Which car?

[elibee]

I'm buying my first car after Christmas but they're too many to chose from!

My main priorities are that it's safe, reliable and comfortable and ideally I need a big boot too.
A hybrid would be nice but that's definitely not an essential point

The cars I've found that look hopeful so far are

• Mazda 6
• Skoda Octavia
• Subaru xv

The Subaru. We're on our 4th and they've all been absolutely reliable, comfortable and economical to run. They have a very strong customer focus as a company as well.

We're currently driving a Forester and an Impreza and love both. I think the XV is what's sold as the Crostrek in the US. It's a nice size and I think the rear seats fold down for extra cargo space.

We have a Mazda 5, huge boot, 2 extra seats for when you have 7 too. Highly recommend but depends on budget. Ours is nearly 10 years old and have only had one small repair (not including wear and tear stuff like tyres and brake pads). We are buying a new one in 2020 when my endowment matures

That's great to hear, MissConduct. I was slightly leaning towards the Subaru already as I'm used to driving 4x4s and vans so I don't really like the low down feeling of being in a normal car (although I'm sure I'd get used to it before too long)

I'm planning on buying brand new so the Mazda 5 isn't ideal for me but thanks for the recommendation, Anniehm

Octavia estate. Theres a reason so many taxi drivers have Octavias as they are so reliable, and the boot capacity is fab

That was my thinking with the Octavia as well, Dibbler (love your username btw) but it has the lowest child safety rating of the three according to ncap - though it is still pretty good at 86% tbf

The all wheel drive system in the Subaru is more intelligent than most in that if you have a wheel spinning on ice or snow it stops supplying torgue to it and transfers it to the wheels that have traction.

We have Michelin winter tires on both cars and they are almost unstoppable in snow, which is a serious requirement where I live. One time I stopped and offered a lift to two police officers who couldn't get up a snow covered hill I knew would be no problem for the Forester. They were tempted but couldn't abandon their Ford.