£10,000 Family Car

[TheThing]

Hi all, looking to spend 10k on a family car. Currently have a 2008 Mondeo Titanium X. I'm fed up with 16mpg and nearly £400 a year in tax so the replacement needs to be cheaper to run. Needs to be a bit smaller than a Mondeo as well. Doesn't need to have the finest driving dynamics but don't want anything to wobbly either. It is mainly used for getting the kids to school and the usual family adventures. I'm thinking of a 2015ish Focus 1litre ecoboost. Preferably with 125bhp. Anything else I should be looking at? Thanks in advance.

[ChevronB19]

TheThing said:

Hi all, looking to spend 10k on a family car. Currently have a 2008 Mondeo Titanium X. I'm fed up with 16mpg and nearly £400 a year in tax so the replacement needs to be cheaper to run. Needs to be a bit smaller than a Mondeo as well. Doesn't need to have the finest driving dynamics but don't want anything to wobbly either. It is mainly used for getting the kids to school and the usual family adventures. I'm thinking of a 2015ish Focus 1litre ecoboost. Preferably with 125bhp. Anything else I should be looking at? Thanks in advance.

16 mpg?!

[TheThing]

According to the trip computer yes. 16.4mpg. This is all town based driving.

[zedx19]

As you've neglected to state the engine (this is PH!) I'd guess its a 2.5, 5 cylinder turbo petrol engine, found in Volvo C30 T5, S40 T5 and mk2 Focus ST? Which goes someway to explaining the awful fuel consumption, make a great noise though!

Good luck in the new car search, Focus is a fair bit smaller than a Mondeo, might be a squeeze depending on size and age of your family.

[Rob8980]

How about a Skoda Octavia. Smaller than the Mondeo but bigger than a Focus. I like the estate version.

[PistonBroker]

We have a 16/66 Civic 1.6 Dtec Tourer.

Bought because it was going cheap at a local auction and our Disco Sport was due back to Lex.

I was all set to be bored out of my skull and question my life choices, but it's actually a cracking little thing.

[TheThing]

zedx19 said:

As you've neglected to state the engine (this is PH!) I'd guess its a 2.5, 5 cylinder turbo petrol engine, found in Volvo C30 T5, S40 T5 and mk2 Focus ST? Which goes someway to explaining the awful fuel consumption, make a great noise though!

Good luck in the new car search, Focus is a fair bit smaller than a Mondeo, might be a squeeze depending on size and age of your family.

Thanks for the replies guys. You are correct yes it is the 2.5. As you stated it does make a lovely noise and it is creamy smooth but it certainly likes a drink! I'm quite familiar with the focus as I drive them at work just not in petrol form but just wondered if there are any better alternatives I should consider.

[Fusion777]

Golf. You won't get as new a car as the Focus for £10k, though.

[georgeyboy12345]

I'd be careful getting into one of those 1.0 Ecoboost Focuses. While the post 2014 models no longer have coolant/overheating/fire issues, they still have a few design flaws. High pressure fuel pumps have been known to fail, costing several hundred to replace. They have this wet cambelt design - that'll need replacing at 10 years or 150,000 miles at a cost of £1000. They are also direct injection, so tend to suffer from carbon buildup at higher mileages that affects fuel economy, but that is true of a lot of cars of this age now.

Here are some alternatives, with my favourites first

Mazda 3 2.0 Skyactiv-G
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204094...


Alfa Romeo Giulietta TB Multiair
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202142...


Honda Civic 1.8 i-VTEC
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203213...



Kia Ceed 1.6 ISG
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202102...


Fiat Tipo 1.4 T-Jet
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201040...


Vauxhall Astra 1.4i Turbo
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203263...



Then there's these VW group cars that are all essentially the same thing underneath. I think the Seat & Audi have cylinder on demand, where they shut off two of the cylinders on a cruise or low load/throttle. The Golf has radar cruise, which is pretty cool on a long journey.

VW Golf 1.4 TSI Bluemotion Tech
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202072...

Audi A3 1.4 TFSI CoD SE Sportback
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202222...

Seat Leon 1.4 FR EcoTSI
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203223...

Skoda Octavia 1.4 TSI SE
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203073...

[TheThing]

Thanks again for the replies. I had no idea about the Cambelt on the ecoboost. I knew they were a weird design but didn't realise they would cost £1000 to replace. Most in my budget will need to be replaced in 2 to 3 years time. I had a look at the mazda earlier today. I've always liked them.

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say go for the 1.5T it's a very sweet unit:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203183...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203193...

The Astra in Elite Nav spec is a very good buy at this price point in either 1.4T 150bhp or 1.6T 200 form:

200:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112120...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204134...

150:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204044...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203063...

308 GT very good cars a little underrated:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201271...

Leftfield.

You'll get a low mileage Nissan Pulsar 1.6T 190 for your budget:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202152...

MG6:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204084...

[TheThing]

Thanks for the reply. I'm put off of the focus now due to the cambelt issue. Leaning more towards the Mazda 3. The Astras look like decent value as well. Its obviously old news but i had no idea about the expense of replacing the focus cambelt. What we're Ford thinking with that design!

[ChrisH72]

I think that Ford claimed the cam belt would last the lifetime of the car. Maybe 10 years or 150k miles is what they now consider the lifetime!

I’m pretty sure some other manufacturers have similar belt designs. My dad has a Citroen 1.2 puretech and I think that also has a wet belt which costs a grand to change.

[Swampy1982]

Up the budget a bit and get a duster?

[TheThing]

10k budget is strict I'm afraid.

[raspy]

TheThing said:

According to the trip computer yes. 16.4mpg. This is all town based driving.

If you're spending time in traffic in town, a petrol hybrid is an ideal car for you.

[davidr1986]

I used to have a 2015 2.2 Mazda 3 sport fastback

Fantastic car, good spec, good economy and a joy to drive

would be under £10k, sold mine just before the boom for £7.5k and had <50k miles! &#129318;‍♂&#65039;