Estates MPV or 4x4 - What a decision !!

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
View Threaded
Thu 22 Mar 2012 22:59
Estates MPV or 4x4 - What a decision !! - logger

I guess what I am asking is everything for very little money but here goes !

I need a car with a big boot for around £2k or under. Its for a big dog !.. Its going to be a workhorse but I dont really want a dog of a car (pardon the pun ). It would be nice if it it didnt look too dated

I have had lots of cars and 4x4's so I am not a novice but this is wrecking my brain..

As its not going to be the main car ( less than £5k a year ) I am not too worried about MPG and happy to have a 4x4

4x4

Ford maverick / Nissan Terrano , Jeep grand cherokee, Vauxhall frontera, Toyota Rav4, Isuzu bighorn, Kia sportage

Estates

Volvo 850 / V70 / V40, Subaru Legacy, Ford Mondeo, Ford Focus, Mercedes E class, Skoda Octavia, Subaru imprezza(non turbo), Bmw Series 5, Vw Golf, Vw Passat, Alfa Romeo 156

MPV

Vauxhall zafira, Ford galaxy, Seat alhambra, Vw sharan

This could end up being a very long forum topic as everyone will have a different view but any help/advice would be appreciated

Thanks

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 22 Mar 2012 23:11
Estates MPV or 4x4 - What a decision !! - unthrottled

An estate will have more space, better handling, better acceleration and better fuel economy than any comparably sized MPV or 4X4. Period.

Some of the newer MPVs like the Ford S Max are cavernous-and apparently still handle well but they are way out of your budget.

When you're buying an older car (which you will be!) simple is good. A largish FWD estate has a huge cargo capacity with the seats folded flat, and is a proven simple layout. Unless you have a compelling reason for 4X4, I'd be inclined to avoid it.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 22 Mar 2012 23:16
Estates MPV or 4x4 - What a decision !! - jamie745

If you insist on a cheap 4x4 on that list i'd go for the Grand Cherokee. Petrol variants are going dirt cheap now because they only do 20mpg but if you can afford it on a low mileage its not an issue obviously. Its a very luxurious and comfortable car. The main reason I'd suggest it is the petrol engines are pretty bulletproof and most of them haven't had a hard life. They're excellent off road but very few of them actually go off road.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 22 Mar 2012 23:29
Estates MPV or 4x4 - What a decision !! - daveyjp
Local car wash has a W reg Volvo V70 2.4 for sale at £1295. A few weeks ago it was £1695. That would do for me.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 23 Mar 2012 06:43
Estates MPV or 4x4 - What a decision !! - lordwoody

I was in a similar situation a couple of years ago, I needed a 2nd car as a dog hauler and general load lugger, I kept my eyes open locally with no specific idea of what I wanted and found an immaculate 1995 Volvo 940 2.3s estate, owned by an elderly ex-mechanic. I've still got it, it has been 99.9% reliable ( an exhaust mounting fell off and the drivers seat jammed in 1 position, all easy fixes), there are still plenty about so I don't feel I'm driving something completely anachronistic, people comment on how good it looks and I kid myself ( not completely unreasonably) that it's approaching classic status. It's moved my daughter to uni, piled to the roof, moved double matresses and wardrobes, and should the need occur I could easily sleep in it, and it's seats are only second in comfort to my departed Saab 9-5. I paid £750 which I though was a good price, although people have since said I paid over the odds, but for the reliability, low running costs ( apart from fuel) it's hard to beat, and I'm told it's the last of the real, pre-Ford Volvo's, with RWD.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 23 Mar 2012 07:42
Estates MPV or 4x4 - What a decision !! - gordonbennet

Lorwoody bought exactly what i would have suggested.

Those Volvo 9 series simply do not rust, are armchair comfortable and as simple and robust as anything on the road.

It was never a fashion statement new, so hasn't aged as others made to a period in time have.

Lorwoody if that Volvo is as good as it sounds it might have another 10 years in it, have you considered LPG'ing it, cost you a grand to do and would make for seriously cheap load lugging...my sister bought our 93 940td estate a long time ago, it continues to fly through every MOT despite being to the moon and back among their fleet of upmarkert cars is the only one that's consistently reliable (and often jump starts a Volvo artic when one of the batteries dies in the cold)...and it still hasn't rusted though is now neglected and battered and SWMBO and i have kicked ourselves for years over selling it.

