The venerable Octavia Estate is my front-runner for a new-to-me family estate, but it appears you do have to pay more for some of the bells and whistles that its competitors have. Perhaps, this is the price for sound mechanicals and reliability, and who really needs a sat-nav, when you have a smart phone?

I appreciate this question crops fairly regularly, but I am preparing a shortlist of family estates to go and view early in the New Year. Does anyone have some real-life experiences of the Toyota Avensis Tourer, a Hyundai I40 estate or a Peugot 308 Estate they can share? Never been too keen on Vauxhalls, but is the Insignia worth a look? Happy to consider alternatives.

Probably looking at used/nearly-new or pre-reg, 2 years old max to get some warranty. My kids are still quite young, so not convinced leasing or PCP is the right choice just now. It is a family estate, so comfort, reliability and safety count far more than driving fun. Probably a diesel too before the tax on them changes, mainly motorway miles also.

Both the Toyota and Hyundai look handsome and have loads of kit, plus great warranties. I would never have considered a Hyundai a few years aggo, but their build quality appears fantastic now. The Peugot 308 has tons of space, great kit and appears good value, but I still have that nagging feeling as per the Renault and French car threads, that something will rattle in 3 years time.

Thanks for your thoughts, or do I just get a Mondeo?!

Probably should of read this thread before posting 🙂

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/new-baby-new-dog-new-carlittle-help

I’m in the exact same boat as you OP, our car is just a bill away from being scrapped and an estate would be its ideal replacement.

Ideally, i’d like a Passat but, budget at the moment means we can’t afford it. We can’t really afford a new car but, needs must.

Octavia or Mondeo was next on the list but as you point out, price gets near the Passat area if you want some cool stuff.

Looking around, you do get a great deal more for your money with the Avensis. Reviews all say it’s poop to drive but, i just pootle about and rarely need to make progress so, i couldn’t care less.

i have just handed back a company car insignia which i had for nearly 4 years, and nearly 100K miles. it was ok, nothing more, does big miles quite happily cruising at 85. the only thing i think that went wrong was when it decided to go into limp mode for a few hours, but after starting it again the next day it was fine, and the garage could find nothing wrong.

when i was looking for its replacement, i was thinking octavia, avensis, i40, kia sportage or mondeo.
however after talking to a manager in a eurocar hire place he told me the number one make that is always going back to the garages is the scodas and to a lesser extend anything in the VW group. so that put me off a bit, which was a shame cos i really liked the hire one i had at the time. however the engine light kept coming on, hence the conversation.

I then drove a kia sportage, which was nice, bit small for kids, and biking and not very exciting but a 7 year warranty.
I also drove a mazda 6 saloon, which was ok however apparently the dealers can’t get hold of second hand mazda 6 estates they are so popular, i am not really sure why but might be worth considering if you can find one.
I then went to the car supermarket place in newport and drove the avensis, i40 and was going to drove a mondeo, however after driving the others i didn’t bother. the avensis and i40 are pretty similar, i40 maybe a touch smaller, but go ok and have all the toys and long warranty.
the problem with mondeos is nothing is standard, so you find cars without sensors, or sat navs, both of which i wanted.
in the end i bought the avensis (3k miles for £15K) and driven it for 1K since. The only issue that keeps coming up at the moment is the sensors on the front seem to need to be spotlessly clean for the auto-dip light and lane sensor system to work (neither which i really need) and if they are dirty you get a constant warning flashing up which is quite annoying.

oh and my wife used to have a passat, did nearly 80K miles. everything went wrong. i wouldn’t have another.

this appears to be my specialist subject.

I’ve had various estates over the years and have always come back to the good old mondeo.

The Octavia was a nice car but lacked kit (even the newer zetec mondeo has better kit than the higher range octavia) and space and I did have a few problems, it was actually one of the least reliable cars I’ve owned.

I had an Avensis on loan for a week too, I actually quite liked it but it did lack space compared to the mondeo, I think it was more to do with the shape of the boot than actual space though, some things just wouldn’t fit through the boot opening where they do in the mondeo.

I’m currently looking to replace my current mondeo (09 plate) with another newer one, as I just can’t really fault it, mines now got 160k on it (120k done by me) and (touch wood) has given me zero issues.

With regards to in built sat nav…
Google maps is now better than than any in built sat nav I have ever used….

