Large family car recommendations

[Tall_Blk]

Otispunkmeyer said:

spreadsheet monkey said:

Shoxt3r said:

I've had a look into Mondeos, Insignias, Octavias and Seat Leons - both hatchback and estate but I'm still undecided what to go for. My budget is £12,000.

Ideally I'm looking for a car that will last us 5-6 years at least until we decide to upgrade again - e.g. plenty of room for a pushchair and potentially of camping gear and/or holiday bags.

Think you're on the right lines already. 4x4s are more fashionable than estates, so you will get more for your money with a conventional estate car. Camping gear can take up a lot of space if you've got kids and carrying a family sized tent and all the other stuff that goes with it, so I'd look at something big like a Mondeo estate.

https://www.portfieldcarsales.co.uk/vehicle/ford-m...

I’m in the same boat here, but would prefer an automatic. The Ford power shift was a bit of a stbox when it was introduced, but are the newer ones better ? (I.e, did they switch to a wet clutch design?).

Currently have a Mazda 3 and a Prius, neither of which seem to have the room for two tall people and a baby! Wife can’t sit in the front of the Mazda on account of how far forward the passenger seat has to move to get the baby seat in and because I’m even taller, she has to crush in the back behind me with her knees acting like lumbar support for me!

She really likes the V90 and you can just about squeak one for 15-16k if you want to accept a fairly high miler. But anything to watch out for on these?

Mondeo Estate
Superb Estate (or to be fair, the hatch/saloon combo was massive too)
BMW 3er and 5er GT (big hatch backs and also longer wheel base so surprising room on the back row)*
Mercedes E-class (though I don’t know what to avoid on these)

Mrs quite wants an SUV, but unless you for a total battleship sized one then they’re not really better than the standard hatchback.

• think these have more useful space than their estate versions, but also, would have to steer clear of the N47 Diesel engine. Just no, I don’t care if they “fixed” it after a while, I’m not convinced.

Edited by Otispunkmeyer on Monday 6th July 13:07

Have you thought of a E220. You can pick these up second hand dead cheap. They are roomy and automatic

[Welshbeef]

ZX10R NIN said:

Seems like I've been lucky the as I've not had that happen to me.

Yep it’s not nice

[Jag_NE]

Firstly, if you need a new car I definitely think tou are doing the right thing looking at Mondeo size cars. Absolutely not essential for a family of three but the class below is a bit tight as you have noticed.

You sound quite value orientated and sensitive to higher mileage. I don’t think you could go wrong with an Insignia. You can get a 5k Miles, petrol 2019 car for 13.5 asking price. Personally I prefer the Mondeo but they are thousands more. I’d swerve anything German in your situation.

[Shoxt3r]

Thanks for the helpful replies everyone!

I went out today and tried an Insignia 1.6 CDTi hatchback which certainly had plenty of grunt for our needs (tested up some steady slopes and proper inclines too). My first time using an electric handbrake too which was interesting but I'm sure I'll get used to it - most cars aside from the Mazda 6 seem to have them these days.

On the face of it I think an estate would be too much car - even for the odd camping trip! Also, interestingly I found out that the Ford Mondeo hatchback has slightly more space than an estate.

The boot space easily took our Joie pushchair and even with our bulky car seat in place, there was still plenty of room for both my wife and myself to sit in the passenger seat (not at the same time, you understand haha).

Thinking more about it, I'm unsure if I need a diesel (though that is what seems to be coming up for the most part in my searches). I think the risk of clogging up the DPF would be too great as we only tend to go on relatively short journeys (25-50 miles each way maximum) as well as quick runs to the shops which are only a short drive away.

The Insignia I tried was very comfortable and a reasonable price at just under £8,700 but it was under-specced as it was only a Design Nav (ideally I want a car with dual climate control so that the front and back can both have independent temperatures). I'm going to hold out for now anyway and try to track down a few of your suggestions to view and test drive.




In my latest searches I have found a Mazda 6 estate up for about £10,500 - a D Sport Nav 2.2 estate with 56k on the clock and from 2016 which could be worth a look but again it could be too much car really when "just" a hatchback would do!

Any further thoughts?

Edited by Shoxt3r on Monday 6th July 19:24

[Otispunkmeyer]

Tall_Blk said:

Have you thought of a E220. You can pick these up second hand dead cheap. They are roomy and automatic

Yeah, I just wasn't sure what to look out for or which model/model year to aim at. I'm guessing we're talking about the fairly angular looking ones at this price but not the more recent body styles?

[ZX10R NIN]

Otispunkmeyer said:

I’m in the same boat here, but would prefer an automatic. The Ford power shift was a bit of a stbox when it was introduced, but are the newer ones better ? (I.e, did they switch to a wet clutch design?).

Currently have a Mazda 3 and a Prius, neither of which seem to have the room for two tall people and a baby! Wife can’t sit in the front of the Mazda on account of how far forward the passenger seat has to move to get the baby seat in and because I’m even taller, she has to crush in the back behind me with her knees acting like lumbar support for me!

She really likes the V90 and you can just about squeak one for 15-16k if you want to accept a fairly high miler. But anything to watch out for on these?

Mondeo Estate
Superb Estate (or to be fair, the hatch/saloon combo was massive too)
BMW 3er and 5er GT (big hatch backs and also longer wheel base so surprising room on the back row)*
Mercedes E-class (though I don’t know what to avoid on these)

Mrs quite wants an SUV, but unless you for a total battleship sized one then they’re not really better than the standard hatchback.

• think these have more useful space than their estate versions, but also, would have to steer clear of the N47 Diesel engine. Just no, I don’t care if they “fixed” it after a while, I’m not convinced.

