Estate?

[Jimnic007]

Apparently we are going to Mothercare tonight! She is really chilled about buggy/travel systems, having discussed this with her mates who have wasted £700plus on buggies/car seats and ended up with a cheap collapsable version and a separate car seat. I guess it will resolve itself, but the estate is firmly on the cards, if only to ensure that my golf clubs or snowboard can travel with us (depending on the time of year)!

So the shortlist is something along the following lines:

Subaru Legacy (has anyone got something less than a Spec B that they like, how is the diesel version?)
Saab 9-5 Aero
Mondeo ST
Vectra VXR looks a bit hot and new for two kids to ruin!

Anything I have missed?
Cheers,
J

[g7jhp]

Matt UK said:

When I was a kid I was one of three, and my Dad ran a VW beetle and we got by just fine. And I remember when all this was fields..

You didn't need kiddy seats and booster cushions way back then

[GravelBen]

Jimnic007 said:

I would really like a Spec B Legacy, but I am scared by the MPG figures that are being mentioned.

I average 27-28 mpg from mixed use in my '02 Legacy GTB (280hp 2.0 twin-turbo), 30-32 is easy enough to achieve (without deliberate intent) on a long run.

I've heard very mixed reports about 3.0 fuel economy of 3.0 versions, anywhere from 22mpg (internet stories) to 38 (recent figure from a family friend).

Best I recall measuring from my old '97 2.0 NA(155bhp) Legacy wagon was 38mpg average over half a tank, 5-up and well packed with gear.

PS Legacies are also great to drive! I've driven a few competing vehicles and always come back to Subaru for a practical, enjoyable wagon.

Edited by GravelBen on Monday 6th July 09:11

[g7jhp]

Jimnic007 said:

The wife and I are expecting twins in November. We currently have two small cars and I am going to chop one in for a family car.
Until now I have been looking at estate cars around £15k, namely 5 series touring, Subaru Legacy Spec B, A6 S-line etc.
However, I have been wondering if a large estate is really necessary and whether I could get away with a small estate, saloon or large hatch.
What are the experiences of the PH masses who have had two small kids, is a large estate really necessary?
Cheers all,

We use a Golf GTI 1.8T Mk4 as our family hack. Plenty of space (99% of the time), got enough go for longer journeys... but we do only have one.

The 3 series touring and A4 avant's aren't that much bigger than a Golf.

Think the best advice is to get something which your wife is comfortable driving.

Personally I'd prefer a 5 series, but my wife wouldn't like a 5 series due to size, so we'd probably go MPV route (and they aren't that costly).

[s3fella]

g7jhp said:

Matt UK said:

When I was a kid I was one of three, and my Dad ran a VW beetle and we got by just fine. And I remember when all this was fields..

You didn't need kiddy seats and booster cushions way back then

When we were discussing baby seats to get for my Dad's car so he can transport his grand daughter, he was wincing at the price of them, and the fact the group 0 ones tend to last about a year only! He was moaning and said, "huh, when we had kids, we had a VW beetle and you two (me and bro) would just sit in the car as normal, maybe on someone's knee and were fine! We never had any problem!" My Mum then piped up "oh well, there was that time you crashed it into that car in Liverpool and Adam (bro) shot forward from the back and smashed his head on the dash....?" My old man said, "oh, yeah, well apart from that!" hahahahahah!
What with "backies" and stunts on Choppers, walking ourselves to school and racing motorbikes since 4 years old, it's a miracle we survived!!

[browno]

I guess an alternative perspective on the hot versions of the Mondeo/Vectra that you could look at (and which might help justify them to the missus!) is that they do indeed have more performance - but you don't have to use that when the baby's in the car.

You do however have much better tyres, brakes and suspension than the lower spec models (the VXR for example has huge 345mm front discs) - which can only help if you end up in a tight situation and need to stop or take avoiding action quickly...

Oh - and on the pushchair front - my missus favoured the Graco quattro sport - which has a car seat with base, puschair and carrycot, all for £259 with free accesory pack from toys r us (with the voucher from their baby catalogue), and it folds reasonably easily too.... EDIT - scrub that - forgot the bit where you mentioned twins!

Edited by browno on Monday 6th July 09:18

Edited by browno on Monday 6th July 09:19

[Ravi944]

I recently bought an 02 330i sport touring to accomodate our new little one. Even now it seems a little cramped with the buggy and all other neccessities strewn across the boot and rear seat. However, its a pretty good drive (despite the steptronic) and combines practicality with a bit of poke. When the next one comes along I am inclined to stick with a performance estate; dynamically they are much better than an MPV or 4x4. Space-wise i would expect a 5 series or a RS6 to be adequate so that's where i will be heading (although im leaning towards the RS6). Yes its more than true that you will never 'push on' with the family in tow but it panders to the petrol head in us to know that its there when we need it! Good luck

[g7jhp]

Ravi944 said:

I recently bought an 02 330i sport touring to accomodate our new little one. Even now it seems a little cramped with the buggy and all other neccessities strewn across the boot and rear seat. However, its a pretty good drive (despite the steptronic) and combines practicality with a bit of poke. When the next one comes along I am inclined to stick with a performance estate; dynamically they are much better than an MPV or 4x4. Space-wise i would expect a 5 series or a RS6 to be adequate so that's where i will be heading (although im leaning towards the RS6). Yes its more than true that you will never 'push on' with the family in tow but it panders to the petrol head in us to know that its there when we need it! Good luck

Sounds like an excellent excuse to get an RS6, rather than neccessity Ravi

Just make sure Mrs Ravi doesn't need the RS6 more often than you.

