Help can’t decide on family car - indecisivebuyer
Hi all,

This is my first post so please let me know if I’ve posted in the wrong place.
I am urgently in need of some advice about what used family car to buy. I’ve been looking for several months and am going around in circles and haven’t been able to make a decision. It’s driving my family mad and using up all my time and mental space! Would be v grateful for any advice.


I have recently had a 3rd child- all 3 kids need car seats and ideally I’d like them together in second row. Isofix not necessary but want all 3 to fit safely. Am not considering multi Mac car seat which accommodates 3 kids but doesn’t rear face for as long as I’d like.

Currently have a Hyundai ix20- love this car, it’s been so reliable and was fine with two kids but now my eldest has to sit in front seat which I don’t like and boot (whilst excellent for size of car at 440L) is now too small (also have a roof box).

Live in ULEZ area so would prefer petrol car. Can’t have electric as live in terraced house and couldn’t charge it at home.

Drive down France couple of times a year to visit family and camp so need a decent boot space.

Trying to save to buy first home but have to use savings to buy car - would prefer to spend under £15K or as little as I can get away with.

Don’t mind about look or drivability of car! Drive a manual and assumed best to stick with this as less to go wrong? Priorities are safety, reliability and space.

Thought a Berlingo type van based MPV would suit us well but got spooked by the Ecoboost / wet belt engine stuff. Same with Peugeot 5008.
Considering SMAX but don’t know if this has same Ecoboost engine problem?
Looked at a Sharan but reliability seems mixed and I’m worried I’m paying for VW badge which I don’t care about.
Sadly think the Toyota Verso and Kia Carens boot is too small.

Would be v grateful if anyone has any thoughts to share. My family think I’m overthinking/over researching this but it’s the most money I’ve spent on anything and I’m worried about making a costly mistake.

Thank you in advance.
Help can’t decide on family car - Adampr

You don't mention your usage patterns. Could a diesel be suitable?

Otherwise, a Dacia Jogger is the obvious choice but the EuroNCAP people will tell you it's not safe because it doesn't have endless irritating alerts.

Maybe consider an imported Toyota Estima?

Help can’t decide on family car - elekie&a/c doctor
How about a Suzuki Vitara ? . Petrol , manual in either the 1.6 or 1.4 booster jet versions. £15 k or less . Functional no frills motor .
Help can’t decide on family car - indecisivebuyer
Haven’t looked at this, will check it out, thanks
Help can’t decide on family car - Adampr
How about a Suzuki Vitara ? . Petrol , manual in either the 1.6 or 1.4 booster jet versions. £15 k or less . Functional no frills motor .

You'll never get 3 kiddie seats in the back of a Vitara.

Help can’t decide on family car - Andrew-T

You don't mention your usage patterns. Could a diesel be suitable?

ULEZ is mentioned !

Help can’t decide on family car - indecisivebuyer
Hi, thank you for your reply. We do a small amount of city driving day to day eg supermarket, kids clubs but mostly use the car for longer drives- holidays and weekends. We drive down to south of France twice a year. Two concerns re diesel- they are heavily penalized where we live, parking permits etc and worried whilst might be ULEZ compliant now that may change in a few years. Other concern was we may not drive it frequently enough to not clog up filter?

Considered Dacia as is obvious choice for us but spooked by NCAP.
Have looked at imports and very tempted but don’t know a reliable import seller and difficulty finding one with three across in the back- as opposed two captains chair style ones.
Help can’t decide on family car - catsdad

The Dacia’s safety score is largely due to it’s not having the latest electronic bongs that many on here would happily not have as they can be irritating or distracting. I haven’t checked but I guess it’s physical collision scores are OK. The Vitara which has been suggested has a better safety score but it’s quite an old one. If it went through the newer tests it’s like to score rather lower, comparable to the Jogger.

Safety aside your main problem will be space. We have a Vitara and like it a lot but the boot (375 litres) is less than you want. You could add a roof box though. The other space issue is trying to fit three child seats across. The Vitara probably won’t take three. Few cars will, I don’t have a definitive list but you probably need to revisit cars like the Berlingo and Jogger. Or move up a size to larger cars.

Help can’t decide on family car - Adampr

If you're avoiding Puretec, EcoBoost, imports and diesel, I think your best bet might be to look at a Renault Scenic or Grand Scenic.

Help can’t decide on family car - indecisivebuyer
Thank you, seems the combination of safe/reliable/space for 3 kids is hard to come by - think casualty of growth of SUVs. I’ll check out the Renaults, haven’t looked at those. Thanks again for everyone’s input.
Help can’t decide on family car - Steveieb

Friends have the same dilemma with a third child on the way. Three isofix seats on the rear seats .

They chose a Seat Alhambra with the 1.9 PD engine but with the auto box which the backroomers have warned against !

