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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To buy a diesel car for our family of 5?

114 replies

Foxjar · 13/01/2018 09:56

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.

OP posts:
EmmaGrundyForPM · 13/01/2018 13:01

I've got a 10 year old diesel 4x4, bought (secondhand) before there was the thought of banning diesels. It can easily take 5 adults plus luggage etc, it's a 2.2 litre engine. We bought it because DH often has to access off-road sites in winter for his hobby. I commute in it during the week but the fuel economy for commuting is crap. DH has a petrol car and his fuel economy is much better than mine. However, my car is brilliant for holidys, lugging stuff around, taking ds and all his stuff to/from uni etc.

I would buy the car that suits your family needs, if that is a diesel then fine. But I wouldn't say the fuel economy is always better for diesels.

ItWentInMyEye · 13/01/2018 13:02

We're just about to get a Citroen c4 grand Picasso for 5 of us. The boot is massive when the extra 2 seats are folded down which is great for us as we camp too. It's also diesel.

VivaLeBeaver · 13/01/2018 13:10

I’ve got a Ford Focus estate. Dh has a diesel mondeo which is even older than mine. I recently had new brake pads and apart from that and some new tyres the only money it’s ever cost me is fuel and tax. I only get it serviced alternate years and it keeps going. Ditto for dh’s Mondeo. Never put adblue in either, no idea what it is.

lljkk · 13/01/2018 13:13

If 90% of the journeys are going to be single person in the vehicle, you could get something small for all that & hire taxis & (weekend+) big cars for the trips to parents and to Europe & 3 wks camping, etc.

Assuming you really will persuade your teens they always want to go. Good luck on that one.

Big Diesels are bad choice for lots of short journeys, like to supermarket & back. Big Diesels don't like local short journeys, they get a lot of wear & tear from lots of small journeys. Diesels like the big long road trips.

52FestiveRoad · 13/01/2018 13:17

Skoda Yeti? We have one and love it. It can go anywhere , good for both towns and countryside. Ours is petrol and is actually very economical. I don,t know anyone who has one that does not love it!

Battyoldbat · 13/01/2018 13:18

I had the same issue looking for a car, except I was adamant a diesel was not for me (don’t do the mileage) but still need a car big enough for family of 5 and enough power to get up hills (also rural location). It took about 9 months of searching because the big 7 seaters in a petrol engine are rarer than hens teeth. I eventually found a petrol grand Picasso, it’s brilliant. The engine is tiny, it’s a 1.2 and yet the bhp from it is staggering. I swapped a 3 litre diesel for this car and you wouldn’t be able to tell from the drive power up hills. It’s really really impressive. I’d encourage you to test drive some smaller petrol engines in 7 seaters if you can find them (ford s max 2 litre petrols are reasonably easy to find), don’t dismiss them on the basis of engine size without trying them out.

paperandpaint · 13/01/2018 13:59

We bought a Citroen c4 Picasso and love it. It comfortably fits the giant baby seat, 10 year old and teenager. Would have loved the Grand Picasso but couldn’t quite stretch to it money wise. We live in London but do lots of UK outdoors holidays and trips at the weekend so it was a good buy.

specialsubject · 13/01/2018 14:25

All cars pollute.

The new petrol and diesel ban, if it happens, starts 2040. It will be twenty plus years before all the second hand ones are off the road. The grid will need major work.

19lottie82 · 13/01/2018 15:08

52 Festive I’ve got a 1.4 L petrol Yeti and it’s absolutely horrendous on fuel!

52FestiveRoad · 13/01/2018 19:23

Lottie- but you can land a helicopter on it if you want! That has got to count for something!

Frazzled2207 · 13/01/2018 19:40

I feel your pain as when we were looking for a"big" car there were relatively few electric or petrol options.

