Family car ideas?

Crizzy

Crizzy

Crizzy

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Bristol
Evening all.

Just after some of your opinions really.

I'm looking at getting a replacement car to be 'the family hack'. It's going to be replacing my wife's 1.0l Polo and she'll be the one driving it the most. It'll be used to transport both young and old around on a regular basis, not mega distances I might add, although there may be the occasional long trip that we all have to take on occasion.

I have a modest budget of 4k, my main priorities are running costs and comfort.

I realise that this money and criteria screams Mondeo, however I'm not exactly sure what my budget would get me at this point in time. 4k seems a lot for a mk3 but the mk4s are only just coming into this price bracket so I imagine would be a bit ropey.

Other cars I've got in mind are the Volvo s60, Skoda Superb and possibly an X Type. No preference to style, transmission or fuel.

Out of those my preference is most definitely for the Superb, it might seem daft getting something this size for mainly short/ local journeys but I do want something relaxing, inconspicuous with plenty of room.

So as much comfort for the cash combined with sensible running costs. If you think the Mondeo is still the best shout then what one with what engine?

Thanks for your time :)
 
Have you considered a Vauxhall Astra you can pick a 2010 up for <£4000 My criteria on Autotrader was Vauxhall Astra, <100k miles, <3 years, 5 door and nationally for the distance

The result gave a Vauxhall Astra 1.4I 16V ACTIVE 5DR with 42000 miles for £3,995


Also worth looking at
KIA Ceed (will need sub 2009 to get a <£4000)

Personally never been a fan of the Mondeo

Good luck on your search :-)
 
Relentless81 said:
How many miles a year do you do and what kind of commute?

Also what kind of performance are you after?
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Miles will be approx 12k a year, my wife is based all over the city so a majority of those miles will be city traffic.

Performance I'm not overly fussed with. I've still got my MX5 (although not sure for how much longer) and I've also got a motorbike for two wheeled fun.

Richie said:
Ford C-Max?
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I know I said no preference on style but I feel I must backtrack a little with this, there are two types of car I really don't want to own, one is the small hatchback and the other is the MPV. I know they can be quite beneficial but I just don't gel with them.

Also age isn't an issue, I'm not looking for anything particularly new.
 
1.6/2.0 Mazda 3 or 1.8/2.0/2.3 Mazda 6 around 05 to 07 plates

For £3k you get climate control, Xenons maybe Bose depending on spec etc and plenty of space
 
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I like the Mazda 6, I haven't really considered it an option which is odd as I love the 6 MPS. Maybe looking at a Mazda 6 that offers more reasonable running costs might worth a gander though. Cheers.

Yeah the Mondeo is a great shout to be fair, maybe a V6 petrol might be on wrong side of the economy line but I'm not sure how much a difference it would make overall.

This I like also:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...postcode/bs148ln/radius/1500/page/1?logcode=p
 
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I just re read my above post and it sounds rather contradictory!

A 3.0 V6 has got to be out of the equation really. The Skoda I linked to has a 2.5 V6 diesel but there are options with a smaller engine, although from some of the reviews I've read online it doesn't appear to be unreasonably thirsty.

I just don't want to get something that will cost additional money for performance when the main person using it will be my wife who wouldn't really appreciate it. I do want some degree of refinement though which rules out smaller engines.
 
You don't really want a vag 2.5 tdi, they're pretty old school rough, poor (for a diesel) economy wise and aren't as reliable as the 1.9pd which is a better engine imo.

The superb is an awful lot of car for the money though, just find one with a more suitable engine if you like them.
 
Didn't realise they had reliability issues with that engine. What's the best transmission for the 1.9pd, does it work well with an auto?
 
So long as it isn't CVT (don't think the skoda's came with one) then it'll be fine, if a little slw and slushy...sometimes that's quite a good thing mind you.
 
Agreed. I'm not after something that is going to set the world on fire. Comfort, understatement and gadgets is what I'm on the hunt for.
 
The superb with the 1.9TDi in manual form would be pretty reliable and will return decent enough economy too. Just look for one with a full service history and preferably one which has been serviced every 10k miles as the 1.9 can have camshaft problems if not serviced well.

Edit: just had a look and noticed most of the Elegance spec ones are autos which is a shame
 
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wildman_33 said:
The superb with the 1.9TDi in manual form would be pretty reliable and will return decent enough economy too. Just look for one with a full service history and preferably one which has been serviced every 10k miles as the 1.9 can have camshaft problems if not serviced well.

Edit: just had a look and noticed most of the Elegance spec ones are autos which is a shame
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I'm not bothered by the auto unless it has a bad reputation for being useless or unreliable. In fact an auto on a car this size might make life a bit easier, if sacrificing a bit of economy. Cheers for the advice.
 
[TW]Fox;25175479 said:
Which is a terrible car in pretty much every possible way.
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Interesting statement, personally haven't driving any Astras so cant comment but assumed for plodding around town it would be fine. Well sorry op but Mr Fox disapproves lol
 
steven2805 said:
Interesting statement, personally haven't driving any Astras so cant comment but assumed for plodding around town it would be fine. Well sorry op but Mr Fox disapproves lol
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It does a job, but so does everything else at the same money - with pretty much everything else of the same size or larger being better than it
 
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