Reliable Family Runaround: £9k Budget

[eleveneleven]

Im Looking for something to replace the wife’s 2011 qashcow

My Requirements
- Needs to be reliable
- enough room in the back for 2 small children (8&10)
- decent on fuel

Her preferences
- DAB radio
- Heated seats
- preferably automatic

It’ll be used mainly for ferrying the kids around. She does around 11k miles a year, lots of short trips and four or 5 40mile round trips on the Motorway each week.

Budget: £9k max

Here’s what I'm thinking
- Honda H-Rv 1.6 idtec
- Toyota Auris 1.8 hybrid (2013 onwards)
- VW Golf 1.6TDi
- Another Qashqai although not sure if the 1.6dci is more reliable than the earlier 1.5 she currently has

Which one would be the better car overall?

Open to other suggestions, but not interested in anything from Citroen, Vauxhall or Ford

Thanks everyone.

[Alfa Pete]

At that price my choice would be a nice spec Mazda3 with a 2 litre petrol for reliability.
Nice car to drive and a bit more interesting than the other choices.
Something like: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2024090436...

[255SNK]

As above, Mazda 3 petrol was the first thing to come to mind given the criteria, or a CX3 with the same drivetrain if your wife likes the slightly raised driving position of the current car?!

[mickyc79]

I had almost the same criteria and ended up goibg with an Infiniti Q30. Really nice place to be, reliable, comfortable, economical, but feels premium. (It is a Mercedes A-class/GLA in a frock).

[Whataguy]

I owned a Toyota auris excel hybrid, you should be able to pick up one of those easily.

Low running costs, no gearbox or clutch to worry about wearing out.

It has the same engine as the Prius of that year and also it’s the same one in the Lexus ct200 so servicing and parts are easy to find.

The excel trim has heated leather seats and self parking as well as dab radio.

[jaydeeuk1]

If you have off-road parking and an accessible plug socket, then a Renault Zoe.

£9k - £9500 should get you a low mileage 3/4 year old model with battery warranty. Heated seats and heated steering were an option on specs like gt line and iconic.

[Matt_T]

If your wife has been in a Qashqai she may find that going back to a normal car isn't something that she wants to do, it'll feel very low in comparison.

If its going to be a small SUV again, maybe take a look at the Mitsubishi ASX or Eclipse Cross. These seem to have a good reliability record.
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/17809738

[ZX10R NIN]

Insignia:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202411236...

Kadjar:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501218...

Grandland X but check the wet belt:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410034...

[Jiebo]

Alfa Pete said:

At that price my choice would be a nice spec Mazda3 with a 2 litre petrol for reliability.
Nice car to drive and a bit more interesting than the other choices.
Something like: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2024090436...

Would be worth spending a bit more and getting the new model, it’s significantly nicer inside.

[Ankh87]

Do not get a diesel. You will kill the DPF and EGR with that sort of mileage and not on the motorway. I've seen it so many times where people buy diesels and because they do not do long runs on the motorway they are then wondering why this happens.

There's a couple of Toyota Prius with a DAB radio.
Lexus CT. Just a fancy Prius if you don't like the looks. Currently seeing a black F Sport in Oldham for under £8000.

[Goldfever4]

Ankh87 said:

Do not get a diesel. You will kill the DPF and EGR with that sort of mileage and not on the motorway. I've seen it so many times where people buy diesels and because they do not do long runs on the motorway they are then wondering why this happens.

150+ miles per week on motorway should be ample, no?

[Ankh87]

Goldfever4 said:

150+ miles per week on motorway should be ample, no?

Nope. What tends to happen is the regen kicks in once the car is up to temperature and then is running at the correct speed and revs for a long time. So what you'll find is the regen will happen coming towards the end of the motorway journey, which is usually coming to your destination. So the car should ask you to continue to drive until the regen is completed. If it does say this and you turn off the engine, then the regen will be incomplete. If there's too many failed regens then it will stop doing them, this is where the problem lays.

Now if this is a 15 mile motorway journey to work and then 15 miles back, you might be lucky and get the regen in. It usually takes anything from 5 to 10 miles for a full regen to be completed. I have a monitor on my car and can see this happen. I do around 28 miles to work just on the motorway.

Personally I'd stay away from diesel if you don't have on already as most hybrids which are newer get roughly the same £ per MPG. In stop/start traffic it'll be way more efficient than the diesel. Plus Toyota are the kings of hybrid.

[Matt_T]

Subaru Forester?
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/17635226