New Car Which One Would You Choose?

[Iphammer]

Hi all,

I am looking to buy a vehicle for my partner who hasn't driven in the past 7 years ( she will do some driver refresher lessons soon)

She can only drive automatics ( past test in automatic vehicle)

We have 2 kids ( 1 and 7 year old) and like to go on days out and sometimes the odd weekend away camping

Our budget is £250 per month with a £3k deposit ( finance over 4 years )

I'm thinking of either 1 of the following vehicles

VW Golf SV
Skoda Yeti
VW Tiguan
Skoda Koroq
Mini countryman
Seat Ateca

Which one would you choose or would you go for something different?

[covmutley]

Yeti is good apparently, but relatively expensive as it's so popular with 65+ yr old national trust members.

I'm sure the Skoda would be great. Countryman is actually pretty spacious in the back seats and boot is fine.

[nickfrog]

Do you mean new to you or new?

If the latter, does it have to be new? 2 or 3 year old would allow you to spend that £15k AND have a car at the end!!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025060933...

Still 3 years of the original 7 year warranty.

It's not VAG so probably a little more reliable.

Edited by nickfrog on Monday 11th August 20:01

[joshcowin]

nickfrog said:

Do you mean new to you or new?

If the latter, does it have to be new? 2 or 3 year old would allow you to spend that £15k AND have a car at the end!!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025060933...

Still 3 years of the original 7 year warranty.

It's not VAG so probably a little more reliable.

Edited by nickfrog on Monday 11th August 20:01

They are terrible cars!!

VAG reliability is also fine 4 in my family with a combined total of 400,000+miles

[nickfrog]

joshcowin said:

They are terrible cars!!

VAG reliability is also fine 4 in my family with a combined total of 400,000+miles

They are brilliant in my experience, particularly the Xceed.

[Iphammer]

nickfrog said:

Do you mean new to you or new?

If the latter, does it have to be new? 2 or 3 year old would allow you to spend that £15k AND have a car at the end!!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025060933...

Still 3 years of the original 7 year warranty.

It's not VAG so probably a little more reliable.

Edited by nickfrog on Monday 11th August 20:01

I mean, new for me, not brand new

[ZX10R NIN]

joshcowin said:

nickfrog said:

Do you mean new to you or new?

If the latter, does it have to be new? 2 or 3 year old would allow you to spend that £15k AND have a car at the end!!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025060933...

Still 3 years of the original 7 year warranty.

It's not VAG so probably a little more reliable.

Edited by nickfrog on Monday 11th August 20:01

They are terrible cars!!

VAG reliability is also fine 4 in my family with a combined total of 400,000+miles

What about them is terrible?

I've supplied a fair amount of these & they're a very good family car,

Anyway OP I'd say these are a good option. In order to keep the warranty you'll need to confirm it has complete history with genuine Kia parts fitted with receipts & proof.

There are some good sensible white goods options out there.

Kia ProCeed GT Line S:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507234...

Ceed GT Line:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507234...

1.6T Grandland X Ultimate:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507284...

Astra SRI Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506123...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202508085...

1.5T Civic Prestige:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507014...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505021...

Mazda3 Sport Lux:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506163...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506243...

If you haven't done so already take a look at securing your finance beforehand as you should be able to get a better APR deal.

[Skodillac]

OP, everything you've listed is a smallish SUV. If you need to use a car for weekends away with a couple of children, a smallish SUV might not have enough boot space. If I were you I'd be looking at a smallish estate car, such as the Skoda Fabia estate or, even better, a Honda Civic Tourer, which somehow manages to conjure up more boot space than some E Class mercs, in a very compact footprint.

Boot space in small SVs is usually comedically limited. They're a bit form over function IMHO.

A niece of mine had a similar ask recently, was going to go for a Ford Puma until I got her to look at a Skoda Fabia estate. Practicality was off the scale better, so she plumped for the Skoda.

[Oberheim]

Fabia estate a good shout for practicality but Skoda stopped making them in 2021 so the newest ones are 4 years old now.

IMO the Toyota Corolla estate is a better car overall - preferably a facelifted (2023 onwards) car if one can be found within budget. Super smooth and easy to drive with the eCVT transmission, very efficient, superb reliability and durability, and good load-lugging capacity. Will have most of its 10-year warranty left too.

[Skodillac]

OP is looking new to him, not brand new, so a Fabia estate falls within that remit, Corolla is a good shout too. As is SEAT Leon estate.

Also the Skoda Scala offers excellent practicality (better than most comparable SUVS I'd wager) without having to go estate sized.

[nickfrog]

Skodillac said:

OP, everything you've listed is a smallish SUV. If you need to use a car for weekends away with a couple of children, a smallish SUV might not have enough boot space. If I were you I'd be looking at a smallish estate car, such as the Skoda Fabia estate or, even better, a Honda Civic Tourer, which somehow manages to conjure up more boot space than some E Class mercs, in a very compact footprint.

