's at an independant garage).
Add to that the fact that all 4 tyres were close to the limit & you've got a £1k service bill before you even [i]think[/i] about replacement brake pads & discs, which would have been quite likely, and the bills soon mount up. Frankly I couldn't afford that kind of bill.
My next car will have a cam [i]chain[/i], like the BMW I had before the Saab, but in the meantime I'm using Mrs_d's car which she never uses.
Wouldn't bother with FR unless you are a boy racer tbh.
Buy a car purely for the amount of torque? Thats a new one on me.
Reasonable to me. I like a torquey relaxed drive.
Buy a car purely for the amount of torque? Thats a new one on me.
Exactly when did I say that? If you read my statement correctly, you would note I recommended (IMO) choosing a diesel for the amount of torque [u]and[/u] economy. Maybe this isn't something you think about about when selecting a car, but I do. Having driven something like 400,000 miles in 20 years I'd say I'm qualified to argue the benefits of a torquey ride vs ragging the arse off an 'underpowered' petrol engine.
MG knows the score.
Personally I'd love to drive one of those 3.0 diesel V6s that you get in Audis.. torque-tastic 🙂
been looking at the passat estate (currently have a 03 passat) and its supprising value compared to the seats and skodas (for an almost identical spec car).
Wouldn't bother with FR unless you are a boy racer tbh.
Buy a car purely for the amount of torque? Thats a new one on me.
Reasonable to me. I like a torquey relaxed drive.
Boy racers buy the cupra - FR less so, but I do see your point. I bought an FR for the extra spec, comfier seats and because you don't see that many around here.
Yeah the spec situation is/was a bit annoying. Some stuff was only on the FR.
I really liked my 53 Ibiza (my first decent car) but when I test drove an Altea when looking a couple of years ago I was distinctly underwhelmed. It had the same all or nothing 1.9 TDI where others had moved on, there was loads of wind noise at the door pillars and the interior looked dated. The Passat I ended up with was a million times better. Precisely measured on my betterometer.
Just moved fom a passat. No denying the finish is better on vw, but not 4grand better.
BMW dealer servicing costs are not actually that bad you know. Certainly comparible to VW dealer prices
They even made my indicators work
I had a fixed budget and it was a case of older nicer (to me) car vs newer less nice one.
Older and nicer won hands down.
Similar position to you, but the equivalent golf gti/gt just didn't stack up for me. They had high miles, 2 years older and 3 ins groups higher. Same bleedin chassis and engine. If I had more to spend it would've been Audi or vw, the residuals are excellent
Never spent more than 4K on a family hack. Wife's car is brand new every three years so I'm no skinflint, I just can't bring myself to spend a lot of dosh on my own car that spends it's time towing caravans, carrying bikes and acting as a family taxi for my kids and his friends. Current car is a Mondeo Zetec Estate 130 TDCI. Was going to go for a Passat Highline 130 TDI. The Mondeo is faster, handles better, is bigger and has a better towing capacity. Can't comment on reliability yet but the parts are cheap so we'll see. It doesn't have leather which is handy to wipe chocolate off etc. Had a petrol Focus Estate before that and a Golf TDI estate before that! The Golf had a great engine but was the worst handling car I've ever owned, the Focus handled beautifully. The Focus was the most reliable car our family has ever had. Only a water pump and rear wheel bearing in 5yrs.
If I needed a family hack for bikes etc but didn't need to tow a caravan I would go for a Focus Estate 1.8 Tdci 115 hp. No DPF which is a bonus. VW's not as reliable as they once were.
VWs are better again after a poor patch. Was a catastrophic fault with a small batch of the engine I have, which was subject to a recall but it really damaged their rep.
Also (apparently) a lot of people are being told their car needs £2k worth of injectors where it's actually the wiring looms instead for about £50...
i have to say any honda with the 2.2 cdti engine is well worth a look at. civic, accord, fr-v
they come standard at 150bhp 250f/lb tourqe.
i quick remap and there usuing 190bhp and 350f/lb
quick as a 2L type r honda and 50mpg average.
and all the honda backup warranty to die for.
honda are worth every penny just look at which cars get te best relabilty results.
if hondas are not your fav then anything from the vag group, vw, audi and skoda are a hit too.
Oh yeah, I'd have got a Civic if the Passat hadn't been £3k cheaper. Brilliant car and engine.
Mind you my 2.0 TDI Passat also remaps to 190bhp.
Molgrips the old Altea interior was awful, newer ones much improved and ours has a 2.0 140 diesel. Plenty enough for any family car.
Yeah I tried the 140, but the way it drove was not as nice as the 140 Passat. I think it was a 2 year old car I tried, and that was 18 months ago.
Did they fix door pillar wind noise?
Get another one but make it a diesel. Guaranteed 50+ mpg no matter how/where you drive it, blast up hills fully laden on a tidal wave of torque and the boot is big enough to hold a party in. Although it's only a couple of inches wider than a Focus (my previous car) it is like four feet longer.Current car is a mondeo petrol 2 litre hatchback
Hugely sorted motor, massive choice of used models you know you want one.
Skoda Yeti?
Volkswagen Touran?
If you want something with a boot don't get a Yeti. Nice to look at but no boot space.
