My girlfriend is due to change her car in the next few months. She currently has a Picasso 2.0 HDi SX. She is looking for a 5 door hatch with plenty of room for her and our daughter. It needs to be reliable and reasonably cheap to run - insure, service, fill up, etc. Style is not a major factor (she says). £5,000 is the budget. 2001 and newer would be great. She likes the Picasso's ride height but I reckon she could do with a bigger boot (will have to deal with baby no.2 eventually). Must have AC & CD.
Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.
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If you really think the Picasso's boot is not big enough then what about a Xsara Estate? Good car for decent money.
However, these MPVs like the Picasso are supposed to be the answer for the modern family, surely it should be able to cope with 2 children and their things?
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I bought a Mondeo Ghia X. It was 4 years old, under £3k, and had every available extra including leather, AC, computer and cruise. The boot is huge.
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If the Picasso's boot isn't big enough you're going to be looking at Volvo V70s, C5 and Mondeo estates and the like, not 5 door hatches, or larger people carriers like the Espace and C8, which won't be under 5 years and £5k.
A very high mileage V70 or a more normal C5 or Mondeo estate would just about squeeze in the age limit though.
In fact, given the spec and the budget, I can see no earthly reason for her to change car at all.
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As the father of three, so speaking with a little experience, I don't see why you need a bigger car for two children. By the time baby no. 2 arrives, I assume child no. 1 will be in a fixed car seat and will be able to walk a little.
Recommend a double buggy and clearing out the boot every so often for SWMBO - usually a way to find more space!
PLenty of friends of ours have had two or three childen and coped with Skoda Fabias, so a Picasso should be no problem.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Avensis hatch fits your spec. Toyota build quality and re-sale values still good, I believe.
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I wouldn't have thought good resale value was an advantage with this budget, more of a disadvantage. With sub £5k cars the worse the resale value the better - you get a newer, better specified car for your money.
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Thanks all for the feedback.
The issue with the Picasso boot is the ability to fit a small pram in, a decent amount of shopping and have the plastic trolley full of stuff - screenwash, oil, warning triangle and waterproof jackets - all at the same time. There's lots of height in there but lack of depth means stuff tends to spill out when you arrive home and a lack of parking close to the front door means lots of trips back and forth.
Mondeo looks to be the favourite. Boring but cheap,plentiful and ultimately practical.
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For that sort of money you can get a very very nice Mondeo.
I would employ an auction buyer like Joe Dowd and leave it to him.
Boredum is a very unrated commodity.
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A Mondeo has a huge boot - so does a Skoda Octavia.
If you go for a diesel, after a 2.0 HDI in the Picasso, you need the TDCI engine in the Mondeo if you can get it (I can't remember when it came in and so how cheap they can be), and the more powerful diesel engine in the Octavia.
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