Get yourself a decent phone mount (I use brodit) and use that…
If you go to Europe a lot then Tom-Tom for pre download map sat nav is what I generally use.

Imho google > tomtom > in car nav

As to the car, big estate boxes are much of a muchness imho
I’m not convinced that any are much more reliable than the other.
So pick the one you like most in your price range (owner of an octy vrs, and a 159sw previously)

Thanks for the input guys. I think the Mondeo is climbing up my list and the Octavia is dropping down. Agree about the options, which makes it hard to compare one zetec or titanium with another.

Interesting your comments Cashback, on the Kia Sportage. I thought it had a bigger boot than most crossovers, but clearly still limiting.

I had an old Octavia. Excellent bit of kit. The Peugeot 306 it replaced was nicer to drive and had more toys., but was nowhere near as reliable. The pug put me off French cars for life

I was recently looking at new Octavia Estates and concluded that a Superb would be a better deal. I was however looking at 4×4 high end ones. The Superb was working out cheaper (on a pcp) than the Octy Scout or 4×4 VRS. It was also less than a Passat alltrack.

I ordered an Audi in the end, for less per month on same term PCP than any of the above.

I’m about to part with an i40 (saloon) after four years. It’s been all right, the inbuilt satnav is pants but the newer ones have a different system I believe. Can’t really fault it, but the Mondeo it replaced was better in every way and it’s probably what I’m going to replace it with again.

I had an i40 estate on hire – I was very impressed with it. Much nicer than the usual hire cars in that bracket (usually insignias)

Avenue estate owner here as I said on the other thread. I really struggled when we were buying a new car (to replace my 2000 avensis) everything else seemed like a real effort to drive, the closest thing was a land rover discovery! Just effortless smooth auto wafting, point in in the right direction and just concentrate on the road driving.

We ended up with a Kia Sorrento for the Mrs and another avensis estate for me in the end, as we couldn’t agree. I’m very happy with it!

Oh and things just work on it, Bluetooth phone just works, no faffing about, auto wipers reversing sensors etc. With the Kia there’s endless menus to get your phone working every time you get in it.

I like the Octavia too. mine is just about to got past 150,000. I’ve done 100,000 in the last 4 years with only minor issues.

I wouldn’t be too bothered with getting a two year old car for the warranty. If you buy from a main dealer you’ll get 12 month warranty anyway, and aftermarket warranties are reasonably cheap if you want some reassurance.

I take the view that most things that were going to go wrong on a 3 year old car probably will have. The biggest motoring costs I’ve had have been consumables (discs, tyres, cambelt, clutch). that and damage repair – I seem to have an invisible gate post on the drive!

I would never have considered a Hyundai a few years aggo, but their build quality appears fantastic now.

I have a ’62’ I40 Estate, and can confirm that it is very nice inside and well put together – they have massively upped their game from where they were when they first came to the UK.

First, its huge, like properly massive. You’ll make full use of the rear camera, as you’ll be hanging out of parking spaces all the time. As above, the interior is a nice comfortable place to be and nothing is falling apart yet.

I have the the more powerful of the CRDi engines, and the blue drive stuff (stop/start, skinny tyres, dynamic front grill). Plenty of power to overtake when needed (even when loaded), but firmly on the side of practical rather than fun. I’ve a bit of a heavy right foot and get ~45mpg around town and low 50’s on a motorway run.

Handling/Cornering i’d describe as adequate – nothing wrong with it, but it feels a bit ponderous (I had a Leon FR before, so could be i’d find most things lacking in the twisty stuff now).

As far as reliability – the parking sensors WILL break – seems a very common issue – they will be replaced under warranty though. I’ve also had fuel filter and brake caliper replaced under warranty – no idea how common those faults are.

Would I buy another – definitely

Friend has an Avensis and likes it. Good sized boot, probably more so than the Octavia

An Avensis will have a 5 year 100,000 mile warranty, which might be worth something. I had a ride in an Avensis saloon last year, and it was quite pleasant in a bland sort of way. It was smooth over potholes, which was a nice change from some other cars. After that, I kept my eyes open for them on the road, and was amazed at how many there are. They’re popular with taxi drivers! I’d certainly look at one if I were buying a car.

