Newish (2023 or newer) hatch or small suv with electronic parking brake and autohold?

[Chasingsquirrels]

Looking for a replacement car.
Currently have a 2011 VW Passat, 2l diesel, that I've had from nearly new but things are atartkng ro go wrong with it now.
My kids are now young adults and I don't need the space and estate gives.

My current Passat has electronic brake and autohold which I love, and I don't want to go back to a manual handbrake.

Looking at manual and petrol or diesel.

I'd really like a retractable boot cover, but is seems that means another estate or larger suv, so will compromise on that.

I like the openness of the passat and rear visibility.

I like the low down acceleration my passat has.

I liked the new MG ZS, but manual handbrake and no autohold.
Similarly the Skoda Kamiq.
Kia Niro is only hybrid and therefore automatic.

Anyone got any suggestions as I'm getting nowhere!

Try your friendly local Dacia dealer.

The Sandero and Sandero Stepway hatchbacks both have electronic parking brakes and auto hold - which they call Hill Start Assist - but only in the highest trim level (Journey on the Sandero, Extreme on the Stepway.)

Not sure about retractable luggage cover but we have one on our Jogger.

I should add, if you're looking at a 2023 Skoda Kamiq you should be able to go brand new with Dacia for the same sort of ballpark price or less. The warranty is up to 7 years if you have it serviced at a Dacia authorised dealer - as good as Kia.

I have recently acquired a 2023 Honda HRV and love it.

I live on a hill and it performed well in the recent snow we had.

In terms of performance there were several different power outputs of 2l tdi Passats. I’d suggest finding out the 0-62 time of yours and you can compare to cars you’re looking at. Bear in mind you’ll have to rev a petrol car harder to extract the performance though.

Thanks. It is 138bh, and showing at 9.7s for 0-60. I'll bear that in mind. DP said about reving more, because I've had mine for so long I'm so used to the power just being there - so something to get used to.

What puts you off an automatic? Love my auto, wouldn't go back to a manual now. Hybrid gives you best of both worlds, more economic and still able to fill up at the pump for a long journey.

Why not get an auto? Cars are all going that way. I’d never go back to a manual getting leg ache in a traffic jam.
Toyota Corolla has the stuff you want. You can get an estate version.

Thanks for the replies (despite all the typos I've now noticed in my OP!).

I thought the Hill Start Assist was literally just that (ie hills), not a proper autohold? Basically I NEVER apply my handbrake, I just stop and it comes on automatically, drive away and it goes off. I also have stop-start which I like but doesn't affect the driving.

I drove past a Dacia Sandero and thought I'd check that out, so thanks - I'll have a look at the details.

I've discounted the Skoda Kamiq as manual handbrake.

I test drove a VW T-roc today, which I liked but didn't love.
In particular I didn't like the hinged rather than floor mounted accelerator, something I hadn't even considered - but my foot position seemed off and unnatural which I could see being more of a problem the more I used it or equally I could just get used to it!
I wasn't keen on the rear window tint either, the passat is so open at the rear that anything is going to feel more enclosed and the tint made that worse, although not all specs have it.

DP has put me off the auto.
He is a mechanic and says if I was just getting a car for 3 years then fine, but there is so much more to go wrong in an auto than a manual, and as I'm looking to keep the car for 10+ years it makes sense to get a manual.

I also didn't really like driving my late-DHs auto, but appreciate that's probably just being different to what I'd been used to.

Doesn't apply to most automatics these days. Modern automatics much more reliable. Appreciate you have to go with your DH opinion and your preference. But I'd give a few a test drive. I love how nippy and responsive my automatic hybrid is.

Would recommend looking at Nissan qashqai, hyundai Kona, etc

Thank you, and you are right I should at least test drive some.

DPs comments are based on types of cars he sees coming into the garage. As I have no real clue about cars I value his opinion on this, but it is my car & my money so ultimately my decision.

Toyota Yaris Cross hybrid. 10 years manufacturers guarantee.

Isn't the Qashqai towards the bigger suv end?

I don't want a larger car, plus park in my garage and so am aware of width - by passat is a squeeze and having just checked the qashqai it is a couple of cm wider than the passat, which I don't think I have.

I'd discounted this as auto only, although may reconsider autos.

Yes, Nissan Juke is the smaller suv option. Good luck with finding the right car for you.

We’ve had autos in the family for years. My last two both lasted 10 years and then I sold them on - and they were still working!

Plenty of other countries like the USA have autos as standard. They don’t need to keep replacing cars :)

He's a mechanic?

I wouldnt want him working on my car with that level of ignorance/stupidity.

Auto's are far more reliable than manuals.Unless you buy a POS belonging to VW or a French car.

Yaris is a great car too. That’s what we had. I’d check out some Toyotas. The Corolla gives you extra space if you need it but isn’t really any wider. I didn’t want a wide car either.

This!

I have a Hyundai Kona hybrid and absolutely love it!

@Chasingsquirrels

The parking brake on the Sandero does have to be applied manually, but it will disengage automatically when you move off.

The Dacia Hill Start Assist holds the pressure in the footbrake for three or four seconds when you take your foot off the pedal, so that you can make a hill start without having to use the handbrake to stop you rolling back.

I've also got a Skoda Superb which has a similar system to the one you describe on your Passat (hardly surprising, as they're almost identical underneath). If you keep your foot on the brake when stopped then there's no real difference in driving the two in traffic.

InveterateWineDrinker, I guess the difference is I DON'T keep my foot on the brake when I stop at lights etc - I come to a stop, the car applies the e-handbrake and I take my foot off the brake pedal. Usually the engine also turns off as it is a stop-start model.

Anyway, I've come down with a sickness bug today, so car replacement is on hold 🤢

My OH and I can only drive automatics so thats all we've had. Never had any issue with the gearboxes on them apart from the Fiat 500 but that was a poor purchase anyway. Nissans we prefer though. Bullet proof.

I have a Skoda karoq and love it! Downside it has a slight rattle (only in cold, dry weather.
Upside it has heated seats and steering wheel!

Re the rattle - this seems typical for a lot of cars at the moment - in the last 2 years I've had several courtesy cars - a Volvo SUV, an Audi a4 and a seat suv. All had rattles!

Would recommend a Mazda CX-3 (which they no longer make but is an excellent small SUV and available second hand) or its replacement the Mazda CX-30. Both really easy to drive and have lots of gadgets on them as standard.