Is this a good deal?

The Mad Rapper · 14 Sep 2011 at 15:20

An expanding family forces the sale of our Passat estate. I've been looking for a decent Alhambra/Sharan/Galaxy during the last week, and saw this today.

It's 145 BHP 2 litre petrol engine.

I had wanted a diesel. Is petrol a bad idea on an MPV? We put 15K a year on our cars, small town driving and motorways mostly.

It looks like a good idea to me and I'm tempted, but I thought I'd ask for a quick sanity check first.

TIA.

s0ck · 14 Sep 2011 at 16:04

Looks nice on the outside, looks like a transit on the inside.

The Mad Rapper · 14 Sep 2011 at 16:09

s0ck said:
Looks nice on the outside, looks like a transit on the inside.

An interesting perspective. Probably not too far from the truth!

Firestar_3x · 14 Sep 2011 at 16:11

He's clearly been in some upmarket non UK model transit vans.....

Looks ok, not sure i'd spend 16k on one though, i've always though the Espace / Grand Espace was market leading?

wez130 · 14 Sep 2011 at 16:29

Have a look at the S-Max, look much nicer than the galaxy and the interior is decent too. I think nmost people will suggest the S-Max too, it's one of the best 7 seaters on the road.

davy89 · 14 Sep 2011 at 17:46

s0ck said:
Looks nice on the outside, looks like a transit on the inside.

That looks nothing like a transit inside lol, has probably the most interesting interior out of most mpv's, although that's not saying a lot.

Drive well though, haven't personally driven a 2.0 petrol version only the diesel range + 1.6 ecoboost. Think the 2.0 is quite an old engine though? Not sure how it will cope with the weight etc, I'd personally be looking at one of the new ecoboost engines.

Having looked at the stat's of that engine it's hardly winning awards for fuel economy and co2 emissions! Definitely take a look at the 1.6 ecoboost!

paradigm · 14 Sep 2011 at 18:35

To be honest i'd rather have an older one of these if I needed 7 seats:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2756439.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2747161.htm

Disco Boy · 14 Sep 2011 at 19:28

Out of interest, how many kids do/will you have?

ins0mn1ac · 14 Sep 2011 at 19:31

Disco Boy said:
Out of interest, how many kids do/will you have?

*waits for an answer of less than 3*

Some peoples shock reactions to cars when they have a little one come along are hilarious, my boss decided he needs to sell his focus ST for something bigger since he has a baby on the way, first child. He wants an estate... I lol'd

peterattheboro · 14 Sep 2011 at 19:31

s0ck said:
Looks nice on the outside, looks like a transit on the inside.

And an S Class looks like a Mercedes Sprinter.

nanospider · 14 Sep 2011 at 22:56

Not got the stats to hand but the torque of the diesel (or i guess the turbo petrol) is rather useful with a fully laden galaxy. I'd consider the depreciation more here as well, at least with the older models the demand for petrol engines 2nd hand was pretty low.

The Mad Rapper · 15 Sep 2011 at 13:07

Disco Boy said:
Out of interest, how many kids do/will you have?

I have 3 with another due in March/April. So I really do need 7 seats

The Mad Rapper · 15 Sep 2011 at 13:08

ins0mn1ac said:
*waits for an answer of less than 3*

Not in this case!

The Mad Rapper · 15 Sep 2011 at 13:12

nanospider said:
Not got the stats to hand but the torque of the diesel (or i guess the turbo petrol) is rather useful with a fully laden galaxy. I'd consider the depreciation more here as well, at least with the older models the demand for petrol engines 2nd hand was pretty low.

The resale value is not of huge concern - we'll keep it for as long as we can. The torque may be an issue though, when fully laden. I'd hope the petrol would produce enough though.

The Mad Rapper · 15 Sep 2011 at 13:15

paradigm said:
To be honest i'd rather have an older one of these if I needed 7 seats:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2756439.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2747161.htm

We looked. Found one on AutoTrader, called the dealer and he was an obnoxious arse. He offered me £1.5K less for our car than anyone else and interrogated me about why I'd want an older car. Put me off TBH.

You're right though, amazing kit and potentially very good value for money.

The Mad Rapper · 15 Sep 2011 at 13:20

wez130 said:
Have a look at the S-Max, look much nicer than the galaxy and the interior is decent too. I think nmost people will suggest the S-Max too, it's one of the best 7 seaters on the road.

I will do, thanks.

I had always thought it to be a lot smaller than a Galaxy. Are the seats independent?

wez130 · 15 Sep 2011 at 15:44

Velo Rapide said:
I will do, thanks.

I had always thought it to be a lot smaller than a Galaxy. Are the seats independent?

All seats are independant yes, i sat in a titanium X last week, it looked really good inside and out. Easily the best looking MPV on the market.

eddie101 · 15 Sep 2011 at 16:38

I get one of these on Saturday as a 'company car' for a month, basically i have to drive people around for training. Will tell you how it is

Tinders · 15 Sep 2011 at 17:42

Dads got a Previa D4D, nice enough for a MPV, pretty big inside and quite comfortable, seats 7 comfortably and has lots of luggage space with 7 peeps in. Pretty dull, a bit bus like but is economical, 40mpg very easily with 7 up.

My bet would be a S Max, quite fun to drive and nice inside imo. Espace is the biggest of the bunch, but its french and generally not that reliable.

The Mad Rapper · 22 Sep 2011 at 19:17

A small update!

We looked at the Galaxy on Saturday, which was very nice. Thought about buying a Ford Direct 11 plate Zetec with 2K on the clock. My wife has always loved the XC90, so we went to see an 08 on a 57 plate on Sunday morning at a Volvo main dealer in Warwick. Took it for a spin, bought it!

I collected the car this morning. It had been beautifully valeted - looked new TBH. Flowers for my pregnant wife a nice touch. Thirty minutes with the salesman going through all of the functions and pairing my mobile to the car and off I went! An hour drive home was enough to underline that we've made the right choice. ******' fast when I put my foot down, very refined when cruising and incredibly comfortable. Love it. Love it. Love it!

The only irritation so far is that the cruise control button is in the wrong place. I kept switching cruise off when I rested my hand on the wheel. Otherwise it's sweet!

Never used my mobile via bluetooth while in the car before - that's awesome as well!

A couple of images: