Gosh thank you. I hadn't considered it a small car, it seems so big compared to my Puma.
Any other alternatives to recommend? Any views on the Honda?
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RIPpuma:
What's the budget?
Edited by dnc1781 on 18/02/2009 at 14:17
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No real budget, within reason, for the right car and I'm in the lucky position of being able to pay cash. That said, I am not interested in paying for 'street cred' but would pay more for something that made a better economy/green cred choice and was reliable. I'd be happier staying under 15k but would go to around double that if it were jusitfyable in the longer term.
I never buy new, Puma was 11 months old for example.
ETA: we just aren't that into cars, but love OUR car. It would be a hell of a car that could convince us to part with more. Puma was, until this year, very reliable and cheap and cheerful, whereas father's Audi from new almost lives at the mechanics!
Edited by RIPpuma on 18/02/2009 at 14:28
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not interested in paying for 'street cred'
Citroen Berlingo, Fiat Doblo, Peugeot Partner and Renault Kangoo:
- all similar in concept;
- 2 hinged doors, 2 sliding doors plus tailgate;
- at least 2,600 litres of bootspace;
- under £7k / 1 year old / under 5k miles.
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I have a Honda CR-V 2007 diesel and would recommend you to have a test drive.
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I have a Honda CR-V 2007 diesel and would recommend you to have a test drive.
May I ask why the Cr-v rather than the other one (Fr-v)? Thanks
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May I ask why the Cr-v rather than the other one (Fr-v)? Thanks
Four wheel drive as you mentioned you live in a rural area. Plus you can slide the rear seats forwad to make extra room in the boot for your dogs, not sure if you can do this in the FR-V. You should have a test drive in both though to see which you prefer.
Edited by andyfr on 18/02/2009 at 14:36
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Ah yes,I do. TBH I don't think I need 4 wd (although would be worth considering if had high towing capabilty, we are also buying a horse lorry in the next year or so) but I worry the fuel for normal use would work out more expensive than the difference of two sets of insurance/tax. For nomal rural use I think 4 wd necessity, IMHO, is slightly overstated. But I'm a car ignoramus, so its highly likely I'm wrong ;)
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Well we have a Y reg Focus 2.0 petrol estate which I think is great - plenty of room for the dog in the boot (only a cav king charles though) but not too big, good to drive, and not too expensive to run (doesn't do a lot of miles so fuel costs not really an issue). If we could afford a new(-ish) replacement I would certainly be looking at a Focus mk2 estate.
I can only find a summary of the FRV in What Car - 3/5 stars, "the FRV is attractively priced and good to drive, but its 2 rows of 3 seats are not ideal for adults".
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Thank you. Ours are REALLY big dogs. A cavalier is a bout the size of their heads!
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RIPpuma, I would say that you absolutely need to get an estate of some kind, rather than a Qashqai, given the size of your dogs. So, IMHO, it would come down to choosing the most fuel efficient estate with the best reputation for reliability.
Given that, I'd suggest a Honda Accord estate, and would probably favour a diesel engined one. In your circumstances I think it will be far more practical than an FRV or CRV. the FRV is designed as a school run people carrier primarily, and the boot will not really be up to carrying your dogs. The CRV is a bit of a "lifestyle" vehicle, and as you have said 4X4 really isn't necessary for the vast majority of us unless we literally live in a field without any kind of hard access. The longevity of the Accord should also answer your need to keep the car long term.
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Thank you. I really appreciate your reasoning, and I think you are right as regards the size of the car I need.
Thank you very much for your reply :)
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I live and work rurally travelling around farms and currently have a MK1 Skoda Octavia estate tdi. Now the mk1 I find has poor ground clearance but this has been addressed with the new(4yr old?) mk2 model. I will most likely replace mine with another Octavia estate Tdi either 2 or 4wd i haven't made my mind up yet. The 4wd diesel gets around 47mpg and a wee bit more ground clearance. The 2wd mid 50 mpg. Insurance gp is about 6 to 8. Not too high for the dogs either.
