Grand C-Max - any good?

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We are looking for a new car for my dad. At the moment he has a Zafira which has been fine. It's excellent for doing the grandkids' school run, it's high enough so that Mum doesn't have any problems getting in or out It's roomy, practical and (fairly) reliable. Given the amount of use and abuse it's had over the last 5 years it's stood up to it fairly well. However tempus fugit so we fancy getting him something newer and nicer.

Our preferred choice would have been a Touran but (a) They all seem to be diesels and therefore not ideal as he does most of his driving locally. and (b) they seem to hold their value relatively well. I noticed that he could get a newer/lower mileage Grand C-Max for similar money.

So - does anybody have either a Touran or a C-Max and how have you found it? (Not "literally" obviously )

[blueST]

My Dad has a Grand C Max for the same reason, although a diesel. He wished he'd just gone for the regular non-grand version. The extra row of seats eat a lot of boot space and you get no spare witch bothers an old timer. Other than that it's seems a very nice car. No reliability issues.

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Thanks

I assume the extra seats drop down into the floor a la Zafira? He's got used to the "No spare wheel" issue as the Zafira has the same issue

How good are the sliding doors? My thinking is that they'll be a godsend for getting in and out in tight car parks.

[blueST]

The seats do fold but the boot floor is a lot higher than without them. I think the flor is actually higher than the hatch opening.I don't think they fold as neatly as other cars, but I've never seen a Zafira so can't be sure.

Sliding doors obviously good in tight spaces but require a fair shove if you are parked on a slope. I've seen my Mum struggle to give them a big enough shove once. Is electric an option? If it is, find one with that.

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Thanks for that - will bear it in mind.

I'm now wondering whether he'd like an S-Max 2.5 instead

[blueST]

Do it, my last car had that engine, it a beauty.

[JQ]

A friend had the old shape 5 seat C-Max for several years and recently swapped it for a Grand C-Max assuming it would be the same, if not better. Her view is it's not and she's looking to get rid of it. As mentioned above the folding rear seats eat into the boot space, the boot on her old 5 seater was much bigger. Also she feels the new one doesn't handle anywhere near as well, again possibly due to the extra weight in the rear.

She's had it 6 months and is currently shopping for a replacement. I believe the Citroen Grande C4 Picasso is currently top of the list.

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The C4 GP was on our list as well but reliability is crucial to us and I don't think that's Citroen's strong point

[JQ]

Countdown said:

The C4 GP was on our list as well but reliability is crucial to us and I don't think that's Citroen's strong point

Out of interest do you have any stats to back that up, or just a general view on French cars? It's on our shortlist for the wife's next car, so I'd be interested to know if it is more unreliable than the competition, which for us is the S-Max.

[vikingaero]

If you're considering the C-Max then what about the Mazda5?

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JQ said:

Countdown said:

The C4 GP was on our list as well but reliability is crucial to us and I don't think that's Citroen's strong point

Out of interest do you have any stats to back that up, or just a general view on French cars? It's on our shortlist for the wife's next car, so I'd be interested to know if it is more unreliable than the competition, which for us is the S-Max.

It's based partly on personal experience and partly based on stuff like JD Power reliability reviews. My sister in law has a C3 and it seems to be quite flimsy and needing TLC more than would be expected for a relatively new car. A colleague had a Mk1 C5 and she wasn't impressed with it either.

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vikingaero said:

If you're considering the C-Max then what about the Mazda5?

Hmm...I did remeber suggesting it to my brother a while ago (he's the one doing all the "finding" and "checking" but I can't remember why we dismissed it.

Does it have 2 seats in the middle or 3?

[dav123a]

We have a Mazda 5 , good car. Sliding doors are brilliant for the kids especially in car parks. More of a 6+1 than a true 7 seater.

[MrJuice]

I have a 2011 touran which my friend kindly found for me on autotrader. My friend is a very helpful chap and didn't tell me how long he spent looking but I know it was a long time, every day, for many months!

for just shy of 14k I bought a 2011 touran with pan roof, leather, sat nav, bluetooth, DSG, xenon lights and some other options. I love the car and would recommend it to anyone. I think I got mine cheap. The chap had been offered 13.5k trade in value for his by a VW dealer.