What family car up to £7.5k?

[feb 47]

Hi,
With a forthcoming additional member joining the family soon I am looking to replace the 500 with a family car.
The requirements are: 5-door with enough space for a family of 4, reliability, economy, ideally not too boring to drive, up to £7.5k, 65k miles or so and not "too old".
The candidates I have in mind are these diesels: Octavia (although it looks like an "old man's car"), Leon (2014 onwards), 308 (2014 onwards) and potentially a Focus  (perhaps estate, not sure if the hatch space is adequate?). The 308 seems very good VFM.
Are there any specific issues I should be aware of in the above cars and what else would you guys recommend?
Thanks a lot!

Edited November 20, 2019 by feb

[welshpug 1,621]

VW Touran I'd add to the list, same platform as the other VW group vehicles mentioned, but more seats and taller.

 

From 14 on I think the only possible issues are the DPF and emissions cheating associated stuff, they'll be common rail engines, don't discount the DSG, they are pretty good without the heavier fuel consumption of the full Torque converter auto boxes, just make sure its had a proper service/oil change.

 

Octavia VRS are very good, fairly sought after though so command a premium, certainly not an old man car in the Green!

 

 

they'll all look like old man cars in a boring VAG grey

[Alan_M 66 1 Cars]

A couple of '10 plate 320d Tourings are coming up on AutoTrader for your budget, not loads though and you may have to travel. You've had experience of the power unit before with your old 120d. 

[Wallby 39]

I've just bought a 2014 C7 A6 Avant, and for what I want it for, a large, quiet, economical family car it is absolutly brilliant. Not sure if a C7 will come within budget, but the C6 A6 is also very good.

 

Space wise, go for something as big as possible. My wife has a Volvo V40 hatch, and while ok for 3 of us, we would definately struggle with 4 in there. Its supprising how much space prams, buggys, car seats etc take up!

[Tom Fenton 1,524]

The amount of space you need is ridiculous. 2 adults and a nearly 2 year old and we can fill our LWB Shogun. I’d be looking at mondeo/Passat class cars not focus/golf.

[SootySport 23]

I would stay away from diesels due to expensive bills when they go wrong and they do the same mpg as petrols on short journeys. You would need to do taxi mileage to make it worthwhile.

Can't see the RFL staying low on any derv for much longer and of course increasing bans in more LEZ towns and cities.

Octy VRS gets my vote.

[Gaz205 50]

We have a hyundai ix35 4wd which swallows enough for 2 adults and 2 kids. 

Plenty of luxury with the 'premium' spec. 

Won't set your pants on fire but has been a dream to own, perfect in snow, good on fuel and with the eco remap made it quite pokey too.

Your budget would find a nice low miler I think.

[steve@cornwall 100]

Get down to your fiat dealer and look at the Tipo. Ive got the 1.4 hatch in easy+ spec and its quite enormous. The estate is cavernous. Likely get a better trade in too. We changed from a 500 to be abke to carry 2 spaniels, but the Mrs got nervous on rhe country lanrs with a new car, so we changed the 205 for a Berlingo, which is also a bloody marvellous vehicle with all the roim you could ask for. Sliding rear doors would also be good for using a baby seat! Our 1.6 16v petrol is also surprisingly lively, with110 bhp

[B1ack_Mi16 67]

Peugeot 5008 (old one) is nice and quite cheap

[DamirGTI 323]

Perhaps : Mazda 6 Mk2 , 2.0D or better 2.2D ("MZR-CD" engines , avoid newer "SkyActiv-D") .. 2.2D is pretty nippy , an mate of mine has one , no problems just regular maintenance fill up with fuel and off you go .

 

Newer PSA and VAG diesels tend to "crap themselves" often , at least over here ... so personally i'd be looking at something Japanese instead for reliable family transport , Toyota , Honda , Mazda or even Lexus (if it's in the price range) just don't go Nissan ! new Nissan's are terrible , poor build quality and really expensive spare parts . 

 

D

Edited November 23, 2019 by DamirGTI

[DamirGTI 323]

On 11/21/2019 at 1:00 AM, SootySport said:

I would stay away from diesels due to expensive bills when they go wrong and they do the same mpg as petrols on short journeys. You would need to do taxi mileage to make it worthwhile.

 

Is what i would do also .. i'd pick a petrol car . Diesels will always be 3 times more expensive when something breaks , which does more often when using them for short trips , stop and go town etc. , they carbon up like mad .. the more mileage and open road/motorway on modern diesels the better .

 

D

[B1ack_Mi16 67]

I only drive from and to work in my diesels, both 1.6 HDi and 2.0 HDi. They are 403000km and 385000km respectively without any major surgery to any of the engines.

Are you using bad quality diesel over there? 

[DamirGTI 323]

Yes ! pretty much bad quality diesel over here .. petrol also .

 

 

D

 

 

[SootySport 23]

1 hour ago, B1ack_Mi16 said:

I only drive from and to work in my diesels, both 1.6 HDi and 2.0 HDi. They are 403000km and 385000km respectively without any major surgery to any of the engines.

Are you using bad quality diesel over there? 

If you have non dpf engines, yes they are more reliable.

[B1ack_Mi16 67]

10 hours ago, SootySport said:

If you have non dpf engines, yes they are more reliable.

 

Both DPF engines of course.

[Tom Fenton 1,524]

We have 2 diesel cars, aside from one issue when a broken boost hose caused the dpf to soot up, I have had no issues. Serviced on time and correctly, neither do massive miles. What I am saying I suppose is that I don't necessarily agree with the horror stories of how unreliable modern diesels are.

[wicked 103 3 Cars]

Same story here. I have 2 hdi's as well (1.6 110bhp and 140bhp 2.0, both dpf) and think there are the better choice over the thp engines, if maintained and serviced properly, meaning regular oil changes, tightening injectors regularly, replacing worn turbo's before they break. And drive long enough distances to let the dpf regenerate in time. Some people think they can still treat the diesel like the old XU9 ones and expect them to last forever... 

[MrStock 5]

Dont buy a diesel as daily driver, especialy not a VAG. i worked 7 years at a car part store. You will pay much more for broken parts like AFM, turbos, diesel injectors,.... than you safe money on less fuel. And you dont have that ugly sound and smell.

 

Just my opinion, driving a Suzuki petrol car since 10 years without any broken part, and a BMW 523i which never had a engine problem, but needed some attention on other things.

[welshpug 1,621]

I love my vag diesel, its very very reliable, the 1.9 PD is one of the best engines ever,

[DamirGTI 323]

Dunno how much is LPG in UK , but over here it's 50% cheaper than petrol and diesel ... in such case i'd always pick a petrol car (family saloon or estate with the biggest available engine for the model) and do the LPG conversion . 

 

D

[welshpug 1,621]

its about the same saving on the fuel itself however its not commonly found at all and very few people run lpg vehicles at all, you tend to find it on old range rovers and big American rigs, like my landlord's 6.6t Chevrolet motorhome that has a 6.0 V8, 18mpg

 

you also have to keep it a few years and do enough miles for it to even recoup the original outlay, and have a decent number of filling stations near you, in my area its 20 miles to the closest lpg pump!

[SootySport 23]

On 11/25/2019 at 6:48 PM, welshpug said:

I love my vag diesel, its very very reliable, the 1.9 PD is one of the best engines ever,

Had a PD130 Golf and then a Fabia with the same engine years ago, best dervs  ever.  Both were tuned to 220bhp.  Then bought a Toyota Auris T180 with DPF, 25 mpg was most disappointing so sold it on 5 months later.

 Don’t forget everyone,  diesel is 6p more a litre so needs to be factored in your comparisons.