Edited by Otispunkmeyer on Monday 6th July 13:07

The Powershift on the 2.0T/d has always been a wet clutch the problems your reffering to were for the dry clutch version on the small engined cars.

For me It would be a Mondeo they're spacious reliable & the best FWD steer in either hatchback/estate form you'll have space for fun.

Titanium 180 Estate

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Titanium with X Pack 180

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

[Shoxt3r]

Has anyone had any personal experience of having an Insignia, Mondeo, Leon or Octavia?
For example what are the running costs of these cars and are there any particular issues I should be aware of to look out for?

Also, any recommendations of websites I can use for buying guides on these cars?

I'm already thinking I will steer clear of diesel for the simple reason I don't like the concerns about DPFs as I don't do a huge mileage on a weekly basis - our longest trip is 300 miles each way and that only happens maybe 1-2 times a year. My average annual mileage is about 5,000 as I commute to work by train so the car is sat still for most of the week.

[spreadsheet monkey]

Shoxt3r said:

Has anyone had any personal experience of having an Insignia, Mondeo, Leon or Octavia?
For example what are the running costs of these cars and are there any particular issues I should be aware of to look out for?

Also, any recommendations of websites I can use for buying guides on these cars?.

I don't think there are any major "gotchas" with any of the cars you mentioned. Buying at 4 or 5 years old from a dealer, you should get 6-12 months warranty. For your usage, a petrol engine makes sense. Autocar says the 1.5T is a good choice in the Mondeo.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/used-cars/nearl...

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/vauxhall/insignia/99...

[Shoxt3r]

Thanks everyone!
I'm already moving onto my next test drive which will be a 2018 diesel Mondeo. It's an automatic and about £4k out of price range but it's more to get a feel for visibility, space and some features I can expect on older models.

In the meantime I've managed to track down a couple of Mondeos relatively locally after much searching - one being an auto, the other a manual. Both have the same tax band I've currently got with the Focus which isn't ideal but I guess I'll just have to make a compromise somewhere at this budget!

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

I've given getting a Focus estate some thought but even on the newer models nothing has changed with the interior so it will still be cramped I think.
Next on the list is to test drive an Octavia.

Other than that to be honest I'm rapidly running out of ideas as the supply just doesn't seem to be there locally (London/Kent seem to have a massive drive for SUVs and small hatchbacks for some reason). The other option is to buy online on a whim from a faraway dealer which seems like a recipe for disaster!

[ZX10R NIN]

The stuff in & around London gets snapped up because in general people don't like to travel, especially those in the south.

Insignia VXR

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Mondeo Titanium

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Q50

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

S60 T4

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Some localish options but in all honesty I'd travel to checkout a car I'm interested in.

[Shoxt3r]

Ok so after quite a bit of searching around I've managed to find a Seat Leon estate which looks pretty good - I've dropped my budget down after reviewing everything.

The only trouble is, this car has a mileage of 110k
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

There is only one other Leon estate example within price range and without travelling miles and miles. The mileage on that one is only 62k but looking at the MOT history for it, it's been pretty ragged (both the front suspension and tyres are on the way out).

Comparison of the MOT histories attached.

[Starfighter]

journeymanpro said:

Mk2 skoda superb estate.

Mark 3 estate. Better engines, equipment and styling.

Rear door access is very good and masses of legroom even with ISO fit seats in place. The boot is huge. Plenty to sub 50k 2017 models out them with the facelift on 66 and 17 plates.

[Shoxt3r]

Starfighter said:

Mark 3 estate. Better engines, equipment and styling.

Rear door access is very good and masses of legroom even with ISO fit seats in place. The boot is huge. Plenty to sub 50k 2017 models out them with the facelift on 66 and 17 plates.

Is it worth getting a high mileage example?

[alfabeat]

I just bought a 2012 Octavia Scout Estate (2.0 tdi and 4x4). 64,000 miles, FSH - £6k.

Good sized cars for a family, very easy to drive, plenty of power and returns high 40's on a run.

Been well looked after (despite being an ex police car).

Very pleased with it and I would highly recommend.

[ChrisH72]

I wouldn't say a car has been ragged because of advisories on front shocks and tyres. They're both maintenance items which do wear over time. All that MOT is telling you us that they will need replacing soon but they're not urgent enough to fail.

[Shoxt3r]

ChrisH72 said:

I wouldn't say a car has been ragged because of advisories on front shocks and tyres. They're both maintenance items which do wear over time. All that MOT is telling you us that they will need replacing soon but they're not urgent enough to fail.

Are the shocks usually something that would wear on a 5-year old car? Also the mention of the undertray being insecure is a bit suspect, no?

[Shoxt3r]

alfabeat said:

I just bought a 2012 Octavia Scout Estate (2.0 tdi and 4x4). 64,000 miles, FSH - £6k.

Good sized cars for a family, very easy to drive, plenty of power and returns high 40's on a run.

Been well looked after (despite being an ex police car).

Very pleased with it and I would highly recommend.

Wow great! Good to know you can get decent mileage cars pretty cheap, especially for a 2012!

[ChrisH72]

Shocks can be worn after 60k miles.

And the undertray is probably just missing some clips.

[ZX10R NIN]

Shoxt3r said:

Are the shocks usually something that would wear on a 5-year old car? Also the mention of the undertray being insecure is a bit suspect, no?

If it's in an area with lots of speed humps then yes needing Brakes/Shocks & springs wouldn't strike me as suspect.

[journeymanpro]

Starfighter said:

Mark 3 estate. Better engines, equipment and styling.

Rear door access is very good and masses of legroom even with ISO fit seats in place. The boot is huge. Plenty to sub 50k 2017 models out them with the facelift on 66 and 17 plates.

Preference. I prefer the 170cr in my Mk2 over the 150 in the mk3. Also no adblue issues to worry about on the Mk2.