Petrol or diesel seven seater?

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Petrol or diesel seven seater?

I've recently retired and I have a 57 reg Ford C-max 1.6 TDCI 110 Zetec with just shy of 50k on the clock.

This weekend mentioned a cost of £1600 for a new particulate filter. Should I sell now or keep the car until it dies? What would you recommend as a replacement? I do about 12,000 a year now, mixture of shopping and long journeys. Wouldn't mind 7 seats, definitely need some load room. Probably not smaller than Focus size, but economy and all round cost of ownership is important.

Asked on 7 November 2011 by Rickshaw

Answered by Honest John

I can only go by what comes in from readers. DPF, DMF, EGR and turbo problems seem to plague diesels once they are out of warranty and repairs cost more than the saving in fuel over a petrol. There are some MPVs with decent chain cam small turbo petrol engines: Meriva, Scenic, Touran.

Tags: buying dpf selling dual mass flywheel diesels new cars egr valves

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Related models

Ford C-MAX (2003 - 2010)

Best entry and egress of any car anywhere. Excellent front seat comfort.

Renault Scenic (2009 - 2016)

Comfortable for seven. Great chain-cam 1.4 TCe 130 engine. Brilliant new chain-cam 1.6 dCi 130 diesel engine from mid 2011.

Vauxhall Meriva (2010 - 2017)

Practical and easy to get in and out of. Facelifted 2014 models get impressive new 1.6-litre CDTi engine.

Volkswagen Touran (2010 - 2015)

Sharper styling and revamped interior. Range of frugal engines including turbocharged chain cam 1.2 TSI. Seven seats as standard and a versatile interior.