Help - what cars are you all driving - and loving?

[chrissynou]

Came to Mumsnet for product reviews thinking I would find good info on the range of cars available for families but all I find is a sponsored section by Ford. Disappointed Any ideas? I live abroad so don't have access to magazines. Have been trawling the net but not found anything particularly helpful. Thanks

What sort of car are you looking for ? Little run around in a city, load carrier, numerous DCs ?

FWIW, I have a Mazda 6 estate, 2.2D, and love it. I do a lot of miles, often long days in the car, and it's comfy and interesting to drive

What kind of car do you want?
How many children to fit in?
Budget?

I have a Fiat 500 which I love so much, although may consider upgrading it to he soft top version next year. It is fine for 2 adults and 1 or 2 older children (not great for the bigger car seats though) although boot isnt huge it is fine for us.

We also have a Golf R32 which again we love. It is a bit bigger with a more normal sized boot. Can fit up to 3 car setas in the back depending on types. Amd it is lovely and fast, so great for motorway when you sometimes need that bit of acceleration to get past people, etc.

I have a Mazda 5, which I love; it's a 7 seater, but a smallish one so easy to manouvre and park. It has sliding back doors and heated wing mirrors and lots of great storage compartments.
Only drawback is the 7th seat is tiny, and it's only just okay for my 10 year old but not really an adult.

Had a Mazda 6 before that, which I loved too. Changed to accommodate growing family

I'm not sponsored by Ford but I have a 1.8 focus (2004) and its lovely, really easy to drive, cheap to run/insure/repair (although nowts gone wrong with it in the two years I've had it). Good boot size, I can get a silvercross classic pram (a big'un)in it plus shopping and the leg room's great. Easily get three big car seats in the back and it has two 12V points in the car - one in front, one back (useful for DVD player on long trips). My last car was a Vauxhall corsa which I loved but was too small for growing family. An AA man once told me to never buy a french car because they're the ones always broken down at side of the road!

Wow - great feedback - thank-you and sorry for not being more specific about our needs.

We are currently an 8 yr old, a 4 yr old, a labrador sized dog and most of the time two adults - although occasionally two more.

We live in the country so some off-road facility would be great but not essential.

We have a Peugeot 206 estate at present but it's just not big enough anymore. We also have a Micra which we love as it's great for buzzing around town.

What we need is something capable of taking us on longer journeys for weekends away, etc.

We have been looking at the Nissan Qashqai (that's what its called in Greece anyway) but hadn't even thought to look at the Mazda or Ford. Will investigate....

We are 2 adults, 1 DS and a dog and we love our Volvo V70 (and would get the AWD version next time). The dog gate/cage is brilliant.