Your two suggestions are pretty good.

You get a lot of space and a lot of kit with a Kia Optima.

If you don't mind going a bit smaller, the Toyota Corolla and Suzuki Swace are both reliable and efficient.

I'd ruled out an Optima as it seems to be lacking a bit of power, however I've just looked at the top spec ones, and the amount of kit you get for the money is really hard to look past.

I've test driven the Corolla, and whilst I liked it, they're maybe slightly over budget. I also found the steering really light which I couldn't tell if I was a fan of or not.

Edited by veloceman on 21/04/2024 at 03:25

Hey all, I'm hoping the fine folks here can help me with a dilemna I've been having finding a new car. I currently drive a Giulietta, but with a baby on this way, it's now a bit on the small side.

Ideally I'm looking for an automatic (bad knees), that has plenty of space and can handle reasonable long journeys a couple times a month - currently I do about 11k miles a year, which is a mix of commuting on a motorway a couple times a week, and visiting family a few hours away. We also semi-regularly drive to places in the UK and France, and so something that can handle carting around child paraphernalia and luggage would be ideal.

Realistically I don't want to spend more than 15k, especially with the baby guaranteed to up costs.

I've looked at a few cars and the winning options so far are the Skoda Superb and Mazda 6 estate, although finding the latter in a petrol-automatic spec in budget is like a needle in a haystack. I'm hoping for some alternative options that maybe I haven't considered, I'm very open to new suggestions if they sound like a good idea!

Your situation sounds very similar to that of another regular forum stalwart. You might find this discussion relevant:

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/197289/the-time-ha...w

Thanks for linking this, what a nightmare. They settled on a C200 I see, which is a compelling option. Are the auto boxes on these good? The thing putting me off the Superb is the DSG.

Yeah I saw the thread someone kindly linked earlier, and I feel your pain. I've looked at many different options so far and there's always something slightly amiss. The Mazda 6 is lovely, but as I said they're just so few and far between.

I have started considering the Merc, how are you finding it? There's so many different specs for them it's a bit of a minefield.

The VAG DSGs worry me a little, which is the main thing putting me off the Superb and Seat Leon ST.