What petrol automatic large family car circa £15k-£20k - Page 1 - Car Buying

Sunday 13th November 2022

Our family car is a 2014 Merc 250 CDI estate, which made perfect sense when we bought it three years ago, however our usage has changed a lot, I now work from home so the family car mostly gets used for very short trips (nursery runs, grocery runs) and very occasionally gets used for a longer journey when it needs to take all five of us and loads of stuff (our kids are all under 4). Because of this usage pattern we're getting frequent DPF problems with it and I've had enough of it.

So we've decided to replace it with a large car that will won't break if it gets used for lots of short trips. So not diesel then. Also, wifey isn't very good at driving a manual anymore, having gotten used to the auto box in the Merc.

We can probably sell the Merc for circa £10k, and I could throw another £5k-£10k at the problem, but I'd rather it was less as we want to keep most of our money for doing up the house we just bought.

Apart from not being diesel and being auto, it would be great if it was very reliable (so not hybrid or turbo?), easy to park (cameras / sensors, ideally a 360 degree birds-eye camera) and Apple CarPlay would be fantastic. Doesn't have to be fast or have great handling, etc. I've got a turbo MX5 for all that. Could be an SUV, or another big estate.

All I've found that fits the brief so far is a Honda CR-V. Thoughts on these? What else should I look at?

dmsims

7,433 posts

295 months

Sunday 13th November 2022

Skoda Octavia/Superb

Kia Optima/Proceed

Auslander

343 posts

46 months

Sunday 13th November 2022

Lexus RX hybrid.

One of the most reliable cars money can buy.

georgeyboy12345

4,563 posts

63 months

Sunday 13th November 2022

Not sure why you think a hybrid will be unreliable?

Here's a plug-in hybrid that'll work great for you - 30 miles of electric only range, you'll be able to charge at home on your driveway for less than £2 for all those short journeys. Plenty of space and decent performance too. VW Passat GTE
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209300...

If you don't have a driveway, you could get this Ford Mondeo 2.0 Hybrid
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210110...

Or for something more conventionally powered, you could get this Mazda 6 2.5 GT Sport Tourer
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210241...

30,419 posts

153 months

Sunday 13th November 2022

Maccles said:

Our family car is a 2014 Merc 250 CDI estate, which made perfect sense when we bought it three years ago, however our usage has changed a lot, I now work from home so the family car mostly gets used for very short trips (nursery runs, grocery runs) and very occasionally gets used for a longer journey when it needs to take all five of us and loads of stuff (our kids are all under 4). Because of this usage pattern we're getting frequent DPF problems with it and I've had enough of it.

So we've decided to replace it with a large car that will won't break if it gets used for lots of short trips. So not diesel then. Also, wifey isn't very good at driving a manual anymore, having gotten used to the auto box in the Merc.

We can probably sell the Merc for circa £10k, and I could throw another £5k-£10k at the problem, but I'd rather it was less as we want to keep most of our money for doing up the house we just bought.

Apart from not being diesel and being auto, it would be great if it was very reliable (so not hybrid or turbo?), easy to park (cameras / sensors, ideally a 360 degree birds-eye camera) and Apple CarPlay would be fantastic. Doesn't have to be fast or have great handling, etc. I've got a turbo MX5 for all that. Could be an SUV, or another big estate.

All I've found that fits the brief so far is a Honda CR-V. Thoughts on these? What else should I look at?

fflump

3,374 posts

66 months

Sunday 13th November 2022

ZX10R NIN said:

If you don't want to add anything then go for an E500 (W212) & you'll have a bulletproof workhorse that's also a nice place to be.

A leggy 5.5L V8 saloon may not be the best option for the OP who wants a car mostly for very short trips, needs space occasionally for long journeys with lots of kiddie stuff, and has priorities to use spare money for their new house

dmsims

7,433 posts

295 months

Sunday 13th November 2022

ZX did you reply to the right thread ? smile

30,419 posts

153 months

Sunday 13th November 2022

fflump said:

A leggy 5.5L V8 saloon may not be the best option for the OP who wants a car mostly for very short trips, needs space occasionally for long journeys with lots of kiddie stuff, and has priorities to use spare money for their new house

90k is hardly leggy, also the OP was looking to add 5-10k on top of the 10k he was going to get for his E250.
So surely not spending any extra on top is actually the bigger saving, also the OP could go for the E350 I linked too.

30,419 posts

153 months

Sunday 13th November 2022

dmsims said:

ZX did you reply to the right thread ? smile

yep just giving the OP some options that don't involve him spending to much/any extra cash that could be spent on the home improvements.

Maccles

Original Poster

75 posts

146 months

Monday 14th November 2022

georgeyboy12345 said:

Not sure why you think a hybrid will be unreliable?

I just thought that the added complexity would mean more things to go wrong. My mindset had been that a simple NASP petrol engine would give us the fewest headaches.

