Family car for £5-6k, recommendations please

[FnG]magnolia;20108491 said:
The Forester is extremely sensible unless you get the STi model. It's designed for dogs and shooting and outdoors and mud. I'd have thought it might be worth a look if for no other reason than to confirm that the Focus is the right choice.

Fair point, might nip in and try it out. :)
 
And just to throw something else a little different into the mix, any opinions on the 2.0T FSI Skoda Octavia VRS, clicky?

Same size and MPG as my current car (thought they were bigger?) but with a little turn of speed, how reliable are they?

Quite like the non turbo'd Octavia's too, any good, or is the Focus estate a better car?
 
The octavia VRS is going to be better to drive than a focus 1.6 estate

But it's got 18 inch alloy wheels, costs a lot to fuel and tax. It costs significantly more to run than a 1.6 focus

If you have the money to run these sorts of cars, there are more cars you can be looking at than a 1.6 focus
 
Have you had a look at the Honda 2.2 CDTI accord's?

cheap to run & tax. Very comfy on motorways too + you get the famed Honda reliability.

Again, a little too big, appreciate it's only 20cm or so longer than the other cars I'm looking at, but that makes a huge difference where I park.

The octavia VRS is going to be better to drive than a focus 1.6 estate

But it's got 18 inch alloy wheels, costs a lot to fuel and tax. It costs significantly more to run than a 1.6 focus

If you have the money to run these sorts of cars, there are more cars you can be looking at than a 1.6 focus

I'd be happy with a car that costs as much to run as my current 2.0 petrol, group 11 insurance, group k tax, 17" alloyed Primera, but I'd prefer it to cost less to run if possible.

A car's essential to me, and I'd like the best I can get for my money, but obviously don't want it to cost the earth to run.
 
Peugeot 207 and 308 estates seem quite short IIRC. A HDI version might fit on your drive and cut your running cost.

From the internet.

207,
4.150mm. 50-60mgp

308,
4.500mm for the 308. 60-65mpg
 
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Again, a little too big, appreciate it's only 20cm or so longer than the other cars I'm looking at, but that makes a huge difference where I park.



I'd be happy with a car that costs as much to run as my current 2.0 petrol, group 11 insurance, group k tax, 17" alloyed Primera, but I'd prefer it to cost less to run if possible.

A car's essential to me, and I'd like the best I can get for my money, but obviously don't want it to cost the earth to run.
Can I suggest a Honda Civic then? they've got loads of space for the family and are quite hard wearing.
 
Can I suggest a Honda Civic then? they've got loads of space for the family and are quite hard wearing.

I don't think I'd be able to get the dog comfortably in the boot, worth a look though.

Peugeot 207 and 308 estates seem quite short IIRC. A HDI version might fit on your drive and cut your running cost.

From the internet.

207,
4.150mm. 50-60mgp

308,
4.500mm for the 308. 60-65mpg

Had a couple of French cars recently, and I think I'd prefer something different this time around.

Audi A4 Estate?


Good reliable diesel plus it will have a better resale value.

I like the A4, but I think you generally get more car with the Octavia, it should be newer and higher specced for the same money.
 
Can I suggest a Honda Civic then? they've got loads of space for the family and are quite hard wearing.

A quick Google suggests my dog may fit reasonably comfortably in a Civic, surprising!

SDC10271.jpg


Found a decent looking one locally too, it's a diesel which I don't really need, albeit a cracking diesel by the reviews, but it's an idea of what you can get, clicky!
 
The Civic boot really is massive - easily large enough to fit a large lab size dog in! Looks like a good example - have seen cars with that engine on over double the mileage without any major problems.

The 1.8 petrol is a decent enough engine too, should return around 38-40mpg and is responsive enough at the top of the rev range.
 
Again, a little too big, appreciate it's only 20cm or so longer than the other cars I'm looking at, but that makes a huge difference where I park.



I'd be happy with a car that costs as much to run as my current 2.0 petrol, group 11 insurance, group k tax, 17" alloyed Primera, but I'd prefer it to cost less to run if possible.

A car's essential to me, and I'd like the best I can get for my money, but obviously don't want it to cost the earth to run.

Stay away from stuff like the VRS then. It's effectively a large hot hatch, and comes with the costs associated with hot hatches. The octavia VRS is group 18 for insurance and is going to use a lot more fuel than a 2.0 N/A petrol.
 
face palm time :p

Double face palm as that figure isn't even correct. Theres no way the old MK1 Fabia VRS diesel was group 18.
 
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*edit 2*

Nevermind.

Should have known better than to trust parkers.

It's hardly their fault that you looked up the wrong car is it? :p

face palm time :p

Double face palm as that figure isn't even correct. Theres no way the old MK1 Fabia VRS diesel was group 18.


I would have thought the Fabia is IG18 under the new 50 group system isn't it? Which is what Parkers will be quoting.
 
The MK1 Fabia VRS was group 9 or thereabouts, theres no way it was group 18.

so

A) i looked up the wrong car

and

B) the car i did look up had the wrong value :p
 
The MK1 Fabia VRS was group 9 or thereabouts, theres no way it was group 18.

so

A) i looked up the wrong car

and

B) the car i did look up had the wrong value :p
It is 18 for the Fabia, Parkers quote the new system.

I just double checked this with my own car, which is listed as IG29, so they're using updated groupings, as there was only the 20 groups when my car was in production.

So all in all, the only fail here has been from you :p
 
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