Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used)

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Tue 29 Jan 2013 17:27
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - HokkaHokka

Hello,

Here is the criteria:

  • £9-£10K
  • Decent passenger room in rear (preferably to fit my missus who is a petit size 6) in between two child seats for kids age 4 and 5.
  • Safe - 5* Encap if possible.
  • Decent fuel economy
  • Reliable
  • My daughter is very prone to car sickness, so the car should be resonably refined.
  • Air con a must

That's more or less it.

The car would be used fora short school run during the week and then days out at weekends and possibly holiday in the summer.

We had a Verso for a little while, but it went back due to an underlying damp issue - we also found it to be a little too bumpy over some surfaces and the Diesel that we tested was noisy.

Other cars on our radar are the VW Touran, though I don't think we would get much use out of the rear two seats and the Merc B Class (The rear space might just about suffice) Does anybody have any observations or suggestions?

Thanks

HH

Edited by HokkaHokka on 29/01/2013 at 17:34

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Tue 29 Jan 2013 19:38
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - daveyjp
I've been running a B class for almost 2 years, to date faultless and there's plenty of room in the back seat, the most of any car I have owned.

Fuel economy needs to be weighed up against annual mileage and what diesel you get for your budget. My 160 petrol does 35-40 round town, low 40s on motorway runs, best I have had is mid 50s on a long A road trip.

Over my 22,000 miles with the car (now on 25,000) mainly urban trips (average speed has been just 23mph) it has averaged 36 mpg.

I spend most of my time in the car alone and not loaded so the 90 bhp 160 is adequate. Even fully loaded it will bowl along at motorway speeds, it just doesn't melt tarmac from the off.

If you need more power B170 and B180 petrols are about (both 1700, 115 bhp) but not as common as the B160.


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Tue 29 Jan 2013 21:00
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - Happy Blue!

You seem to have sussed that you need a small MPV. Petrol seems the obvious fuel, so lets look at options: -

Ford; last of the first model C-Max as the first of the new model likely to be too costly

Renault; Scenic's are comfortable and there are lots around

Honda FRV is a left field choice. A cheap choice would be the old Kia Carens.

The Touran was also done as a five seater or how about a Nissan Qashqai?

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Tue 29 Jan 2013 21:17
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - HokkaHokka

Hi

Thanks for the feedback.

I'm a little concerned about the relaiability of the C-Max... I seem to have read a lot to suggest that it may be a little ropey. (Though perhaps I've done too much research and the negatives are sticking in my mind)

I like the look of the Qashqai but the second row is too narrow. (Not enough rooom for 3)

Similarly, I like the look of the Mazda 5, but again the second row of seats seems as though they are too narrow.

I'm not keen on the 3 in the front configuration of the FR-V, which is a shame as I really rate Honda's (why don't they do an MPV anymore?)

The Kia Carens doesn't look great on paper (unrefined and unncomfortable)

The Scenic may be a possibility, though the missus isn't particilarly keen on French cars (concerns over relaibility etc)

I have nothing against petrol engines but I think the lack of grunt of petrol B-class will frustrate me...if I do settle on a B-class, I may have to go with a diesel.

I seem to be going around in circles weighing up pro's and con's - at some point I think I will need to concede that I will have to make some compromises!

Please keep the recommendations coming if possible though!

HH

Edited by HokkaHokka on 29/01/2013 at 21:19

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Tue 29 Jan 2013 21:53
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - Bromptonaut

Citroen Berlingo or Peugeot Partner?

Don't know the current one but our Lad who threw up for England in the Xantia is fine in the pre 2008 model we have. It's not so much refinement as being able to see out that sorted him.

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Wed 30 Jan 2013 07:02
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - HokkaHokka

Citroen Berlingo or Peugeot Partner?

Don't know the current one but our Lad who threw up for England in the Xantia is fine in the pre 2008 model we have. It's not so much refinement as being able to see out that sorted him.

Too van-like for us. Thanks for the suggestions though

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Wed 30 Jan 2013 00:11
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - Avant

The trouble with a lot of MPVs is that although there's plenty of legroom they aren't particularly wide, and width is what you need.

You may need to go to a bigger car such as a Skoda Superb or Ford S-Max.

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Wed 30 Jan 2013 07:06
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - HokkaHokka

Hello

I don't want to go too big, we do only have two kids after all.

Please keep the suggestions coming though!

Are there any saloons, hatches or SUV's that might fit the bill or are we more or less restricted to MPV's taking into account our criteria?

Thank

HH

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Wed 30 Jan 2013 09:44
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - Happy Blue!

Do you really need to sit three abreast at the rear? Could not one of the nippers sit on a booster seat in front? Does your missus have to sit at the rear with them?

