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Buying a smallish estate with style and performance

My wife fancies a MINI Countryman but I think it might be a bit small to cope with our dog and ever growing grandchildren with luggage etc. I think a Honda Civic Tourer would be more practical, but I am told it does not have "style." What would you advise? We of course would consider other cars but they should be automatic and petrol.

Asked on 2 June 2015 by John Thatcher

Answered by Honest John
Civic and Civic Tourers look the way they do for aerodynamic efficiency which brings significant fuel savings: about 3-5 mpg from petrol models and about 5 - 10 mpg from diesels. But if she wants a small estate, a new model Skoda Fabia 1.2 TSI 90 Estate is hard to beat. Or for style, a KIA Cee'd SW looks really good.

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