Family friendly £10k budget car

[sheffieldjosh123]

Hello

I did a post a while back asking for recommendations, circumstances have changed and my budget has dropped to £10k or there abouts.

New family car spec has to be:

- Good sized boot
- Petrol (Only doing 150 miles per week - told to stick to petrol but by all means let me know if diesel would be better, I wanted to avoid DPF & turbo problems along the way)
- Fairly economical
- Decent bit of kit inside

Has to be from a dealer as I need to PX my current VAG. Not interested in selling private.

Cars I’ve looked at so far are Mokka X’s 1.4 turbo petrol & Astra SRI new shape 1.4 petrols, both fall within budget and look practical for a growing family.

Thanks,

Edited by sheffieldjosh123 on Sunday 4th September 09:03

[ZX10R NIN]

sheffieldjosh123 said:

Hello

I did a post a while back asking for recommendations, circumstances have changed and my budget has dropped to £10k or there abouts.

New family car spec has to be:

- Good sized boot
- Petrol (Only doing 150 miles per week - told to stick to petrol but by all means let me know if diesel would be better, I wanted to avoid DPF & turbo problems along the way)
- Fairly economical
- Decent bit of kit inside

Has to be from a dealer as I need to PX my current VAG. Not interested in selling private.

Cars I’ve looked at so far are Mokka X’s 1.4 turbo petrol & Astra SRI new shape 1.4 petrols, both fall within budget and look practical for a growing family.

Thanks,

Edited by sheffieldjosh123 on Sunday 4th September 09:03

Both are good options but I'd go for the 1.5T SRI NAV Insignia as they're more spacious & you get the newer 1.5T engine which has a bit more go as well as more frugal with the Insignia's longer gearing.

SRI Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207017...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204124...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205205...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206237...

Or you could look at the older model but if I'm being honest I'd go for the last gen.

1.4T SRI Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209029...

SRI VX Line Nav, this one comes with a years warranty & is comfortably under budget:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208018...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209029...

[sheffieldjosh123]

ZX10R NIN said:

Both are good options but I'd go for the 1.5T SRI NAV Insignia as they're more spacious & you get the newer 1.5T engine which has a bit more go as well as more frugal with the Insignia's longer gearing.

SRI Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207017...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204124...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205205...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206237...

Or you could look at the older model but if I'm being honest I'd go for the last gen.

1.4T SRI Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209029...

SRI VX Line Nav, this one comes with a years warranty & is comfortably under budget:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208018...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209029...

Yeah I’ve looked at those, I really like them however missus isn’t a fan of estates but I’m trying to win her around.

My question is petrol or diesel? I do one day in the office at 150 miles altogether one day and the rest of the week is tootling around the village.

Cheers

[ZX10R NIN]

sheffieldjosh123 said:

Yeah I’ve looked at those, I really like them however missus isn’t a fan of estates but I’m trying to win her around.

My question is petrol or diesel? I do one day in the office at 150 miles altogether one day and the rest of the week is tootling around the village.

Cheers

Both can work for you but should you not have to go in, I'd say a petrol would suit your needs better.
On another note I didn't think I'd linked to any estates, show your OH the hatchback versions.

[Brassblaster]

That one good run per week should be more than enough to keep a derv happy.

The short/cold miles bimbling around the village won't return great mpg, but those good runs to/from work will be more economical and will be more than enough to keep regen happy IME.


Any preference on manual Vs auto?


If it were me I'd be thinking with that decent roundtrip weekly I have comfort pretty high on the list - which for me would mean I'd be willing to go a few years older to climb a rung or two up the ladder... Insignia's are okay, but not something I'd choose to own.

If it were a 15/16 plate Insignia Vs something like this, it'd be no brainer for me:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206156...

Volvo's being what I know best that's what I'd go straight to (I'm sure others who prefer Bimmers, Audi's, Mercs etc would do the same with their preferred make) - great seats, 5-cyl engine has a bit more character (this is PH) even being diesel and they're pretty damn reliable too (being a downsized version of the 2.4 D5)... Much better MPG than a petrol Insignia.

Albeit ideally not Arnold Shark


Great budget to play with - plenty of interesting cars available around there.

