Ask Honest John

Honest John Ask Honest John » I want an estate car for a growing family and mostly short trips. Should I go hybrid or petrol?
What do you think of Elon Musk? Have your say | No thanks

I want an estate car for a growing family and mostly short trips. Should I go hybrid or petrol?

I have a Skoda Fabia 1.0-litre 110PS - which is great for my school run and occasional longer trips, but due to growing kids and a dog, I need a bigger car. I'm not a fan of SUVs so fancy an estate car. I have a budget of £20,000 and quite fancy a Toyota Corolla Estate but is the 1.8 hybrid worth the extra money over the 1.2 petrol? I cover about 6000 miles a year - which is mainly short trips of 10 miles with the occasional trip to London (from Manchester). Are there any other estates you would recommend. I don't want a VW Group car with a 1.5-litre petrol engine due to all the issues it seems to have.

Asked on 28 September 2020 by James H

Answered by Andrew Brady
The Toyota Corolla Touring Sports is an excellent estate car. We'd recommend the 1.8 hybrid - the 1.2 lacks guts and it sounds like a hybrid would suit your requirements well. The hybrid will hold its value better, too. Also, consider the Kia ProCeed (or Ceed Sportswagon) or a Ford Focus estate.

If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?

Choosing a child seat can be a quite baffling experience – there are so many sizes, types, brands and price points available that you might not know where to start.

How to choose the right child seat
Similar questions
I'm looking to buy a secondhand family car. I will do short commutes to work (7miles), schools trips and occasional long journeys. It will need to be a load-lugger as we have a large dog, two kids and...
I want to buy an Audi Q5 petrol. We live in a rural area an do under 8000 miles a year. What would the advantage be to buy a hybrid?
I bought a 1.5 TSI VW Passat Estate GT in September and I'm very happy with the buy. I moved from a 2.0 TDI to the mid-sized petrol engine due to the overall MPG and power. This move was mainly down to...
Related models
Practical cabin with an impressively spacious boot, DAB radio and Bluetooth as standard, comfortable and easy to drive.
Comfortable and easy to drive. Feels well built. Impressive bootspace of 625 litres. Excellent 1.5 turbo petrol engine. Handles tidily.
Silky smooth ride quality, high level of standard equipment, practical and comfortable cabin, hybrid versions are a genuine alternative to diesel.
Comfort, practicality and lavish standard kit in a stylish package.
Family-friendly space and practicality. Great to drive. Impressive tech. Strong value for money.