Recommended me a family bus £10kish

Recommended me a family bus £10kish

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22

Original Poster:

2,295 posts

137 months

Monday 25th May 2015
quotequote all
Wife has a Zafira - she's half sworn by the brand after years ago walking away relatively unscathed from a nasty crash which involved travelling some distance on the roof (in an Astra)! Today however, I drove home from the south coast to Buckinghamshire and it's a frightful thing! It's an 09, so about time we looked at a replacement. It's a 1.6 'Design' version but at motorway speed I kept checking I wasn't in 3rd.

Think the wife has resigned herself to looking beyond the 'safety' (in her world) of the Vauxhalls. Budget around 10k, but I would consider buying new for a belting deal.

Car needs to take our family (2 kids, dog, tons of clutter) plus occasionally seat 6 (don't think 6 rather than 7 is a deal breaker) as wife and her friends share lifts to kids clubs etc. Not many long journeys, but ideally something quite capable when needed (not performance, just a pleasant drive).

Like the look of the Mazda 5 MPV but has bad reviews (not too bad on PH itself). The Citroens seem to do better on the reviews.

Need to be a good few years newer than 09 if we're replacing. Petrol, manual and that's about it.

willmagrath

1,208 posts

146 months

Monday 25th May 2015
quotequote all
Yep, i'd second the mazda 5.

Vauxhall Zafira: terrible
Ford smax: Bit over your budget
vw touran: bit dull and pricey
volvo xc90: too pricey and thirsty


maurauth

749 posts

170 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
quotequote all
22 said:
Wife has a Zafira - she's half sworn by the brand after years ago walking away relatively unscathed from a nasty crash which involved travelling some distance on the roof (in an Astra)! Today however, I drove home from the south coast to Buckinghamshire and it's a frightful thing! It's an 09, so about time we looked at a replacement. It's a 1.6 'Design' version but at motorway speed I kept checking I wasn't in 3rd.

Think the wife has resigned herself to looking beyond the 'safety' (in her world) of the Vauxhalls. Budget around 10k, but I would consider buying new for a belting deal.

Car needs to take our family (2 kids, dog, tons of clutter) plus occasionally seat 6 (don't think 6 rather than 7 is a deal breaker) as wife and her friends share lifts to kids clubs etc. Not many long journeys, but ideally something quite capable when needed (not performance, just a pleasant drive).

Like the look of the Mazda 5 MPV but has bad reviews (not too bad on PH itself). The Citroens seem to do better on the reviews.

Need to be a good few years newer than 09 if we're replacing. Petrol, manual and that's about it.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201505023126384/sort/atcustom/postcode/so181jy/radius/1500/make/VAUXHALL/model/ZAFIRA/price-from/500/page/1/usedcars

Fair enough it's the same age but not many miles, ex demo with lots of oprions and you won't be worried about the gearing on the motorway with 230+ BHP from the 2.0T petrol.

mattdaniels

7,353 posts

282 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
quotequote all
22 said:
Wife has a Zafira - she's half sworn by the brand after years ago walking away relatively unscathed from a nasty crash which involved travelling some distance on the roof (in an Astra)! Today however, I drove home from the south coast to Buckinghamshire and it's a frightful thing! It's an 09, so about time we looked at a replacement. It's a 1.6 'Design' version but at motorway speed I kept checking I wasn't in 3rd.

Think the wife has resigned herself to looking beyond the 'safety' (in her world) of the Vauxhalls. Budget around 10k, but I would consider buying new for a belting deal.

Car needs to take our family (2 kids, dog, tons of clutter) plus occasionally seat 6 (don't think 6 rather than 7 is a deal breaker) as wife and her friends share lifts to kids clubs etc. Not many long journeys, but ideally something quite capable when needed (not performance, just a pleasant drive).

Like the look of the Mazda 5 MPV but has bad reviews (not too bad on PH itself). The Citroens seem to do better on the reviews.

Need to be a good few years newer than 09 if we're replacing. Petrol, manual and that's about it.
So - your OH has a car that she likes, you drive it once and dislike it, therefore the car is being changed?

What's your secret? read

JimmyConwayNW

3,064 posts

125 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
quotequote all
S max 2.0tdci titanium.

toon10

6,178 posts

157 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
quotequote all
We have an XC90 and it's the perfect family bus. You can get a decent one on budget too.

The Turbonator

2,792 posts

151 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
quotequote all
Our grand Picasso has simply been brilliant for a family bus. Fault free for 4 years and I see no reason for ever getting rid of it, it just does everything so well for what we use it for.

22

Original Poster:

2,295 posts

137 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
quotequote all
Popped in to see the Citroën today as working near a branch. I'm probably old fashioned but the guy couldn't have been less interested so for now it's crossed off the list. Liking the look of the mazda,will ask the wife for her thoughts.

btcc123

1,243 posts

147 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
quotequote all
JimmyConwayNW said:
S max 2.0tdci titanium.
+1 Wife has one,great all round car,economical,7 seats and surprisingly good to drive.

anonymous-user

54 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
quotequote all
Can your budget push to a Mercedes R-Class? These things dint make much sense brand new but are a cracking second hand buy.

The Turbonator

2,792 posts

151 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
quotequote all
22 said:
Popped in to see the Citroën today as working near a branch. I'm probably old fashioned but the guy couldn't have been less interested so for now it's crossed off the list. Liking the look of the mazda,will ask the wife for her thoughts.
We didn't buy ours from Citroën for the same reason, never taken it near Citroën for servicing either. It's a shame really, as the dealer network seems to let the brand down.

LayZ

1,627 posts

242 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
quotequote all
btcc123 said:
+1 Wife has one,great all round car,economical,7 seats and surprisingly good to drive.
+2 Have one too, 43mpg all the time, fast enough, loads of room. Great car.

CO2000

3,177 posts

209 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
quotequote all
Regarding Mazda5's the sport diesel drives better than the petrol (the 1st ones anyway) and has better gearing (6sp versus 5 spd) & iirc steering too. The petrol was like being in 4th at 70 but the diesel isn't overerly high geared.

wibblebrain

656 posts

140 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
quotequote all
VW Touran

5* NCAP Safety
Miles more comfortable than a Zafira
It will parallel park itself for you.

Whilst an S-Max is a good shout I don't think they feel as good quality inside and the Touran is more compact externally and therefore easier to drive.

The Mazda's looks are a bit challenging and the middle seat on the 2nd row is tiny


Edited by wibblebrain on Wednesday 27th May 09:54