Diesel or Petrol... Touran or Zafira

EvilGrin

EvilGrin

EvilGrin

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Aberdeen, Scotland
Hi guys, I'm currently looking for a new "daddy wagon" to replace our IX35. The VW Touran is at the top of my list, hired one in Italy for a trip last year and loved it, it was the 1.6 TDi SE. I'm looking at buy new/nearly new, but I'm considering Petrol as with all the heightened rhetoric over emissions of late with diesels, it doesn't seem to be a good time to buy one.

Budget wise, looking to spend up to max of £20k, arnold clark have a deal on for a brand new 66 plate for £20k in the 1.2 SE Family trim (~£1.5k higher trim than SE), which seems a good deal. I'm concerned the engine will be a little gutless, but I've yet to test drive one - currently checking with local dealer to see if they have a model with this engine.

I'm away to test drive a 65 plate Zafira 2.0 SRi tonight (£11800), so will see how that goes. At the moment though, have my heart set on the Touran, but I definitely prefer the price point of the Zafira!

Any thoughts at all guys?
 
Consider also:
Mazda CX-5
Seat Alhambra

Whether petrol or diesel consider whether you like throttle response and gearing, engine noise, and relative economics. Diesel can be better for mpg but engines can be more expensive to fix if they go wrong.
 
I'd go petrol with the way the government is going very anti-diesel (after trying to get everyone to buy them!). We might see diesel cars banned from city centres like they are in some European cities. Some small petrol engines are not far off diesels with MPG now and they are cheaper to maintain.
 
They are only going to ban 10 year old diesels at the moment, so i wouldnt worry too much about that. I'd avoid the 1.6 vag tdi like the plague, its a shocking engine.
 
Missus is in the market for a Touran , however it is nigh impossible to get a Petrol with the DSG box to test drive , so we are awaiting for a dealer to get one in ... been waiting for a few weeks . I think it is the SEL trim in a 1.4 TSI 150 form , so I'm guessing the 1.2 might be a little lacklustre when it is fully laden .. might be worth to see if u can have a go in the 1.4 form.
 
Touran, but get a better spec then 1.2 SE.

If you do plenty of miles, I think a 2.0 diesel might be a better option?

Certainly cheaper on fuel, and be more torquey then the smaller petrol engines. Which if might be preferable on road trips.
 
I'd have a look at the 1.5 180ps petrol Ford Kuga.
I'm not sure it will be just 10 year old diesels that will suffer shortly, the fuel itself will be a target for government shenanigans.
Andi.

Oh I'd avoid the Peugot Zafira ;-)
 
Thanks for the replies guys. Yeah, that's why I've been leaning towards petrol, even though I prefer driving diesels and have had my 1.7 diesel ix35 for 3 years now which I've enjoyed. I've considered the Alhambra/Sharan, I think they're a bit too big/bus like for what we're looking for - we also considered the Ford S-Max, but the Touran seems to be the sweetspot size wise for us - boot capacity is the big winner. The Zafira test drive delayed until this weekend - not convinced by the dealership at all. The Mazda CX-5 is really nice, but we're looking for a flexible 7 seater, with a larger boot - the CX5 would be more like a sideways step in that regard, if you meant the 7 seater Mazda 5, I'm not a fan of its looks, it's in need of a facelift I feel!

As for falling in love with the 1.6 Touran, it was the car itself more than the engine, I'd love a better engine, but it was perfectly adequate for what we needed - we hired one for a road trip around italy with the kids, and it fit the bill perfectly hauling 3 adults and 2 young kids, and all luggage, it wasn't like lightning to drive, but I managed to keep up with the crazy Italian drivers (for the most part!), it also felt like a pretty similar power to my current ix35, which has been a good family car!

If I could afford it, I'd up my budget to £22k for the 1.4l Touran R-Line, but it's definitely a step too far budget wise. I'd have to look at the nearly new/pre-reg/used market - and petrol Tourans are a rarity there!
 
2.0 TDI Touran if limited to those options anything less will be horrid to drive (guess the 1.6 would be okish). Zafira is not a pleasant place to be for long miles but ok for school run, etc.
 
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Daaaavvveee said:
Actually, I think he may mean banned in the City Centres! I read it as banned everywhere at first
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London is already planning to get rid of their diesel buses. Next will be cars. By 2025 a few cities will have banned them completely, not just old ones.

The UK government made a huge error. While other countries have been trying to rid themselves of diesels, we have been encouraged to buy more. Now they realized why they others are trying to get rid of them and are doing a full on U-turn.
 
Armageus said:
The new one isn't that bad (certainly not compared to the older one that I have :) ) - The VW will be better, but you obviously pay for it.
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To be fair I've not driven a Zafira - my parents had the old one for a few months and I can't say I enjoyed traveling any distance in it.

Actually quite like the Touran (though I do like Golfs) the only thing I particularly notice is the brakes don't have much play in them for want of a better way to describe it.
 
When I got my Zafira B (back in 2005) I test droven the Touran and was disappointed..

