What cheap family car?
Discussion
Perhaps the least 'Pistoneheaded' what car post follows - because I don't really care for image or power, and I don't have much money.
Current family vehicle is a Xsara Picasso diesel. It is 10 years old, and has covered 70% of the distance to the moon without costing much at all in terms of repairs.
It has many Cons - not least of which is that it's a Picasso, and all that involves. No other car manages to combine anonymity and visual offensiveness as effectively. It is also slow. I don't particularly care for performance these days, and the Picasso can cruise at 80mph for at least as long as my bladder can go between stops which is fast enough, it's just that getting it going with any urgency seems such hard work for it that you feel sympathy. And then there is the handling. It does grip ok, if you have decent tyres, but it gives hardly any feedback and rolls all over. It also has a few niggling faults that on their own aren't an issue (CD player is iffy, an armrest has fallen off, there is no variable intermittent, the drivers door lock has packed in) but taken together with the 172,000 miles showing and it does rather suggest that it might be best to sell it as a runner with 12 months MOT rather than the smokey ruin it may become at some point in the next few years.
On the plus side it does 40+mpg, it has a panoramic glass roof, which the kid likes, it has three individually removable back seats which are handy when we go camping, it has never broken down and I can put a bike in it upright, which means when we go cycling as a family I don't need any racks and I don't need to spend time stripping bikes down either. Plus it has nice things you might not expect in a cheap family bus from 2004, such as automatic headlights, cruise control and climate control (which still works).
So for a budget of £3k, what would you replace it with? The Citoren is diesel, but we do a fair number of short journeys so petrol might be better suited. I'd like room for camping stuff and passengers, decent fuel consumption and reliability. Once I have all that I will then consider 'driver appeal' and so on. Suggestions please?
Current family vehicle is a Xsara Picasso diesel. It is 10 years old, and has covered 70% of the distance to the moon without costing much at all in terms of repairs.
It has many Cons - not least of which is that it's a Picasso, and all that involves. No other car manages to combine anonymity and visual offensiveness as effectively. It is also slow. I don't particularly care for performance these days, and the Picasso can cruise at 80mph for at least as long as my bladder can go between stops which is fast enough, it's just that getting it going with any urgency seems such hard work for it that you feel sympathy. And then there is the handling. It does grip ok, if you have decent tyres, but it gives hardly any feedback and rolls all over. It also has a few niggling faults that on their own aren't an issue (CD player is iffy, an armrest has fallen off, there is no variable intermittent, the drivers door lock has packed in) but taken together with the 172,000 miles showing and it does rather suggest that it might be best to sell it as a runner with 12 months MOT rather than the smokey ruin it may become at some point in the next few years.
On the plus side it does 40+mpg, it has a panoramic glass roof, which the kid likes, it has three individually removable back seats which are handy when we go camping, it has never broken down and I can put a bike in it upright, which means when we go cycling as a family I don't need any racks and I don't need to spend time stripping bikes down either. Plus it has nice things you might not expect in a cheap family bus from 2004, such as automatic headlights, cruise control and climate control (which still works).
So for a budget of £3k, what would you replace it with? The Citoren is diesel, but we do a fair number of short journeys so petrol might be better suited. I'd like room for camping stuff and passengers, decent fuel consumption and reliability. Once I have all that I will then consider 'driver appeal' and so on. Suggestions please?
- why not fix the most annoying couple of bits and just drive it until it blows up - better the devil you know and all thatPeugeot 307SW - you'll find one with a glass panoramic roof, and it has the three individual seats in the back. Drives more like a real car than a Picasso. Only cheap because unfashionable. Reliable and cheap to run.
I have a SAAB 9-5 2.2TiD estate and love that. Why do you prefer the 9-3, is it looks? Loads of room and solidity in the 9-5. Cam chain engine in the 2.2TiDs, both 9-3 and 9-5.
I have a SAAB 9-5 2.2TiD estate and love that. Why do you prefer the 9-3, is it looks? Loads of room and solidity in the 9-5. Cam chain engine in the 2.2TiDs, both 9-3 and 9-5.
My OH and I work near to each other, so we tend to commute in together and then I cycle home as we don't finish together very often, so the Picasso taking a bike upright is great - I have the bike in it most weekdays. Of course I could cycle to work as well as home, but I don't want to go mad with the old exercising now do I?
That said, our commute isn't very long - in fact it's embarrassingly short so the diesel Picasso doesn't properly warm up most days, which ultimately isn't good for it, hence my idea of swapping to a petrol again. That and the rumbles of the idea that the government might have noticed that diesel fumes are a bit nasty and adjust the tax accordingly.
The Picasso is brilliant really. It sounds a bit gruff but it never feels like it might let you down - I drove it 600 miles in 4 days over Christmas in all weathers and it was flawless (apart from the lack of arm rest, obviously!) It's got loads of room too, and the kid says it's the most comfortable car we've owned (competition: Ford Ka, Ford Mondeo, Fiat Multipla, Seat Leon - so faint praise!) She also loves the fold-down table things on the back of the seats. I just don't like it; there is nothing interesting about it, and it's by far the least involving car to drive I've ever owned.
I like the looks of the 9-3 more than the 9-5, plus the 9-5 is that bit longer (not that much admittedly) which might be a pain as we have to park on the street at home and at work.
I am currently looking at Honda FR-Vs - 3 seats up front worked well with the Multipla, and there are a few petrols in budget now.
That said, our commute isn't very long - in fact it's embarrassingly short so the diesel Picasso doesn't properly warm up most days, which ultimately isn't good for it, hence my idea of swapping to a petrol again. That and the rumbles of the idea that the government might have noticed that diesel fumes are a bit nasty and adjust the tax accordingly.
The Picasso is brilliant really. It sounds a bit gruff but it never feels like it might let you down - I drove it 600 miles in 4 days over Christmas in all weathers and it was flawless (apart from the lack of arm rest, obviously!) It's got loads of room too, and the kid says it's the most comfortable car we've owned (competition: Ford Ka, Ford Mondeo, Fiat Multipla, Seat Leon - so faint praise!) She also loves the fold-down table things on the back of the seats. I just don't like it; there is nothing interesting about it, and it's by far the least involving car to drive I've ever owned.
I like the looks of the 9-3 more than the 9-5, plus the 9-5 is that bit longer (not that much admittedly) which might be a pain as we have to park on the street at home and at work.
I am currently looking at Honda FR-Vs - 3 seats up front worked well with the Multipla, and there are a few petrols in budget now.
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