I think it would more than meet your needs if you have no aversion to the Skoda badge( I fail to see why people still scoff at Skodas). You should get a pretty new car around 10 to £12k. The current version is about to be facelifted so should be some good deals on pre facelift ones. www.briskoda.net will provide loads of info.
Lifespan of car should be pretty good mine has just turned 10 yr old and 155000 miles and although well maintained has had a hard working life.
Happy hunting.
Edited by loskie on 18/02/2009 at 15:09
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I think it would more than meet your needs if you have no aversion to the Skoda badge( I fail to see why people still scoff at Skodas).
You will find that mostly they dont these days.
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My neighbour for one does so he bought a Seat Altea FR Tdi instead of VRS Estate just on the basis of not liking a Skoda badge. The nearest Seat dealer is 60 miles Skoda 20 miles. Personally i did not see his point. plus he bought his from Arnold Clark- say no more.
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Cd't care less about the badge! (mud will soon cover it anyway)
OK, so test drives should be arranged for:
Skoda Octavia Estate mk2
and Honda Accord
Only thing that concerns me about normal rather than higher estate type cars (like the mum-mobile fwds) is being low to the ground...good for the dogs sure, but pretty bad for the undercarriage of the car in pot holes. :(
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Given the emphasis on the pot holes there, then perhaps the Octavia estate is the better choice. There is a 4wd version available which, whilst not being as high as an SUV-type vehicle, would probably stand up better to your long term local use than an Accord.
4wd Octavia with the 1.9 diesel engine would be a great choice, I think. But with those you do have to make sure the car gets the correct specific oil, as approved by VAG, at service time.
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I thought the Octavia was based on the Golf floorplan - is it in the same league size-wise as an Accord?
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The Accord Tourer is a great car, and at 83k miles mine is not feeling all that different to when it was new. I'd say that, for rural use, you should def get 16" alloys, not the far nicer looking 17", as they should handle poor road surfaces far better.
Saying that, the norm is for the diesel to not do more than about 41 mpg. That's not universal, there are some who are lucky enough to struggle to get less than 50 mpg, but they appear to be in a minority. Honda don't know why. For lower mileages look seriously at the 2.0 petrol. Saying that, the diesel is really lovely to drive and live with - bags of useable power, and effortless overtaking.
The boot is both huge and a very useful shape. But for two massive dogs I wonder if it would be high enough (and this is coming from someone that *loathes* SUVs) - I can sit on the boot floor and not quite be able to sit up completely, so it isn't massively high. It has no loading lip though, and the seats fold flat in a single movement.
My folks have an Octavia estate in 2 litred diesel DSG form. It's not as refined, but Skoda make better use of the space they had, so it's not as much smaller than the Accord as you might expect. Seems really well screwed together as well - I'd seriously consider it if it's big enough for you. You'll certainly get closer to the claimed mpg in an average VW group diesel than the average Honda, although the Honda is MUCH more refined.
HTH. G
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Three dogs ;), and yes, they are tall, about as tall as a shetland pony, but much narrower. I think your boot sounds not tall enough (unless you are very tall!) but I guess I'll have a look.
So, from your comparison the Skoda should be my first port of call? Refinement is less important than economy I guess. As I say, I had hoped a super green new fuel car would have come on the market buy the time I bought and I'm sad that there doesn't seem to be that option. hat's the betting I buy a car then the green one comes on the market ;)
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As tall as a Shetland Pony??! Not a chance, it's a huge boot, but you need more height. I'd guess the Octavia would be no good either. Sounds like you actually have a reason to consider a soft roader, just for interior space. The diesel CRV is supposed to be good...
Alternatively, something like a Skoda Roomster perhaps? I had a 307 SW as a hire car, and it was surprisingly roomy.
One other left-field thought. A friend of mine is a fanatical white water kayaker, and also does lots of mountain sports with lots of gear involved. He bought a new Merc Vito van - still has a CD player and aircon, he gets mid-high 30s fuel consumption, all his gear goes in the back with room to spare, and if they are heading somewhere late on a Fri night, he has a mattress that hinges down from one side where he and his gf can sleep when they get there. Might suit you quite well???
