T5 Kombi.

Debate ends.

Now go have a cuppa!

Double post

Volvo V70 -massive boot,loads of toys, reliable, good VFM , not very engaging to drive but excellent mile muncher. Wife went from Mx5 to it and loves it.

Defender Td5 110 CSW – once you get used to it- the best all round car you’ll ever own, forget the L200 they’re crap

Honda CRV diesel would be a very good call.

I should be a fan of the S-Max as I’m turning in a Fordophile however its the constant little niggles on Fords that annoy me. Things that need attention at somepoint etc etc.

In your budget you’ll be looking at the slightly older models that will start to fall into the above ^^^

a mate has a honda accord estate it is bl**dy massive you could drive a mondeo up into the boot its soo big.

in ford’s little niggly defence, in 3 years our focus didn’t need a single thing doing to it other than consumables.

Drove a zafira today, it was a surprisingly decent drive, prefered it to my mates Octavia estate, just felt more comfy, and was massive inside.

Latecomer to this thread but saw this right at the beginning.

Now I normally have Vauxhalls (owned a couple and didn’t enjoy them) but the Zafira’s boot is great – someone came to pick up something I was Freecycling and he was on crutches but he still managed to slide the back seats forward with one hand whilst balancing on the crutches and it gave him a boot big enough to fit the drop-leaf table and four chairs I was giving away whilst still having the rear seats usable (he had his kids in car seats in the back).

For that alone they must be worth considering if the OP just wants a good lugging car.

Ohh and if you go for a Mazda 5 or 6 (or 3 but that isn’t on the list) watch out for any fitted with DSC (dynamic stability control) as they are prone to fail and cost around £1200 to replace (it *may* fail an MOT with it showing as faulty).

So if you go for one ask if it has been replaced (and ask to see the receipt) otherwise you will have an expensive bill at some point.

The Mazda forums are awash with this problem and something like 48% of all Mazda 3s with warranty issues were for that problem yet Mazda won’t accept it is a manufacturing fault and replace for free. We ended up contributing £300 towards the total cost when ours failed (managed to get Mazda to pay a bit after some extended haggling) 🙁

I have a previous shape Mondeo petrol on a 54 plate – cheap as chips and pound for pound the best car i’ve owned. Now done 142k and pretty reliable with bullet proof engine – no turbo diesel or cambelt to worry about.

Some of the interior plastics are iffy, but some very good, with still no squeaks or rattles or seat fabric rubbing up. The steering feel and handling are top draw if you are into that sought of thing which makes up for the slow and rather non inspiring 1.8 engine.

EDIT: Someone mentioned problems start with Mondeo’s around 60k. To be fair mine had the usual Mondeo problems around 80k – wheel bearings/brake cable/compressor. However, been faultless for 60k and the cost is eased as its a cheap car.

Scamper – what cc engine is yours?

hora – he says it’s the 1.8.

I’ve just looked on autotrader, some nice 3.0 V6 Mondeo’s however alot are low low mileage. Yes petrol costs etc but I doubt the mileage!

I’d probably look at a 2.0 petrol Titanium or Ghia X (nice dash).

Mine – 5 seats, leather, electrics, aircon, 6 disc MP3, 170bhp, will manage 35mpg if driven carefully, fits plenty of bikes in (do have to take wheels off), can be hosed out if bikes are muddy and tows my 1.5t tin tent as if it wasn’t there. Oh, its a Ford, but no niggles yet in 75k. Will be for sale in a few months for a newer truck. Pick-ups are ace.

I retract my previous statement, was getting Altea confused with the Exeo.

dont rule one of these out either… avensis estate, the top one has tons of kit and looks more sporty than this one..

Honda accord tourer owner here for the last 5 years, great car. Not as good as the cayenne of course but slight over your budget.

Mentioned this earlier, but how did they make the Avensis estate boot so small? I hired one to go up to Fort William so in the back was- 2 bikes (one with front wheel off, one with both wheels off), 1 spare set of wheels, 1 spare set of tyres, 1 big box of raceday kit, two kitbags, one toolbox. And it was rammed. Ended up with one of the bags, my helmet etc in the front, and stuff just piled up to get it in.

