MPV advice

dilated

dilated

dilated

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I am looking to buy an MPV 'Mumsy car'. I have 3 little ones and as such need to transport a baby seat, a booster seat and still have room for a third in comfort. It is surprising that a number of cars now have two bucket seats with the middle seat being only an occasional seat.

I am looking to spend upto £2.5k and have short-listed the following...
Citroen Picasso
Renault Vel Satis
Mazda Premacy

As I do low miles around town and a few short motorway journeys Im thinking that I could save some money by avoiding a diesel and a 2 litre engine in this market would probably be a good value buy.

The Citroen seems to quite low quality with the interior showing signs of ageing on even lower mileage cars. On the plus point I have seen a high spec model with leather and auto box and it is a nice cruiser.

The Renault is more of a mini BMW 5GT than an MPV but fits the bill in terms of interior room and is again a nice place to sit.

I think that the Mazda is more of a safe sensible choice, and as far as cars like this go they do look good with their body kit and one would expect the usual japanese quality.

For those who have not yet fell asleep, does anyone know anything about these cars and can help tell me what to look for or avoid? cheers.
 
Renault Vel Satis.

It'll fall to bits and cost a fortune but then so will a Picasso. The Picasso looks like a totally crap given up on life wagon and has a range of completely crap engines.

The Vel Satis was a flawed attempt at a luxury car so is full of luxury toys and is fitted with a proper 3.5 V6 engine.

It will obviously fall to bits, but it'll be really interesting until it does.
 
Funny how one set or requirements throws up three vehicles which would never bear comparison under any other circumstances. I agree in the main with Fox except that the diesel engines in the Picasso are at least very robust although they drive like a dog.
 
VFM Addict said:
Funny how one set or requirements throws up three vehicles which would never bear comparison under any other circumstances. I agree in the main with Fox except that the diesel engines in the Picasso are at least very robust although they drive like a dog.
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They do all have 3 full sized rear seats and are not 'too big' like some of the other larger people luggers.
 
[TW]Fox;17785404 said:
Renault Vel Satis.

It'll fall to bits and cost a fortune but then so will a Picasso. The Picasso looks like a totally crap given up on life wagon and has a range of completely crap engines.

The Vel Satis was a flawed attempt at a luxury car so is full of luxury toys and is fitted with a proper 3.5 V6 engine.

It will obviously fall to bits, but it'll be really interesting until it does.
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They also do a diesel Vel Satis.

Anyway the most comfortable car iv ever driven, absolutely superb, didnt break down either once i had them disable the stupid tyre sensor thing.
 
I have owned a 607 which was as reliable as the many Hondas I have owned over the years. It seems that the Vel Satis is not so far apart from the big old Pug?

One one mentions the Mazda, Im thinking I can live without the toys if the payoff means that I wont be on first name terms with the aa patrol man.
 
dilated said:
I have owned a 607 which was as reliable as the many Hondas I have owned over the years. It seems that the Vel Satis is not so far apart from the big old Pug?

One one mentions the Mazda, Im thinking I can live without the toys if the payoff means that I wont be on first name terms with the aa patrol man.
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I had a 3.5 petrol one for a year it was only a year old mind at the time but i never had one problem, except the stupid tyre sensors which in the end i told them to turn off.

Great elevated driving position, but it was the seats, best seats i ever sat in for comfort. Massive room in the back as well and the biggest centre console ever, you could sleep a family of 3 in there :)
 
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Just as an update, I have found a 3.5 Vel Satis for sale locally. Its an 03, done just over 36,000 miles and has been owned after by a freind of a freinds retired relative since new. Its one of these cars that has every receipt for tyres, services etc and is mint. He has been offered £2,600 on a trade in for a hyundai 4x4 so its a real bargain.

Even though Im only doing circa 10k a year in my new job I was still looking at a diesel, but I am convincing myself this is a good buy as its cheap, there is no expensive particle filter, chain engine. Even though it is ugly, it is a lot better than anything for simlar money.

All of the above will help cushion the transition from 1.9 devils fuel to 3.5 petrol. Anyone help convince me or otherwise?
 
The premacy is made from the same platform as the '90s Mazda 323

The xsara picasso is actually more reliable than would have you believe, but is cheap and cheerful and designed to be sold by the bucketload cheaply.

They were still selling it in 2008 in a practically identical form to when it was first released back in 2000 or something.

The Vel Satis is definitely a cut above the rest, and is hideously cheap because its ugly.

If that doesn't bother you, you've got a bargain.
 
The Renault is a marmite car if ever there was one and even though I agree that it is ugly, at the same time it does have a real presence. The noise from the v6 and the fact that it looks good from the drivers seat should keep me happy.

I didnt see one picasso over 5 years old that didnt have sorry looking interiors, a little thing in the scheme of it. The mazda actually looks ok for an mpv but feels very 90s inside.

There is a small part of me saying, no not another big french barge and another saying 1.26+ per litre and v6 will be expensive but overall it is a lot of car for the money.
 
My current state of mind dictates you avoid anything made by MAZDA!

I bought a 2001 MPV 3 years ago. Last year the bottom fell out of the radiator when my better half was on the way back from out of town. She didn't notice and warped the head. One second hand engine later and I've just had a clutch in the auto transmission seize. I'm told it should have been good for another 100,000 km. Now looking at another $3k on top of the 4 I paid last year.

The body kit is also shoddy. Carpark bumps and scrapes have left their mark in the flimsy plastic. Even the finish on the plastic door handles is starting to wear away.

We had a Nissan Tino for a loan when the MPV was getting the engine done last year. Was definitely a comfortable ride, although seat #6 is a temp sitting between the driver and front passenger.
 
Cybergangster said:
My current state of mind dictates you avoid anything made by MAZDA!

I bought a 2001 MPV 3 years ago. Last year the bottom fell out of the radiator when my better half was on the way back from out of town. She didn't notice and warped the head. One second hand engine later and I've just had a clutch in the auto transmission seize. I'm told it should have been good for another 100,000 km. Now looking at another $3k on top of the 4 I paid last year.
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So on the basis of having a radiator fail on a 9 year old car and your wife destroying the engine by failing to notice the symptoms the Mazda is a bad car?

Trade the wife in for a more reliable model...
 
Paul. W said:
C-Max not interest you?
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From testing Mini MPV's I found the C-Max the weakest of the bunch. Not in build but design. I felt Ford threw it together quickly to get their oar in on the market trend.

That is just a personal feeling and not based on anything else. The Focus is a fine car but the C-Max didn't warrant the extra £££'s
 
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