Passat alternative? Or are estates passe?

Passat GTE?  I have one and am really liking it.  At 12k a year you’d get fantastic economy if your journeys are frequent and shorter.  I get about 65mpg on 100 miles a day if I’m sensible. You won’t get that on long journeys but we’re in the middle of France on the way back from Finale Ligure and have had 43mpg so far which I’m happy with.  Car has been faultless, adaptive cruise and DSG made 1100km in one day surprisingly painless.

GTE mode for a swift B road overtake now and then is also fun (when you have some battery cbarge), 220bhp and rakes of torque make it rapid from 40 to 70. I think it’s a handsome car for a big estate too.

Watching thread with interest as we’re currently in the market for a new to us family car. Moving up in size from a Zafira, we need space for three kids seats in the back and biggest boot possible. Shortlist is smax, i40, Passat, Mondeo and Superb estates.

We live in the sticks and don’t often use the motorways or sat in traffic and always had manuals. Seems to be high % of autos for sale. Are the Ford Powershift autos particularly troublesome,  heard some horror stories? DSG autos better or just stick with manuals?

I doubt you’ll get three kid seats in the back of a Passat or similar.  It’s not the width that’s the problem, it’s that the rear bench isn’t flat so you have to put the seats in the bum scoops and it just doesn’t work.

A 5 seater type like the Zafira would still be best.

DSG and Powershift are the same concept.  Not sure what the Ford reliability is like, but the DSG has been around long enough now so I think problems are starting to be ironed out maybe..?

I reckon there’s more to go wrong with an auto but mine is a company car so not a concern for me. I’d find it hard to go back to a manual though.

I don’t think an estate is a step up in size from a Zafira. I had a Zafira tourer before which still didn’t have three full size rear seats but was close, the Passat has two and the fold down armrest bit , it’s only now that the oldest of my three is out of a car seat that it works for us, getting three car seats in would be total buggeration,  maybe not even possible. I think most modern estates are like that

Going to chuck my Honda Tourer in the ring .One its a Honda so no EML dash stamp every 500 yards  and the boot is vast   , ok the 1.6 idtec is only 120bhp but enough to get you out of trouble and return silly mpg.  Oh and isnt part of the same Vag mold

we need space for three kids seats in the back and biggest boot possible. Shortlist is smax, i40, Passat, Mondeo and Superb estates.

Your shortlist is an S-Max you mean.  You won’t fit three car seats in any of the others.

Your shortlist is an S-Max you mean.  You won’t fit three car seats in any of the others.

He is right you know. It will need to be a people carrier.

It will need to be a people carrier

Not necessarily. A full size SUV can work too. 😉

My Pathfinder took three car seats as did my Galaxy and my SMax.

As Molgrips has said, no matter how big the saloon or estate, the rear seat configuration and seatbelt placement just doeasn’t work. I tried Audi A8, 7 series BMW, Volvo V70, Merc E-class.

None of them fit, no matter how wide.

Seperate seats or a flat bench with evenly spaced seatbelt fittings are required.

Zafira is a horrid thing, I had the misfortune to have one as a hire car once, only one thing going for it, is it is cheap.

I have had 3 kids in the back of my Mondeo for the past 6 years, back then the kids were aged 2,4 and 6. After some shopping around I was able to find 2 highback booster seats and a group 1 seat for the youngest that would fit, Though I understand the regulations have been updated and the seats are even more bulky than ever and may not fit now.

It would have been easier with a multimac, but the boss could not be persuaded.

if you genuinely want a very large boot and 3 kids seats, I think a grand tourneo connect is pretty much unbeatable for anything this side of a full-sized van. 1529l of space when in 5-seat mode, close to double that with all the seats down

close to double that with all the seats down

Quite difficult to drive though.

Don’t have children so never pay much attention to these things but can’t you get a 3 or 4 child ‘bench’ seat that comes as one unit but connects into the seperate fixing points in your car and has individual harnesses etc?

Edit: Yes, you can https://multimac.co.uk/home

I have had 3 kids in the back of my Mondeo for the past 6 years

You aren’t Belgian by any chance?

Multi Mac is a good alternative. Very pricey though and may require specific insurance depending on the model. Oh and according to ADAC don’t, whatever you do have a side impact in one.

Well thanks a bunch, there was me thinking I might be able to get us another passat. Hadn’t actually tried the kids boosters in one. Really liked my old one until the Mrs wrote it off. Still I got my own back, as she’s had a Zafira since then.

<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>So, looks like a Smax is now top of the list.</span>

You could always give up one of your kids instead…

It is possible to fit a larger kid in the middle seat quite nicely with two kids either side in boosters – but I’m not sure I’d want to drive a long way like that or that be my only means of transport.  It’s not much fun in the middle.  Also you’d need to check the legalities of your particular oldest kid.

I’m halfway back from Italy with the two younger ones in what are effectively high back boosters and the oldest in the middle. It’s been ok,  not as good as an SMax but I’m by myself in it 95% of the time. Anyway, we used to be 7 up in a Cortina estate to the West coast of Ireland every bloody summer – 2 in the boot surrounded by luggage! Different times, kids these days don’t know they’re born etc, etc

@davosaurusrex – ha!! we used to get the ferry to Ireland in a dogshit brown Datsun Cherry with 2 adults in the front and 4 kids, 1 adult and a dog in the back. I’ve no idea where our bags went! The ferry staff used to laugh at us too.

For reference for the OP, this is my 2016 Superb estate with a 29″ hardtail (wheels off), a week’s worth of luggage, the ubiquitous IKEA blue bag of bike bits, a track pump, helmet and everything else I needed. All fits in the boot, with the rear seats up and load cover pulled over the top – meaning I can leave it in a car park with absolutely nothing showing.