Now I’d had all that kit in my Focus, which IIRC is a smaller car in every dimension, and it wasn’t even a squeeze. Both bikes with rear wheels still in, more kit, all in the boot, and easy to get at too.

Thats no small boot thats bad packing! Shed loads of space in there. Guess you don’t have young kids. That’ll teach you to pack a car properly full.

All had to be easily accessible so couldn’t stack it tight, I was riding and living out of it for 3 days not just transporting it. But point is, the smaller Focus does this with ease, the Avensis made it a fight. (I couldn’t stand the bikes vertically in the Avensis, that was one of the big differences) It’s a small boot considering the size of the thing.

take a nose at the Honda FRV, 6 seats in a clever design and once you drop the back seats you can still seat 3 (in front) and the rear space is massive.

Peugeot 307 SW, wheels removed can get three bikes and wheels in the boot. Remove a rear seat 4 adults and 4 bikes.

Great as a family car, easily took 2 adults, 3 kids, 1 dog, bikes and camping kit on our last holiday to Scotland. Average about 55mpg, sometime more, fully load to Fort William got 46 mpg. Much better than the S-Max we had before that was falling apart after 3yrs.

Northwind – I imagine you are referring to a Focus estate?

Guys, I need your help quick – I just drove past a Mitsubishi garage and was lured into an L200 (Warrior)..and everything started becoming rose tinted..

Tell me (again) that these are awful daily drivers before I do something stupid!

speaking of boot space, i’ve just been to ikea and came back with some 2.5m packages easily in the back of the S-Max. love it, and averaging 34mpg so far in just London.

I went and looked at an S-Max earlier today, whilst space is impressive, im just not taken on the looks.
It would have to be a head over heart purchase, im not sure at the moment which one is winning.

Out of interest, anyone have any experience of the Nissan X-Trail?

Tell me (again) that these are awful daily drivers before I do something stupid!

They’re awful vehicles full stop.

hey, slim – i thought you said function over form? you should definitely drive one before ruling it out.

Sorry, slight hijack.

Hora – I can heartily recommend a Subaru Impreza WRX Sportwagon. We’ve had one for going on six years (it’s a 54 plate), and it never fails to put a smile on our faces everytime we drive it. It’s loopy. Not the largest boot by a long stretch (it’ll take one bike with one wheel off), but what a hoot to drive. We were lucky to find one with the Prodrive Performance Pack fitted which upped the power to a more than respectable 265bhp. It’s well seen that all the money was invested in the oily bits…it’s been bombproof even when Mrs Geordie inadvertently wrote it off (we didn’t hesitate in buying it back from the insurers and repairing the damaged body panels). Pound for pound, I think it’d see off the likes of the RS4 Avant.

Not of interest to the OP, I know. Just thought I’d share.

(Back in my box).

I just changed my car. Have had two Berlingos (old and new shapes)and they were both ace for carting bikes and stuff about. Very economical too.

Needed an auto for my ailing left knee though. After lots of looking, I bought a Saab 9-3 estate. 150bhp diesel engine, all the goodies, quality drive and plenty of room for bikes.
Saab went belly-up, so bargains are to be had…. ie. less than 3 years old, 45k, £8,500 (£25,000+ when new).
Parts are still made, and people still service them!

The space in the rear of the current Passat estate is ridiculously small.
We had an 11 plate one for 6 weeks as a loaner when our old MK1 Focus estate was written off.

A lovely car to drive (it was the 2.0 Tdi BlueMotion) but I couldn’t fit half the stuff in the rear of it that I could with the Focus.

Once we handed that back, I bought an S-Max. Great decision so far!
I can fit a ludicrous amount in the back, and it is still a pleasure to drive.
Last weekend it happily lugged 2 adults, 2 kids, 3 bikes, assorted junk plus the dog & dog crate. All inside as yet to buy a towbar & rack.

agreed about VW group estates and their small load capacities – my dad’s got an A4 estate and it’s an absolute joke how little the boot is compared to our old focus estate.

Another Zafira owner here who’s happy with it!

Well, I say ‘happy’ I mean “has no cause for complaint at all”. It’s a wilfully bland car, but manages to do everything I’ve needed of it.

