First family car

[Lukas239]

With a new addition to the clan, I'm finding my small 3 door hot hatch limiting and feel it's time for my first family car. I thought I had it sussed (octy VRS) but I'm struggling to find what I want within budget. The brief;

- £10k (would go to 12 for something particularly interesting)
- 4/5 doors. Estate would be best but not against a saloon/long hatchback (think Octavia VRS)
- Isofix
- boot must be big enough for f*ck off pram (>400L)
- 35mpg real world, no less
- leather seats
- loose target of 200hp
- petrol or diesel
- auto if possible
- no catastrophic reliability issues. I'm fine with having to pay to fix things but if a model has a large known problem that is deemed a big one, it will ruin ownership for me)

Current frontrunners are Skoda Octavia VRS as mentioned but prices & miles seem silly. After this I really like the VW CC with the 170CR (would go 2.0 TSI but chain horror stories put me off.

Anything else I'm obviously missing?

Thanks

[georgeyboy12345]

Mercedes C250 Estate
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202162...

[RoVoFob]

Our first child is due in a month, hence we’ve recently bought a large estate; a 2006 A6 Avant - albeit in 4.2 V8 form, which is not the best choice for 35mpg! The rest of the car would be great for your needs with a 565-litre boot and decent ones around half your budget, but not sure which is the most reliable/interesting 35mpg option - the 2.7 V6 TDI? I don’t think the 3.0 TDI is that reliable…

Another petrol option with 485 litres of boot space, 0-62mph in 6.1 secs - thanks to 306bhp - and 39.8mpg is the Mercedes C350 BlueEfficiency. Very impressive on paper, but not sure how reliability stacks up. This one is pushing the budget, but late petrol models are rare:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112090...

Or, how about this? Big, comfy, uses a Mercedes engine and I think is relatively sturdy, with a 630-litre boot. Decent ones are available for half your budget: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110158...

Edited by RoVoFob on Saturday 26th February 22:03

[ChrisH72]

Lukas239 said:

Anything else I'm obviously missing?

Thanks

A smaller pram?

If you only have the one child then any 5dr hatchback will do the job. I don't have anything against massive estates and SUVs if that's your thing but it's really not necessary.

[dhutch]

Watching.

We have a 4 week old, two large dogs, a E44 coupe and a mk7 Fiesta.

[Chnge36]

Literally just been through the same issues, needed something that wasn’t a saloon or coupe. I ended up getting a Volvo v60 and so far touch wood it’s been enjoyable

[CubanPete]

The massive pram only lasts about 6 month before you can run a smaller one. My wife used it an amount, but we didn't actually use it that much as a family TBH, tending to use a sling and then backpack carrier when she was a bit bigger.

We've got 3 and 5 series touring. Very happy with both.

[ZX10R NIN]

Lukas239 said:

With a new addition to the clan, I'm finding my small 3 door hot hatch limiting and feel it's time for my first family car. I thought I had it sussed (octy VRS) but I'm struggling to find what I want within budget. The brief;

- £10k (would go to 12 for something particularly interesting)
- 4/5 doors. Estate would be best but not against a saloon/long hatchback (think Octavia VRS)
- Isofix
- boot must be big enough for f*ck off pram (>400L)
- 35mpg real world, no less
- leather seats
- loose target of 200hp
- petrol or diesel
- auto if possible
- no catastrophic reliability issues. I'm fine with having to pay to fix things but if a model has a large known problem that is deemed a big one, it will ruin ownership for me)

Current frontrunners are Skoda Octavia VRS as mentioned but prices & miles seem silly. After this I really like the VW CC with the 170CR (would go 2.0 TSI but chain horror stories put me off.

Anything else I'm obviously missing?

Thanks

Apart from the high road tax the Insignia VXR is very hard to beat:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110198...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202092...

If you want a more sensible car then the 2.0T in SRI VX Line spec is a very hard car to beat & despite what people may say it's no worse a drive than a VRS:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201141...

308 GT:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111269...

Ceed GT Tech

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202112...

