Economical estate for weekend trips from London ~6k budget

[gwinn]

After renting cars quite frequently in the last couple years, I figured it would probably make more sense to buy one for the flexibility. This would be my first time buying a car, although I've been driving for a while, mainly various Skodas and VW.

How I plan to use the car is basically as a way of getting out of London on longer trips:

• 2-3 weekend trip each month, about ~600 miles round trip (or more) to places like Peak district, Snowdonia, Lakes, ..
• occasional longer trips to Scotland / Europe (say 2-3 times a year)
• very little city driving - occasional trips to ikea and such, but mostly bike around London

Requirements:

• fits 4 people plus climbing & camping gear
• ability to sleep in the boot would be nice
• reasonable fuel economy and reliable
• manual, not a fan of automatic
• not fussed about interior features, bluetooth would be nice
• must be ULEZ compliant, low emissions better because of parking charges here

The budget is around 6k, but quite flexible up to maybe 8k. I'm mainly looking for something with a low-ish "cost of ownership", that will get me from A to B, so don't mind trading some extra upfront cost for cheaper maintanence if it's more sensible.

After reading the forum here a bit, I've been looking at the usual recommended options like Octavia, Mondeo or Focus, but am kinda lost in the variaous engine options and how to evaluate mileage vs age:

• a lot of the cars have kinda high mileage (~70k), even though they're fairly new (>2015 say). How cautious should I be with those?
• how reliable are the small, economy modern engines? There seems to be a lot of 1.0 or 1.2l engine variants. Good? Best avoided?

Edited by gwinn on Monday 8th March 15:35

[Roboticarm]

I suspect you'll be doing alot of motorway work... Of so then I'd avoid the small cc engines in larger cars.

Based on your brief sure the answer is Volvo....

[Jag_NE]

OP, that’s a pretty big potential mileage there. Factoring in ULEZ I think you should flex the budget as suggested and go for a euro6 diesel. Something like a 2016+ Skoda Octavia estate would probably fit the bill.

[ChocolateFrog]

I'd suggest you want something bigger than C segment car (focus/Golf) if you're regularly carrying 4 adults and a decent amount of cargo.

I'm not up on the requirements for ULEZ but long journeys with low running costs screams diesel to me.

Didn't see the budget but I'd be looking along the lines of 5 Series/E Class/A6/Superb/V70/XF with their version of the run-of-the-mill 2 litre diesel.

The class down 3 series/Mondeo/Passat are all good too but I always feel like you get less value for money than the big estates.

The Superb is great value, especially if you pick one up with a few miles already on it.

[ElectricSoup]

If you're looking for as near new as possbile, a FIAT Tipo estate with the 1.6 diesel engine would fit the bill nicely. You can get 2017 examples for a bit over your £6k:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101057...

I've driven one of these fully loaded with skiing gear and 4 people around the Julian Alps, up and down motorways. Did the job handsomely. Cheap to buy and economical to run.

[JQ]

A completely none PH answer:

Citroen C4 Grand Picasso - my wife had one and it's huge on the inside. The seats are very flexible with the rear seats individually moving backwards and forwards and also reclining for long journeus. The rear seats also fold down completely flat making sleeping in the back easy. There's also lots of cubby holes to store things and loads of room for adults to sit in comfort in the rear. It's boring to drive, but is £20pa tax and does 60mpg.

We've recently swapped car roles and she'll have the city runabout and I'm going to have buy a family car. I'm looking at BMW 5 series estate, Audi A6 estate, Skoda Superb Estate and Volvo XC70. None of them store as much as the Citroen., which may be an issue on our many family camping trips.

[ElectricSoup]

That's a pretty good shout JQ, perhaps OP would also like to soncsider going a step further and looking at Citroen Berlingo, FIAT Doblo type vehicles?

[casualdriver]

I would consider Auris/Avensis Estate, maybe Honda Civic Estate - but for last one you need around 10k (petrol). Very reliable. Should have Bluetooth - you can always get FM transmiter if not! Nothing fancy, but will get you there and chances for expensive repairs are low. Something like this: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008242...

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd normally say the Mondeo but with your price point in mind I say you need to look at the alternates.

For the kind of usage you have planned these would be my suggestions:

Insignia Elite Nav

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012187...

SRI VX Line

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103029...

SRI Nav

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011156...

508 Allure

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103059...

[gwinn]

Thanks for all the replies, helpful tips in there. My main takeaway is to go for a larger diesel engine and avoid small petrols.

The V70 / 5 series / Mercedes E are probably outside my budget, but seems like a Passat / Superb / Avensis might be worth looking into.

With the Citroen C4, I didn't think car looks matter to me before I saw it, but turns out they do a bit I'll probably stick to a more conventional estate for now. The real loading would be a mix, where maybe 30% of journeys would be with 4 people and most would be just with 1 mate.

I'll have a look at some of the Honda / Vauxhall / Fiat, didn't really drive any of those too much, other than some rentals

[ZX10R NIN]

With your budget the Insignia is the pick.

[Ntv]

ChocolateFrog said:

I'd suggest you want something bigger than C segment car (focus/Golf) if you're regularly carrying 4 adults and a decent amount of cargo.

I'm not up on the requirements for ULEZ but long journeys with low running costs screams diesel to me.

Didn't see the budget but I'd be looking along the lines of 5 Series/E Class/A6/Superb/V70/XF with their version of the run-of-the-mill 2 litre diesel.

The class down 3 series/Mondeo/Passat are all good too but I always feel like you get less value for money than the big estates.

The Superb is great value, especially if you pick one up with a few miles already on it.

There are some misconceptions here.

The 5 Series, A6, and XF are more lifestyle estates than true estates. Sloping rear window and relatively narrow boots.

3 series is far, far, smaller than mk4 mondeo (ie the model most in your price range), which indeed is larger than the aforementioned three lifetsyle estates in terms of luggage space, and the equal of them in terms of passenger space.

Go for a mondey, a passat or a superb.

[jwilco]

ZX10R NIN said:

I'd normally say the Mondeo but with your price point in mind I say you need to look at the alternates.

For the kind of usage you have planned these would be my suggestions:

Insignia Elite Nav

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012187...

SRI VX Line

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103029...

SRI Nav

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011156...

508 Allure

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103059...

The SRI nav looks the pick there. Totally agree with the Insignia on this brief.

[GreatGranny]

Insignia are good value but personally the styling is a bit awkward.

The 508 seems a bargain with high level of kit and to me looks the part.

Also like the look of the C5 but it seems ones in your budget aren't ULEZ compliant.

[Ntv]

GreatGranny said:

Insignia are good value but personally the styling is a bit awkward.

The 508 seems a bargain with high level of kit and to me looks the part.

Also like the look of the C5 but it seems ones in your budget aren't ULEZ compliant.

I remember trying a 508 out. Thought boot was so-so, but what really got me was rear legroom was mediocre. For whatever reason it was hard to get feet under the seat in front, even with the seat in front in a somewhat raised position.

[tomwilliams0326]

id say go for a skoda superb estate, get a nice 2015/16 one with under 100k on it and have the choice of 1.6 and 2.0 diesels for economy and quality isnt going to be bad either. Space is going to be very good too