What's your budget? If your parents live some distance away and you have to do a lot of mileage, you may be better off with a diesel. Before you give up on MPV's, if you aren't badge/image conscious Vauxhall Zafira (up to 7 seats) could be a good choice. It has enough seating to meet your future family's needs and still allow you to carry one or two more passengers as well as a decent load. Only thing is the two fold-away seats on a Zafira are really only for children and may not be that easy to access. If you want to stick with a Ford, the Focus estate should be very affordable used by now, but full safety kit doesn't always come as standard, eg ABS as an option! As Fiat are so desparate for sales, you could get an excellent deal on their new Stilo estate, but expect heavy depreciation.
For used/nearly new estates, consider Volvo V70, Mondeo (may have depreciated more and so be better used value), Passat (easy to sell on later), Citroen C5, Rover 75 Tourer (very very nice car), Octavia estate. Those are the ones I'd think of without going into the more upmarket badges. I'd be most likely to look at the 75 - BMW engineering for less money and more equipment, very smooth cruisers, I'll probably be getting myself a saloon version later this year. The Octavia would be next on my list, as it got the Used Car of the Year Award from Used Car Buyer magazine. The estate version is also the best looking Octavia in my opinion. Don't let the badge put you off!
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Amanda
The question you should ask is "do you forsee the need to carry extra passengers in addition to your family on a regular basis?"
If the answer is no, then stick to a large roomy estate. Anything from the Renault Savanna diesel with 5 seats to the Octavia should do.
If the answer is probably or yes, then Renault built a diesel Savanna with 7 seats. My neighbour with 4 children have one with a permanently fitted top box for all their clutter. There is about as much boot space with all the seats up as you would find in a small to medium hatch. You would then have the option of folding down the rear seats if there were only 5 of you to give you estate sized boot space.
Alternitively you could go for a Discovery with the two extra seats in the back, though I don't rate these vehicles.
Other than that it's the MPV market I'm afraid. Our friends have the Toyota Previa. Apparently it's got loads of space. There are a lot of older ones, so you may be able to afford one quite comfortably. The sliding door on the NS only may appeal as well.
I would be careful what deal you enter into. The car you have should sell quite easily in the pivate ads. You may also get a better deal if you don't trade in.
Good luck!
H
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Thanks everyone for your tips and ideas. We have had a look at the car info on this site and have made a 'longshort-list' of cars we think may suit. These include the mondeo, octavia, V70/850 and C5 estates, the berlingo/citroen combi or kangoo (I keep calling it Kandoo, which are potty training bum wipes ;oP ) and the picasso, and some other MPV I cant off hand remember.
We will keep an eye out in car parks etc over the next few weeks and have a good nosey at them if we see them, and try to whittle it down a bit, then will test drive the rest.
Hopefully by the time baby 3 is first concieved !! then gestated, we will know what we want and be on the way to saving a big chunk of the cost.
Any help on whittling down the short list and opinions on the above will be appreciated.
Amanda
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Amanda, don't forget the Peugeot 406 estate; whilst it doesn't get too much support here, supply is plentiful, the HDI engines are good, and space especially for the dog, is a match for all your short-list options.
A relevant point for me being a dog-person, is the presence or not, of a stepped-down load area, e.g. the Octavia I think. Also if your dog enjoys seeing out of a window (not possible on some MPVs with deep floors. (some dogs suffer badly from car sickness just like humans).
good luck
Mark
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Peugeot 406s did not score well in the "Crash Tests" so I would steer clear. I used to own a 406 turbo-diesel estate back in 1998 and had problems starting it, after several visits to the dealer the problem still occured, it was a "tacky" car anyway.
I decided to give V70s a try and was extremely pleased with the car, build quality and performance, safety features and the dealer service. Also contrary to some opinions in the Backroom I do not find Volvo servicing any more expensive than Peugeot which I thought was poor.
I started with a 140bhp petrol, which performed very well and was quite economical to run, then I bought an ex-demo 2.4T which was very quick and fun to drive. I now have a D5 (diesel), although not as quick as the 2.4T it's not far behind and gives me over 40mpg.
Last time I changed I tried a BMW 3.0D 5 touring, Audi A6 2.5TD estate and a Merc E class 2.7TD estate, but my wife and myself reckoned the Volvo V70 D5 suited us better, and looked better too. Volvo also supply integrated child seats.
Depending on your budget there are some real bargains to be had as far as used V70s are concerned, have a look in the Saturday Telegraph Motoring Supplement, or look on the Volvo website www.volvocars.co.uk where there is a used car search option.
Cheers
VD5D.
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Ooh, just on the Picasso, this is a lovely car to drive. I hired one over the Christmas period last year, took it from London to Leeds and back again, plus around Yorkshire fully loaded with pressies and mother!
The dash board is in the middle of the windscreen as opposed to being sqashed behind the steering wheel. Lots of leg room and "sit-up" seats. Makes for easy long-haul driving.
I do not know about the family-usability with children and dog I afraid, but just as an add on - it was a very very comfy car!
Patricia
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Don't fall for any hype. Depreciation is by far the biggest cost. You may get 41.296348 out of a diesel and 36 out of a petrol but in the great scheme of things it won't change the costs at all unless ou do zillions of miles.
Buy something that has done the worst of it's depreciation but above all buy what you like. No one else's opinion matters.
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