Ideas for Family car

[bez91]

Hi all

After a bit of inspiration for our next car.

When our house renovations are completed husband will be getting rid of his van, we'll still have my car but looking for something with the following parameters;

• decent size for 2 adults and 2 children
• very generous boot space
• good on mpg as I do a lot of miles for work
• under £22,500
• no more than 4 years old
• a 4x4 would be nice due to the area we live in but not mandatory as that will up the MPG

Any ideas? So far I'm quite into the BMW X1 or Volvo XC60 - would anyone recommend?

Thanks all

The X1 is tiny, isn’t it? I’d say at least the X3 for a family and a big boot. Are you only looking at premium brands? Mazda CX-5 should be quite practical and the top spec can be pretty snazzy. Other popular models are the Nissan Quashqai or Kia Sportage.

For better mpg, Toyota Rav 4 comes in a hybrid version (not sure when they came out) or Auris is quite spacious (I think).

You want generous boot space yet consider the X1?

LOL

Sorry guys typo.. should read X3! 😂

Qashqai has no boot space. It is very cramped in the rear.

It is also horrible to drive but you didn't ask about that 😁

Nissan Qashqai!
N-Connecta is a great mid range specification.

I have a VW Golf estate. Loads of room, v comfy.

Not sure on the price vs age thing but compared to a BMW it’s going to be cheaper I suppose... so the Skoda Kodiaq. And I say that as a former driver of Mercedes and VW. It’s a BRILLIANT family car.

I've found that SUVs aren't great for boot space, unless you go for a truly massive one like a Volvo XC90.

I'd recommend looking at estate cars instead, they tend to have much bigger and more useable boot space. Off the top of my head, I'd look at..

Skoda Superb (truly cavernous, and a very comfortable place to be)
Volvo V90 (likewise)
Mercedes E Class

If you need four-wheel-drive, you could also look at those raised estates, which have a 4x4 system but the body of an estate car:

Audi A4 or A6 Allroad
Mercedes E Class All-Terrain
Subaru Outback (all the farmers I know drive these, they go on forever)

For boot space, you really can't beat the Skoda Superb estate - we love ours, and its only that it is a company car and the hybrid isn't out yet that means it is going back in a week. Incredibly comfortable to drive, and the mpg is good
Our next car is going to be the Honda CRV hybrid all wheel drive which is fab. The Rav4 hybrid was OK but was noisy on the motorway

I don’t have one but test drove a qashqai and it was so beautiful to drive, much lighter and easier than the other SUVs we test drove @Seeline I’m surprised you said that, why do you feel they’re horrible to drive?

The sportage I thought was hideous to drive!

I drive a Ford C max and the boot is huge but the car is actually no longer than a Ford Focus. So if you aren't keen on a larger car like an estate I'd definitely look at the c max. I love mine.

Shirley No pulling power, I hate trying to overtake on the motorway. Gear ratios are all wrong. Very poor visibility. Automatic wipers are useless. Headlights are poor. Weird bonnet shape means if there is water on it it sprays right in front of the driver. Weird button for handbrake. Really dislike the built in satnav.

I've got a 14 reg, 1.2 petrol, from new. The salesman assured us that the new technology meant the 1.2 would act like a 1.8. It doesn't. I think they made some alterations on later models to give more power, but all the other issues still stand. Particularly the cramped space in the rear, and inadequate boot space.

Very interesting @Seeline, we test drove the brand new one that’s out this year (automatic) so potentially they’ve fixed some of those issues, but also that a test drive isn’t the same as the real thing so didn’t try it overtaking / in the rain etc

I would second the suggestions to look at a Skoda. The Kodiak is good but I'm not sure how many second hand are available or how they're priced. We have the Octavia and frankly, we absolutely love it. The boot is CAVERNOUS. And considering the size, the petrol consumption is incredible. On bigger trips we can get about 600 + miles to a tank and just buzzing around town on school run etc we're still getting well over 400 miles.

I think the Superb is the more updated version? Not sure and haven't looked at it but overall, I can't recommend them enough as family cars.

@BlingLoving Both great cars, I agree! The Superb is a different, larger model in the Skoda range. The Octavia is about the size of an Audi A4, the Superb is more like an A6.

One of my SILs has an old old old Octavia estate. It's almost 18 years old and has almost 200,000 miles on it now -- and still going strong.

OP -- Octavia comes in a raised estate/4x4 system version too, it's called the Octavia Scout.

@plausiblesuit - yes, agree re longevity. ours is only 5 years old but we recently paid the balloon payment and kept it because we can tell (and know people with older ones) that it's probably going to last us just fine for another 10 years at least. It's having MOT done today and the guy told me that basically except for basics like oil changing/tires, he really doesn't think we need to do any more hard core serving for at least another year or two, or even longer. So it's cheap to run too.

When you say 4x4 "would be nice due to the area we live in" do you mean that you need a 4x4 because you have poor access, bad weather, or snobby friends and neighbours?

If you must have a proper car with a huge load bay, then as above the Skoda Superb estate is the way forward. It is available with four wheel drive if you need the extra traction, though if you need better ground clearance then the Octavia Scout might be more suitable. The Skoda Kodiaq will give you the same in a SUV body plus the option of seven seats, but you'll probably struggle on budget to get four wheel drive and you'll ultimately find the Superb is more spacious and more fuel-efficient.

If you want space to replace your husband's van, then have a look at the Citroen Berlingo, Peugeot Rifter, or Vauxhall Combi Life (which are all pretty much the same thing, made on the same production lines.) Plenty of room for four passengers plus huge load area, and very frugal on diesel or petrol. All versions are Euro-6 emissions standard. You can specify it with Advanced Grip Control, which uses the traction control system to give it grip comparable with a 4x4 for off-road use. With Grip Control it will also come with all-season tyres, which will make a far bigger difference to usability in the snow and ice in any case. A brand new one with its three year warranty will be well within your budget. They are based on the PSA EMP2 platform which I understand is developing quite a good reputation for mechanical reliability.

If you simply want validation to buy a premium brand SUV, I'm afraid I can't help you there.

Skoda Superb 190bhp 4x4 estate all the way.

By Jap,,

Honda CRV 1.6DTEC,,im looking at one on the honda approved used website,2017,10,000 miles, quoted 57 mpg,, £14,995 ,,plenty of similar on offer..

Look at the Honest John website you can click to choose your essential features and it tells you what fits your criteria.