Longterm Family Car Questions

[Cityfreak]

I have had the same Polo for 12 years, a fantastic car, but now it is becoming too old and unreliable. I don't drive to work, but use the car for shopping at weekends, motorway journeys, and will probably need to do school run in the future. I want a reliable well-made car that I can keep for the next 12 years. We walk to nursery and to work and have a very green lifestyle, so I have no guilt about getting a car that is a bit environmentally unfriendly, but am considering diesel engine. Does anyone know about how diesel engines compare to petrol ones? Dad says more expensive fuel but cheaper to run overall. At the moment I am looking at 2nd hand nearly new Golf or bottom end Land Rover, ie Freelander, but have not done any test drives yet. Any comments from those of you who have these cars? How do you think crash safety compares, given that VW crash safety results are excellent, but Land Rover is a bigger sturdier vehicle? Very hard to plan 10 years ahead, eg only ds and me now so 3-door seems fine, but then I still think I may meet someone and have more children, so I ought to buy a 5-seater at least. Is a 3-door really a nuisance with more than one child, or is the reality that until they are teenagers you still have to get out and help them anyway, even if you have a 5-door car?

Hi Cityfreak - we have just bought a landrover, the long wheel base,defender kind and its great. Suddenly we can just chuck everything in the back and not have to worry about fitting things in anymore. We really worried about fuel bills but so far it seems OK. Diesal doesn't cost anymore and seems to go further so although the car uses more the bills haven't changed that much. The good thing about diesals is that you don't have to worry about starting in the damp which was always a problem for us in the bottom of the valley. You've got to make sure you never run out of fuel though or you have to reset the engine.

The advice I always heard was if you can afford a diesal then they are better. I've always heard good things about VW so why not think about getting another - maybe an astra or even think about a people carrier. Thing to remember is that is not just the number of seats but also the space for luggage, buggies etc which is crucial. You can get loads in a small car but its just a pain working out how to get it all in

Regarding the doors. We had a short period with a 3 door car and it kills your back leaning in to strap them in. I'd never get another with kids. Go for 5 doors but make sure you have childlocks. Most cars do these days. Even our landrover!