Edited by Brassblaster on Sunday 4th September 16:48

[sheffieldjosh123]

Brassblaster said:

That one good run per week should be more than enough to keep a derv happy.

The short/cold miles bimbling around the village won't return great mpg, but those good runs to/from work will be more economical and will be more than enough to keep regen happy IME.


Any preference on manual Vs auto?


If it were me I'd be thinking with that decent roundtrip weekly I have comfort pretty high on the list - which for me would mean I'd be willing to go a few years older to climb a rung or two up the ladder... Insignia's are okay, but not something I'd choose to own.

If it were a 15/16 plate Insignia Vs something like this, it'd be no brainer for me:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206156...

Volvo's being what I know best that's what I'd go straight to (I'm sure others who prefer Bimmers, Audi's, Mercs etc would do the same with their preferred make) - great seats, 5-cyl engine has a bit more character (this is PH) even being diesel and they're pretty damn reliable too (being a downsized version of the 2.4 D5)... Much better MPG than a petrol Insignia.

Albeit ideally not Arnold Shark


Great budget to play with - plenty of interesting cars available around there.

Edited by Brassblaster on Sunday 4th September 16:48

What is the car that you have linked? It suggests there’s an error on the page or the car has sold…..

Thanks

[sheffieldjosh123]

ZX10R NIN said:

sheffieldjosh123 said:

Yeah I’ve looked at those, I really like them however missus isn’t a fan of estates but I’m trying to win her around.

My question is petrol or diesel? I do one day in the office at 150 miles altogether one day and the rest of the week is tootling around the village.

Cheers

Both can work for you but should you not have to go in, I'd say a petrol would suit your needs better.
On another note I didn't think I'd linked to any estates, show your OH the hatchback versions.

Sorry mate forgot to mention anything bigger than a corsa missus thinks is an old man’s car so such as an insignia is a whole no no for her but for a growing family it is the perfect choice for us. Women eh

[Brassblaster]

Hmm, does seem to have gone since I posted it (can't find again!).

Was a Volvo S60 D3.

Bit like this one, but a year older and a bit lower mileage:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206156...

Not searched very long to find this one, could easily be better deals about!

[Brassblaster]

sheffieldjosh123 said:

ZX10R NIN said:

sheffieldjosh123 said:

Yeah I’ve looked at those, I really like them however missus isn’t a fan of estates but I’m trying to win her around.

My question is petrol or diesel? I do one day in the office at 150 miles altogether one day and the rest of the week is tootling around the village.

Cheers

Both can work for you but should you not have to go in, I'd say a petrol would suit your needs better.
On another note I didn't think I'd linked to any estates, show your OH the hatchback versions.

Sorry mate forgot to mention anything bigger than a corsa missus thinks is an old man’s car so such as an insignia is a whole no no for her but for a growing family it is the perfect choice for us. Women eh

All too familiar with this, albeit a step bigger... Mrs considers anything bigger than her Leon to be unnecessary - won't drive my S80 if at all avoidable

Where's the arbitrary line in the sand? Where whatever she who must be obeyed is used to, it seems

[sheffieldjosh123]

Brassblaster said:

sheffieldjosh123 said:

ZX10R NIN said:

sheffieldjosh123 said:

Yeah I’ve looked at those, I really like them however missus isn’t a fan of estates but I’m trying to win her around.

My question is petrol or diesel? I do one day in the office at 150 miles altogether one day and the rest of the week is tootling around the village.

Cheers

Both can work for you but should you not have to go in, I'd say a petrol would suit your needs better.
On another note I didn't think I'd linked to any estates, show your OH the hatchback versions.

Sorry mate forgot to mention anything bigger than a corsa missus thinks is an old man’s car so such as an insignia is a whole no no for her but for a growing family it is the perfect choice for us. Women eh

All too familiar with this, albeit a step bigger... Mrs considers anything bigger than her Leon to be unnecessary - won't drive my S80 if at all avoidable

Where's the arbitrary line in the sand? Where whatever she who must be obeyed is used to, it seems

It’s so painful, I’ve looked for 6 whole weeks and I found some great estates / bigger hatchbacks and she put a stop on all of them. She’s keen on the Mokka but I’m not entirely sure on it. I do prefer this - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207147...