I refused a diesel though. We ended up with a Toyota avensis estate which has a huge boot though your kids would have to sit three across in the (roomy) back

oblada · 13/01/2018 20:53

We have a diesel for the same reasons - needed a big car for a family of 5. All cars pollute. Once they make a decent hybrid of a suitable size and at a good price then we'll consider it.

wherethevioletsgrow · 13/01/2018 21:12

Cricket because smaller struggles up hills,moving off slip roads with 5 adults and their crap

I can easily get up hills and off slip roads and my car is a small 1.3 petrol engine. I do not for a second buy that a 1.6 petrol like a golf would be insufficient for your 'heavy teens'. You just want to buy a tank. It's like people who say they need a huge 4x4 to ferry a couple of toddlers around. No, you don't need it, you want it. If you want it, buy it but don't try to dress it up as a necessity.

BishopBrennansArse · 13/01/2018 21:19

My 1500 petrol Citroen (58 reg) was utterly gutless 5 up with two heavy wheelchairs.

The kids are bigger now and the wheelchairs too.

The Seat doesn't even know they're there.

user1471439240 · 13/01/2018 21:32

Petrol cars have little low end torque and need to be revved to make progress, they are tiring to drive.
Turbocharging makes this even worse.
The mpg is upto a third less for the same power as a diesel.
This is the reason that larger vehicles starting with small vans are 100% diesel.
Once you have driven a diesel car the benefits are so clear that a return to petrol is a fools game.

StreyyTV · 13/01/2018 21:35

Making a right turn a couple of months back and a European lorry barrelled right through a red light toward us. My only option was to put my foot down and I've never been happier to be driving a nice gusty diesel chugging Range Rover. We absolutely shot off and he missed us by inches.

AgnesSkinner · 13/01/2018 21:52

Manufacturers are getting better at wringing more power out of smaller petrol engines, so maybe worth having a look at the larger family saloons / estates - Vauxhall Insignia, Mazda 6, VW Passat, Skoda Superb.

SuperBeagle · 13/01/2018 22:30

We had a small Renault Clio when we were in the UK. Went all over the place (England and Scotland), into the mountains with snow still on the roads, and well in excess of 60kg of luggage. No problems whatsoever.

I'm just not convinced that most people have need for a diesel car in the UK. But it's quite clear that the OP has made up her mind and wasn't looking to get differing opinions in the first place.

BishopBrennansArse · 13/01/2018 22:43

Wheelchairs on their own are 200kg. Without passengers.

BishopBrennansArse · 13/01/2018 22:43

Oh and they don't fit in a clio.

SuperBeagle · 13/01/2018 22:44

Who mentioned wheelchairs BIshop? The OP certainly didn't.

BishopBrennansArse · 13/01/2018 22:46

You're the one saying everyone should have smaller cars 🙄

SuperBeagle · 14/01/2018 01:13

Bishop Perhaps your comprehension skills are lacking, because each time I have posted, I have said that I'm not convinced that most people in the UK need a diesel car. Most. I challenge you to find somewhere where I said everyone should have a small car. Good luck!

Foxjar · 14/01/2018 08:36

Utterly ridiculous Where. I've had a Golf,it was fine for 2,it would never in a million years suit our needs for 5 adults. You can fit 11 adults in a mini but I wouldn't recommend it for daily use.

We need a car that seats 5 comfortably and safely(no lap-belts) on2, 4 ,5 and 8 hour journeys. A car that 3 teenagers (who often resent breathing the same air at times) won't make life hell for all on a long journey. A car that fits in camping gear for 5;my dd has often had to pothole her way to her seat in the Lucinda when filled with camping gear as it is. A car that fits in 5 adults,food and luggage on semi camping holidays in Europe,a car that fits in a sup and canoe alongside a full day and evenings beach crap. We need a car that can support a roof rack,loaded bike rack,5 adults and luggage and get off slip roads safely,go up hills happily.....

We've been a one car,car sharing and cycling family for years. Whatever plan of action we come up with as regards car replacement has to work as like many families there is no available cash to replace said car on the unprepared and researched whim of whichever government is in power.

And no I hadn't already made my mind up. If I had I wouldn't have started this thread but blindly followed my engineer dh down to the diesel Alhambra showroom. I need to do research to ensure we make the most sensible decision that we can. As it is I have gleaned stacks of very useful information to aid us in making a decision from this thread. Starting to realise my beloved and battered Lucida is going to be a tough act to follow.Sad

OP posts:
BishopBrennansArse · 14/01/2018 08:47

Yep, having autism does make comprehension tricky, why do you ask?

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