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Roomster looks the same kinda car as the Susuki Wagon R....hate it. Thing is, I hate cars but I like driving IYSWIM. I don't care about badge, or too much about 'prestige/comfort' but I don't like driving something that feels like a washing machine ;) that very tall type of car thats still low to the ground is not very 'stable' feeling to me.
A small van might be an option, not something I'd rule out.
FWIW the dogs DO fit in normal cars. I can get one at a time in the back seat of the poor puma and people who show them used to have Volvos and fit in two or three dogs, but now tend to have the more fashionable 4x4s or suvs, or even small horse oxes...totally over the top. ;)
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In that case, do go have a look at an Accord Tourer. It's about the same size as a Volvo V70, so maybe I'm being pessimistic about size. Try it - you can have a look at the CRV at the same time.
If you're in the W Midlands area, I can recommend Colliers in Sutton Coldfield as being a good Honda dealer who seem to be completely honest.
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Sady, wrong area. :(
I'm going to go to both Skodsa and Honda, and possibly Nissan, tomorrow. I'm a bit nervous....its hard to look fierce and strong bargaining with sales man when the only thing you know about cars is what colour they are and how many wheels they should have ;)
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its hard to look fierce and strong
Take the dogs!
You will need to try the cars out for size, after all...
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LOL.
I'll comprimise, taking one in the creaking puma. I don't think she's very scary though. ;)
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I'll comprimise taking one in the creaking puma. I don't think she's very scary though. ;)
Where do you live? I can lend you a shutzhund trained malinois.
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Okay, for the Honda diesel:
It needs servicing every 12.5k - using the correct oil is important. You should be able to see invoices from a Honda dealer proving this has happened.
known weak points to look for:
It tramlines on the original Yokohama tyres - check on a test drive if it's doing it. Changing to something like Pirelli Powergy P6000s cures this completely.
The door speakers in the front can rattle - they can solve this.
The power hinges on the rear hatch can apparently fail - check they are working.
The 3 year / 90k warranty can be extended for another year (at least) on the Honda Happyness program for £250 a year. The list is £400; you don't need to pay this as they will do it for £250, it's a centralised offer. Only downside is that it ties you into main dealer servicing for another year, but that is not the end of the world considering all the expensive things that could go wrong.
Other than that, there is a known problem with the exhaust manifold at high mileages, but Honda have extended the warranty on this part to 7 years / 125k miles so nothing to worry about. I think that's about it.
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THANK YOU!!!
That's so useful!
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I should have said, the extended warranty also extends the AA Europe cover, so in reality it's only about £150 (assuming you'd otherwise buy the same cover).
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(only a cav king charles though)
Do you have it in a cage with a spinning wheel and plastic tunnels?
sorry ;)
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(only a cav king charles though) Do you have it in a cage with a spinning wheel and plastic tunnels?
Hey! He might be small, but if you heard him bark, you would think he was at least as big as a rabbit. Well, one of the smaller varieties anyway.
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oops....I replied in the wrong place. last post half way up :(
Edited by RIPpuma on 18/02/2009 at 15:21
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I think the suggestions for the Octavia are good. We had a test drive in the 4x4 and had it not been for the seats - bit too hard for us - it would have been a contender.
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You do get used to the seats my colleagues' husband is a police man with a bad back and he rates the Octavia seats once he initially got used to them. They seem very hard to start with but are good on long trips.
If you do not need a diesel then there are some cracking deals on used Octavia Scouts and 4x4 petrol models.
Edited by loskie on 18/02/2009 at 15:58
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You do get used to the seats my colleagues' husband is a police man with a bad back and he rates the Octavia seats once he initially got used to them. They seem very hard to start with but are good on long trips.
VAG group seats do seem harder than the norm. At first. You need to use them for a while and more importantly do a long 6+ hour trip in them to appreciate how good they are.
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