I'd settle for a slower family estate (with enough go for safe motorway progress) plus a sportscar myself.

[Wozza]

GravelBen said:

Jimnic007 said:

I would really like a Spec B Legacy, but I am scared by the MPG figures that are being mentioned.

I've heard very mixed reports about 3.0 fuel economy of 3.0 versions, anywhere from 22mpg (internet stories) to 38 (recent figure from a family friend).

Edited by GravelBen on Monday 6th July 09:11

I run a 3.0R Legacy Spec B which I bought when my second child was born 1 year ago.

Fuel consumption IS poor. Expect 22mpg around town I'm afraid. 30mpg on a 89 mph cruise control motorway run. I've got anywhere between 200 miles to 390 miles from a tank of fuel.

Remember tax is £400 as well.

But I knew all that when I bought it and don't regret it at all - it is a GREAT compromise car for a family of 4 but with the capacity to be driven hard when you get the odd moment on your own. (enjoy the moment's when you get them - there won't be many )

I've got the saloon and the boot is a good size and shape and fits 2 buggies and plenty of other gear in no problem. Not sure if you'd be better off with an estate with a double buggy though.

The Legacy has ISOFIX Would also strongly recommend using ISOFIX bases for the child seats - you just click in and go - no faffing with seat belts. They can be expensive to buy - around £90 or so for the Maxi Cosi bases I was using but I've just sold both of my bases on ebay and got £50+ for each of them and £30 for the seat.

Feel free to PM me if you had any other Legacy questions too dull to post on here.

Cheers and good luck!


Marc

[GravelBen]

Interesting - said family friend has a 2006 JDM 3.0R sedan (may not be a Spec.B) and while his recent 38mpg was better than usual he finds 30-35mpg common even with mixed use. Though that is in a town rather than city so not a whole lot of stop-start traffic and plenty of open-road running.

Edited by GravelBen on Monday 6th July 12:33

[escargot]

Get two Elises you pussy.

Prams are for girls!

[superlightr]

When our twins were born we went for a Saab 9-5 estate Hot areo. Iso fix seats were great. When our 3rd came along 2x 3yrs olds and 1x baby even the saab wasnt wide enough to get the right mix of seats in without the buckle releases being pushed.

So we now have a Disco 3 and its been great for the last few years and even on hols we havnt needed the roof box which the saab did.

So if you plan to stop at 2 then go for a large estate type, but ours wasnt planned and we thought we had stopped, but a 3rd came along. So perhaps go for a Disco 3 just in case you have more kids.

Edited by superlightr on Tuesday 7th July 10:16

[nobrakes]

Relative of mine has a 2.2 deisel vetra estate. Always gets bad press on here, but they've had if for 4 years, no problem. Extremely cheap to run.

Their kids are 2, 5 and 8.

I think it has a longer wheelbase then the saloon. Loads of space. One of the biggest boots and it's always full with stuff.

She has an MPV - great around town -but can't take as much luggage for weekends away.

[Battenburg Bob]

Skoda Octavia VRS estate. Forget the badge, they're excellent cars.

[Mark Benson]

Jimnic007 said:

Subaru Legacy (has anyone got something less than a Spec B that they like, how is the diesel version?)

Me.
Bought a 2.5 petrol estate from a dealer just after Christmas for £7k, the other half hated the E39 540 we had as she said it was too big, this is almost as big (not as wide, but certainly as loong and lots of boot room) and yet she loves it.
Just over 30mpg average no matter what we do (town, motorway, rural, it never changes) so it's not the most economical, however we have the auto (other half's choice) - I think the manual returns a couple of mpg better.
As an everyday car though, we both love it. It's sold, reliable (so far) quick enough (it'll never win any races, but it's a load lugger/family transport), handles well (good body control), has ISOfix mounts, leather seats, climate etc.
As it's an approved used car it also has a year's Subaru warranty, not some crappy third party one that excludes everything likely to ever break, but exactly the same as you'd get on a new car, plus breakdown cover for a year - so there's the peace of mind that if the other half breaks down in the middle of nowhere, she'll get taken to a Subaru dealer and the car will get fixed.
On that subject, dealers are great, very fair and willing to help wherever they can and servicing is reasonable.

All in all, fuel consumption aside it's a great buy. But 30mpg isn't bad (compared to a 540 for example) and I'm happy to sacrifice that for a great reliable car that's not too bad to drive.

What's more, we run it alongside a Lotus (go on, you know you want to..... )

[Beefmeister]

I know you said no to MPVs, but seriously you should look at and drive one of these:

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/FORD...



Also available in budget with the 2.5t ST engine...

Edited by Beefmeister on Monday 6th July 16:20

[John.]

Battenburg Bob said:

Skoda Octavia VRS estate. Forget the badge, they're excellent cars.

Gets my vote too.