[Kellerman]

Audi A4 avant is smart, well built, well spec'd, handles well, loads of room.

Get a nice one for well under 10k.

3.0tdi is an absolute peach of an engine.

[sheffieldjosh123]

Kellerman said:

Audi A4 avant is smart, well built, well spec'd, handles well, loads of room.

Get a nice one for well under 10k.

3.0tdi is an absolute peach of an engine.

They all tend to have 100k plus mileage, anything over 50k puts me off

[georgeyboy12345]

Here's a top 10 for you

Renault Megane GT Sport Tourer
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207087...


Audi A4 Allroad 2.0 TFSI Quattro
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207027...


Mazda 6 2.0 Takuya
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111129...


Honda Civic 1.8 i-VTEC
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208168...


Volvo V40 T2
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207057...


VW Golf 1.4 TSI
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208188...


Seat Leon 1.8 TSI FR
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208068...


Vauxhall Insignia 1.5i Turbo SRi
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206277...


Mercedes C180 CGI Estate
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206216...


Saab 9-3 X 2.0 T Sportwagon XWD
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206016...

[georgeyboy12345]

sheffieldjosh123 said:

anything over 50k puts me off

Why? Honestly, that's being silly. You are only doing 8000 miles a year!

[sheffieldjosh123]

georgeyboy12345 said:

sheffieldjosh123 said:

anything over 50k puts me off

Why? Honestly, that's being silly. You are only doing 8000 miles a year!

I think subconsciously I think if it’s done that many miles it’s been mistreated or there’s going to be problems along the way. I’m very naive with cars as you can probably tell and like others I don’t want problems when I’m forking out to me a lot of money.

[Brassblaster]

sheffieldjosh123 said:

I think subconsciously I think if it’s done that many miles it’s been mistreated or there’s going to be problems along the way. I’m very naive with cars as you can probably tell and like others I don’t want problems when I’m forking out to me a lot of money.

Depends how old it is as well as the mileage.

If it's, say, 10 years old with 40k on the clock, with official service intervals of 12k or yearly... A good number of people (stupid people, but still people) wouldn't be getting that car serviced annually even though a lot of low mileage trips can be harder on the engine than more miles in long trips.

I would run fast from a 10 y/o car at 40k on the clock with only 3 or 4 services in its lifetime... A 100k car of the same age with 9 or 10 stamps and all the necessary PM items done to schedule I wouldn't flinch at for a moment if it drove fine.

This is just an example made up to prove the "it's not that simple" point of course, but in the scenario above one of the two cars has been abused and it's not the high miler.

[ninjag]

Low mileage Mazda 3?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206076...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208108...


Low mileage Focus

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208068...


2019 Peugeot 208

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209019...

[loskie]

I've had Mokkas as hire cars they are awful. Honda Civic or Kia C'eed any good for you? I mean your missus!! Sounds like she should be out there car buying not you.

[sheffieldjosh123]

loskie said:

I've had Mokkas as hire cars they are awful. Honda Civic or Kia C'eed any good for you? I mean your missus!! Sounds like she should be out there car buying not you.

Oh really? In what way were they awful?

I like the Kia Ceed’s, a lot of spec for the money. Hatch and the sport tourers look nice. If it was up to the missus I’d be driving around in a chuffing Qashqai, they’re the only bigger car she likes!! Or a Peugeot 3008 as that’s the car she’s learning to drive in!!

[Brassblaster]

sheffieldjosh123 said:

. If it was up to the missus I’d be driving around in a chuffing Qashqai, they’re the only bigger car she likes!!

Oh dear...

I have something I refer to as "Qashqai rule" - that every pretend off-road monstrosity is driven badly (Qashqai's just happen to have been one of the popular ones for a long while, so they get the name ).

As you're asking about the Mokka... It's the same with a lot of the fairly cheap SUV's - you get worse spec, worse handling, worse performance and worse MPG for your money... In that sense, what's to like?
Sure, the high and mighty driving position is a plus at times, but the same could be said for driving a transit everywhere.

Unless you desperately want the high driving position (and understand/accept that you'll have to spend more or face compromises elsewhere) it's really not worth it.

Only driven a Mokka briefly and could happily never do so again - hateful thing, awful handling, dull interior and just all round something I was glad to be out of again.