Seat Arona, Skoda Kamiq or something else I haven’t considered?

[CatStoleMyChocolate]

We need a new car (currently driving a small hatchback). While I work on persuading DH we need an actual, family size car, can I get some thoughts on the above cars, please?

We need something bigger than a small hatchback (not much of a challenge!). But we don’t need a “big” car. This will be the sole family car for two adults and two children. We need a significantly bigger boot. Parking sensors would be nice. Needs to run well on motorways and around town.

Does anyone have either of these cars? They both look good on paper but I’m not sure if we’re missing obvious alternatives.

We will definitely be buying second hand - budget would be around £12k, ideally,which seems to get aomething that’s about 4-5 years old. Would it be wise to stretch the budget for something slightly newer? We anticipate keeping it long term rather than upgrading in a few years time.

ClaudiaWinklepanda
When I first got it I hated it, and would keep it in gear with the clutch pedal down and foot brake on so that the stop/start didn't engage.
Within a few months (as its 13.5y ago I can't actually remember how long exactly) I'd got used to it, and get annoyed when it doesn't engage (and with other people who sit in traffic with engine running - and even more so with people who sit parked up with engine running).

@Chasingsquirrels yes - I use my stop/start in the same way as you. Don't find it an issue at all.

Arona is very roomy in the back. 2 six-footers say it's roomy. It's a small SUV.

Skoda Octavia - we had pretty much the same car requirements, and we always go Octavia.

We have Kamiq. Lovely to drive and seems quite economical.

Boot is spacious - we can fit ds wheelchair in it comfortably as well as a few backpacks!

We have the automatic Kamiq and start/stop took me a while to get use to!

Ours is adapted for ds to drive but can be driven as a normal automatic and it's one of the nicest cars I've driven. Good size SUV without being huge.

Oh that's interesting, I liked the Kamiq but it was manual handbrake and no auto hold and I haven't seen any which aren't, but I've only been looking at manual gearboxes.

Does the automatic gearbox have electronic handbrake and auto hold? Off to check that out!

It has manual handbrake but has auto hold to hillstart and obviously auto gearboxes are different.

So you hold the brake at lights but you could put it in neutral!

Thanks - the auto doesn't have what I'm looking for then. Shame as the Karoq does but I don't want the bigger car.

Presumably putting into neutral you'd also have to engage the manual handbrake?
The hillstart function is different to the automatic handbrake function (which engages when you have fully stopped with the footbrake and then put the gearbox into neutral).
I rarely sit with my foot on the footbrake, I'm either in neutral with the handbrake on, or balancing the clutch to be ready to drive away.

I'm a father of 2 daughters (13 and 10 years old) and, when selecting a car for my wife, also doubted between these 2 models. Please, consider the following:

1. Arona has hill start assist, Kamiq - no (at least, on our market).
2. In Arona the driver's position is a bit higher, and the front window is bigger;
3. In Kamiq, there's a bit more space for rear passengers.
4. In Kamiq, there is a rear armrest + deflectors and USB-ports for rear passengers.

So, in your case, I'd go with Kamiq - as long as its design is OK for you.
Because of 3) and 4), it promises to be more comfortable for long journeys with children.

In my case, I opted for Arona. My wife is a designer, and I'm sure that she'll love more Arona's brisk looking than Kamiq's "ordinary" view.
On the other hand, she is a beginner at driving, so points 1) and 2) seem important.

Thank you - that’s really helpful. Still trying to work out what we can afford (how expensive are cars at the moment?!) but will definitely try both as it’s quite personal.

I do like the look of the Arona and am used to a Seat, but I walked past one today by chance and they aren’t massive so your points about comfort in the back are helpful.

I’m not overly fussed about hill start assist as I’m an experienced driver and we don’t have it on our current car - but I am keen on parking sensors this time!

Two more things to mention: Kamiq has rear seats heating as an option.
For Arona it is not offered.
Parking sensors are available in the both cars.
Last but not least: Kamiq's fuel tank capacity is declared to be 50 liters (better ask dealer - maybe it depends on the market), while Arona's is 40.

As for the price, in our market Seat is always about 10% cheaper than Skoda, - if you compare the equivalent trims + selected options, of course.
But I'd never say that Seat is any worse than Skoda.

So, generally, selecting one of those cars seems like selecting a design, which you fancy more.

How about a Kia Sportage? Kia are great cars, 7 yr warranty, loads of extras included.

Had an Arona, loved it. The middle seat is small though so if you had 3 I would’ve said get a different one.

The seats go all the way down so you can use it to transport stuff. I got a massive chest of drawers from Freecycle in there.

I don’t like the noise of the indicator, sounded cheap.

How is your search going @CatStoleMyChocolate ?

We looked at similar cars a few years ago and ended up buying a Suzuki
s-cross due to shorter waiting times at that time. (skoda had a 8 month delivery time on new kamiqs in 2022, and we didn't want to wait that long as our car was on its last legs)
We love it and can highly recommend an S-cross 👍

Thank you @Glowinglights - I hadn’t properly looked at Suzuki. Where I live, everyone who doesn’t have an Audi/BMW/Mercedes seems to have a Nissan Qashqai, which I’m not keen on as have heard bad things about reliability.

@halfpasteleven - not much further! I’d like to test drive both but am keen to stick with petrol and manual, and to do a test drive no more than an hour or so from me, which really seems to reduce the number of Aronas available as a lot are automatic! We are also working out budget so probably won’t be buying for another month or two. But I’d like to test drive sooner rather than later so I have an idea of which we prefer and can move quickly when we see one that fits the bill.

@MrsElijahMikaelson1 - I think a Kia Sportage might be a bit big for us and we might have to compromise on age and mileage depending on budget. We would ideally like something 2-3 years old with under 30k mileage. Our top budget is likely to be £14k and less would be good. But if you’d recommend, I’d be interested to know more.