Which family car should we buy?

[ButterflyOfFreedom]

Originally posted in Chat before realising there was a Cars section! (Sorry)

So...

2 adults, 2 school age children.
No dogs / bikes / prams etc. We're not campers and/or don't have excessive sports equipment etc (!!!) - the most we'd have in the boot is our weekly shop or a few suitcases when going away!

We never buy new - usually one about 3 years old and usually (though I imagine this may increase!?!) spend about £10k.

Short list so far is:
VW Golf
Seat Leon
Vauxhall Astra
Renault Megane
Peugeot 308

So, which would you recommend out of those? Or any others we haven't thought of?

Thank you!

Short list so far is:
VW Golf
Seat Leon
Vauxhall Astra
Renault Megane
Peugeot 308

I wouldn’t touch any of those with a shitty stick. Anything Japanese will be far superior.

Ford Focus or C-Max. Toyota Verso or Auris. Honda Civic.

I would expect the VW or Seat to be quite good. Personally I wouldn't risk a Renault, Peugeot or Vauxhall.

I would opt for the VW. Never buy a vauxhall; they are infamous for spontaneous combustion. My sister in law came across several cases in her line of work where they just burst into flames.

Qashqai, we love ours, bought it recently, 64 plate, low miles, £9.9K

Skoda Fabia Estate. The perfect family car.

I love my Ford C-Max. Literally love it.

Hyundai i30/i40 or Kia Ceed (tourers if you want slightly more room). Well within budget and will have 2-4 year warranty still left on them if any use. Won't set world on fire but all reliable

I love our Nissan x trail. A smaller version the kashqaui is good too.

I don't think I've spelt it right. But it's cheap to run loads of features big but easy to park. Bloody ❤️ it.

Not sure I'd buy any of those. I am in the process of looking for a new family car- similar budget. I'm considering a kia sportage, Ford kuga or a nissan qashqui

I've just got a 63 plate Vauxhall zafira tourer and I couldn't be happier with it. I love it in every aspect.

Seat. You've got the build quality of a VW but marginally cheaper. Wouldn't touch anything french. Genuinely from personal experience, never again.

Or... How about a Jeep Renegade.. just throwing that one in there. You'll love it or hate it.

VW Tiguan, love ours. Lots of space inside and decent sized boot.

Just bought a SEAT Altea - fab family car with lovely sized boot! Good price for what’s basically a VW Golf plus. We downsized from a people carrier as we didn’t need one so big.

Oh yeah. Second the Honda Civic. We had one a while ago and loved it. Very reliable and so flexible. Have you seen the Toyota C-HR? Or is that a bit new..

Love our qashqai too!

We just upgraded our Kia Venga to a Sportage and love it, bit bigger but love the height on the road. It’s a 15 plate, it’s top of the range (heated seats all round - amazing!) and it only cost us £14,500, and that’s with about 7 years of warrantee left. I’ve had a Mazda, a Ford, a Peugeot, a Hyundai and now 2 Kia’s, and I must say the last two have been the best, and the Kia’s even better than the Hyundai.

Golf build quality is much better than the French and American marques. Or a slightly older Volvo?

We've currently got a Seat Leon as the second car. We've had a golf in the past. I personally prefer the Seat. It's a fab car, really reliable, nice to drive, economical. Only issue I'd have if I were you is that I personally think it's too small to be the family car. I wouldn't want to take it on a long journey as I think the kids need more space and the boot isn't big enough for a lot of luggage. I think you need something bigger as a family car.

"I wouldn’t touch any of those with a shitty stick. Anything Japanese will be far superior."

With the notable exception of shitty Nissan

Thanks for your replies!

I think we've ruled out the Renault, Peugeot and Vauxhall.

I like the look of the Leon just not sure if the boot will be big enough (despite me saying we don't need loads of space) - we still need to fit in 4 suitcases for example...

What do people think of Mazda or Ford? No experience of either...

We have a lease Astra. It's a good car. However I hate not having a stick handbrake and will ensure the next car is a stick. I think Vauxhall Renault and some others only do the tiny button/catch style so beware, as I never feel safe with it and cant wait to swap.

Another one for VW Tiguan. Simply superb!

The Hyundai Tuscon or IX35 is a revelation to us. We used to have VW Golf

Anyway the driving position is excellent. The room in the back is great as the kids are getting taller. Boot is big enough for 4-5 suitcases - probably more if you tried !

Came with inbuilt Sat Nav and reversing camera. Plenty of storage space as well. The recent snow wasn't a problem due to 4WD.

I really cant fault ours we paid £13000 for our on a 64 plate last year with 20k miles. You can pick them up for around 10k with a few more miles on them. Worth considering.

We have a Ford Kuga, I really like it, spacious boot to take suitcases, dog etc