MPV or Estate

jaggiebunnet

wondering if anyone has gone for one over the other. needed for kids and the mountain of gear needed to take them anywhere - other uses would be for surf boards, kayaks, camping but mostly for daily use with young kids - was initially thinking mpv but someone suggested that the boot room is a bit misleading and that you get more with an estate - on the flip side the high seats make it a lot easier getting the kids into the child seats.

anyone have any thoughts on this?
cheers.

niceirishfella

jaggiebunnet wrote: »

wondering if anyone has gone for one over the other. needed for kids and the mountain of gear needed to take them anywhere - other uses would be for surf boards, kayaks, camping but mostly for daily use with young kids - was initially thinking mpv but someone suggested that the boot room is a bit misleading and that you get more with an estate - on the flip side the high seats make it a lot easier getting the kids into the child seats.

anyone have any thoughts on this?
cheers.

the boot room in the back of those 7 seater mpv's can be poor cos the back row or 2 back seats are close ot the rear window - thus leaving poor boot space. I think the best was the ford s-max that featured on Top gear.
Maybe I'm wrong - best of luck with the search tho.

High&Low

A lot of MPVs don't even have enough boot room for something as small as a buggy. A good roof rack would carry all your camping equipement on the roof, however I don't know how much room you would have on the roof if you have kayaks or surfboards up there also.

cantdecide

Time was when the estate was the poor cousin of the saloon. They're starting to make some beautiful estates in the last decade or so.

Here's one http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=871479

What's your budget?

Guy:Incognito

niceirishfella wrote: »

the boot room in the back of those 7 seater mpv's can be poor cos the back row or 2 back seats are close ot the rear window - thus leaving poor boot space. I think the best was the ford s-max that featured on Top gear.
Maybe I'm wrong - best of luck with the search tho.

That would be true if it wasnt the same with an estate. Both have big boots depending on what you buy but stick 2 seats in the boot of either and space will disappear. The op doesnt mention the need for 7 seats anyway.

jaggiebunnet

cantdecide wrote: »

Time was when the estate was the poor cousin of the saloon. They're starting to make some beautiful estates in the last decade or so.

Here's one http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=871479

What's your budget?

Thats nice, but about 5k over my budget. around 20k max i would be looking at, so an 04/05 car.


Don't need the 7 seats (not yet anyway ).

loyatemu

if you have 7 seats you're not going to have much of a boot regardless of what car you buy. 7 seater MPV with the back seats folded down will have a massive boot (and higher than an estate, though maybe not as long depending on the cars in question).

If you're buying a big car primarily for carrying people then I'd go with an MPV, if its mainly for carrying stuff and only occassionally a lot of people then an estate may be an option. If you have small kids and a lot of child-seats they're more likely to fit well in an MPV.

ioshmearse

We have dogs and two kids and a Passat Estate. We still need a roof box for weekends away with them all. As regards kayaks etc the roof is your only choice.

We're considering changing to an MPV/7seater crossover SUV only because we are now transporting children's friends and rather than having to drive two 4.5 seat cars, would like the choice of 7 seats for occasional use while having the same boot space as an estate when 5 seats in use.

Considering Citroen C4 7 seater, Santa Fe and Chevrolet Captiva. I think some of the larger MPVs are overpriced or the third row dont fold flat. The 2 SUVs have fold flat individual rather than bench third row and are 2.2 and 2 litre diesel respectively. I havent driven any of these three and cant change until March so hopfully can see what impact new VRT and car tax has on second hand market or new prices in July.

As I said I havent driven alternatives so I dont know if they drive as well as an estate.

pete4130

I've never driven an MPV so can't comment on what they are like. I know my gf uses them ion her work (children with disabilities) and says they arent the most spacious things around (Hyundai Tajets...or Tragics as they call them).
I'm on my 2nd estate car. I love them. Went from a '00 Foucs 1.4 estate (u bit underpowered but did the job fine) to a '05 1.6TDCI estate (much more power and the torque and pull is great on it, plus the extra mpg).The practicality of the boot is fantastic. They aren't all that much bigger in dimension than there the hatchbacks either (I think I read somewhere that the newer Focus coming out this year that the saloon is longer than the estate, I could be wrong though?). I've fit a double matress in the back with the seats down when I was moving house with a ton of other stuff too. I also ride BMX and have managed to fit 5 bikes and 5 people along with their bags into the estate with some skillful packing. I've even slept in the back with the seats folded down without being cramped for legroom (I'm 5'11").
The low wide loading bay is very handy for putting a lot of stuff in the boot and estates generally come with roof rails too for easy fitting of roof boxes and roof rails if you need the extra space.

I personally couldn't see myself ever driving a car that isn't an estate for the forseeable future. Granted its not to everyones taste and isn't seen as being sporty in general but you get an estate for the practicality of it.
I'm guessing an MPV wouldnt be as niec to drive as an estate either.

jaggiebunnet

pete4130 wrote: »

I personally couldn't see myself ever driving a car that isn't an estate for the forseeable future. Granted its not to everyones taste and isn't seen as being sporty in general but you get an estate for the practicality of it.
I'm guessing an MPV wouldnt be as niec to drive as an estate either.

So it is a focus estate you drive currently? I will be trading in a focus so to go to an estate would certainly be straight forward.

thanks for the feedback everyone.

lightening

Hi Jaggie.

I surf, sail, paddle and own big dogs. No kids yet.

I have a hatch back, and would deffo go for an Estate if I had nippers.

All the kite surfers have estates, they swear by them, much more room and easier to get boards and boats off the roof rack without doing your back in or knocking the wing mirrors off!

cantdecide

Forgive my ignorance but would an MPV roof be slightly too high for comfort for loading kayaks and surfboards?? What about those 2m goal post type height restrictions that you get at lots of beaches??

For mileage use only (check out the price difference for an economical tdi)
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=Car&carID=772041&message=You%20searched%20for%3A%20Volkswagen%20Passat%2C%20Estate%2C%20Price%20Min%3A%20%E2%82%AC18%2C000%2C%20Price%20Max%3A%20%E2%82%AC22%2C000%2E%20Your%20search%20returned%20one%20vehicle%2C%20which%20is%20shown%20below%2E&CFID=2215898&CFTOKEN=59097010

If you won't be doing colossal annual mileage http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=842471

pete4130

jaggiebunnet wrote: »

So it is a focus estate you drive currently? I will be trading in a focus so to go to an estate would certainly be straight forward.

thanks for the feedback everyone.

Yeah it is a Focus I'm driving at the minute. I did alot of reading up on reviews etc... before I decided to go with the focus estate initially. Some estates are more practical then others regarding boot sizes, performance etc...
for example the Skoda Octavia estates used to have a lip into the loading bay unless you got the Elegance Model or the Volvo V40/V50 & BMW 3 series wouldn't have the most practical or spacious layout in the back. Estates like VW's/Skoda's and Toyota Avensis would all have larger engines than the likes of the Focus so would mean higher running costs if that was a factor.

For me the Focus estate worked out to be the best compromise on price, space, running costs, reliablility.