Family Estate

largepants

I'm on the lookout for a diesel family estate at the moment. I'm probably most interested in the Ford Mondeo (leg room in the back) but on reading previous posts it seems the 1.8tdci is not a fantastic engine so I'd be willing to look elsewhere. I noticed a few SAAB estates on carzone and they were decently enough priced. And should I just forget about a Vauxhall Vectra?

Has anyone got any experience of driving estates and what recommendations they would make? My budget would be about 18k or there abouts.

Jip

Not wishing to come across as a pimp for Renault, but at that price or a bit more you'd get the new Megane Estate which is not that small actually and has a decent bit of leg room in the back. We were in a similar position and ended up going that route. You wouldn't want to be in a hurry to get one though.

mikewest

BMW 5 series touring. Comfort, power, lots of space. Also not the most common on the roads. Have been around for a good while so available for any pocket. OH drives one.

On the other hand, a new Grand Megane is very good value, cheap to run, long service intervals and surprisingly roomy (but you would still fit the whole thing into the BMW with space for two kids and a dog ), test drove one last Saturday. Puegeot 407 estate looks good, Mondeo is HUGE inside but always reminds me of a hearse. Vectra, meh, Saab nicer but still a vectra under the skin. Citroen C5, nice car, good engine (same as 407) but reliability of car always a worry for me. Laguna, actually smaller inside than last Megane estate and oh my god the awful reliability.

cjt156

Volvo V70 is the definitive family estate.
We've one at home & its a very nice place to be. 2.0T is a lovely engine; smooth with loads of oomph - thirsty, though. I've never tried their diesels but the new 1.6 seems to be highly recommended.

largepants

Thanks Guys, great help.

I never thought of the Megane Estate so must have a look. Regarding the Peugeot, I'm driving a 407 Saloon at the moment. I find it a bit tight for room in the back with three kids. The reason I was looking particularly at the Mondeo was because of the leg room. Will certainly have a look at the BMW 5 Series as well.

The Passat doesn't look that big and can be quite expensive. Time for Carzone me thinks.

bazz26

Honda Accord estate:

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201006196897174

Henry Ford III

largepants wrote: »

Thanks Guys, great help.

I never thought of the Megane Estate so must have a look. Regarding the Peugeot, I'm driving a 407 Saloon at the moment. I find it a bit tight for room in the back with three kids. The reason I was looking particularly at the Mondeo was because of the leg room. Will certainly have a look at the BMW 5 Series as well.

The Passat doesn't look that big and can be quite expensive. Time for Carzone me thinks.

Megane is a full class below the likes of a Passat or Mondeo. If size is the issue it won't be a runner, it's smaller than a 407.

Jip

There's actually very little, if any difference than the two, the Megane has a bigger boot
Here's the specs
407 SW
Length 4691 mm - 15'5"
Width 1811 mm - 5'11" - exc. mirrors
Height 1455 mm - 4'9"
Wheel Base 2725 mm - 8'11"
Boot Capacity 407 litres min, 1365 max


Megane
Length 4559 mm - 14'11"
Width 1804 mm - 5'11" - exc. mirrors
Height 1501 mm - 4'11"
Wheel Base 2702 mm - 8'10"
Boot Capacity 491 litres min, 1567 litres (max)

Edit, I assume you were talking about the 407 estate, never checked the stats on that.

For Forks Sake

bazz26 wrote: »

Honda Accord estate:

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201006196897174

IMO horribly ugly car

cantdecide

For Forks Sake wrote: »

IMO horribly ugly car

Really?

I've always fancied the arse off that car. I do have a thing for estates too, generally.

Henry Ford III

Jip wrote: »

Edit, I assume you were talking about the 407 estate, never checked the stats on that.

Little point comparing them otherwise is there?

Jip

Well here you go so ;-) Very little difference in size
Length 4691 mm - 15'5"
Width 1811 mm - 5'11" - exc. mirrors
Height 1455 mm - 4'9"
Wheel Base 2725 mm - 8'11"
Boot Capacity 407 litres

I know there's more to that with regards to legroom but I couldn't be arsed looking for those at the moment, it's Friday afternoon.

R.O.R

I'd say there is a bit of difference in the rear legroom between a Megane Estate and a 407 Estate. Seems like the OP's requirements are about more than just boot space.

Henry Ford III

Jip wrote: »

Well here you go so ;-) Very little difference in size
Length 4691 mm - 15'5"
Width 1811 mm - 5'11" - exc. mirrors
Height 1455 mm - 4'9"
Wheel Base 2725 mm - 8'11"
Boot Capacity 407 litres

I know there's more to that with regards to legroom but I couldn't be arsed looking for those at the moment, it's Friday afternoon.

Can't blame you at all there

si_guru

Vectra estate has longer wheelbase that the hatch/saloon and it all goes into giving more rear legroom... 1.9ctdi engine is the one get (150bhp).

Of course the Saab 9-3 and Cadillac BLS are the same car so share all it s plusses! There are no negs... only badge snobs

SG

R.O.R

Jip wrote: »

I know there's more to that with regards to legroom but I couldn't be arsed looking for those at the moment, it's Friday afternoon.

As it's Friday afternoon and I don't want to do any real work, and we have an 07 Megane Estate in storage at the moment, I went down to check the rear leg room.

As rear legroom depends on the drivers seat position, there is no point in taking a measurement so to test whether a car is good or bad, I'll put the drivers seat in my driving position and jump in behind.

The Megane Estate is actually very good for rear legroom based on my test, and is better than a new model A4 saloon (only other car I had keys for). I'd image that the 407 could actually be worse than the Megane - don't have one here and been a while since I've poked around in one, but I don't remember them being very roomy in the back.

Mondeo Estate would be bigger (have one here but I'm already getting stange looks), but there shouldn't be too much in it.

All that said, I still wouldn't buy a Megane Estate if I had 18k to spend. Even though the engine isn't great, I'd be going for this http://www.carzone.ie/search/Ford/Mondeo/NT-ZETEC/200948196026511/advert?channel=CARS

Jip

Good comparison, I was basing my guestimation on the new version which is bigger again, and using a same comparison as yourself it had more leg room than either our Vectra or Octavia, neither which of course are renowned for their cabin space.