I’ve got a 64 plate 308SW, it’s been fine(*) in 2 years & 48,000 miles. Boot is a decent size too. Most of the miles are on the m’way & dual carriageway commute and it sits happily at those speeds. It’s a 1.6 diesel. I’d avoid the “blue” diesels as the ad-blue top up range is less than the service interval so you end up sorting that out in between services.

* Although when it goes for a service next week, it will have a 2nd recall, or as they say “Quality Campaign” item addressed.

FB-ATB it’s a wiring loom about 4 inches long that’s connects the add blue tank to the car loom.
So cases or poor connections so loom is being replaced

. I’d avoid the “blue” diesels as the ad-blue top up range is less than the service interval so you end up sorting that out in between services.

That’s only putting a couple of bottles of adblue into the reservoir though, much like filling a washer bottle. Or does Hyundai have some weird different system?

Hyundai don’t use the adblue additive.

November 65 plate 308sw, much prettier than the previous VW. Plenty of room in the boot and far less dull than the VW. However, constantly calling for Adblue (4k and 8k so far), integrated touchscreen is irritatingly slow and always freezes when selecting DAB stations from steering wheel. Aluminium gearknob is painfully cold in winter and painfully hot in summer. Most miles are urban with 10% motorway ish. Would still choose it over the boring VW, but only just. I must get an old glove to put over that gearknob though…..

Nothing to add except….

Go in as a “cash” buyer of a “used” car. They will offer you incentives to take PCP, at least £500 and a couple of free services.

Um and Ah and say something like “didn’t really want to take finance but that will free up the cash for the extension we will need”. Negotiate some more and take the PCP. Once you have the car on your drive, the next day ring the finance company and pay it off completely.

Keep the incentives.

My mate has a 308 in high spec and likes it very much.

I’m also looking at estates and must admit the Leon is about top of my list atm. Loads of space, looks good, VAG nonsense without the premium, etc.

I’ve just given back a Hyundai 1.7 CRDi i40 Style auto tourer after 3 years and 96,000 miles (i had a Skoda Octavia vRs estate before that for the same miles/time). i just picked up a Skoda Octavia 1.6 TDi DSG SE Technology estate to replace it.

The i40 initially seemed comfy but after a while i found the seats really uncomfortable for my back. It felt gutless too – loads of spinning engine and noise but not much go, not very punchy at all.
It has shockingly weak headlights – bordering on dangerous (apparently something to do with poorly designed reflectors – even posh bulbs couldn’t sort it)
The satnav screen is too bright as well and you can’t dim it – really distracting at night.
I had numerous soppy problems with it too. Rear suspension bushings both crumbling in 1st 6 months, wiring loom fault that kept dumping the battery and leaving me stranded, rear camera failed (rear visibility is awful without it), both front and then rear parking sensors failed. The local dealer was rubbish and parts are hard to get quickly – there never seemed to be any in the UK and it took 2 months to get the camera fixed.
Good points – its huge inside and has loads of toys as standard and thats about it. I wouldn’t buy one……

The new Octavia is a whole different ball game – comfortable, fast and punchy, lovely seats and a massive spec on the SE Technology edition. The DSG box is sublime and smooth. The car is really quiet and pulls like a train even though its just a 110ps – it feels like a 2.0 150+ps. It costs about 5k less than the Hyundai i think too and has much lower company tax. The Adaptive Cruise Control is a gamechanger too – great gadget. Its early days yet but so far I would spend my own money on this one……

They all seem a bit dull. How about a Subaru Levorg 8)

Mondeos are excellent cars, great to drive, practical and comfortable and the zetec have all the trim you’re really going to need. If you’re looking at Skodas the new Superb estate is, well, superb and great vfm

Mazda 6 estate, 2.0 diesel, mine just gone back at 3yrs/124k miles.
Roomy practical and still good to drive for the keen driver, all thr toys, good Bose stereo, mpg slight disappontment, 38/42mpg rather than hoped for 45/50mpg, but live with that.
Madame on her 3rd Mazda 3 in 11 years. Wouldnt consider anything else.
All been faultless.
Next car is a Mazda cx3, here soon..
(had a Mondeo for 3 wks on holiday- did like it a lot, if I didnt have a Mazda I would know what to do..)

@mudpup, now you come to mention it, i agree, the headlights on the i40 are terrible.

