Manual estate.

inflames

inflames

inflames

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15 Oct 2016
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We are looking at changing my wife’s car, mostly likely summer time. She is struggling with getting her mum’s wheel chair, heavy shopping bag etc in and out of the boot due to the lip in the boot of her Mazda 6 hatch. Her criteria is, Estate, Petrol, Manual and that’s it’s black.
Out of the usual suspects she likes the Mercedes c class, A4 Avant. Most decent estates all seem to be diesel and auto. Just after some idea for other estates to show her.
 
Yeah not an easy task - I've fast become a convert to the auto when dealing with the increased amounts of traffic on the road these days but friends/family not so convinced.

IIRC there are cars with adjustable air suspension where you can drop the boot height right down for loading - but it isn't something I've really paid attention to.
 
DSG auto's maybe not desirable ? - after watching below video this week following thread on passat/octavia 1.4 dry dsg gearbox failures(strike 1), this guy on the octavia vrs suggested he was getting some 10mpg less than manual friends low 40svs 50's .... now I was already prejudiced against dsg, versus zf (bmw/peugot/merc) for jerkiness for in town driving(strike 2), but if dsg has an mpg hit too (strike 3) they're off my list;
14 jan
2021/2022 Skoda Octavia vRS petrol review – 7 months with a 245hp estate
newer zf's and maybe dsg have more gears 8/9 which might help the auto's to have better economy versus a 6 speed manual

e: hybrid phev estate like octavia, are maybe a good option though - both for the ev miles, and the motor providing better more economic gear shifting in a dsg, 'filling in' the power
 
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Technically a manual as you have to put in forward or reverse, and there are no gears in the middle to make that untrue. :p Motability approved for wheel chair storage, and 500+ litres of boot space with parcel pull removed. Great acceleration, very efficient and will need little to no maintenance and a decent warranty with a long length.

My advice is to take her for a test drive of one before you totally ignore it as an option, unless your on a low, low budget. They are really good cars, and are highly praised, have a look at many of the other reviews.
 
jpaul said:
DSG auto's maybe not desirable ? - after watching below video this week following thread on passat/octavia 1.4 dry dsg gearbox failures(strike 1), this guy on the octavia vrs suggested he was getting some 10mpg less than manual friends low 40svs 50's .... now I was already prejudiced against dsg, versus zf (bmw/peugot/merc) for jerkiness for in town driving(strike 2), but if dsg has an mpg hit too (strike 3) they're off my list;
14 jan
2021/2022 Skoda Octavia vRS petrol review – 7 months with a 245hp estate
newer zf's and maybe dsg have more gears 8/9 which might help the auto's to have better economy versus a 6 speed manual

e: hybrid phev estate like octavia, are maybe a good option though - both for the ev miles, and the motor providing better more economic gear shifting in a dsg, 'filling in' the power
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One of the reasons I've had an on/off relationship with the Tiguan and a bit undecided on what to go for next - I don't really seem to mesh well with the DSG.
 
Journey said:

Technically a manual as you have to put in forward or reverse, and there are no gears in the middle to make that untrue. :p Motability approved for wheel chair storage, and 500+ litres of boot space with parcel pull removed. Great acceleration, very efficient and will need little to no maintenance and a decent warranty with a long length.

My advice is to take her for a test drive of one before you totally ignore it as an option, unless your on a low, low budget. They are really good cars, and are highly praised, have a look at many of the other reviews.
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That would be out of our price range mate
 
Maybe more manual availability in the cheap value oriented brands, where more of the new purchasers were trying to be cheap and so avoided higher priced autos. An Octavia or Superb with the variable boot floor would give a flat load bay with no lip. With a more modest budget, in theory, you may find yourself in newer generation vehicles too.
 
inflames said:
More like 10k.
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Not a great deal without huge mileage on at that price, or ancient. Even a Superb on a 17 plate with 102k miles is £10.5k, probably ex-private hire as well. Bad time to be shopping for a second hand car sadly.
Edit: Will she/does she cover a lot of miles, or is it very low usage?
 
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Journey said:
Not a great deal without huge mileage on at that price, or ancient. Even a Superb on a 17 plate with 102k miles is £10.5k, probably ex-private hire as well. Bad time to be shopping for a second hand car sadly.
Edit: Will she/does she cover a lot of miles, or is it very low usage?
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Low mileage use, 5k a year the most. I know it’s a bad time to be looking at cars, I am hoping that I can put her off until the used market calms down a bit.
 
10k on a "prestige" petrol estate is not going to get you much, it's only last few years we've seen people shifting back to petrol and you'd need to be multiplying your budget by 3-4x to get one of those...

Also, echo everyone's comments on manual. it's not realistic, you need to reset expectations on that one.
 
Howard said:
The requirement for it to be black is the stand-out thing here... Talk about a glutton for punishment!
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Tell me about it, took me months to find her a black petrol Mazda 6. Been a good for the last few 4 and half years apart from keeping it clean….


[TW]Fox said:
So the real answer then is none of those cars unless you want hassle.
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An expensive car can also give you a lot hassle.
 
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