The FRV can be converted into a two up front and three across the rear ararngement and is wide enough for your needs. Don't dismiss cars until you have looked at them in person.

I know many families with three or more children who have more than coped with the cars you are dismissing (including my family), and yet you have only two. We have driven with three children in a Merc A-Class and we were all happy.

Sorry, but with a budget you cannot always get what you want and you have to compromise. Without a budget the sky is your limit. At the moment, I cannot see you compromising and therefore you will be disappoitned with whatever you get.

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Wed 30 Jan 2013 17:16
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - HokkaHokka

Do you really need to sit three abreast at the rear? Could not one of the nippers sit on a booster seat in front? Does your missus have to sit at the rear with them?

The FRV can be converted into a two up front and three across the rear ararngement and is wide enough for your needs. Don't dismiss cars until you have looked at them in person.

I know many families with three or more children who have more than coped with the cars you are dismissing (including my family), and yet you have only two. We have driven with three children in a Merc A-Class and we were all happy.

Sorry, but with a budget you cannot always get what you want and you have to compromise. Without a budget the sky is your limit. At the moment, I cannot see you compromising and therefore you will be disappoitned with whatever you get.

Hi,

Thanks for the feedback.

We will not dismiss the FR-V completely then...and will try to make a point to have a look at one. From the photo's in ads they look really wide, and the middle seat will get virtually no use. As there aren't many around, we haven't had a chance to see one up close and personal yet.

A little concerned about the safety aspect of haven't the kids up front regularly, and the idea is to have the kids in the back with the missus in the middle (bucket at the ready in case my little girl hurls!)

Cheers

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Wed 30 Jan 2013 10:51
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - Sulphur Man

Either: Honda FR-V or Mazda 5.

Reliability is paramount in family cars. Breaking down miles from home with young children in the car is a situation every parent must avoid.

Unless fuel economy is absolutely essential, stick with petrol, a full dealer service history with all the invoices (not just a stamped logbook), and a used mileage that shows the car has been driven at least 6000 miles per annum.

Look at Honda FR-V, 1.8iVTEC, manual or auto (the auto is good), Mazda 5, and maybe give the Verso another look? Your budget might stretch to an 09-reg 1.8i Multidrive S, which is a very good car.

We run an FR-V petrol auto and I cant praise it enough, frankly

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Wed 30 Jan 2013 12:56
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - Oli rag

Mitsubishi asx 1.6 petrol.

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Wed 30 Jan 2013 17:28
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - HokkaHokka

Mitsubishi asx 1.6 petrol.

Hmmm.... a little left-field - interesting

Looks a bit above budget and not many about.

I'll check out a few reviews though....

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Wed 30 Jan 2013 17:21
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - HokkaHokka

Either: Honda FR-V or Mazda 5.

Reliability is paramount in family cars. Breaking down miles from home with young children in the car is a situation every parent must avoid.

Unless fuel economy is absolutely essential, stick with petrol, a full dealer service history with all the invoices (not just a stamped logbook), and a used mileage that shows the car has been driven at least 6000 miles per annum.

Look at Honda FR-V, 1.8iVTEC, manual or auto (the auto is good), Mazda 5, and maybe give the Verso another look? Your budget might stretch to an 09-reg 1.8i Multidrive S, which is a very good car.

We run an FR-V petrol auto and I cant praise it enough, frankly

Will a used petrol offer better reliability than used Diesel or does it vary depending on whether the car is Japanese etc?

I like the look of the Mazda 5 but have heard that space to the seecond row space is restricted - will keep it on the radar though.

As mentioned in a previous reply, I want to look at the FR-V in person - at first glance the front row of three looks a little off putting and can imagine the extra width making parking tricky?

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Wed 30 Jan 2013 19:34
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - Happy Blue!

Its not that wide. It clever use of space and if you need the sapce at the back for three abreast, you are going to get it at the front, just in different ways.

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Wed 30 Jan 2013 20:46
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - Sulphur Man

The width concern is a complete illusion. For the record, the FR-V is narrower than the last C-Max, shorter than a BMW 3-series, and with more boot space than a Golf MkV.

Car/Model years/Width measurement

Honda FR-V / 04-09 / 1810mm

Ford C-Max / 03-10 / 1825mm

Citroen C4 Picasso & Grand Picasso / 07- / 1830mm

Perhaps when you test drive one, park it in a familiar space, like a supermarket or city centre carpark and you'll get a true sense of it's proportions (or lack of).

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Thu 31 Jan 2013 13:11
Spacious family car to seat 5 circa £9 - £10k (used) - HokkaHokka

Hello

Thanks for the info! -

I'd still be interested in other recommendations as well if possible.

HH

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