Car conundrum

Snap

What's the budget?

Grumpyrocker

When our three kids were younger and still in car seats we got a C4 Grand Picasso. Possibly the least sporty car I've ever driven. But it was also the comfiest, roomiest, and one the kids still talk about fondly.

Having three kids is a nightmare for cars, and buying stuff from supermarkets - assumptions are always family = 4.

crunchman

Grumpyrocker said:

When our three kids were younger and still in car seats we got a C4 Grand Picasso. Possibly the least sporty car I've ever driven. But it was also the comfiest, roomiest, and one the kids still talk about fondly.

Having three kids is a nightmare for cars, and buying stuff from supermarkets - assumptions are always family = 4.

Sounds like you got lucky.  Like I said above, we had a Grande Picasso and had all kinds of problems with it.  My brother also had one and had all kinds of problems.

Edit:  My dad drove Citroens for years, but his last one was awful as well.

I wouldn't touch a modern Citroen with a bargepole.

Haych

Many moons ago when I was still with Mrs Haych Mk1 and the kids were very young we had a Mazda MPV, the predecessor to the Mazda 5.

Incredibly practical car with 7 individual seats, the rear 5 of which could all come out to create a van like space, and twin rear sliding doors - incredible in a car park with toddlers in kiddie seats.

It went quite well and for a large car returned reasonable MPG.  I would have kept it but sold it on when it became apparent that the engine had a pretty major design flaw which Mazda refused to acknowledge.

It also had the turning circle of an ocean liner.

Not sure what the Mazda 5 is like, out of all the small people carriers I think I like it the most.

crunchman

Haych said:

Many moons ago when I was still with Mrs Haych Mk1 and the kids were very young we had a Mazda MPV, the predecessor to the Mazda 5.

Incredibly practical car with 7 individual seats, the rear 5 of which could all come out to create a van like space, and twin rear sliding doors - incredible in a car park with toddlers in kiddie seats.

It went quite well and for a large car returned reasonable MPG.  I would have kept it but sold it on when it became apparent that the engine had a pretty major design flaw which Mazda refused to acknowledge.

It also had the turning circle of an ocean liner.

Not sure what the Mazda 5 is like, out of all the small people carriers I think I like it the most.

I test drove one before we bought our Alhambra.  It's a decent car, but it's really a 6 seater.  The middle "seat" in the middle row of seats is nowhere near a proper seat.  No way you could put a child seat in it, and not wide enough for someone big enough not to need a child seat to use on a long journey.

Dominic

Years ago we had a Chrysler Grand Voyager .......great vehicle.......drove to Marrocco,S Spain and Greece /Balkans quite a number of times fully loaded with kids and friends 
Big lump to park but so it takes 60 seconds longer
really comfortable vehicle tho

Stevepage

Dominic said:

Years ago we had a Chrysler Grand Voyager .......great vehicle.......drove to Marrocco,S Spain and Greece /Balkans quite a number of times fully loaded with kids and friends 
Big lump to park but so it takes 60 seconds longer
really comfortable vehicle tho

My Dad had one in the late 90s and it was a lovely car, very comfortable. But it was one of the most unsafe MPV's you could buy at the time. Toyota Previa's were damn good too

wibble

markslade07 said:

We've got 3 kids, all still in car seats, and although I wanted a Transporter, my wife wasn't keen due to the size of it. We ended up getting a Peugeot 5008 which is wide enough for 3 car seats, has 2 extras in the boot if required, and plenty of space in the boot with those seats down. And although I wasn't convinced to start with, I actually really like it, and when the lease is up, we'll probably look to either buy it, or get another one.

It drives just like a car, even though it's a bit longer, and has all the practicalities of a bigger vehicle.

