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Original poster

Which MPV?

29 replies

soph28 · 14/03/2007 14:51

We want to buy a new car- upgrading from a Ford Focus.
We are thinking of a Ford Galaxy or Grand Scenic. ATM we have two dc but will probably have at least one more and they are likely to all be in forward facing car seats at the same time.

We are driving to France this summer and we want to transport bikes too.

(dh hates the Zaphira with a passion so no point trying to convince him on that!)

If you have an MPV, which one and what do you like/dislike about it? Would you buy the same again or a different one?

Also we will not be buying a brand new one- probably 3-5 years old.

OP posts:
Mumpbump · 14/03/2007 14:53

We got a Seat Alhambra which is fine. It is virtually the same as the Ford Galaxy, but Seat is not as sought after so cheaper. (I think they are both the same as the Touran - can't remember the brand, but maybe VW?)

Cappuccino · 14/03/2007 14:55

Citroen Berlingo Multispace

go on, laugh cos it looks like a van with windows

but you won't find - anywhere - anything with a bigger boot space

Original poster
soph28 · 14/03/2007 14:59

sorry cappucino but there's no way dh would consider that- not cool enough

i think the seat is the same as the vw sharan not the touran- both of which we have looked at. the Seat Alhambra/VW sharan doesn't get as good reviews as the scenic or the galaxy but what do you think?

OP posts:
Cappuccino · 14/03/2007 15:00

silly, silly your dh

my car is so cool

Mumpbump · 14/03/2007 15:08

I haven't driven the others, but the Alhambra is fine. We drove from Surrey down to the West Country and Cardiff a couple of weekends ago and it was very comfortable.

zippitippitoes · 14/03/2007 15:12

we have a fiat doblo very cool popular with surfers and more boot space than the berlingo and the jtd diesel elx is greta engine too and good view all around economical to run

ernest · 14/03/2007 15:26

I have peugeot 807.
I love it.
Our last car was also peugeot 807. Changed last September. I really wanted another, cos love it so much. dh wanted change. I put foot down, Soooo glad I did

I love the electronic slidey door, the seating configuration, the look of the dash board (all controls v. clear and easy) found Chrysler really cluttered and old fashioned-looking, just a huge mass of dark brown buttons, yuk, also for me, really hated seating config. of chrysler.

Also like how much space there is,

Test drove about 5 and like the road feel of peugeot best.

But electronic slidey doors was top of my list. So bloody brilliant.

Original poster
soph28 · 14/03/2007 15:31

mmmmmm good advive Ernest. I'll ask DH if he would consider that (he's very choosy!!)
However have siad he can maybe get a golf for driving to work if he can wangle a car allowance so that means I might have more choice on the MPV!

OP posts:
autumnlover · 14/03/2007 15:43

we have the Mazda 5 which i love to bits. And we have 3 kids, 5yrs, 18mths and newborn and we've just brought a phil & ted buggy. we can have the buggy in the car and do a weekly shop. We would need a roof box when we go on holiday but for day to day use its great. It also has sliding passenger doors which i love - no more worrying about parking the car in tight spaces. there are loads of little storage compartments and 11 bottle holders!!! its quite sporty as well.

DH loves it and still makes any excuse to drive it!! its also relatively cheap (brand new) compared to others on the markets.

hope that helps

lovelymoo · 14/03/2007 15:51

My DH is the same with his cars we looked at loads and ended up with a sporty touran. Its great seats easy to fold down just pull a lever and it folds away. Its got a spoiler alloys and teh gadgets guys love and for the kids it has folddown playtrays in the back of the passenger and driver seats like on a plane.

GameGirly · 14/03/2007 15:52

Love love LOVE my Volvo XC90 (but don't tell the Green brigade)!

LadyTophamHatt · 14/03/2007 16:06

ford s-max.....

loads of room for all 6 of us and much better loking than all the rest

Original poster
soph28 · 14/03/2007 21:34

yeah we like the Mazda, the s-max and touran but we're not buying new so the s-max is out and the others are a bit too expensive.

OP posts:
Original poster
soph28 · 14/03/2007 21:37

ha ha just checked out the volvo XC90- I would love it too but cheapest I could find is £19k- about £11k over budget

must get dh to find new mega bucks job...

