What car - hatch/estate opinions sought form PH gurus...
Discussion
PH consumer advice time....
I'm looking to change cars in the summer. Current drive is a Skoda Superb 1.8T with 150bhp. It's a great car but with arrival of a youngster and all the associated paraphernalia I've found that the saloon boot just isn't big enough for the big trips we make.
Shame really because I love the car and the interior space is massive but the boot doesn't cut it for the big journeys.
So I'm after a bit of feedback from other PHers who have experience of some of the cars I'm looking at.
Brief is:
1) Estate or massive hatchback capable of transporting bikes/pram/wine by the tonne..
2) More than 4 cylinders if possible.
3) Capable of low 30s mpg on a run.
4) Budget is 3k approx
5) Spannering will all be done by me, so parts need to be relatively easy to get hold of and not ruinously expensive.
6) Needs to be capable of autobahn cruising at high speeds for long periods.
So I've narrowed it down to a few choices but am interested in experiences other PHers have had with these cars:
Late 90s/early 00s E class Merc estate. Only concern is high cost of parts and nailed on certainty of rust.
E39 Tourer. Plenty about but lots of death traps too. An E39 in good nick would probably be first choice.
.
9-5 Estate - Seems to tick most boxes but difficulty around getting some parts and at a reasonable cost causes concern.
Mk 3 Mondeo - either hatch or estate. Like the look of V6 Ghias. Ropey ST220s also a possibility. Not sure how refined they would be though?
MG ZT-T/Rover 75 2.5 V6 - plenty of value to be had but niggling concerns about parts in the long run. Also not sure as to reliability.
V70 - ideally a T5. Only concern is only v high milers within budget. That said, they should wear the miles well.
Vectra - a few apparent bargains to be had with the 3.2 V6 and look good for motorway cruising. Slight niggle about whether or not the quality of the interior will drive me to suicide though. Not much on PH about them but seem like good value (unless I've missed something).
Galant 2.5 V6 Estate - big fan of these and have found all my previous Mitsubishis to be near indestructible but there are hardly any for sale.
A6/Passat in estate form with 5/6 cylinders. Out of habit I seek out VAG cars despite knowing they are usually as prone to shoddy design and no more reliable than lesser manufacturers.
Quite a wide range of options but there are probably a few more I haven't thought of. Am interested to hear the ownership experiences of others as much as anything.
I'm looking to change cars in the summer. Current drive is a Skoda Superb 1.8T with 150bhp. It's a great car but with arrival of a youngster and all the associated paraphernalia I've found that the saloon boot just isn't big enough for the big trips we make.
Shame really because I love the car and the interior space is massive but the boot doesn't cut it for the big journeys.
So I'm after a bit of feedback from other PHers who have experience of some of the cars I'm looking at.
Brief is:
1) Estate or massive hatchback capable of transporting bikes/pram/wine by the tonne..
2) More than 4 cylinders if possible.
3) Capable of low 30s mpg on a run.
4) Budget is 3k approx
5) Spannering will all be done by me, so parts need to be relatively easy to get hold of and not ruinously expensive.
6) Needs to be capable of autobahn cruising at high speeds for long periods.
So I've narrowed it down to a few choices but am interested in experiences other PHers have had with these cars:
Late 90s/early 00s E class Merc estate. Only concern is high cost of parts and nailed on certainty of rust.
E39 Tourer. Plenty about but lots of death traps too. An E39 in good nick would probably be first choice.
.
9-5 Estate - Seems to tick most boxes but difficulty around getting some parts and at a reasonable cost causes concern.
Mk 3 Mondeo - either hatch or estate. Like the look of V6 Ghias. Ropey ST220s also a possibility. Not sure how refined they would be though?
MG ZT-T/Rover 75 2.5 V6 - plenty of value to be had but niggling concerns about parts in the long run. Also not sure as to reliability.
V70 - ideally a T5. Only concern is only v high milers within budget. That said, they should wear the miles well.
Vectra - a few apparent bargains to be had with the 3.2 V6 and look good for motorway cruising. Slight niggle about whether or not the quality of the interior will drive me to suicide though. Not much on PH about them but seem like good value (unless I've missed something).
Galant 2.5 V6 Estate - big fan of these and have found all my previous Mitsubishis to be near indestructible but there are hardly any for sale.
A6/Passat in estate form with 5/6 cylinders. Out of habit I seek out VAG cars despite knowing they are usually as prone to shoddy design and no more reliable than lesser manufacturers.
Quite a wide range of options but there are probably a few more I haven't thought of. Am interested to hear the ownership experiences of others as much as anything.
I know the urge to change cars is great within the PH community.
But your little 'un won't require the kitchen sink et. al. to be taken everywhere with them by the time they are two. I have a three year old and three week old. We manage with either a Nissan Note or Cooper S Clubman.
On the BIG trips, we take the Clubman with a roof box. No issues.....
Just my thoughts as the Skoda is a great car......
Mike
But your little 'un won't require the kitchen sink et. al. to be taken everywhere with them by the time they are two. I have a three year old and three week old. We manage with either a Nissan Note or Cooper S Clubman.
On the BIG trips, we take the Clubman with a roof box. No issues.....
Just my thoughts as the Skoda is a great car......
Mike
furrywoolyhatuk said:
Why not just an estate version of your current skoda superb?
If not my vote would go down the lines of Volvo v70.
I'd love a Superb estate but they didn't make an estate version of the mk1, and the new shape estate versions are well out of budget.If not my vote would go down the lines of Volvo v70.
There's a few Passat estates which are very similar but would prefer something with at least one extra cylinder.
(Also should add that I have absolutely no intention of fixing yet another B5 VAG car that suffers from the dreaded water ingress).
