I'm looking for some suggestions on what to buy next year - around September/October time.
The budget will be around £7500. Has to be an auto as that is all I can drive,must have decent air con and needs to be an MPV. Although there is only two adults and 1 child we really struggled with our luggage fitting in the boot of the Scenic this year, we will be joined by more children next year!
I am favouring the Toyota Previa at the moment - very keen on the sliding rear doors and have heard great things about reliability and ability to do many miles.
Would love some suggestions as I like to really research things before I buy.
TIA
Claire
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If it is Previa size you need, then the Citroen Synergie, Peugeot 806, Fiat Ulysse are similar sized but ultimately perhaps not going to give you the reliability. Chrysler Grand Voyager - different! Or the Galaxy/Sharan/Alhambra - lots of choice and a decent range of engine sizes to suit.
Our Picasso is a bit too small for our holiday jaunts but a 450 litre roof box (size of an avearge car boot I'm reliably informed) solves that problem quite nicely and inexpensively.
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Toyota Previa isn't a bad choice, though make sure you pick the right one & not an import. All Previa's destined for the UK are all petrol & have the full backing of Toyota dealers with warranties & suchlike. If it's a diesel Previa it's an import and not looked favourably upon by the dealers as it may still have Japanese writing on some of the switchgear and parts hard to get. You could also consider a Ford C-max or a Chrysler Voyager, or at the other end of the scale how's about a Discovery sized 4X4. No doubt others will be along shortly to give you more hints & tips.
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Friends of ours have a Toyota Previa and are very pleased with it.
Theirs is an N reg 1996, and has only one sliding door on the LHS. I know the new ones have sliding doors on both sides.
Sister until recently had a Peugeot 806. It had done around 60k when she started paying huge money to keep it going. The clutch disintegratig at £600 odd was IIRC the last straw. Luckliy this coincided with changing needs so they downsised to a smaller Scenic.
A client of mine has a Chrisler Voyager. Again, pleased with it AFAIK.
Others are:
VW Sharan - but I would be wary of VW for their poor dealership performance, as is so often discussed here. Best look at the Seat alternative, get good after sales service and save money.
Ford Galaxy
Vauxhall Zifara - though probably not quite big enough for you.
That's not exhaustive.
H
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Hyundai Trajet - simple engineering, been around since about W reg so should find one within budget and they do petrol and diesel with auto in each.
5 year warranty on the newer ones, but no different to the older ones and we know loads of people who have them. No reports of problems at all.
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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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For 7,500 your previas, voyagers, galaxies, are going to be old dogs.
you might get a resonable alahambra or zafira for that money
Struggled to get 1 child and luggage in a scenic? what do you lug around with you? I have done two kids to France for two weeks in one of those!
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If it must be an MPV and reliable, then other Japanese options include the Honda Shuttle and the Nissan Serena (though these are gutless, especially the 2.0 and 2.3 diesel)
The Honda Shuttle has a column shift for the auto box and they all have aircon as syandard.
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Ah the Nissan Serena - the car that sucks the life out of you as you drive it.
Fiestyblue, do you like your Scenic? Why not get an Espace? You should get a 3-4 year old model for your money.
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Life is complex; it has real and imaginary parts.
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Why does it have to be a MPV? It sounds to me that any decent estate would fit the bill perfectly and in the process massively increase your choice.
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I've seen a couple of 2002 Previas around for about £6500-7500.
Yes I like my scenic but had ruled out the espace due to no sliding doors - thought with twin babies to get in and out of car seats, sliding doors were a good option.
Must be an MPV as my knees and back can't take getting in and out of estates and I can't get the 3 car seats that I will need across the seat row. So need a 7 seater where I can get the two babies in the 2nd row and my son is the 3rd and remove the 7th seat.
I've got loads to think about now!
Claire
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Well the Grand Voyager is about as big as they get, although the fuel consumption is terrifying and the build quality is slapdash at best.
I reckons yer Previa is your best match for what you need, but you'll do well to find a good recent one for 7.5k
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Life is complex; it has real and imaginary parts.
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You must surely consider the Kia Sedona as the best value used buy, big auto diesel, big on space, sliding door, reliability....
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Kia Sedona has a strange seating arrangement and can only seat six with all the seats in place leaving no room for luggage. A standard MPV can seat six and have one seat removed for luggage (as we do in our Trajet).
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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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