To buy a diesel car for our family of 5?

[Foxjar]

We need a gutsy car for our family of 5 which include 3 teens. Not brand new but newish.

The only cars big enough with a decent engine for what we need it to do( carry 3 teens in decent seats with space,cope with loads of luggage and long journeys)in our price range are diesel. They have Adblue which puts it in the second to top emissions band i.e. much better than many petrol cars.

When you take into account the damage electric cars do to the environment from mining of chemicals needed to make batteries,shipping it,their manufacture and then the fossil fuels burned to produce the electricity there is very little in said slightly low ec emissions grading as far as I can see between the Adblue diesel we're looking at and the top electric cars i.e. morally I see no point.There are no electric cars big enough anyway. All the petrol options have crappier engines. There is one but it is waaaay out of our price range( 60k Volvo).

Soooo what to do? Would buying diesel option be foolhardy? Our car is on its last legs. Could wait a year tops. It's a dirtier older diesel so ideally need to sort this sooner.

How much did it cost?Monthly we'd probably use it for 2x20 miles+ 2x40 alongside some 30 mile round trips to work weekly when not cycling and then some 200 and 400 mile journeys over the year as a whole on top. Then a long Europe holiday.

To sort the filter I mean.

And how often would it need sorting if an issue?

Gutsy, yes.
We always had to get out of the car on steep hills and run to catch up,
because my dad got small engine cars!!!

diesel cars are cheap at the moment and its still years and years before they ban them. We got a really good bargain 7 seater mazda last year for our family of 5

I regularly have 5 adults, a bunch of luggage, a dog or two and multiple bikes in/on my Tesla Model X. Can fit 7 adults and a few big bags if needed.

It's very gutsy (though obviously being electric doesn't have the same gutsy 'feel' as regular cars, it's more...effortless). I've never had any issue accelerating on hills/mountains when it's loaded up. Even when I use it tow a small boat acceleration is never an issue. I can pass just about anything on the road no sweat.

I know it's out of your price range OP, but I just wanted to point out that powerful, large electric cars do exist since I often see here that people think they're inherently pretty useless. Oh and they do have a carbon footprint, but it's far less substantial than a regular car.

We have a Discovery and love it. I’ve had 6 adults with luggage in it. We live rurally. Have driven the length of the country in it with a family of 5 and camping stuff. I’ve also transported two x single divan beds in it (bases and mattresses at the same time). Although the rear two seats are flip up seats, they are full size seats.

We bought it when it was 3 years old and intend on keeping it long term. Once the kids are much older we’ll get something smaller and more economical.

Stranger do suggest a different word that conveys getting up hills and travelling long journeys with 5 heavy teens and adults and their accompanying luggage. hmm

Ah feck off. I did that around Cork (extremely hilly part of Ireland) with my little 1ltr petrol engine and despite my initial fear that the car would conk out and I'd be telling people to get out and carry their luggage up each hill. The car was a champ and didn't even cause me trouble when I had to restart after being stopped at the lights on an exceptionally steep hill. And I had to come up on the clutch alone as the weight was too much to trust the handbrake. So maybe try a 1tr Corsa it's as 'gutsy' as a car can get and it's fuel consumption is as minimal as a non electric can be.

From my experience / what I've read, the risk of failure starts to get serious after about 5 years. And the costs to repair / replace start at several hundred pounds and increase rapidly. On my previous car, a 10-reg Golf, the exhaust gas recirculation valve started to stick. The labour cost alone to cure it would have been horrendous because to get at it you had to practically remove the engine. As it was I PX'd it for another car rather than take the risk of more going wrong.

A Corsa wouldn't fit in dp and I on a camping trip let alone 3 teens on top. I'd love to see it get up some of our local hills or out onto a fast dual carriageway safely with 5 adults, a top box,bike rack,bikes and luggage for 3 weeks.

Kmc they start at £75k,how is that relevant to me or your normal family?

