Smaller car with roof rack or blow the budget for SUV???

[boilingkettle]

Our 13 yr old Meriva has died and we need a new (used) car. I’ve been approved for £8500 loan and had my eye on a Nissan Qashqai or a Suzuki s-cross. We’re a family of 4 with recently acquired camping gear...
however, I’m now wondering if I should go for something smaller and cheaper, get a roofbox for camping stuff, and use balance for home improvements and DH’s 40th present???
Any recommendations for a smaller car under £6000 which will still be comfortable for 2 adults and 2 growing kids (currently 6 & 3 so in car seats for foreseeable future)
Or should I just go for the bigger car and have no spare cash for lifetime of loan as we’re JUST living within our means at mo due to childcare bill...

What about an estate? Plenty of choice but for example a Ford Focus estate would give plenty of room in the boot and you should be able to pick one up pretty cheaply. I’d only take as much loan as you need for the car if things are tight.

If you're passed the pushchair stage then the qashqai could work but you'd definitely need a roof box, the boot isn't that big.

Our kids are 13/18 and the car is rammed when we go away and not camping. Literally every space is taken up and the roof box full.

That said it's a comfy ride.

A lot of SUVs look big but would actually have less boot space than your meriva due to the shape of them. I’d look carefully before blowing your budget on either of the ones you’ve mentioned tbh. Why not look at a people carrier again? I loved my verso, changed to an suv and wish I hadn’t bothered!

Be aware that you don't get as much in a roof box that you think. We have a Volvo XC60 and a roofbox and the car is packed to the max!! can't get the tent in the roof box as it is too big

An estate car will have a bigger boot than a SUV due to the sloping back window IMO

We have a Dacia Logan estate car, less than 10k brand new. We love it, massive boot which was the requirement for our massive bugaboo donkey twin pushchair

I’m definitely not sold on the two cars I’ve mentioned - would look at another MPV but would like to stick with a Japanese make or Kia (not another Vauxhall that will die at 75,000 miles!!!) would worry about parking the estate... good to know about roofboxes not being overly spacious...
any other advice on which models work for our requirements? I’ve gone car blind 😂

Will check out the Dacia. How are they for reliability/maintenance costs?

How about a Honda Civic? Boot space is epic! Never had so much in any car!

Look at a Toyota Verso - I loved mine and the boot is huge. It was really reliable and easy to drive, it felt much easier to park than others I test drove.

We have a pretty old Audi estate that we picked up for £2k two and a half years ago. It's an awesome car and with a roof rack we can take a big tent in the boot and everything else we need. It's not particularly heavy on fuel either.

Verso is out of price range unfortunately - a 7 yr old one with 80,000 miles is £8000 ☹️ I cannot get over the price of 2nd hand cars at mo!

Skoda Octavia or maybe a Superb if your budget will stretch. The Octavia estate had an enormous boot and you can buy a roof rack as well for 8.5k. Mine was bombproof, only got rid of it because it was too big.

Another vote for the Octavia.

Qashqai has very little room in the boot or inside. My two teens are very squashed in the back.

Another Skoda fan here

Avoid Qashqai or Juke.

Colloquially known as 'CashCow' and 'Joke'. Two of the most cynically marketed, under-engineered, over-priced vehicles around.

Avoid any 'SUV' for similar price/market reasons.

Just look at Škoda or Hyundai/Kia estates and pick the appropriate size. Škoda pricing is getting a little ambitious though.

A Ford Focus or Mondeo estate would also be an excellent choice.

Dacia will seem adequate if seen on its own, but disappoint if you see one after any of the above.

Nothing French or Italian obviously.

The size of an SUV is more about ride height than internal space.

I had an Octavia estate for a long time and it was great. Octavia boots are huge.

I think my Grand C-Max is great, but the boot is not that big. I would also consider Focus/Mondeo estates and S-Max.