OP posts:
indiajane · 14/03/2007 21:40

Also with the XC90, God, you end up paying a fortune - and I do mean fortune in Diesel. We generally get about 15 mpg about town.

I have a friend who has a Chrysler and she loves it.

Original poster
soph28 · 14/03/2007 21:43

That is very expensive for diesel- we are trying to keep fuel expenses down as our focus does about 50mpg, The Scenic and Galazy both do about 40mpg.

OP posts:
Original poster
soph28 · 14/03/2007 21:44

galaxy

OP posts:
lovelymoo · 15/03/2007 09:47

The touran is great on fuel can do just under 400miles on a full tank (town driving). We've got a silver 53 reg one that had 20k miles on it for just under £9000

nicm · 15/03/2007 10:10

i have a renault grand scenic and have recommended them on here in the past but i now withdraw all that, STAY AWAY FROM RENAULT!! it's coming up on 3 yo in july and just got it back last week from spending the week in the garage and having it fixed(apparently) and get into it yesterday and it wouldn't start again. have had the aa out twice in 2 weeks and 1st one said he's always out to renault and recommended a vw touran, as the only reason he has to go out to them is because of flat tyres and people don't want to use the inflation kit. the 2nd one says he wouldn't ever own a renalut, they're dreadful and he drives a honda, but would recommend a toyota for a small mpv. said you can't go wrong with them. so unless you've loads of spare time to run back and forth to the garage - DON'T BUY A RENAULT!!

gscrym · 15/03/2007 10:24

Citroen have a C8 Picasso out.

nearlythere · 15/03/2007 10:33

am i the only one who loves my scenic? Its the ultimate mums brigade car! usually a long line of them waiting by the school gates (we live in a rural community so yes everyone drives the school run, but we do share lifts!)
We have two one is an r-reg which gets used for all the mucky jobs and is a general workhorse and a sparkly newish 56 plate tdi which i have to admit is even better! the seats all come out- you can configure the seats in the back to only have one seat or two seats and the boot is massive, not to mention the ammount of storage compartments. I can also fit 3 silver cross explorer 2nd stage car seats across the back and believe me they are BIG car seats!

Original poster
soph28 · 15/03/2007 10:47

oh no- now i don't know what to do- had basically decided on the grand scenic now I have one definite supporter and one definitely not!!

OP posts:
nearlythere · 15/03/2007 10:52

SORRY!!! but i do love mine! even my old one is reliable- never had a problem with either!- Good luck

nicm · 15/03/2007 15:58

well i'm sure for every car there'll be someone who doesn't like it/someone who loves theirs. well i'm just back from getting mine fixed, 'don't have to provide courtesy cars under warranty' took about an hour and a half and while i was waiting the guy was in with his megane as the back window had got stuck down and his front one was replaced a couple of months ago! my OH had this, only someone called to the house to tell us the window was down or we wouldn't have known until the next morning going to work, so AA came to fix it with a clothes peg until he could get it to a garage the next morning, also had his driver side door storage conpartment fill with water on 2 or 3 occassions-they weren't sure how it happened! but needless to say that when his 3 yrs were up he changed to something other than renault!! my mum and dad however both have renault too and my mum's car has been fine but my dad has been back on a few occassions as well. up until about a month ago i would have recommended them to anyone but not now. will never have another one which is a shame as i bought it as it was the safest car for me and the kids and when it's actually driving and working properly i love it!

faustina · 16/03/2007 14:17

I had an R reg scenic until last year and would not recommend it. On the plus side it was lovely and spacious inside. On the other hand it broke down ALL the time, and also - not sure how to describe this - but whenever I went around corners it felt like we were going to tip over - does that make sense?

when I chose my new car I test drove a VW touran (diesel) and pulling away at junctions was really really hard - I would put my foot down to go and ten seconds later we would start moving - it felt v. dangerous. Also it looked like a small minibus but that's kind of a frivolous reason : )

I eventually bought a golf plus which is probably not big enough for people with small children, also diesel but because it's smaller that time lag thing isn't as bad - having said that though I will not be getting another diesel next time

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