Boot space in small SVs is usually comedically limited. They're a bit form over function IMHO.

A niece of mine had a similar ask recently, was going to go for a Ford Puma until I got her to look at a Skoda Fabia estate. Practicality was off the scale better, so she plumped for the Skoda.

Off the list we had a Tiguan and a Karoq (same platform) and the boot was huge, ideal for family use.
An estate might offer more volume but you end up with a bigger footprint which the OP might or might not want. I certainly don't for urban use. For me SUVs are function over form from that perspective, particularly with the shape of the storage area for my use too, I'll happily leave with the negative image.
Form factor is a highly subjective aspect. No right nor wrong just different preferences.

[Skodillac]

nickfrog said:

which the OP might or might not want

Well, quite. Which is why I was suggesting some different ideas, as he specifically asked for them and appeared to have not considered a small estate as there weren't any on his list.

[Matt_T]

ZX10R NIN - is the 1.6t in the Grandland a reliable engine? Is it the Puretech engine or the old Prince engine?

Did these have timing belts or chains?

[ZX10R NIN]

Matt_T said:

ZX10R NIN - is the 1.6t in the Grandland a reliable engine? Is it the Puretech engine or the old Prince engine?

Did these have timing belts or chains?

It's proving to be reliable it's the same engine as found in 508/5008's etc.

It has a chain, no it's not a puretech, it's block can be traced back to prince but it's a very updated one.

It's a detuned version of the 308 gti.

[chip*]

How about getting a personal loan and buy a slightly older (and reliable) workhorse like this?


https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506123...

Book space for the camping trips too.

[macron]

With 250pcm, are you going to have enough on top for things like insurance and servicing? And have you got a quote for her when she's now got no NCB? Id check that first, as I'm guessing your miles will be low on this, and fun is far down the list of things to worry about. The safety of the 1yo would be paramount to me, but also your own comfort and ease of getting them in and out. Rear facing still? If so I'd look for cars with big rear door openings, it makes a huge difference, and some increase in height also helps.

Id take a long hard look at.a petrol Kia Sportage, they're unexciting but very practical. If you like the Yeti the Kia Soul is a lot newer car, not a huge boot but great rear access.

[Iphammer]

macron said:

With 250pcm, are you going to have enough on top for things like insurance and servicing? And have you got a quote for her when she's now got no NCB? Id check that first, as I'm guessing your miles will be low on this, and fun is far down the list of things to worry about. The safety of the 1yo would be paramount to me, but also your own comfort and ease of getting them in and out. Rear facing still? If so I'd look for cars with big rear door openings, it makes a huge difference, and some increase in height also helps.

Id take a long hard look at.a petrol Kia Sportage, they're unexciting but very practical. If you like the Yeti the Kia Soul is a lot newer car, not a huge boot but great rear access.

That’s what I’m thinking about the safety aspect of the car. I had a look at the Peugeot 3008 the other day it had lots of safety featured/aids on it ( lane assist , adaptive cruise control, parking sensors + rear camera, isofix , airbags all over, blind spot warning) but the price of that car was £22k which is well out of budget.

It’s getting harder to find a decent car within budget/ what we can afford and the ones that are affordable a full of big scratches or the inside is filthy.

Never thought it would be this stressful trying to find a decent car to buy.

[Iphammer]

macron said:

With 250pcm, are you going to have enough on top for things like insurance and servicing? And have you got a quote for her when she's now got no NCB? Id check that first, as I'm guessing your miles will be low on this, and fun is far down the list of things to worry about. The safety of the 1yo would be paramount to me, but also your own comfort and ease of getting them in and out. Rear facing still? If so I'd look for cars with big rear door openings, it makes a huge difference, and some increase in height also helps.

Id take a long hard look at.a petrol Kia Sportage, they're unexciting but very practical. If you like the Yeti the Kia Soul is a lot newer car, not a huge boot but great rear access.

That’s what I’m thinking about the safety aspect of the car. I had a look at the Peugeot 3008 the other day it had lots of safety featured/aids on it ( lane assist , adaptive cruise control, parking sensors + rear camera, isofix , airbags all over, blind spot warning) but the price of that car was £22k which is well out of budget.

It’s getting harder to find a decent car within budget/ what we can afford and the ones that are affordable a full of big scratches or the inside is filthy.

Never thought it would be this stressful trying to find a decent car to buy.

[andy43]

Oberheim said:

Fabia estate a good shout for practicality but Skoda stopped making them in 2021 so the newest ones are 4 years old now.

IMO the Toyota Corolla estate is a better car overall - preferably a facelifted (2023 onwards) car if one can be found within budget. Super smooth and easy to drive with the eCVT transmission, very efficient, superb reliability and durability, and good load-lugging capacity. Will have most of its 10-year warranty left too.

This. I’d find whatever hybrid Toyota estate is in budget. Mega warranty, dull but practical, cheap to run and ultra reliable - taxi drivers use these for a reason.

[andrewpandrew]

Tesla Model 3?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025081253...