Car for parents - £12k budget

rossk26 said:
So it does, should have read the advert rather than look for the sensors in the bumper!! They are nicely hidden on the rear in the black plastic "diffuser" section...

In my opinion this one is winning so far. Will show the the parents see what they make of it...
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The wifey has one of these :) Comfortable cars with plenty of toys, truly rubbish fuel economy from the 2.0 Petrol though (we average 27mpg, can just about get 35mpg on the motorway)
 
For 12k, you could get one with the 2L Ecoboost engine. Sure it's more powerful and they might not need that, but it is more efficient than the 2L engine in the example you mentioned. It would certainly make cruising that much better. In fact, it would be similar to the Exeo in the OP, if not slightly more efficient. They are semi-automatic only though if that's a concern.
 
Mr Jones said:
Just to throw a curve ball, A Toyota iQ2 or iQ3.

Reasons:

It looks small but it's the same width as any decent cars, thus seating 2 in the front is extremely comfortable. The doors are really wide so 'access' should be come an issue or required, isn't a problem, seats are fairly high too.

Petrol, decent MPG and the back seats can be thrown down for ample of boot space for golf clubs. With the seats up though, you can seat 1.5 people comfortably but only a brief case size boot. I know it doesn't sound 'great' with this aspect but I'm suggesting this because on 2 of my outing since owning this cars, retired folks been wooing and ahhing at my car.

Seriously, it seems to draw them towards me like I'm a post office opening at 9am.

There's also parking sensor available if really desired - or if you're lucky to find one fitted already. No road tax, driving into London CC is free (both only applies to post 2010 iQs AFAIK). Did I mention old people seems to gravitates to them?

For £12K, you can have it near Brand New with everything thrown in or a half decent iQ2 at 2 to 3 years old around £8K mint. The iQ3 is a little faster but road tax band A (£30) and London CC charge, if it's something worth noting. Oh and parking this 'short' car is a doddle, never had an issue finding parking in half spots when in town.

Just a thought.
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This suggesting cars that people on here own themselves to people who post spec me threads malarkey is getting very funny on this forum now.

If that's the case, then OP your parents need a Ford Focus ST-3 :o
 
27mpg is a concern. They don't really do moon miles but ideally would like to keep petrol costs down if it all possible. They will probably do 10-12k miles per annum, so still not diesel territory, but if we could get a petrol that can easily do mid to high 30's it would be better...

My dad is used to high 50's from his Octavia...
 
rossk26 said:
27mpg is a concern. They don't really do moon miles but ideally would like to keep petrol costs down if it all possible. They will probably do 10-12k miles per annum, so still not diesel territory, but if we could get a petrol that can easily do mid to high 30's it would be better...

My dad is used to high 50's from his Octavia...
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The 2L Ecoboost engine should manage mid 30s fairly easily. 27mpg does seem low considering I was getting that with the 2.5L Turbo!
 
Helios1234 said:
The 2L Ecoboost engine should manage mid 30s fairly easily. 27mpg does seem low considering I was getting that with the 2.5L Turbo!
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Yeh I'm averaging 28 with the same engine, albeit a lighter car...

I would have thought mid to high 30's possible from this engine? Especially with granny style driving?
 
rossk26 said:
Yeh I'm averaging 28 with the same engine, albeit a lighter car...

I would have thought mid to high 30's possible from this engine? Especially with granny style driving?
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I went to test drive one and it had 34mpg on the clock so yeah I can't see why it's not possible. I've seen a few reaching a range of 500 miles which again is around 33mpg.
 
If they don't need the power, isn't there a 1.6 Ecoboost option?

Should surely still have plenty of poke?
 
Tute said:
If they don't need the power, isn't there a 1.6 Ecoboost option?

Should surely still have plenty of poke?
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I think that is a more recent engine than the 200ps 2L Ecoboost so you would need to look at very late 2010 cars onwards and it will therefore be harder finding one for under 12k.
 
Pay off more mortgage and get 4-6k Focus/Mondeo. The car will probably be only a year or 2 older in all honesty. The likely repair bills over the serviceable life of the car are unlikely to be 6k. Quids in on mortgage repayments and still have a reliable car that won't depreciate as much.
 
Third Opinion said:
Pay off more mortgage and get 4-6k Focus/Mondeo. The car will probably be only a year or 2 older in all honesty. The likely repair bills over the serviceable life of the car are unlikely to be 6k. Quids in on mortgage repayments and still have a reliable car that won't depreciate as much.
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No, the mortgage is paid off! And he has decided to spend £12k on a car. He has plenty more believe me!!! But my dad isn't into cars and this is how much he wants to spend
 
The Exeo is a decent option. Fits most of the criteria except the focus size, although cant be that much bigger if you opt for the saloon. 12k seems to get you a decent spec one with plenty of kit; leather, xenons, cruise, Nav etc. although most are diesel. They aren't even remotely interesting and are very rep mobile-ish but great value for money as a used buy.

Edit - just noticed the focus is the latest one with ecoboost engine. Can't think of anything else that fits the criteria better tbh.
 
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I've an Octavia 1.8 TSI. I think it's a very nice engine and personally my favourite of the range. 160bhp and 250nm, very easy and "accessible" engine to drive but not very exciting.

I see 37mpg (measured) on a mix of motorway and town driving. My wife got 50mpg from the last tank on an almost solely motorway run, but I'm not sure how...

To me the Ford is winning
 
Showed my dad the Mondeo and he likes it. Probably going to go have a look at some Ford garages nearby to compare the Focus to the Mondeo...

Will probably visit a Skoda dealer too, just to show him how the Octavia is now...
 
Ok so my Dad is now serious about going out to look for a new car.

However, there are 0 Mondeo Titanium Petrols anywhere near where we live (and only 1 national that's similar to age, spec and price we are looking for).

P.S sorry for thread revival!

EDIT: Found this Mazda 6 local. Are they as highly regarded as the Mondeo? They seem more equipped?
 
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