Got any ammo.....please...

[thinfourth2]

Two excellent cars I'd be delighted to be given either of them.

Honda more reliable, Ford still reliable but better to drive.

Also unless doing silly milage buy a petrol.

[Deerfoot]

We`ve had the FR-V as our family car for the past two years and 25,000 miles. In that time it has only had regular Honda servicing (two services costing roughly £500 between them)and two new tyres. It has been utterly reliable.

My only gripes with it are the front seat bases are too short, the driver`s seat adjusts for height so it`s possible to get comfortable with a bit of faffing about. The passenger seat in the front however is very uncomfortable for me to sit in for any length of time and I`m only 5 foot 8 inches tall. Due to the three seats in the front, the front passenger footwell is very cramped also.

Radio reception is poor also. Honda looked at this whilst it was still under warranty but with limited results.

I`ve no doubt the C-Max will be a better drive, I`d prefer to own the Honda though.

[sicarumba]

Hornblower said:

Although I do own a tranny, which has proven reliable...

And which car does he/she think you should get?

[Jasandjules]

No offence OP but if he's buying you a car I'd be grateful for whatever it was.

[Engineer1]

If he's buying let him get what he's comfortable with buying you, if he buys it and it's a lemon he can accept he made a duff decision, if you choose a car the first time you have to do any repair it could start him feeling you wasted his money buying a car that's no more reliable.

[crofty1984]

Hornblower said:

and I

Hornblower's wife and I indeed.
Anyway, I know nothing of the FRV, but I do know that the C-Max is meant to be a very good car for what it is, and having been a passenger it's very roomy I thought.

[madala]

Slagathore said:

What's the price difference?

To be honest, I wouldn't be picky if someone was giving me a brand new car for free.

Edited by Slagathore on Friday 7th January 20:14

....exactly....accept graciously.

[bobr]

Everyone I know who has had a c-max enjoyed it.

The only bad experience was the turbo on a diesel blowing up with in a month of delivery, but ford had it fixed and back to them in a week (I think they even put a new engine in it!)

[Tallbut Buxomly]

I would echo everyone else. If he;s buying let him buy the cmax. Most important reason is if it goes wrong you wont need to worry about it. If on the other hand you convince him to buy you a honda and it goes wrong you will never EVER hear the end of it and he will also most likely be loathe to help you out with anything else in the future.

His money let him spend it. Personally i would take the ford over the honda but thats simply due to me not liking the tonka toy switchgear of the honda. It insults my intelligence.

Also whilst a 156 gta sportwagon would be a lovely car to get the fuel bills will be slightly ruinous.

Oh and you are right....... wife and I

[r1ch]

I'd take the ford.

[marcosgt]

Papa Hotel said:

marcosgt said:

Papa Hotel said:

Hornblower said:

ah dammit c-max is winning!
Thanks though guys

I'm open to other suggestions, not that i'm against the idea of a c-max, a little boring though?

Criteria is something big enough to fit my wife and I, 2 children in kiddy seats, big boot, and room for at least 1 passenger. And something not sluggish, so I can enjoy it. (or will i have to sacrifice fun?)

You, my non-car-nerd friend, are describing an Alfa 156 GTA Sportwagon...

Or, if you'd rather not get a heavily used money pit, a Skoda Octavia vRS (even an ordinary hatch one!).

Would be a lot more fun than either of the cars originally proposed.

M.

Yep, that's what an enthusiasts' forum is for - need a car? Get a VAG product. A good one, admittedly, but a little too "worthy".

I would have thought it more helpful for someone thinking of getting a C-Max or a FRV to suggest a car that they might be able to afford to run?

I forgot the purpose of an 'enthuisiast's forum was to make irrelevant suggestions reflecting your personal preferences.

Has the OP considered a 5.0GT supercharged Mustang at all?

M.

[750turbo]

Flintstone said:

750turbo said:

We are on our second FR-V, bought because of what it does, not how it does it.

What does that mean?

Bought one, used it, traded it in, bought another.....

[A911DOM]

Does this also mean that you can sell your own car and spunk the proceeds on 'something fun for the weekend sir'???

[slipstream 1985]

funny, seems that we almost all agree the honda will be the more reliable car and cause potentially less issues yet the majority of us would take the ford.

[Hornblower]

Yea I am grateful whatever FIL wants to buy us is fine, He's the kinda guy who would be devastated if his choice caused us endless problems, but as many of you have suggested the c-max sounds pretty good. As regards trading in our car for something fun for the weekends, our car trade in value is a massive £850.00
any suggestions? a jap 80's classic preferably

[masermartin]

marcosgt said:

I would have thought it more helpful for someone thinking of getting a C-Max or a FRV to suggest a car that they might be able to afford to run?

I forgot the purpose of an 'enthuisiast's forum was to make irrelevant suggestions reflecting your personal preferences.

Has the OP considered a 5.0GT supercharged Mustang at all?

M.

Actually that might be cheaper to run than a 156GTA.

Anyway, back on topic, looking for some similar options for the OP. The most popular cars to consider in that class would probably be a Scenic or a Picasso but honestly neither of those is going to get many recommendations from PH'ers. I've heard of too many examples of both which have been bought from reputable dealers that turned out to be basket cases, likewise Land Rover Freelanders.

The new "crossover" Nissans are probably too new, as are X3s and Toyota Versos - you can just about see them in the budget but it'll probably be the dregs of whats available. Skoda Roomsters come in under your budget for petrol ones but you might struggle to get a decent diesel for that. The Roomster is very well regarded by testers in the press.

Which I guess leaves the Vauxhall Meriva/Zafira and Seat Altea as the other alternatives (+ Kia Carens?)

Edited by masermartin on Saturday 8th January 11:57

[masermartin]

Hornblower said:

Yea I am grateful whatever FIL wants to buy us is fine, He's the kinda guy who would be devastated if his choice caused us endless problems, but as many of you have suggested the c-max sounds pretty good. As regards trading in our car for something fun for the weekends, our car trade in value is a massive £850.00
any suggestions? a jap 80's classic preferably

MR2? Wouldn't fit the kids in very easily
Honda Prelude? As above, but at least this one does actually have rear seats ...

or:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...

Edit: or an older shape Celica/Supra? You might struggle to find a worthy Supra for that money but there's bucketloads of Celicas. You're giving me ideas !

Edited by masermartin on Saturday 8th January 12:07

[JungleJim]

i think the new c-max is quite an attractive car

[LuS1fer]

How about a Mazda 5 - it's a C-Max underneath anyway and drives and handles well and has 6.5 seats. We loved ours. The FRV is doubtless good but looks a bit like a fridge. I hired a C-max and didn't really like it - just seems like a bulky Focus with the same 5 seats.

[r11co]

masermartin said:

or have injector problems (Ford TDCi are "above averagely" prone to this I understand - I know nothing of the reliability of Honda diesels)

The PSA shared engines used in the C-Max do not suffer from the same issues that the 2.0/2.2/2.4 Duratorq Ford TDCi engines do (specifically not the failure of injectors per se but the ridiculous cost of replacement because of the extortionate charges for recoding the new ones, but as I said not an issue here).

I have known of two CDTi Honda diesel engined cars that were off the road for 6 weeks while dealers sourced replacement parts.

Edited by r11co on Saturday 8th January 16:29