Ford v Ford v Skoda

[Occy]

Hi

I'm in the market for an estate
I have narrowed it down to a Ford Focus or Mondeo or a Skoda Octavia.
I need a car for every day work commute, transporting the dog around and occasional sleeping in.

I loved my xtrail but road tax and insurance in this country are ridiculous.

I also looked at a Fiat Qubo but it seems flimsy.

I need an automatic so it has put me in the position of a 2010-2011 car

Ideas?

Suggestions?

Back home I had a couple of Falcons and an xtrail. Big cars don't scare me. I need something safe, comfortable and dog friendly.

[RSTurboPaul]

Have you thought about a Skoda Superb? Bigger than an Octavia so probably better for sleeping in lol

What's your budget?

[Occy]

5k is my budget.

Octavia should be big enough. I'm 6ft

[Trevor555]

I'd say any of those three, but I'd go petrol rather than diesel.

I've seen too many costly repair bills on modern diesels.

[steve-5snwi]

It would be the Mondeo for me, as mentioned above diesels should be avoided, The Octavia isn't the most comfortable car and there is no way i'd want to spend 5k on one when it has a DSG box fitted.

[towser]

Can only talk to the Octavia. I've a 62 reg Octavia diesel estate that i bought as a mile muncher. It's done approx 75k miles and has been bulletproof in terms of reliability so far. Only issues being general wear and tear (tyres, break pads, wheel bearing). Comfortable and relatively roomy, although I'm guessing a mondeo estate would have more space. Only real gripe I have is refinement - its not the best in terms of road noise and can get a bit wearing over a long period at motorway speeds.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Occy said:

Hi

I'm in the market for an estate
I have narrowed it down to a Ford Focus or Mondeo or a Skoda Octavia.
I need a car for every day work commute, transporting the dog around and occasional sleeping in.

Does it have to be one of those? Plenty of Saabs, Volvos and Mercs will fit the bill, plus many others.

[SebringMan]

Mondeo for me. They do a hell of a lot for the money and are a lovely steer.

I'd say to get a 2.0 or even a 2.5T but the latter is only available as a manual. The guys that I knew that had auto TDCis were pretty pleased.

What I will say is with the autos get the gear oil changed every 60k for the correct Jatco fluid from a transmission specialist. It helps the gearbox life massively. I know of a 2.0 TDCI Auto on 240k and it's going well. He's had no major work done and has always serviced it using genuine bits and giving it a diet of V-Power.

[Occy]

Hi all,

I am not married to any of those cars but i am leaning towards them

I am looking at this particular car - all I would need to add would be reversing sensors and a tailgate guard

https://www.maxwheelmotors.co.uk/used-cars/ford-mo...

I will be driving approx an hr each way in peak hr daily for work - but otherwise it would be my weekend hotel

[Occy]

I should add that I currently have one dog - a German Shepherd - but will ultimately have two - at least. This means that I need a car that can carry not just dogs - but equipment - so I will probably be investing in a rhino rack and box. This means I need a car that can carry and/or tow - eventually.

I loved my xtrail and really wish I could afford to run one in this country but the road tax and insurance make it impossible.

I could tow with that - and have the roof rack full - and never feel it on performance or diesel costs - and it was a diesel and never ever failed me.

I miss her

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Occy said:

Hi all,
I will be driving approx an hr each way in peak hr daily for work - but otherwise it would be my weekend hotel

The fact that you plan to sleep in it, plus two - possibly more - dogs, would suggest to me that a motorhome might be a better bet. Seriously, dogs and 'residential' living in a normal estate car is far from ideal.

[Occy]

Lol. Camping not living.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

OK, to your list then I'd add a V70, Merc E class, Saab 9-5. All petrol. Subaru also worth a look.

[Occy]

They all sound expensive to maintain

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say the Mondeo every time but the hard part is finding one but you seem to have it covered.

[SebringMan]

Occy said:

Hi all,

I am not married to any of those cars but i am leaning towards them

I am looking at this particular car - all I would need to add would be reversing sensors and a tailgate guard

https://www.maxwheelmotors.co.uk/used-cars/ford-mo...

I will be driving approx an hr each way in peak hr daily for work - but otherwise it would be my weekend hotel

You'll need reversing sensors on any Mondeo ; they are huge!

Going from a modern back to my W124 makes you realise how much trickier it is to judge the proportions these days.

[Occy]

Any thoughts on the Volvo v50?

[MorganP104]

If you like the X-Trail so much, why not go a bit older?

A pre-2006 X-Trail petrol automatic (2.0 or 2.5) will only set you back £305 per annum in VED.

An added bonus is that for circa £3k, you'll get a really nice, low mile car, possibly even LPG converted.

If I were in love with the X-Trail as a car, I'd be going for the most pampered low mileage 2005 model my budget would allow.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Occy said:

Any thoughts on the Volvo v50?

Decent enough cars, but a lot less space inside than a V70.

I think the V50 was based on the Focus platform, wasn't it? Nothing at al wrong with that, but it's a class smaller than the V70/Mondeo/Saab 9-5 etc.

[Occy]

I'm more worried about the safety in older models. I'd not go before 2008