What large family car - Dog, 2 kids, mountains of junk..
Discussion
Hi, I'm looking for another car to replace our Volvo V70 D5. I'm struggling to find a car which seems to meet our requirements.
We need;
1) Space for pram (large monstrous ones)
2) Space for large retriever size dog
3) Space for baby rear facing seat
4) Space for 4 year old in a booster
5) Space for lots of child related junk
6) Extra seats for occasional use would be handy
7) Reliable
8) Decent fuel economy (Volvo averages 40mpg)
Our Volvo is fantastic and fits the bill mostly but I've got a back problem and and not enjoying bending over strapping in kids to their seats. The rear seats are quite cramped and low down. We live in a rural area so like the idea of a soft roader/full size off roader, or MPV type vehicle.
I probably want a car just like I've already got, but bigger cabin space, and higher with the ability to carry another person ideally but I don't think it exists.
The problem we have is we live down a short steep stone walled hill which you need to reverse back up to get out. My wife has managed to scrape the Volvo a few times but we'd be happy to have a similar sized vehicle but we might struggle with a much larger/longer vehicle.
Our budget is not fixed. My wife really treats our car like a skip so I don't want to spend a lot of money on it. I'm happy to run it into the ground though, don't mind home (basic) servicing. Max would be about £8k. She also really drive FAR to fast for the roads and I'd like to slow her down a bit. The Volvo is deceptively quick with it's 167hp and quiet cabin. We will probably do about 18k per year.
Shortlist
Landrover Discovery 2 - worried about reliabily and amount of time off the road.
Landrover Freelander 2 - boot looks too small
Toyota Landcruiser - I like this idea as they as so strong, but worry about economy and it might be too long to reverse up the hill.
Mitsubishi Shogun - Seems to have poor reviews, perhaps a bit too large, seems to be upstaged by the Disco 3
Ford S-Max - Seems like a good choice, few downsides but perhaps a bit boring?
Honda FRV - I love the idea of having our son ride upfront with us and the extra seat is a bonus. Boot space looks too small
Mercedes? - I don't know much about Mercedes. I like the idea but just get confused by the model ranges and perhaps the running costs and reliability.
Volvo/Audi alroad offerings - maybe slightly better than what I have today but not by much?
Sorry for the vague requirements. I just can't seem to find the ideal car and I'm tending to steer towards the S-Max though the heart says Disco 3.
We need;
1) Space for pram (large monstrous ones)
2) Space for large retriever size dog
3) Space for baby rear facing seat
4) Space for 4 year old in a booster
5) Space for lots of child related junk
6) Extra seats for occasional use would be handy
7) Reliable
8) Decent fuel economy (Volvo averages 40mpg)
Our Volvo is fantastic and fits the bill mostly but I've got a back problem and and not enjoying bending over strapping in kids to their seats. The rear seats are quite cramped and low down. We live in a rural area so like the idea of a soft roader/full size off roader, or MPV type vehicle.
I probably want a car just like I've already got, but bigger cabin space, and higher with the ability to carry another person ideally but I don't think it exists.
The problem we have is we live down a short steep stone walled hill which you need to reverse back up to get out. My wife has managed to scrape the Volvo a few times but we'd be happy to have a similar sized vehicle but we might struggle with a much larger/longer vehicle.
Our budget is not fixed. My wife really treats our car like a skip so I don't want to spend a lot of money on it. I'm happy to run it into the ground though, don't mind home (basic) servicing. Max would be about £8k. She also really drive FAR to fast for the roads and I'd like to slow her down a bit. The Volvo is deceptively quick with it's 167hp and quiet cabin. We will probably do about 18k per year.
Shortlist
Landrover Discovery 2 - worried about reliabily and amount of time off the road.
Landrover Freelander 2 - boot looks too small
Toyota Landcruiser - I like this idea as they as so strong, but worry about economy and it might be too long to reverse up the hill.
Mitsubishi Shogun - Seems to have poor reviews, perhaps a bit too large, seems to be upstaged by the Disco 3
Ford S-Max - Seems like a good choice, few downsides but perhaps a bit boring?
Honda FRV - I love the idea of having our son ride upfront with us and the extra seat is a bonus. Boot space looks too small
Mercedes? - I don't know much about Mercedes. I like the idea but just get confused by the model ranges and perhaps the running costs and reliability.
Volvo/Audi alroad offerings - maybe slightly better than what I have today but not by much?
Sorry for the vague requirements. I just can't seem to find the ideal car and I'm tending to steer towards the S-Max though the heart says Disco 3.
We have 2 kids, a Labrador sized dog, and an FRV. I think it will be too small for you: we don't have to squeeze in a pushchair any more. With the dog in a crate, and stuff packed well, maybe with one of the front and one of the rear seats folded down, it will carry a surprising amount of stuff for the size car that it is, but it can still be a bit of a squeeze. So, something like an S-Max has a lot more space on the inside, but is also a fair bit bigger on the outside. Most of the 4x4s that I've seen are much bigger on the outside, but aside from a bit more cabin space, offer precious little extra boot space, especially when carry dog shaped objects.
d3llams said:
Nissan pathfinder would be another option, should prove reliable as it is a Nissan!
Thanks - I hadn't thought of this one, looks like a good candidate.kapiteinlangzaam said:
You have missed the obvious, old chap.....
....XC90!
I was keen on this but it seems to have too many reliabilty issues as far as I can tell. Especially for my budget.....XC90!
Rawhide said:
d3llams said:
Nissan pathfinder would be another option, should prove reliable as it is a Nissan!
Thanks - I hadn't thought of this one, looks like a good candidate.kapiteinlangzaam said:
You have missed the obvious, old chap.....
....XC90!
I was keen on this but it seems to have too many reliabilty issues as far as I can tell. Especially for my budget.....XC90!
£8k would get you a sorted 2006< 185bhp D5
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-cars/volvo/xc90/u...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-reviews/volvo/xc90...
A left field choice a Mercedes R Class, S class comfort for 6. http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...
kapiteinlangzaam said:
just wrote a huge reply, and PH broke when I pressed submit and lost it. gah!
[/footnote]
Many thanks for that. Yes - this would be our third Volvo and they do suit our needs very well. Love the soundsystem in the V70 and the comfort level. Slightly put off by electrical problems but I've been able to generally fix anything which fails fairly easily myself.[/footnote]
I wasn't aware the reliability was increased on the facelift models so thats probably now a front runner.
Another vote for the XC90.
We've had one for 5 yrs and 60k miles (facelift D5 model). It has been completely reliable - a few things have worn out but the car is at 100k miles now. We were thinking of changing ours but as my wife said she'd just want a newer XC90 we'll probably keep it for another year or two.
We've had one for 5 yrs and 60k miles (facelift D5 model). It has been completely reliable - a few things have worn out but the car is at 100k miles now. We were thinking of changing ours but as my wife said she'd just want a newer XC90 we'll probably keep it for another year or two.
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