I have an Octavia vRS company car and quite like it – spec is good enough (xenons, nav, climate, auto lights and wipers, dimming mirrors etc). It’s pretty comfy, has loads of room in it (will swallow two DH bikes and kit with ease) and has so far been reliable – 29k in 14 months.

It’s not the most exciting car in the world, but I preferred it to my other options (Focus ST diesel, posh Mondeo, A3 etc).

Davieg

The Kia sportage seemed more golf estate sized than passat sized which is what i was looking for. it isn’t small, and would certainly get a couple of bikes with front wheels off in.

I appreciate this question crops fairly regularly, but I am preparing a shortlist of family estates to go and view early in the New Year. Does anyone have some real-life experiences of the Toyota Avensis Tourer, a Hyundai I40 estate or a Peugot 308 Estate they can share? Never been too keen on Vauxhalls, but is the Insignia worth a look? Happy to consider alternatives.

When we get rid of the Octavia I think we’ll be looking at a Mondeo. Would love a Legacy, but can’t justify fuel.

Apologies if this has already been covered and it may not be relevant, but this popped into my inbox a while back: http://www.whatcar.com/estate/

The Toyota and Vauxhall didn’t come out well in the test either. If you dislike bells and whistles (like me) I would avoid the Vauxhall too; my sister and bro-in-law have one which they dislike intensely. A lot of plastic, a lot of unnecessary features and a lot of wasted space. The fact it depreciates like a stone and is a b-stard to sell (they’ve been trying for a year) is the icing on the cake.

Apologies if this has already been covered and it may not be relevant, but this popped into my inbox a while back: http://www.whatcar.com/estate/

Sadly whatcar reviews really are at best random words and star ratings, and at worst based on how much the manufacturer paid them for the review.

Always thought Whatcar was reasonable but they seem to value features most don’t worry too much about and score accordingly. This being so they give top marks to cars that probably are not what the majority of drivers would put top of the list in a back to back test.

On the other hand I have always found Top Gear mag to give great advice. I tested lots of cars a few years back and agreed with everything they said.

The Kia sportage seemed more golf estate sized than passat sized

Based on a Golf sized chassis in’t it, same as the Kuga, Tiguan, Ateca, Yeti, etc.

Thanks all, great input. I certainly plan to get behind the wheel of an Octavia, Avensis and Mondeo and try them out. The Mazda 6 does look a great choice, but is at the top end of our budget.

One of my best cars was a Focus Estate, but understand the boot space and shape on the newest version is a bit poor, otherwise it could have been a contender.

Sadly whatcar reviews really are at best random words and star ratings, and at worst based on how much the manufacturer paid them for the review.

😆

Fair enough! Learn something new every day.

I’d normally check Honest John, but his attitude to cyclists is a bit shite which has put me off his opinions. I suspect he also voted for Brexit.

One of my best cars was a Focus Estate, but understand the boot space and shape on the newest version is a bit poor, otherwise it could have been a contender.

I had a Mk1 which was superb – boot space was amazing and incredibly practical. Apparently the mk2 was a real letdown, and I’d not really looked at them since.

My MK3 (2013) focus estate has a nice wide and flat opening with no lip.
You can fold the back seats forward and they slope but you also lift the seat bases up and then the backs fold pretty flat.
Had 4 sheets of 1.8m by 0.9m plasterboard and they fitted in nicely:-)

My FS 29er fits in without taking the wheels off but my previous Octavia Mk2 would struggle even with a road bike as the wheel arches intrude.

Stupid car reviews drone on about how many litres of space a car offers but nothing about real world use. Maybe if you’re a tennis ball salesman I suppose.

Focus estate is a nice car and I have ordered a new ST version 😈

Focus estate is a nice car and I have ordered a new ST version

They’re very good looking, but are they still incredibly thirsty?

Facebook keeps telling me that I can get a Skoda Superb estate diesel for £350 per month lease for 2 years (10k miles) – seems like a good deal.

They’re very good looking, but are they still incredibly thirsty?

The MK2 had a 5 cylinder 2.5 litre and the new one is a 2.0 litre ecoboost turbo.

My current focus has the 1.6 ecoboost and I get low 40’s mpg. Looking on the ST forum, hopefully I will get mid to late 30’s.

I drive about 8000 miles a year and ride my bike to work 3 days a week so I don’t feel too bad. 😐

I ordered the car in August and was told it was going to arrive at end of November. Now been told it’s going to be March 🙁