Going from 350Z to family car...

Soldato
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18 Oct 2002
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I'm not really a car person, but I love my 350Z...

However, needless to say, it's got to go if we have a family!

In preparation for that day, what car would be a suitable replacement?

In a perfect world, it would have the same performance, but four doors!

Budget would be between £6k and £10k.

Thanks for any ideas of what makes/models to look at!
 
Associate
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Caporegime
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21 Jun 2006
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I'm not really a car person, but I love my 350Z...

However, needless to say, it's got to go if we have a family!

In preparation for that day, what car would be a suitable replacement?

In a perfect world, it would have the same performance, but four doors!

Budget would be between £6k and £10k.

Thanks for any ideas of what makes/models to look at!

I think you should be putting reliability over performance for a 1 car household and it being a family car.

Get a lexus 2.5l hybrid saloon. Will be fast enough and most importantly reliable.
 
Soldato
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10,401
There is quite a lot to choose from at the budget but it really depends what you're after other than some additional doors.

I still really like my ST estate, it has a good level of performance, I can chuck it around and fits kids, dog, stuff and or any combination of these. It has also been totally reliable for me, but they do have the potential to chuck it in a big way (Americans seem to manage to blow them up all the time).

If you don't particularly need a hatch even more choice opens up really. Just check out the boot size you think you need and work from there

Get a lexus 2.5l hybrid saloon. Will be fast enough and most importantly reliable.

Nice enough cars but really quite slow and nowhere near the performance level the op is talking (even accepting he might need to sacrifice a bit). The GS450h would give comparable or tbh increased performance but they're also out of budget and have a slightly comedy boot
 
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Don
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My sincere condolences :(

I went from my Mazda 6MPS to a 1.6 Diseasel For C-Max with bloody slidey doors :(
256bhp+ to 115bhp, no leather, no sunroof, no AWD
But I did get a useable boot! Yay T_T

A couple I would be looking at (indeed I did ha ha)

Ford ST Estate
Skoda Octavia/Superb Estate with the appropriate engine, VRS or the 245(iirc)
Mazda 6 estate (a little lower on the performance but the 2.5petrols look areet and look really nice inside and out)
 
Soldato
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I got a vRS when we had our daughter, decent cars for what they are TBF and you'll find something half decent in that budget easily.

Also note that the Octavia boot is huge so you might not need an estate. YMMV but it was more than sufficient for 1 kid and a sensible amount of gear including a fold down pram system.
 
Soldato
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Agree I got as much in my Octavia hatch as I do in the current estate - albeit you loose that bit of height towards the back of the hatch. I'd want to hit the top of the budget and get a mk3 though, the mk2 is far too old a platform now (unless you decided to only spend a couple of grand).
 
Soldato
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9,121
My sincere condolences :(

I went from my Mazda 6MPS to a 1.6 Diseasel For C-Max with bloody slidey doors :(
256bhp+ to 115bhp, no leather, no sunroof, no AWD
But I did get a useable boot! Yay T_T

A couple I would be looking at (indeed I did ha ha)

Ford ST Estate
Skoda Octavia/Superb Estate with the appropriate engine, VRS or the 245(iirc)
Mazda 6 estate (a little lower on the performance but the 2.5petrols look areet and look really nice inside and out)
If you already had a family car, why change?

Edit, for the op my wife has a focus mk 3 estate and likes it, although now I've got a big car she's looking to downgrade (at least in size) to the new model fiesta. Golf gti could also be on your list.
 
Associate
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Mazda RX8 R3 is the closest you will get in regards to 4 useable doors for similiar money.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201903085679838

Nissan Skyline 350GT if you want to stick close to the 350z but with rear seats?
https://www.pistonheads.com/classif.../skyline/nissan-skyline-350gt-premium/9064823

Or the Infiniti G37 at the upper budget if you want to try a 370z
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201812053019593
I don’t think any of those have been considered “family cars”, by anyone. Ever.

OP - MK3 vRS would be a good shout.
 
Soldato
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18 Oct 2002
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21,047
Focus ST Estate
£10k gets you into a 2012 model, 247bhp, loads of space, leather interior, good looking with the only downside being the dash board has a million buttons.
 
Soldato
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I honestly wouldn't rush to get an estate.

Everybody is different but we weren't those people who packed to go away for 2 weeks every time we left the house.

We had a small changing bag and a fold down pram which we used until she was old enough to sit upright most of the time and switched to a lightweight pushchair.

I always regret selling my DC2 TBF, even that wasn't too bad in hindsight, boot was big enough and the door openings were decent due to the shape of the car.

By the time she was 2 and could climb in herself no bother I was running around in a Twingo RS, a Clio RS and an MX5!
 
Soldato
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Sorry i didnt mean focus estate, i meant ST (my phone auto corrected and i didn't notice).

Exactly... I mean, the 911 has rear seats and the convertible roof makes it really easy to get things in and out.

I did run a 996 as a family car for 4 years till my daughter was getting too big for it (at 4.5 years old).
 
Soldato
Joined
22 Jul 2006
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7,686
I honestly wouldn't rush to get an estate.

Everybody is different but we weren't those people who packed to go away for 2 weeks every time we left the house.

We had a small changing bag and a fold down pram which we used until she was old enough to sit upright most of the time and switched to a lightweight pushchair.

I always regret selling my DC2 TBF, even that wasn't too bad in hindsight, boot was big enough and the door openings were decent due to the shape of the car.

By the time she was 2 and could climb in herself no bother I was running around in a Twingo RS, a Clio RS and an MX5!

I see a family car as something which can be used for anything. We have a Skoda superb and a qashqai and love the size of the superb and don't think we could cope with having anything smaller.

A day out with the kids? No worries just fill the boot up and away you go.

Weekend away, plenty of space for everything including the kitchen sink.

Centre parcs...no bother just stick everything in the car including the kids scooters.

2 weeks camping...tent, electric coolbox, suitcases no worries.

Tip run you say...yeah I can fit that wardrobe in no bother!
 
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