Family car time part 2

[schumi84]

Hi all, I'm after a bit of advice again due to the impending arrival of baby no.2 and as you were all very helpful the first time around I thought I would ask again.

We currently have a 5dr Yaris which is ample at the moment but really won't be big enough, especially in the boot department when the time comes.

I've managed to steer the mrs away from getting an SUV (Qasquai was top of the list) as I'm really not a fan and when looking at reviews of them, I think someone on here posted that both the Mk1 and Mk2 were in the top 10 for least reliable.

She is now looking at the general larger family hatchback but nothing too big, with the Focus now heading the list with the Astra just behind, as the mrs will be using it for the majority of the time.

I'm leaning that way as well as Fords seem to have really stepped it up over the last few years and they look pretty decent, are plentiful on the 2nd hand market and good value.

From a budget point of view I'm thinking around he £7k mark but that isn't set in stone and from an age point of view, no older than 5 years I would say. From what I have seen on Autotrader there seem to be a decent number about and I've seen a couple of Titaniums that fit the bill.

I would appreciate any advice and whether I should consider anything else.

Many thanks

Andy

[SXRORY]

I know you said nothing too big but I bought a Mondeo for this very job. I bought a titanium sport x 2.0. Its great, drives nice, lots of room inside. Boot is huge. My wife is very pleased with it. (Basically her car). Worth a look and you get used to the size.

[schumi84]

I really like the Mondeo and the way it looks but he mrs feels that it's just that little bit too big. It's the same with considering an estate, I'd love an Octavia estate but again even though it's not massive she doesn't like the extended back.


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[green_rs13]

id prefer a focus over an astra. which is good as you can get a lot of focus for your money.

[SXRORY]

I really like the Mondeo and the way it looks but he mrs feels that it's just that little bit too big. It's the same with considering an estate, I'd love an Octavia estate but again even though it's not massive she doesn't like the extended back.


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Take her to see something bigger to make sure its a no.
A focus although perfectly adequate with all the bits that come with 2 young kids, you aint getting much else in.

[naz200]

Our 11 plate Astra is very good. Elite model with leather and dual zone climate control as standard. 2.0cdti 260 lbft torque so very powerful. 5 door has good legroom in rear seats but the boot is small if you have luggage for more than two. I imagine the estate Astra would be fine. My elite model feels nice inside. Nicer than SRi


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[DLowe]

If it has to be a hatchback our 8th gen civic is really good as a family car.

Boot is huge compared to foci and astras and the seats not only fold completely flat, also the arse bits fold up so behind the front seats becomes a flat storage area, or you can stow child bags etc under the rear seat.

It's fairly quick and handles well, utterly reliable and the 1.8 i-vtec is returning 40ish mpg going work and touches 50 on a run so makes the idea of the a derv obsolete for the extra cost to buy

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[digby]

Nissan stagea or evo 9 estate?


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[schumi84]

Nissan stagea or evo 9 estate?


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If I were getting rid of the 200 then the Stagea would be top of my list, though they're rather rare from what I have seen and I don't think I could justify spending the money to get one freshly imported, unfortunately.

I like your thinking though, shame the mrs would never buy into it, haha.

[schumi84]

If it has to be a hatchback our 8th gen civic is really good as a family car.

Boot is huge compared to foci and astras and the seats not only fold completely flat, also the arse bits fold up so behind the front seats becomes a flat storage area, or you can stow child bags etc under the rear seat.

It's fairly quick and handles well, utterly reliable and the 1.8 i-vtec is returning 40ish mpg going work and touches 50 on a run so makes the idea of the a derv obsolete for the extra cost to buy

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Boot space is a big one so that's good to know about the Civic. The only downside of the 8th gen looks to be the age as it's on the edge of what we were looking for.

My future brother in law works at a local Honda garage so I may have a word with him to see what is about, thanks for the suggestion.

[digby]

The stageas aren't too rare on eBay I've tried to persuade my step dad to buy one a few times


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[DLowe]

The 9th gen seems just as good, the bootspace with the seats dropped is only 100ltr iirc less than our volvo xc70 was

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[schumi84]

Our 11 plate Astra is very good. Elite model with leather and dual zone climate control as standard. 2.0cdti 260 lbft torque so very powerful. 5 door has good legroom in rear seats but the boot is small if you have luggage for more than two. I imagine the estate Astra would be fine. My elite model feels nice inside. Nicer than SRi


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I'll certainly be keeping an eye on Astras, my only concern would be the build quality of Vauxhalls so it's good to get an opinion from someone that has a later one, shame about the boot space though.

[naz200]

I'll certainly be keeping an eye on Astras, my only concern would be the build quality of Vauxhalls so it's good to get an opinion from someone that has a later one, shame about the boot space though.

Newer ones are much nicer (i.e Astra J) build quality. With 2 kids I would recommend the estate version.


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[auz200sx]

Mazda 6 or the 3 hatchback.

[Si]

My sister has three kids, currently between 5 and 10, and has managed for the last 6 or 7 years in a mk2 focus estate. As far as I know it's been pretty damn solid and reliable, and she treats cars very much as white goods.

However, she does live in a large city and isn't scared of using public transport when necessary.

[cleanhands]

Petrol Focus estate.

[schumi84]

In my opinion the estates are a good compromise between the standard hatchback and an SUV as you get all the space without being tarred with the Chelsea Tractor brush.

I love the look of the new Mazda 6, the 5 also but I fear that they're both a bit big for her. We did consider the 3 when we bought the Yaris but I don't think there was anything that really took our fancy. I'll have a look though and see what there is this time around.

Unfortunately as much as I try and sell the idea to her, she doesn't like the look of any estates and sees them as being 'old men cars'.

Thanks very much for all of the input from you all, it's really good to get your opinions from a first hand perspective.


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[Mark]

Focus Estate

Or if you want a better badge Volvo V40

[zeppelin101]

...estates and sees them as being 'old men cars'.

Funnily enough this seems to be a UK attitude. On the continent its the old men who buy saloons and the like because they don't need to carry anything to do cool shit at the weekend!

Focus estate or similar is probably best of the bunch for the least money.

Our second is on the way as well and we've currently got a mk1 Focus hatch and a Saab 9-5 saloon. In all honesty I don't think we'd need to change them because the boot in the Saab is vast and the Focus costs peanuts to run, although the lady would like to replace her car with something interesting. The boot isn't enormous on the Focus by any stretch but it'll fit all the baby stuff in for local journeys and then we use the Saab for any longer trips without running out of room.

Mazda 3s are a little smaller in the boot than a Focus but win on novelty. Found them very expensive to insure though! A Mazda 6 was coming in at over £1k when the Saab is £400 a year or so.