For years my wife has had Octavia's (Hatch's and Estate's) and the boot space was fantastic. With the rear seats up, I could easily get my bike in the boot (with both wheels off). Last month she got a Yeti and the bike doesn't go in the boot anymore. 🙁
I thought about the Honda Accord Tourer but was put off by the reports of clutch failures. If you are covered by their warranty then you're OK but if you have bought it from a non franchised dealer then you're in trouble. 900 pounds for the parts only then Honda labour rates as the clutch is a pig to change and special Honda tools are needed. Apparently all the higher powered diesels 130+ hp suffer from clutch problems, cant cope with 240ft/lbs of torque regularly put through the clutch. Fords probably the cheapest to replace ie most common circa 400 pounds all in. That's what swung it for me. The Honda's were lovely to drive though. Lot's of probs with the new TDI 140bhp VW's. Oil pumps failing seems to be common.
hmm some more to think on, thanks.
But just to make a few things clearer, current Mondeo is a hatchback, not the estate, and I'm looking at slightly smaller than that. I like the mondeo to drive and image isn;t a big driver for me with a car, but biuld quality is a bit lacking with the mondeo an I've had several of the common faults....door lock units, reversing light switch..and several others like exhaust gas recirc valve....over 6.5 years ownership that isn't too bad but add it together with niglly little bits of trim and paintwork faults and I'm considering other makes this time.
I won't buy new, The mondeo was 2.5 years old and 22.7K on the clock, bought for 9K, half the book value new for the model. I'd look to similarly buy one that had already lost a good chunk of depreciation....by at 3 and sell at 8 to 10....supposedly the cheapest way to own a car.
I only do about 6k miles a year, so although diesels are good car these days they are expensive for me, I don't do enough miles to pay back the higher original cost or service costs....
New mondeo does get great reviews but I don't want another. Vauxhall insignia is prettier and gets better reviews and in my previous expereince vauxhalls are fractionally better biult...maybe I was lucky before though. VAG cars all get good reports usually, although the current Octavia seems to have a growing list of common faults...still tempted by the Octavia or SEAT Exeo...probaly not the A4 as it's more costly for what? Image? but if I see a good deal on one then I might change my mind
Volvo V50 gets good reviews. Volve aren't so good now Ford own them, but they still seem better than the blue oval.
Hondas...hmm, great reviews. I've tested an Accord and disliked the engine, lack of torque...I agree with molgrips on torque. Civics look small to my eyes but I've not had a close look and may well do.
Hi there,
I have a 320D Touring through work which was recently in the garage for 10 days as someone drove into the back of me. Had an Insignia hire car to replace it, and it was so bad to drive mainly due to poor wheel balance that it had to go back. It was also very plasticky inside and just felt cheap. Got an Exeo to replace it which was really nice, reminded me of being in any well-specced VAG estate. Drive was like any other VAG 2 litre with the nice diesel kick between 2500 and 3500 revs. Bit of torque steer though. The A4 I had previously felt tighter even with 5 times the miles on it, and drove better but it was a Quattro so not a fair comparison.
Colleagues have various cars; Octavia VRS is highly rated, Accord is very thirsty (worst in the fleet), Superb is massive inside and really well specced, Passat is nice but needed £4k of work after 3 years.
Loved getting the 320 back though. Rear wheel drive is so much better and I get an indicated 50mpg for vigorous mixed driving; probably closer to 45mpg. It's also the smallest of the lot so if space is important don't get one.
Hope this helps.
cheers, very useful that....so insignia pretty outside but not inside! Hmm, Exeo and Octi still sounding good options.
Not sure I fnacy a beemer....too scared of the labotomy that I've heard all drivers require 😉
My brother in law hired an Insignia last year and I was in it for a day then too. It is not a car I would buy.
Octavia VRS would be high on my list if I was you, followed by the Mondeo.
cheers.
Any V50 owners want to chip a thought or 2 in?
I used to have a Series 2 Megane CC and vowed I would never have another Renault again.
About 10 months ago I bought a 1.5dci Renault Megane Dynamique 5dr hatch. It is superb! £35 a year to tax, I've got 68mpg on a run and it has loads of gadgets you wouldn't expect (the later one's come with Sat Nav as standard). I bought mine for £11k 10 months old with 19500 on the clock. It has 2 year / 20,000 mile servicing intervals also. The build quality since the business with Nissan has really gone through the roof. I am REALLY impressed with it.
Really cheap to run, within budget and you can get people in it. The rear leg room isn't the best, but I'm 6-1 and like a 'relaxed' driving position so the person behind me suffers.
the new ford deisels are the same engines as the mazdas they may be worth a look in too?
Civics look small to my eyes but I've not had a close look and may well do
They are bigger than they look. Back seats flip up and a bike goes in sideways - ace.
Lot's of probs with the new TDI 140bhp VW's. Oil pumps failing seems to be common
AFAIK that was a specific batch of 2006 cars where the oil pump was almost guaranteed to fail after about 50k miles and trash the engine. They were subject to recall, but any that weren't will have died by now anyway.
Mine's fine 🙂
Volve aren't so good now Ford own them, but they still seem better than the blue oval
whats that based on?
based on commetns I hear, JD power surveys, reviews....nothing quantitiative, all subjective but everythiing I've heard about Volvo since ford have owned them is...not what they were but still nice enough.