[48Valves]

Can you get an F11 5 series for that money?

[georgeyboy12345]

48Valves said:

Can you get an F11 5 series for that money?

Had a look - not really, unless you want a 525i with 150k on the clock

[PH User]

ChrisH72 said:

Lukas239 said:

Anything else I'm obviously missing?

Thanks

A smaller pram?

If you only have the one child then any 5dr hatchback will do the job. I don't have anything against massive estates and SUVs if that's your thing but it's really not necessary.

Any 5 door hatch? Be careful on that one, some won't even fit in a folded buggy let alone a pram.

[ChrisH72]

PH User said:

Any 5 door hatch? Be careful on that one, some won't even fit in a folded buggy let alone a pram.

As long as they have split rear seats they will. One child means you only need one rear seat. My wife ran an old Hyundai i10 for 6 months after our son was born. Travel system went in fine with half the rear seat down.

Our family car is now an ix20. More than enough room despite having the same footprint as a supermini.

[dhutch]

ChrisH72 said:

As long as they have split rear seats they will. One child means you only need one rear seat. My wife ran an old Hyundai i10 for 6 months after our son was born. Travel system went in fine with half the rear seat down.

Our family car is now an ix20. More than enough room despite having the same footprint as a supermini.

Also be aware car seats are huge.

We have a Fiesta currently, and the passenger seat has to be a good way forward to fit the car seat. My partner is ok in it, and to date has sat with baby in the back for the very short trips we have done. However I basically don't fit, so I certainly would recommend testing that before buying a new car.

We also have two dogs, so to get luggage space, will need something larger.

[M.F.D]

Is 2 cars an option?

I've always ran hot hatches with kids and it can get annoying. Not just the space, but the mess they bring along with them - especially at toddler age.

Buy something like a D5 V70 for a few grand as a dependable workhorse and then rest of the budget for something interesting to replace the fun you'll miss from the GTI?

[PH User]

ChrisH72 said:

PH User said:

Any 5 door hatch? Be careful on that one, some won't even fit in a folded buggy let alone a pram.

As long as they have split rear seats they will. One child means you only need one rear seat. My wife ran an old Hyundai i10 for 6 months after our son was born. Travel system went in fine with half the rear seat down.

Our family car is now an ix20. More than enough room despite having the same footprint as a supermini.

Sounds like a pain to me, I would just buy a car that can actually fit in what you need it to. That will also future proof the car as well.

[Downward]

Get a Phil and Teds pram.
Cheaper than a big car. We managed 2 kids and the biggest car we ever had was a ford focus.

[fflump]

I like the V70s at this price point.

Though an Insignia VXR Turbo 4X4, or a Passat R36 would be more fun!

[757]

Chnge36 said:

Literally just been through the same issues, needed something that wasn’t a saloon or coupe. I ended up getting a Volvo v60 and so far touch wood it’s been enjoyable

Had a V60, for same reason, boot got annoying with pram and crap, weird shape and not very high

My E91 BMW is much better and that ain't a load lugger by any stretch, V60 has gone now due to various niggly issues with it, and cashed it in due to used car prices, got back what I paid!! Mental!!

Was a 5 cylinder so the engine was great, was the best thing about it tbh, hope you get on with yours better

[757]

We have a 2009 MINI, yes the boot is ridiculous! But it's a 2nd car really, haven't had any issues with isofox/car seat or the pram in the boot (it is a stroller though), when we need to used it.

Maybe not as a main car, but I can see how many people can manage if they really don't want to hustle a big car around all the time

...I don't know how my mum and dad coped in the early 90's in a Austin Metro with two kids!

[fflump]

757 said:

We have a 2009 MINI, yes the boot is ridiculous! But it's a 2nd car really, haven't had any issues with isofox/car seat or the pram in the boot (it is a stroller though), when we need to used it.

Maybe not as a main car, but I can see how many people can manage if they really don't want to hustle a big car around all the time

...I don't know how my mum and dad coped in the early 90's in a Austin Metro with two kids!

Prams these days are the size of a Metro!