It’s been rammed to the gills with 3 blokes, 3 bikes and enough kit for a weekend camping in France and remained comfortable enough for no-one to complain.
Despite having the puniest engine it’s happily dragged a little caravan round without any bother and, on it’s last trip while fully loaded (not with the caravan) it averaged 55mpg over a 370 mile route through the Highlands.

Changing the seating arrangement is a 30 second job…if you’re not really paying attention.
Parts tend to be cheap as they’re common as muck.
It’s an easy car to forget about until you notice you’ve had it a year and haven’t had to do anything to it, except occasionally put some petrol in…

If you like driving (I do, so I personally wouldn’t really want something like a Zafira)and don’t need to show off to colleagues, then the Mondeo is great.
My Mk3 TDCI 130 was excellent. It was driven “enthusiastically” (on the back roads and extended periods of flat-out in comfort in Germany) and needed only replacement disc/pads, a turbo hose and a rear wheel bearing between 50k and 100k miles -recently replaced with a Mk4.

Another vote for Accord Tourer. I’ve had 2 separated by a 6 month hiatus with a smaller car. Lots of toys for the money, reliable and you can get 2 bikes with wheels off in the boot under the luggage cover. Facelift ones after 2005 are better with 6 speed and slightly updated engine. Exec level comes with satnav, leather, bluetooth etc etc.

When it’s time to replace my Mondeo hatch I’m getting a Mondeo estate, no question.

Yeah, the electrics are starting to go a bit haywire, but it’s such a practical, comfortable and fun car to drive that I can easily forgive that.

Ok, in some particular order are the cars that are currently high on my list for looking at in more detail, most desirable (to me) to start with, although my mind changes on an hourly basis:

I should also add that im considering upping the budget to 10k, possibly 11k for something amazing.

Octavia vRS diesel Estate 8)
Mondeo Estate
Golf Estate
Accord Estate
Avensis Estate (although cramped boot pic above is worrying)
A4 Estate
307SW

possibly also: E class tourer, 3/5 series touring.

and a few MPV’s and 4×4’s im interested in:

S-Max
Touran
Nissan X-Trail (seems to have great MPG for a diesel 4×4?)
L200 😳
3008
Multipla

I’m liking the idea of lazy loading of kids/my fat ass and nice high driving position on an MPV type car, but also the better drive and curb appeal of an estate.

Have I missed of anything glaringly obvious from the above lists?
It’s good to get them written down as I can now start whittling the options down until I get to a winner

I used to actually have my heart set on this very model:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-VOLKSWAGEN-GOLF-ESTATE-130-SPORT-TDI-GREY-63-000-MILES-EXTRAS-/280801332658?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item4161104db2#ht_500wt_1287
I know they are a bit overpriced but I love the VW 1.9 diesel with 6 speed box, and I love the sport trim. I just think it looks a very sorted estate car. After speaking to owner, the trouble with this one is a patchy service history, otherwise id probably have bought it by now at the right price.

Accords are looking great value for money with high spec:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2006-HONDA-ACCORD-2-2-i-CTDi-EX-SATNAV-HFT-51K-EXECUTIVE-DIESEL-TOURER-ESTATE-/220935431809?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item3370c72681#ht_2053wt_1270

They look quite low slung & sleek. Are they a bit of a back ache to get in and out of?
Can anyone wow me with pics of their cavernous boot space?

S-max driving position good.
Lots of room for kids.
Terrible blind spot due the huge A pillar, lost a large tractor before now! You will see what I mean when you drive one.
Reflection on the windscreen in sunny conditions.

Search for Mondeo Titanium Sport X estate. I hate Mondeos, but would have one of these.

All the toys, looks good, 2.2 tdci, 175bhp and £9-10k will get you a 58 plate with less than 70k on the clock.

*edit*

Pics

Apologies for skim-reading

The Honda Accords we have had at work have pretty small boots to be honest, the older model was bigger than the current, but still no Mondeo, it’s all in the arches.

Got a Mk3 Mondeo which will take 5 bikes and 5 riders, now around 185k with mostly no unexpected failures, DMF clutch life seems rubbish on everything. Only thing that could match it for space in that price range was a Vectra which was duller than beige.

As for the L200 idea, it is the last thing our SHB Hire fitter would suggest we run. Fortunately, we like/need Land Rovers for what we do.

If you don’t care about performance or handling, Caddy Maxi combi van at work is a very practical tool.

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