Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Which car?

24 replies

houseargh · 12/02/2023 20:22

Sorry, not an AIBU but inspired by someone else's recent similar thread... Looking to replace our car. Current front-runners based on what's available and in budget are a Hyundai i30, Nissan Qashqai or a Skoda Octavia.

Which would you get?

Main considerations are reliability and space...our last car was a Ford Focus and this time we want a bit more boot space and a bit more length (ideally enough for DD's rear-facing carseat to fit behind 6' DH, which it doesn't in the Focus so we're forever having to move it).

Happy to buy something up to about ten years old, anything else you'd recommend looking at?

OP posts:
Timide · 12/02/2023 20:37

Watching with interest. Would Toyota Rav4 be in the budget? They are roomy. A friend had problems with Nissan Quashqai so that put me off them.

DemonHost · 12/02/2023 20:40

Hyundai would be most reliable.

Marblessolveeverything · 12/02/2023 20:45

Octavia size and reliability.

SunSparkle · 12/02/2023 20:46

Qashqai’s always get slated on rear facing car seat groups as they are tiny inside

ifoundthebread · 12/02/2023 20:48

SunSparkle · 12/02/2023 20:46

Qashqai’s always get slated on rear facing car seat groups as they are tiny inside

I have one and agree you wouldnt get an extended rf car seat in it comfortably, I had a friends joie 360 in and it wouldnt of been possible if i needed to get someone bigger than 5ft in the passenger seat.

Wherearemymarbles · 12/02/2023 20:52

we’ve had an octavia SEL for 4 years now. Zero problems.
comfortable on long journeys
masses of boot space and rear passenger space. Economical
one downside is that the middle seat is not that wide or comfortable for long journeys so really a 4 seater
massive upside was a full size spare wheel. As a family that does long distances often at night the latter is essential.

I’d get another no question

Airplant · 12/02/2023 20:55

Timide · 12/02/2023 20:37

Watching with interest. Would Toyota Rav4 be in the budget? They are roomy. A friend had problems with Nissan Quashqai so that put me off them.

This 100% go for a Toyota, I used to own and I30 I traded it in for a Qashqai.
The Qashqai was the most unreliable piece of shit I ever owned it was only 12 months old too, traded that in for a Toyota and have owned them ever since, bullet proof and reliability of the charts.

JustFrustrated · 12/02/2023 20:59

Not the Qashqai. They're small inside and the boot isn't good

Octavia all the way

DogFacedWoman · 12/02/2023 21:08

Skoda superb estate. Ridiculous amount of rear leg room and a massive boot.

Alexandra2001 · 12/02/2023 21:09

Another for the Octavia, not the most exciting car around but mine (1.6 TDI) has done 114k miles and hasn't missed a beat, just consumables and one accident!

Cam belt and water pump done at 100k, cost £400 from a VW independent.

DramaLlama20 · 12/02/2023 21:10

DemonHost · 12/02/2023 20:40

Hyundai would be most reliable.

This!! i30 100000000%

Spambod · 12/02/2023 21:23

Honda CR-V. Big reliable economical last ages.

Delectable · 12/02/2023 21:25

Renault Captur

Original poster
houseargh · 12/02/2023 21:59

I think a Toyota is probably not in the budget sadly but will have a look. We can spend up to about 8000. Interesting on the Qashqai, sounds like that's out then as we have an ERF seat that I think takes up more space than the Joie 360 (belted). The Octavia is on the edge of our budget but is appealing for the length. Will do more research on the Honda end look again at Toyotas. Any feedback on the i30?

Thanks all for the tips, much appreciated!

OP posts:
user1485155939 · 12/02/2023 22:03

Have you thought about a Kia sportage? They look nice, are roomy inside and have a large boot.

EmbracingTheEyeBags · 12/02/2023 22:07

houseargh · 12/02/2023 20:22

Sorry, not an AIBU but inspired by someone else's recent similar thread... Looking to replace our car. Current front-runners based on what's available and in budget are a Hyundai i30, Nissan Qashqai or a Skoda Octavia.

Which would you get?

Main considerations are reliability and space...our last car was a Ford Focus and this time we want a bit more boot space and a bit more length (ideally enough for DD's rear-facing carseat to fit behind 6' DH, which it doesn't in the Focus so we're forever having to move it).

Happy to buy something up to about ten years old, anything else you'd recommend looking at?

Just bought a Seat Ateca for this reason.
It's a decent sized car, big boot, not too bad on mpg and 4 wheel drive for if we have bad weather. I love it. Would recommend

MissDollyMix · 12/02/2023 22:08

Does it have to be one of those three? If you liked your focus, look at the Ford smax. Absolutely brilliant for families. Lots of space and surprisingly easy to drive/park.

LikeTearsInRain · 12/02/2023 22:09

The i30 is similar to a focus and will be no bigger. So I’d avoid that option.

Original poster
houseargh · 12/02/2023 22:12

MissDollyMix · 12/02/2023 22:08

Does it have to be one of those three? If you liked your focus, look at the Ford smax. Absolutely brilliant for families. Lots of space and surprisingly easy to drive/park.

We were looking at the C-Max but it had quite a poor safety rating compared to the others. Not sure about the S-Max though, will check it out.

And no, definitely doesn't have to be one of those three. Anything reliable, roomy enough and not more than 8k for no older than about 10 yrs is a possibility!

OP posts:
Original poster
houseargh · 12/02/2023 22:19

This is what I thought. DH is convinced it will be big enough. But he's also not so fussed about having more space and would probably be very happy with another Focus - so we definitely have different ideas on how much space we're aiming for. (I should add, we are sticking with one kid so don't need a massive car but would like very much to do driving holidays as DD gets a bit bigger and I think we will appreciate the boot space then, as well as the ability to chuck a kid's bike in the back and similar as she gets bigger)

OP posts:
Alexandra2001 · 13/02/2023 08:16

One thing to consider with an Asian built car is spares, cost and availability.

I ve a friend whose DH runs a garage, he says that getting non stock bits for Hyundai etc can be very expensive and take many weeks as they come into Europe by boat, this came up in conversation a few weeks ago as a friend has a Hyundai ix35 and needed some suspension bits but it was an 8wk turn around for the parts.

I don't think this is an issue with European built cars.. as much.

Timide · 24/02/2023 10:04

Have you chosen anything @houseargh? We are in the same boat atm and cannot decide.
How did you check the safety ratings?

Original poster
houseargh · 24/02/2023 10:32

I think we're going Skoda Octavia. On further research we figured the other two would be really tight with my husband sitting in front of the car seat, and if we can get more space for the same price, why not. Also, neither of us particularly likes the SUV look, so all other things being equal we'd prefer that to the Qashqai. The safety ratings - honestly I'm not sure, DH is in charge of most car research and looks at a lot of different sites, but if you Google it, it looks like there are a few sites - not sure what the difference is or if they're all reflecting the same ratings scheme

OP posts:
Itsonlyagame · 24/02/2023 10:38

I'm a huge Hyundai fan but if space is one of your main considerations then I would go for the octavia. They are more roomy. Don't waste your time with a Qasqai.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page