Family car for under £20K (used). Audi vs. Skoda?

[Family_Guy81]

I need to buy a used car in the next six months to replace my old VW Golf diesel, and need some advice:

- Budget is max £20K. Criteria is car needs to be automatic and petrol.
- Mileage is around 10K per yr, and car will be used for town driving, weekend getaways and holidays.
- I have a 3 & 5y old, so need a decent sized boot for kids clobber (prams on way out thankfully).
- Both me and the wife not fan of SUV's, so thinking saloon/hatch or estate
- Wife will be using it as well, so needs to be something she can be confident driving size-wise.

I'll be honest, I do care about looks and so something that looks refined/sporty. For my budget, I'm currently considering 2-4yr old cars, including;

1) Audi A4 Avant - I heard it can be tight on space (boot and rear seats) for a family of four - any views?
2) Audi A6 Avant - Rare to find in my budget, but is it worth the extra space for the additional cost?
3) Skoda Superb estate or hatch - Boot is huge, but is it really necessary for daily use? Any advice on choosing between estate vs. hatch? Sportline trim in both looks good!

Or anything else I should be considering? VW Passat saloon/estate practical, but looks a bit dull? Mazda 6 touring nice but like goldust in the 2.0 litres version which is the more fuel efficient choice in the petrol.

 

[Family_Guy81]

2 and 3 seem to be a bit contradictory, in 2 you are questioning whether additional space in an A6 is worth the cost, but in 3 you're asking if an (i think similarly sized boot in a Superb?) is actually necessary..
You're going to get a lot more for your money going Skoda, only you can decide whether the additional space is going to be useful to you!

Yes, I think this is the dilemma we're facing. Bit of a goldilocks situation - want something big enough to cope with demands of family life, but not too big that the wife will have a panic everytime she's behind the wheel. We'll test drive of course, but wanted to get a feel for anyone who has had experience of driving these wagons.

 

[Family_Guy81]

Considered a 3 series or one of volvos offerings?

I did look at the 3 Series Touring, and offer the best driving experience. I have a similar concern to the A4 Avant about real practicality however, and heard they can be a little cramped when its comes to boot and rear passenger space. However, not ruled out and still in the mix! I haven't looked too much as volvo's, but I'm not wholly convinced about the interior styling.

 

[Family_Guy81]

It will be fine. I only have a 5 year old in ours but there’s plenty of space.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009113602172?advertising-location=at_cars&year-from=2016&price-to=20000&postcode=MK2 2LQ&sort=year-desc&fuel-type=Petrol&include-delivery-option=on&transmission=Automatic&model=A4 AVANT&page=1&aggregatedTrim=S line&make=AUDI&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New

Thanks for the pics, really useful. How is it for a week away? Do you find you can get what you need in the boot, or find yourself resorting to the roof box or stowing stuff in the footwell's?

 

[Family_Guy81]

As a serial Audi A4 and A6 Avant owner (6 in the last 20 years) I wouldn't buy either over a Skoda unless you're concerned about the badge or there is a specific feature you want. I always had allroads and the lease deals on them meant I kept getting them. The dealer maintenance costs are significantly higher than for Skoda and once they are out of warranty they can go wrong and when they do go wrong it's VERY expensive to fix them. You'll also struggle to get a petrol A6 as between 2013 and 2019 they were diesel only unless you wanted an S6 or RS6.

The Superb is available with the same 4 wheel drive system as the Audi's if that's of interest and the bigger power engines (3.6 V6 and 2.0l 280PS variant) are really nice to drive and tend to be exceptionally well equipped (although you only get the best auto cruise control, night vision and HUD on the Audi models). The Skoda is the best example possible of why truly excellent cars die a death because of unfashionable badges in the UK.

Really, really useful comments and definitely gives me food for thought - running costs as well as ongoing maintenance high on my list, and need this to be a reliable servant for the next 5yrs+ ideally. I have seen Skoda does really well on reliability rankings, and is another big factor in its favour. In fact, I'm struggling to find reviews that have much bad to say about them at all with the exception of badge snobs, and the sheer size of the vehicle making it a bit cumbersome to drive. Oh, and the fact that you could be mistaken for an taxi driver from time to time All of which I'm prepared to swallow for a decent spec but reliable, safe and practical family car. All also why I'm tempted to go for the sportline to just indulge a bit of my ego on the looks front.