Family car advice

[Missymoomoo11]

Hi all,
I’m looking for recommendations for a family car. We have an 8 month old so looking to upsize from our small hatchback. I’ve had a run of terrible luck with cars in the past (Mini, Mercedes, Peugeot) so am anxious about buying another car but desperate to upsize. Am looking to purchase an SUV either new or approved used through a main dealership. I’m particularly interested in knowing peoples opinions on the Kia Sportage, BMW X3, VW Tiguan, Land Rover Discovery sport.

My main priorities are:
reliability
space
comfort
decent warranty

Thanks!

Also considering the Volvo XC60!

I've got a 24 plate Tiguan. It feels huge and safe

I have a Skoda Karoq which is a sibling of the Tiguan and I love it. It has a great driving position and a big boot. The front seats are very comfortable and I can comfortably get 3 adults in the back.
Land Rover isn't known for reliability these days.
A colleague has a Sportage and really likes it, to the extent that she has kept it longer than she had any previous car in recent years.

We've had a Sportage, which was great, and now a Skoda Kodiaq as we wanted a bit bigger. No complaints with either. Just solid family cars.

I'd consider the Skoda SUVs as well. More bang for your buck.

I'd discount bmw and land rover on reliability alone.
I believe kia and skoda are great cars.
VW are just mediocre in my experience.
I have only ever owned japanese which are top in reliability but can be 'boring' which doesn't bother me in the slightest but I'm not a massive car person.

I love my Tiguan. We got it in May. We got the one down from top spec as I hate leather seats. There’s nothing I don’t like about it. I liked the Volvos too but couldn’t justify paying another £6-7k for the same spec as the vw and research told me Volvo repairs are expensive. I’m very happy with our choice.

my friend’s Land Rover has been in the garage more than it’s been on her driveway. I like the look but wouldn’t buy one.

Are you thinking about a second child at some point in the future? Do you ever give lifts to anyone? I ask because my lovely DP replaced their car with a Kia Sportage, which actually seems like a great car. But once you have two car seats in the back, the middle space is absolutely tiny. When we go and stay, they collect us from the station and the DC and i get driven to their house but DH has to get the bus or a taxi 🙈 And the last bus is about 5.30pm so it's a bit awkward if we are travelling later in the day. Obviously we'd never suggest DGP buy a bigger car than needed just for our visits, but if it was our main car, I think I would be getting frustrated very quickly.

Yes to another baby but not for a few years! We rarely ever give lifts to other people so this shouldn’t be an issue, I suppose the issue will be when we eventually (hopefully) have a third child but this is a long way off so I guess we’ll cross that bridge if and when it comes to it 😂
Thanks for your helpful insight!

Thanks! I hadn’t considered about the cost of Volvo repairs so that’s good to know.
Have you had any issues with your Tiguan?
Unreliability seems to be a common theme with land rovers. My other half is keen to get one but I’m trying to get him to steer clear!

@Missymoomoo11 we’ve only had the Tiguan since May but my friend has had hers 3 years and no problems. We also had a vw touran years ago for about 8 years that was great. I’ve always thought they are safe and reliable German cars.

Skoda & VW are the same manufacturers

@Blushingm they have the same parent company but skodas score better on reliability than vw.

I have read the opposite!

We have the vw id4 which is the same size as the vw tiguan ( built on same wheelbase). It’s really spacious. We fit 4 adults and a child in car seat in, ie two adults and car seat in back.

We have had 3 years with no issues. Boot fits pram, suitcases, kids bike fine. we put a 6ft Christmas tree in December with two seats down and Ds still in his car seat comfortably.

The id4 I totally recommend if you want to go electric, otherwise the Tiguan.

I’d avoid anything German (or sub brands thereof) and Land Rovers are pretty much the shittest cars on road. Kia have strong reputation for reliability and of course that long warranty.

I loved my BMW X3 and wish I had kept it. Had several BMWs and never had any reliability issues. But they are expensive to buy and to fix.

I had a Tiguan and found it underpowered - I do a lot of driving on rural roads. Boring , but it never let me down.

I also had a LandRover Discovery but it was shit - forever in limp mode.

Can I ask why you need a bigger car? I had 2 DC and drove a VW Polo - plenty of space as they grew and plenty of space in the boot for all their stuff (from pushchairs up to sports kits and then on to university). Easy to park too - fitted in car park spaces with room for me (fat) to get out and get small children out of car seats.

I'm on my second Honda CRV after I killed my first in a collision. I've found them to be really spacious and really reliable both only ever cost for routine maintenance and they stay on the road even with really high mileage. Plus when I did have my collision I walked away without a scratch.

Toyota avensis estate or skoda estate. Easy to park, loads of room but not miles off the ground like some cars.

If space is a priority you are far better off getting an estate rather than an SUV. However it's quite difficult to offer any suggestions because you have not stated your budget.

Kia Sportage and Hyundai ix35 or Tucson have good rep. I've been told parts are a bit more expensive though. We've recently changed to a Ford Kuga (2018) which we love so far.