I'm pretty impressed with the 5008 GT I'm in at the moment - had it for a month so far. Getting low 50's mpg (1.5L diesel 6sp manual). Comfy cruiser. Lots of nice design touches/features. Loads of space. I like the second row seats being individual and being able to slide/recline them individually.

grungebob

BMW 3 series GT. 
loads of room in the back ( as big as a 7 series). Large boot (hatchback) and the x drive 330d is a fun engine. 
Or the A7 perhaps for similar reasons?

markslade07

wibble said:

markslade07 said:

We've got 3 kids, all still in car seats, and although I wanted a Transporter, my wife wasn't keen due to the size of it. We ended up getting a Peugeot 5008 which is wide enough for 3 car seats, has 2 extras in the boot if required, and plenty of space in the boot with those seats down. And although I wasn't convinced to start with, I actually really like it, and when the lease is up, we'll probably look to either buy it, or get another one.

It drives just like a car, even though it's a bit longer, and has all the practicalities of a bigger vehicle.

I'm pretty impressed with the 5008 GT I'm in at the moment - had it for a month so far. Getting low 50's mpg (1.5L diesel 6sp manual). Comfy cruiser. Lots of nice design touches/features. Loads of space. I like the second row seats being individual and being able to slide/recline them individually.

Yep, really like ours. Its the GT too, though went Auto for the first time ever, which I am really impressed with. I genuinely can't fault the car...and I can get all of my gigging gear in the boot with no issues whatsoever!

GoldenEraGuitars

I appreciate the input everyone, so a massive thank you for suggestions and thoughts.

I should have included a few more details but I wasn’t quite thinking. This is all still just a thought based on our holiday. 

We all have those moments in our car journey that writes off a brand fairly immediately and based on that I can honestly say no french company will ever get my money again. It’s also unlikely that Ford or Vauxhall will get a look in either. I hadn’t considered BMW but only because I doubt I’d be able to afford tyres for an X(insert number) and my only experience of driving a Beamer was pretty woeful (3 series which felt like I was steering a submarine). 

My local mechanics do ex fleet car sales which is where I got my Passat and Audi. There’s a bit of a family/trust link there and they’ve always looked after me so I’ll probably get my next car from them too. On the subject of driving a van with a few extra seats.. I’m quite okay with this. While I enjoy the comforts of the Audi it would be nice to head off somewhere knowing my kids all have full seats to themselves, plenty of leg room and plenty of luggage space. I agree that the cost of these vehicles is crazy, I recently saw a Ford S Max with a big standard interior, 150k on the clock sell for £16k or so. Fair enough, it’s a decent looking motor on the outside but it’s a Ford.. so it’s very basic inside. 

The garage i go to recommend a VW Toureg R Type as it apparently has 3 full size seats in the back, they’re also not too bad price wise at around £20k (based on the last ones they got in). My budget would be no more than £20k as I’d have to sell the Audi and clear the finance then use the remaining cash as a deposit on the new vehicle. 

I won’t be buying any old thing that comes along though and the reason I’m leaning towards a Transporter is I know we’ll end up doing more UK driving holidays over the years and we want a long term vehicle to do it in. 

hywelg

You should also consider the Caddy Maxi Life. Much bigger inside, though narrower, than the Tuareg, with masses of space inside. All 5 rear seats are removable and you then have a huge cabin space for all the bands PA, lights and your guitar gear.

Mine, the 150ps model, is sprightly, comfortable cruising at 90. Have had 62 mpg from it on a long leisurely run back from Cornwall.

I chose it over a T6 because

• It was way cheaper, T5/6's are heavily overpriced for what they are, if you need this sort of size consider the Merc Vito
• You need a ladder to put a ladder (or anything else) on a T6s' roof rack.
• Impossible to find one with two sliding rear passenger doors. They do exist, but none of the search engines select by this property, so you spend absolutely ages trawling through adverts. Unless of course you buy new (be prepared to take out a new mortgage).
• Far more of the Caddys' have high end spec for equipment than do the T6's which tend to be more basic. You'll find sat nav very common (not essntial with G maps), parking sensors (essential IMO), tinted windows, DSG g'box are common.
• Impossible to find a Euro 6 for sensible money one when I was looking.

Mine has behaved impeccably, is very capable, very versatile and comfortable to drive. Doesn't drive like a van, much more like a car. I drove over to Greece with a mate last September for a month, with masses of windsurfing gear, inside & on the roof, plus two bikes, 15 gallons of homebrew in kegs, etc. etc, and still had room to pick his wife up from the airport at Preveza on the way down.