I wouldn't if I was you, not on the mileage you think you'll be doing. I had an Evoque with the ingenium Diesel engine and it was nothing but a pain. Nearly every 10k I needed AdBlue (JLR do free too-ups). The engine does a countdown and won't restart after a certain number if miles if you don't top up - problem was mine didn't trigger that warning until I only had 75 miles left!!!!)

To be fair to JLR they did ask about the mileage I'd be doing when I bought it and did say it wasn't as good for the engine doing lots of short trips.

Got fed up of gagging about and now have a petrol engine Evoque - it's marvellous - great fuel economy and no more spending my life at the gsrsge getting AdBlue top ups. Oh and the tax wasn't that "cheap" on the diesel - still £130 it £185 a year I think

‘Gutsy’ please get over yourself

What on earth do you mean?

Just buy what you want but be aware i suspect disease cars will be banned or heavily taxed soon!

Diesel!

Sorry no idea why it autocorrected to that!!! Throws ipad out of the window

As will petrol.

We tow trailers and hail a lot of stuff. We have a Sierra 2500 with the 6.2l Diesel. A large engine without a turbo will last longer than a smaller one. I get 28MPG. I would highly recommend it.

I am aware that diesel will be banned in towns and cities but I avoid places like that anyway so that doesn’t matter.

Electric cars are a dead end technology and best avoided. Hydrogen power is the future.

Would a Hyundai Sante Fe/Ford Galaxy/Ford Grand C Max/Ford SMax/Vauxhall Zafira/Renault Grand Scenic/Ford Tourneo Connect/Ford Citreon Grand Picasso C4 fit your requirements? From what I've seen, a lot of the genuine 7 seaters are diesel but check out how much boot space you'll have if using the two seas in the third row and if there is an added option of roof rack for putting on a roof box for longer trips. Check how sturdy the two back seats are if you are planning on using them on a daily basis (some are spring loaded because they are meant for temporary use rather than every day use). Financially, it may work out cheaper to get a 5 seater and hire a good size 7 seater for holidays/long journeys. Give it a good test drive and check how much visibility you will have from windows/mirrors for making maneuvers such as reversing/3 point turns/parking in carparks. Once you decide on a car, do your research online for reviews and ask other people who have the same type car how they find their car to drive/maintain before making your investment. Check out the cost of tax and insurance and running costs. There will be lots for sale from private sellers but you're best off buying from a garage and getting a proper warranty so you have a come back if the car turns out to be faulty.

I have a dpf filter, now 8 years old. Work is only 7 miles away and I only use it for longer journeys a few times a year, never had a problem with the filter.

I pay £35 a year tax. Fuel economy is great.

If you want a diesel get one. Diesel is actually better than petrol for one type of emissions but worse on the other. Five years ago diesels were fashionable, now it’s fashionable to say how they’re killing small children.....then pendulum may well swing back. Co2 emissions have actually risen since the backlash against diesels and they think this due to people switching to petrol cars. So what’s worse carbon dioxide pollution or nitrogen oxide pollution?

What car have you got Viva?

If you want a diesel get one. Diesel is actually better than petrol for one type of emissions but worse on the other. Five years ago diesels were fashionable, now it’s fashionable to say how they’re killing small children.....then pendulum may well swing back. Co2 emissions have actually risen since the backlash against diesels and they think this due to people switching to petrol cars. So what’s worse carbon dioxide pollution or nitrogen oxide pollution?

Very true you are choosing to either kill the planet with petrol, or kill people with Diesel . Personally I would choose diesel.

It is crap the way the media has reported it and how governments are dealing with it. Headless chickens come to mind.

As far as the Alhambra is concerned they have 20k miles service intervals. As long as you're not doing lots of short journeys the filters should be fine between services

got a Euro 6 spec diesel 8 seater and checked on LEX no charge. Good to the gallon considering its equal to 2 small cars
I'm happy with it antway