Edited by gordonbennet on 23/03/2012 at 07:43

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 23 Mar 2012 08:58
Estates MPV or 4x4 - What a decision !! - veryoldbear

Add Saab 95 Estate. Cheap as chips as Saab have gone to the wall, but most spares needed are GM Vauxhall / Opel. Big compfortable barge.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 23 Mar 2012 09:08
Estates MPV or 4x4 - What a decision !! - Ethan Edwards

Big cheap petrol car? Run it on LPG for half price motoring.

I like the Jeep Grand Cherokee idea and with LPG it would probably be comparable cost wise to the Diesel version.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 23 Mar 2012 11:16
Estates MPV or 4x4 - What a decision !! - lordwoody

"have you considered LPG'ing it, "

To be honest I don't use it enough to be worth doing that, I probably only do a max of 5k a year, if that. There's no rust on it, although there's a tiny blemish on the loading space door that may be rust, the windscreen rubber has perished in one corner ( covered over with black insulating tape now), my elderly father keyed it ( don't ask!) but I carefully touched it in and that is almost invisible, and inside is immaculate. The previous elderly owner did all the maintenance work and his handwritten notebook came with the car, detailing all the work done and the cost, it sails through MOT's as mentioned above. It's also cost so little in the time I've owned it that if something major did go wrong and it was not worth fixing, I've lost hardly anything if I just scrapped it.

I used to have a Saab 9-5 and I do look enviously at 9-5 Aero estates on ebay at times, but I just know they would be so much more trouble.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 23 Mar 2012 23:48
Estates MPV or 4x4 - What a decision !! - logger

Thanks for the advice so far

The jeep looks cheap but the mpg is a but too tiny for me..

Very interesting about the 940.. Why not the V70 ? I must admit I prefer the V70 shape.. are they less reliable than the 940 ...there are plenty of those around too under £2k ?

Bit suprised that more people didnt praise particularly the Legacy, Mondeo and EClasss estate.. but there is time

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 23 Mar 2012 23:56
Estates MPV or 4x4 - What a decision !! - Avant

At the price you want to pay, condition is more important than make or model. Mercedes estates can be very good and long-lasting, but a good one will cost you more: and there aren't so many Legacies around.

If it were me I'd be looking at a Volvo (a V70 should be fine - Ford didn't have the disastrous effect on Volvo that GM did on Saab) or Mondeo, preferably petrol-powered.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 24 Mar 2012 00:25
Estates MPV or 4x4 - What a decision !! - unthrottled

Bit suprised that more people didnt praise particularly the Legacy, Mondeo and EClasss estate.. but there is time

The Legacy is a lovely, capable car but it's just too thirsty for most-around 25mpg.

The mondeo is a fantastic load hauler.

The E-class? You won't get a lot for £2K. Benz build quality was a bit dicey around the late 90's/early noughties.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 25 Mar 2012 10:42
Estates MPV or 4x4 - What a decision !! - lordwoody

I'm always amazed at how many rusty Mercs you see about, even relatively new ones. There are quite a few 10/12 year old Merc estates around here, nearly all have some rust.

As for the V70 v. 940 debate, V70's are certainly better looking, or at least look more modern, than the 940, but as with all cars, the more modern=more complex and thus more to go wrong. 940's do seem to have a particular reputation for old school solidity, and it's worth noting HJ's remark in the car review section regarding the minus points of the V70....

" Fairly high incidence of problems and failures."

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 24 Mar 2012 07:25
Estates MPV or 4x4 - What a decision !! - barney100
Three makes I know something about. Volvo are great for dogs..got dog and V70. Mercs are great cars and if you keep the maintainable up the pair will go on and on.
Couple of mates have Jeeps and both say mpg is horrendous and the electrics are not too reliable.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 25 Mar 2012 13:32
Estates MPV or 4x4 - What a decision !! - jc2

The only vehicles with a significant amount of space in the back are estates-usually a lot more than MPVs and 4x4s.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Choosing a child seat can be a quite baffling experience – there are so many sizes, types, brands and price points available that you might not know where to start.

How to choose the right child seat