I would look to supplement it with a driveaway awning/tent for UK holidays and I'd definitely go for a blow up one, they are so much easier to put up and take down.

Here's a good example

Jimbro66

GoldenEraGuitars said:

The garage i go to recommend a VW Toureg R Type as it apparently has 3 full size seats in the back, they’re also not too bad price wise at around £20k (based on the last ones they got in). My budget would be no more than £20k as I’d have to sell the Audi and clear the finance then use the remaining cash as a deposit on the new vehicle. 

Do you really mean a Toureg R? That’s a £72k high-powered car with running costs to match! If you do, £50k depreciation in three years is astounding.

The Toureg is certainly a very good family car and a true five-seater (The VW equivalent of my Ateca).

GoldenEraGuitars

Jimbro66 said:

GoldenEraGuitars said:

The garage i go to recommend a VW Toureg R Type as it apparently has 3 full size seats in the back, they’re also not too bad price wise at around £20k (based on the last ones they got in). My budget would be no more than £20k as I’d have to sell the Audi and clear the finance then use the remaining cash as a deposit on the new vehicle. 

Do you really mean a Toureg R? That’s a £72k high-powered car with running costs to match! If you do, £50k depreciation in three years is astounding.

The Toureg is certainly a very good family car and a true five-seater (The VW equivalent of my Ateca).

Yes, my local mechanics was selling a few (non R versions) for about £20k. Which is a few grand more than I for the Audi.

grungebob

For that money I still say the 3 series GT is a good shout. Tyres are not an issue, just replace the run flats with “normal” tyres. 

You’ll get decent miles and a quick turn of speed when you need it plus the boots bloody big. 

strtdv

I think he means the previous generation Touareg in R Line trim.



The Touareg isn't the VW version of the Ateca, the  Touareg uses the larger PL71/72 platform (the new one is the MLB platform) which it shares with the Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7 and Bentley Bentayga.

The Ateca is an MQB platform car which it shares with the VW T-roc and Skoda Karoq

The Touareg is a significantly bigger car and is designed from the ground up as a 4wd platform. 


The BMW "GT" series cars are good value provided you buy used and run them into the ground. They're substantially less desirable than the standard 3 series or 5 series. They also have different bodywork so replacement panels will be hard to come by.
They're also (in my opinion of course) monumentally ugly.

Emp_Fab

I haven't read the question but the answer is "A Honda Civic (or a horse)".

Jimbro66

strtdv said:

I think he means the previous generation Touareg in R Line trim.



The Touareg isn't the VW version of the Ateca, the  Touareg uses the larger PL71/72 platform (the new one is the MLB platform) which it shares with the Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7 and Bentley Bentayga.

The Ateca is an MQB platform car which it shares with the VW T-roc and Skoda Karoq

The Touareg is a significantly bigger car and is designed from the ground up as a 4wd platform. 

You are right about the Touareg not being the same size as the Ateca. I posted while my mind was elsewhere. I believe the SEAT Tarraco  might be similar to the Touareg? The Ateca is similar to the Karoq and the Tiguan, not the T-Roc. Whatever, a 3-4 year old Touareg sounds like a good choice for the OP.

strtdv

The Ateca has the same platform as the Karoq and the T-roc (MQB A1), but not the Tiguan, Kodiaq and Tarraco which use the larger MQB A2.

The Tiguan is an unusual one because it's smaller than the Kodiaq and Tarraco but uses the same platform, which weirdly the bigger Tiguan Allspace uses as well.

The thing that makes the biggest difference to the Touareg platform over the Kodiaq/Tarraco platform (apart from being a bit wider) is that the engine orientation is longitudinal in the Touareg rather than transverse, which lends itself to having a proper 4WD system with locking differentials rather than a front biased Haldex system which is fitted to the cars with transverse engines.

Basically if you just want a nice spacious car with a high driving position you're better off saving some money and going for a Tiguan or similar, but if you're doing serious off-roading or need the towing power of a 6 cylinder engine then it's worth looking at a Touareg.

crunchman

Emp_Fab said:

I haven't read the question but the answer is "A Honda Civic (or a horse)".

Can you get a horse in lime green?