Car under £10k, family of 5, big boot needed!

[NCfor24]

Not sure I'm posting in the most suitable place but seemed the best fit.

Family of 5 with 3 kids out of car seats. They all argue about the middle seat due to the bump in the floor.

Have about £10k max to spend and need a huge boot to carry bike, tent etc.

Currently have a 2014 VW Touran and need a car no smaller.

Have been looking at Citroen C4 Grand Picasso which appears to do the job but am I missing something?

Must be automatic gearbox.

Any suggestions?

Skoda Octavia - VW quality estate with a massive boot. We have had them for years!

Have you considered a twin cab van? Just with you needing enough space for a tent and bikes!!

If your children are old enough to be out of car seats their bikes must be pretty big... but they fit in a VW Touran?!

I wouldn't rule out cars with smaller boots as you can add roof rails (for a roofbox or roof-mounted bike rack) and/or a towball (for a trailer or towball-mounted bike rack).

I second the Skoda Octavia @Mytholmroyd
You might also look at the Honda Civic estate -very high quality car, reliable, huge boot space, top notch diesel engine. The only thing I don't like about it is the very low profile, streamlined shape - it looks good but I find you have to duck down to get in the front - this is my wife's car - she loves it, best car we've ever had. She bought it for £13.5k - personally I won't spend more than £1500 on a car. My daughter's have both had Skoda Fabias but one now has an Octavia with a boot - it's immense.

You could get the C4 Picasso, you don't need the grand version. The very rear seats in the Grand are tiny.

The C4 Picasso is very roomy for 3 adults in the back and boot is huge. It's also notably cheaper.

Ours is going strong after 10 years and 100k

we had a C4 Picasso, I nick named it the tank, it was huge inside - it would work. However be careful, there are known faults on the parking brakes once they hit 70/80k , ours died a death of this!

However, if you're set on a big boot rather than roof rails / towball, maybe a Seat Alhambra:
https://www.whatcar.com/seat/alhambra/mpv/used-review/n17427
But for your budget it will be quite high mileage.

Or a Skoda Superb Estate
https://www.whatcar.com/skoda/superb/estate/used-review/n916

@AnotherEmma to clarify...it has to be big enough for husband's bike. Or the tent. Not both at once. I just mean we fill the boot of the Touran when we travel, so nothing smaller.

@RandomMess is the normal C4 Picasso the same size without the boot seats though? We would definitely use the whole boot space. We do sometimes travel with 6 or 7 but only because we can, so not having extra seats isn't a deal breaker.

Thanks for the ideas...I'll spend some time on Autotrader!

I could get a Pashley Princess with basket in the back of my Octavia Scout. We also have roof rails for a roof box if we have the dog crate in the boot.

Superbs are also a good choice as a poster rmentioned - not had one though!

MG HS cheap to buy and no hump in the middle.

Hmmm I think it's a little bit shorter.

Also the different years have differing boot shapes.

Worth turning up with the bike to try!

Ford S Max?

We have a Ford Kuga. Love it - but it's a 2L diesel so very zoomy.

I once had a C4 Grand Picasso, never again, I had £3.5k of repair bills when the car was four years old and 60k mileage, Citroen were shocking. The automatic gearbox is a disaster and it’s like driving a giant slug.

I had an amazing Peugeot 807 afterwards, I don’t know what the later model equivalent is but it was bulletproof.

Like driving a giant slug

My Picasso is a manual 1.6 diesel definitely not a slug!!

I've been horrified at trying all the much newer cars with their 1 or 1.2 litre petrol engines, no way will they accelerate with 3 passengers up a hill on the motorway 😭

Third for Skoda Octavia. We had one until last year and the boot was vast. It was really nice to drive too.

Another vote for a Ford S-Max. We've got a full surfboard inside ours before and go camping with a bell tent. It's a van masquerading as a car.

No, I got the grand for the boot space, never used the seats but the boot is much bigger (close friend has the normal one so I've seen the difference really clearly).

I love my grand picasso. I tested the Octavia but the boot space wasn't as good.

Mine is automatic and nothing like a slug! The s max is fine but more ££££ and for nothing but the Ford name really.

I have a grand c4 picasso -old style. It's done 111k miles and still going strong! No major issues since we've had it and only paid 2k for it in 2018. The boot space is amazing but the extra seats are small. I love it! It feels so much roomier than my mums picasso. I can have a boot full and still fit in 3 suitcases and a buggy round the other spaces in the car. Can't recommend it enough!

Though mine is a manual. I can't comment on the automatic gearboxes.

We traded up from a Touran to a VW Sharan years back and loved it. 3 proper seats, electric sliding rear passenger doors, huge boot. Alhambra is the Seat equivalent, same car more or less. Ford Galaxy is another alternative. I eventually changed it but really miss the practicality of the Sharan. We looked at C4 Picasso's too but they deteriorate internally so quickly! Coming from a VW I think you'll find Picasso's are cheap feeling.

Another Ford S-Max vote. We’ve got three kids and could never move to an SUV now—not even a big one—because they all expect to each have a full size seat and a flat floor. The middle seat is considered prime real estate in our family because it has the view through the windshield! The boot is also absolutely enormous, bigger than anything any of my friends have. I once fit an entire (small) Ikea kitchen in there. It’s a tardis car.