Help can’t decide on family car - indecisivebuyer
Thanks- we were considering this or the Sharan (seem to be more of these around) but a manual version. I think whatever we get is going to be a compromise somewhere which is difficult to make peace with when it’s so much ££!
Help can’t decide on family car - badbusdriver

Re the 1.2 Puretech, forum member and Peugeot 2008 owner John F says 2019 on cars are fine re the wet belt.

Help can’t decide on family car - indecisivebuyer
That’s really interesting, thank you. gives me some hope as the 1.2 pure tech seems to be everywhere!
I’ve been struggling to find a definitive answer on the 1.5 Ecoboost as to whether that is a wet belt or not- if not I thought I should look out for a used Smax as that seems to be a popular choice for people in my position.
Does anyone know if the 1.5 Ecoboost is affected by the wet belt issues?
Help can’t decide on family car - corax
That’s really interesting, thank you. gives me some hope as the 1.2 pure tech seems to be everywhere! I’ve been struggling to find a definitive answer on the 1.5 Ecoboost as to whether that is a wet belt or not- if not I thought I should look out for a used Smax as that seems to be a popular choice for people in my position. Does anyone know if the 1.5 Ecoboost is affected by the wet belt issues?

The 4 cylinder 1.5 is a dry belt engine based on the 1.6 Ecoboost but with a shorter stroke. The early ones suffered from coolant leaks into the combustion chamber due to a design flaw in the block. Ford changed the design on later engines.

The newer 'Dragon' 1.5 Ecoboost is a 3 cylinder engine with a timing chain.

Help can’t decide on family car - indecisivebuyer
Thank you this is v helpful. I’ll look out for the newer version
Help can’t decide on family car - Adampr
Thanks- we were considering this or the Sharan (seem to be more of these around) but a manual version. I think whatever we get is going to be a compromise somewhere which is difficult to make peace with when it’s so much ££!

As I always tell myself if I feel like buying yet another car; it doesn't cost you the full value of the car, I py the depreciation.

Help can’t decide on family car - indecisivebuyer
Very true
Help can’t decide on family car - Ian_SW

The Dacia’s safety score is largely due to it’s not having the latest electronic bongs that many on here would happily not have as they can be irritating or distracting. I haven’t checked but I guess it’s physical collision scores are OK. The Vitara which has been suggested has a better safety score but it’s quite an old one. If it went through the newer tests it’s like to score rather lower, comparable to the Jogger.

Safety aside your main problem will be space. We have a Vitara and like it a lot but the boot (375 litres) is less than you want. You could add a roof box though. The other space issue is trying to fit three child seats across. The Vitara probably won’t take three. Few cars will, I don’t have a definitive list but you probably need to revisit cars like the Berlingo and Jogger. Or move up a size to larger cars.

It's also worth noting that the Euro NCAP criteria and testing method has changed over time, so unless you're comparing two new cars it won't necessarily be comparing like with like. The Dacia Jogger may only have a 1 star rating against the current criteria, but if the alternative is something like an older VW Sharon (which got a 4 star rating back in 2019) they may not actually be as different as the figures suggest.

There are examples of very long lived car models, the Fiat Punto was one, where the car got a 5 star rating when the model was new, but was retested later in its life to the new standards and got a zero star rating.

Help can’t decide on family car - galileo

My personal preference is a car without lane guidance/stop start/ automatic emergency braking etc and all the bongs and warning lights associated with these 'safety' features.

My first three cars were a 1936 Austin 10 (cable and rod operated drum brakes), a 1950 Austin Devon, (front brakes hydraulic, rears cable), then a 1950 MG, hydraulic drums all round.

Narrow cross-ply tyres, of course, so stopping power and handling far less than any modern vehicle . None of these had heaters, seat belts for cars hadn't been invented, no airbags, no antilock brakes, if you had an accident in any it was likely to be painful so a good incentive to drive carefully, anticipate hazards and drive according to road conditions (snow every winter in the 1960s)

Many will probably say I should accept the nanny state features and be grateful.

Oh, and what genius decided new cars headlights should default to full beam when switched on, aren't they dazzling enough already?

Help can’t decide on family car - indecisivebuyer
Yes I saw the Sharan had gone from 5 stars to 4 stars and worryingly the rear door detached completely… so take your point re difficulty comparing cars tested a while ago with newer models
Help can’t decide on family car - SLO76
Try a Honda CRV 2.0 petrol 2wd for size. These are vast inside and they’ve well made and mechanically bombproof. Not brilliant on fuel, but the 2wd manuals can do 35mpg plus with care. No turbo, no DPF, no complex gearbox and no timing belt to worry about. Service it every year or 10,000 miles and it’ll run and run. I spotted a few newer model 1.5 turbos for under £15k, but there’s a bit of a question mark over that engines reliability so I’d avoid it. The older car has a brilliant reputation for longevity.
Help can’t decide on family car - indecisivebuyer
Thank you, I will try and find out if they can accommodate 3 car seats across the back, if so sounds like it would suit us well