But as with all things, always test drive the cars yourself, people's criteria and sensitivity to things varies wildly...

I did replace the Zafira with a CX-5 when the kids got older (I had the Zafira 9 years, but it had the IDS+, Panoramic roof/storage, VXR Styling, VXR Remap etc so had just enough power etc to make it liveable with), the CX-5 is a different proposition, 5 seats, not as practical etc..

Saying all that, I needed 7 seats (only very occasionally), if I didn't have that requirement I think I'd have been more open to 5 seaters of that kind, storage and other practicalities shouldn't be overlooked IMO.

Recently though I've hired S-Max's which I think offers a bit more room and I like the rear aircon controls etc, although performance is a little dulled due to the extra size, and the Alhambra's sliding rear doors was damn useful in getting people in/out in car parks and it drove OK..
 
EvilGrin said:
...hired one in Italy for a trip last year and loved it, it was the 1.6 TDi
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EvilGrin said:
even though I prefer driving diesels
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You'll probably find that what you actually prefer is the feel of forced induction, with its low down grunt and easy access to the power. No MPV style thing is going to be super economical as their shape isn't very aerodynamic; my brother's 2.0 TDI Alhambra can see mid 20s to low 30s unless he's on a motorway for an hour or two. As others have said a turbo petrol will feel very similar to a TDI in daily driving, but have the advantage of more revs should you need or want them. I'd try to avoid things like the 1.2 TSI though. They're solid enough engines (at least no more or less fragile than their bigger brothers), but they are pretty gutless for a box-shaped vehicle. The 1.4 TSI or similar would be ample however (they use it in 150ps guise in the Superb, and probably the Passat also). Have a test drive and see how they feel, but don't buy on impulse. Keep testing and driving back to back where you can, and make sure it's not just around the block and back. Drive the types of roads you'll be using day in, day out. Also take the family for a second look, ensuring all the kids and gubbins fit easily and comfortably. No point testing then buying your dream MPV (lol) only to find that the kids feel sick, can't see out and kick you in the back all day....
 
Nasher said:
London is already planning to get rid of their diesel buses. Next will be cars. By 2025 a few cities will have banned them completely, not just old ones.

The UK government made a huge error. While other countries have been trying to rid themselves of diesels, we have been encouraged to buy more. Now they realized why they others are trying to get rid of them and are doing a full on U-turn.
Click to expand...

That being the case, with the government stance on diesels it looks like it will affect us in the immediate future (3-5 years), and thus affect residual car values etc. too... I'm likely to keep any car I buy for at least 3 years, but I guess in that kind of time I may have saved more in fuel economy than losing in depreciation. Wish I had a crystal ball, as I do feel it's a real gamble to buy a new diesel right now thanks to the government.

Back to the car itself, I currently drive 10-12k miles per year which is for the majority a mixture of city and shire driving - with occasional visits to Glasgow/Edinburgh on the Motorway, I doubt it'll change much from that, and if anything up to around 14k if we ramp up our holidaying around the UK.

This is the Zafira we're looking at, and will hopefully test drive this weekend: https://www.petervardy.com/item/38919/VAUXHALL/ZAFIRA-DIESEL-TOURER.html

It's definitely not in the same class as the Touran quality wise, but it is about £7k cheaper like for like.

It looks like my only choice for a petrol Touran is the 1.2, there's nothing at all on the used market, it's a shame but the 1.4 is SEL/R-Line only so that's £21.5-22k and a bit out of budget (£20k was already a stretch).

Rainmaker said:
You'll probably find that what you actually prefer is the feel of forced induction, with its low down grunt and easy access to the power. No MPV style thing is going to be super economical as their shape isn't very aerodynamic; my brother's 2.0 TDI Alhambra can see mid 20s to low 30s unless he's on a motorway for an hour or two. As others have said a turbo petrol will feel very similar to a TDI in daily driving, but have the advantage of more revs should you need or want them. I'd try to avoid things like the 1.2 TSI though. They're solid enough engines (at least no more or less fragile than their bigger brothers), but they are pretty gutless for a box-shaped vehicle. The 1.4 TSI or similar would be ample however (they use it in 150ps guise in the Superb, and probably the Passat also). Have a test drive and see how they feel, but don't buy on impulse. Keep testing and driving back to back where you can, and make sure it's not just around the block and back. Drive the types of roads you'll be using day in, day out. Also take the family for a second look, ensuring all the kids and gubbins fit easily and comfortably. No point testing then buying your dream MPV (lol) only to find that the kids feel sick, can't see out and kick you in the back all day....
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As I said before, it was more the car itself than the engine - I still think it'd suit our needs, but I certainly would prefer the 2L. I actually tried to reserve a 2.0L TDi SE Family about a week ago that was nearly new going for £20k, it was an ex-demo that was £3k lower than book price (which did raise alarm bells), but it was priced to go and someone had just beaten me to the punch. I've been tracking prices on these for a good while now and I won't see another deal like that for ages.
 
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