Bonefish Blues said:
Love them, but boot's not the largest compared to some on OP's list.
ETA we went with a 9-5 Aero LPG which overall has been OK
OP - Vauxhall Signum is unloved and great value as a result
Am interested in the Signums but not sure how they compare to the Vectras in terms of boot space. They do seem good value though.ETA we went with a 9-5 Aero LPG which overall has been OK
OP - Vauxhall Signum is unloved and great value as a result
Edited by Bonefish Blues on Monday 6th May 11:25
Bonefish Blues said:
Love them, but boot's not the largest compared to some on OP's list.
Well it is the same usable size as my previous omega estate, vectra estate and damn close to the old Volvo 240 my dad had.It is the first estate I can turn into a bed (with designed in pillows!) And sleep my 6ft 5 in frame in.
Boot is huge, air suspension is a buggerer but bargains can be found if you know you can swap it for standard suspension for £300. Spark plugs are a b
h to get at, calipers have a habit of binding but apart from that lovely realiable cars. When the extremely expensive subaru exhuast blows, buy a much cheaper after market one and enjoy 2.5 litres of burbley boxer engine. Yummy.Sparta VAG said:
Am interested in the Signums but not sure how they compare to the Vectras in terms of boot space. They do seem good value though.
Absolutely tiny in comparison to the estate. Think big hatch back. Tried a few but the 2 labs would have been pretty much all that would go in, got 4 dogs in the vectra estate.Also you pay a premium for the signums over the estate, or you did when I was buying.
mike9009 said:
I know the urge to change cars is great within the PH community.
But your little 'un won't require the kitchen sink et. al. to be taken everywhere with them by the time they are two. I have a three year old and three week old. We manage with either a Nissan Note or Cooper S Clubman.
On the BIG trips, we take the Clubman with a roof box. No issues.....
Just my thoughts as the Skoda is a great car......
Mike
True but oddly enough the issue is with the shape of the Superb boot. The original buggy we were given wouldn't fit in it so ended up buying a smaller one but even that takes up half the boot. It's fairly wide but not that deep or long and the rear seats don't fold down.But your little 'un won't require the kitchen sink et. al. to be taken everywhere with them by the time they are two. I have a three year old and three week old. We manage with either a Nissan Note or Cooper S Clubman.
On the BIG trips, we take the Clubman with a roof box. No issues.....
Just my thoughts as the Skoda is a great car......
Mike
My wife' Fiesta is better for ferrying my bike and the buggy around believeit or not.
Tampon said:
Absolutely tiny in comparison to the estate. Think big hatch back. Tried a few but the 2 labs would have been pretty much all that would go in, got 4 dogs in the vectra estate.
Also you pay a premium for the signums over the estate, or you did when I was buying.
Is it the rake of the rear window that reduces this? Floor space is massive - at least the equal of our 9-5: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...Also you pay a premium for the signums over the estate, or you did when I was buying.
The ridiculous option.......
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...
Comfy, huge boot, granted, not 30mpg, but on lpg etc etc
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...
Comfy, huge boot, granted, not 30mpg, but on lpg etc etc
Bonefish Blues said:
Is it the rake of the rear window that reduces this? Floor space is massive - at least the equal of our 9-5: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
Somewhat, it look big because it is a square, problem is like you say you don't get the same height at the back because of the window, but the biggest loss is the fact the whole boot width is between the arches, where as you get the flare out at the back in most estates behind the wheel arch. This is because the boot isn't as long and the rear overhang is less. So you lose some width, some length and the shape at the top means you lose volume as well. It does a good attempt at a hatchback for a family who want the space of a estate but nit the looks. But for size, nothing beats a estate.Like this
E39 manual diesel would get my vote and indeed did do, 'cos I bought one.
Easy enough to do your own maintenance on, service parts are cheap from motor factors, you can buy a diagnostics cable for 20 quid and the software is free.
Other than the need to put winter tyres on it if you want to drive in snow and the fact there isn't enough stowage space in the cabin for oddments it's nigh on perfect.
I spent a few weeks looking for the right one and couldn't be more satisfied with it.
edit to add: this one looks clean although it only has the 6 cylinder 2.0 petrol- think it's the later one with 168bhp. Less to go wrong though and with petrol costing less in the UK added to less bork potential it doesn't look bad.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...
Easy enough to do your own maintenance on, service parts are cheap from motor factors, you can buy a diagnostics cable for 20 quid and the software is free.
Other than the need to put winter tyres on it if you want to drive in snow and the fact there isn't enough stowage space in the cabin for oddments it's nigh on perfect.
I spent a few weeks looking for the right one and couldn't be more satisfied with it.
edit to add: this one looks clean although it only has the 6 cylinder 2.0 petrol- think it's the later one with 168bhp. Less to go wrong though and with petrol costing less in the UK added to less bork potential it doesn't look bad.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...
Edited by Motorrad on Monday 6th May 15:43
That is lovely, would buy that in a shot. I couldn't find anything like that at the time and ended up with a top of the range 2001, 2.5 legacy with all the toys, 52,000 miles and a shot air suspension for £1800. Think I would go for that over what I have though, always wanted a 5 series, even though the 4x4 has proved amazing when going hunting and firewood collecting in the snow. The omega got stuck a few times.
Tampon said:
That is lovely, would buy that in a shot. I couldn't find anything like that at the time and ended up with a top of the range 2001, 2.5 legacy with all the toys, 52,000 miles and a shot air suspension for £1800. Think I would go for that over what I have though, always wanted a 5 series, even though the 4x4 has proved amazing when going hunting and firewood collecting in the snow. The omega got stuck a few times.
Is that the Legacy in your pic above?
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