That said, that Passat GTE seems like a great idea (although not that example - can't have a light-coloured interior when you've got three kids under the age of four). We have a nice big driveway so could charge at home. Seems like a really good solution. I'm fond of Passats, having had a 2000 TDI saloon that went to 300k miles without ever going wrong.

Thanks for your suggestions - a Passat GTE is currently top of my list

Maccles

Original Poster

75 posts

146 months

Monday 14th November 2022

ZX10R NIN said:

If you don't want to add anything then go for an E500 (W212) & you'll have a bulletproof workhorse that's also a nice place to be.

As for Android Auto/CarPlay & a Camera (although not 360) you add that to pretty much any car.......

Thanks for your suggestions, I appreciate the approach of not spending anymore on the car. But I think an older car than we've currently got (even one with a whacking great V8 under the bonnet) will feel like a step back rather than forwards, and also Mrs. Maccles is a bit of a numberplate snob and is likely to turn her nose up at a 10+ year old car.

Also, I feel like I've had enough of Mercedes for now. I've found their electronics to be a bit crappy - the sat nav, DAB radio reception, reverse parking sensors and ICE interface on our W212 were all markedly inferior to those on the 2008 Golf that the Merc replaced.

I've found that retro-fitting Apple Carplay to a car never gives you as neat a solution as when its properly baked into the car from the factory (this from having tried a few retro-fitted Carplay headunits in my MX5, and having driven a load of new hire cars from work). So I'd much prefer a factory fitted (and also must be wireless) Carplay.

fflump

3,374 posts

66 months

Monday 14th November 2022

ZX10R NIN said:

fflump said:

A leggy 5.5L V8 saloon may not be the best option for the OP who wants a car mostly for very short trips, needs space occasionally for long journeys with lots of kiddie stuff, and has priorities to use spare money for their new house

90k is hardly leggy, also the OP was looking to add 5-10k on top of the 10k he was going to get for his E250.
So surely not spending any extra on top is actually the bigger saving, also the OP could go for the E350 I linked too.

Yes but it is possible to spend £10k on a more car more appropriate to their needs, which is not to go for an older car than their current one, not to go from an estate to a saloon, or a car that will cost >£600 to tax, return 15 mpg round town and have expensive consumables like tyres.

Mondeo 2.0T EcoBoost
Astra Estate 1.4i Turbo SRi Sports Tourer
Octavia Estate 1.4 TSI SE 5dr
Civic 1.8 i-VTEC SE Plus Tourer
SUV best options probably CrV as noted by the OP .

dave_s13

14,015 posts

297 months

Monday 14th November 2022

You've got 3 kids. That'll be a squeeze in any 5 seater car.

Look at the S-max or Galaxy.

SweptVolume

1,203 posts

121 months

Monday 14th November 2022

Not a V8 and certainly not fast, but for a big, comfy and reliable car that depreciates quickly and comes stacked with equipment, I present you a top of the range 2019 Mazda 6 2.5 Estate for £16.5k:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210180...

360 Camera
Full Leather
Heated seats and wheel
"Premium" sound

Don't think it'll have CarPlay at that age, but do some research because the cost to upgrade the earlier MX5's to Android Auto/Carplay was about £300 for the official kit from Mazda. If the big 6 is the same, then it's not a big expense.

dmsims

7,433 posts

295 months

Monday 14th November 2022

Maccles said:

Thanks for your suggestions - a Passat GTE is currently top of my list

It's a nice drivetrain (had a Golf GTE) and VW extended warrranty (£100 excess) would be around £320 for a 17 plate p.a.

durbster

11,982 posts

250 months

Monday 14th November 2022

I was in pretty much the same position. I had a diesel Skoda Octavia VRS that I bought for family and commuting duties but now I'm working from home, it didn't really fit any more.

I also had to (finally) accept that 95% of my driving is taking the family somewhere and having something sporty is basically pointless (we have another car for fun anyway), so I decided to embrace the situation and get something better suited to ferrying the family around with an occasional long drives around the country.

And after much research and hours on Autotrader, I went with:

Auslander said:

Lexus RX hybrid.

One of the most reliable cars money can buy.

I picked up a 2013 RX 450H about six weeks ago and I would definitely recommend. It sounds like it'd fit what you're looking for - it's comfortable; just as quick as the Skoda (albeit quite a bit thirstier) and because I'm a geek, the engineering of the hybrid stuff is fascinating. It's loaded with toys like I've never had before.

That helps distract from it not being particularly engaging to drive and while the engine makes a nice noise, the powertrain is a bit weird. I haven't quite got my head around accelerating without hearing the revs rising. The boot isn't huge (especially coming from an estate) but we got four adults and a child plus suitcases in it the other week without any problem.

I also like that it's quite understated and nobody pays any attention too. I'm really chuffed with it.

30,419 posts

153 months