Dont know what to buy? need good mpg and reliability

thatslife

Ok, if you had max E15k, what would you buy that would give excellent mpg, never let you down, comfortable?? Probably will go to UK to get the most outta the budget. 1st baby due so need 4doors.
- Passat?
- Accord?
- Avensis?
- 3-series?
- Octavia?

I dont know...

nhg

Boot size & size of boot opening is just as important for all the gear for a baby....

NIMAN

Also need to consider how many little 'uns there might be.

If you are only having one then mid sized cars like Golf, Focus, i30, Ceed etc are fine, as you will only have 1 car seat and 1 pram. All will fit fine in these cars. In fact even 2 children will be ok with these size of cars, but its when you hit 3 kids that everything changes, even larger cars like Mondeo, Avensis, Volvo V50, 325 etc won't fit 3 car seats.

BobBobBobBob

I would choose between the Accord and the Octavia. Have test driven a few Accords and was impressed with the space and comfort. Reliabilty shouldn't be an issue. How many kms do you do in the year?

Chuck Stone

Civic saloon
2010
1.8i
138 BHP
40+ MPG combined.
€13,850
2 YR WARRANTY.

carzone.ie

thatslife

BobBobBobBob wrote: »

I would choose between the Accord and the Octavia. Have test driven a few Accords and was impressed with the space and comfort. Reliabilty shouldn't be an issue. How many kms do you do in the year?

I'm doing over 30k miles per year. Accord is a good car from what I know. Octavia I know nothing about.

NIMAN

To be fair as someone who has been thinking of changing soon, and reading countless reviews and reports on cars, those initial ones you list are all well thought of models.

I'd say any one of them would be a good buy.

Maybe consider adding a Volvo S40 or V50 to the list too?

thatslife

NIMAN wrote: »

To be fair as someone who has been thinking of changing soon, and reading countless reviews and reports on cars, those initial ones you list are all well thought of models.

I'd say any one of them would be a good buy.

Maybe consider adding a Volvo S40 or V50 to the list too?

I know what you're saying but there has to be a best and worst option. I think ill just make up a comparison table and try narrow it down. Any where you where u can find out reliability history on certain models? Auto trader has owner feedback but not the best.

Cee-Jay-Cee

The Accord is the biggest of the cars you listed and would be my first choice. I would only consider a Passat CC not the regular car. The 3 series and Octavia are small cars in comparison to the accord. The Octavia is basically a golf saloon and the 3 series is smaller again. The accord is also very economical, the 3 series isn't. Passat Octavia and Avensis are all in the middle somewhere.

There are a few others to consider too

Superb
520d
Insignia
Mazda 6

shedweller

thatslife wrote: »

Ok, if you had max E15k, what would you buy that would give excellent mpg, never let you down, comfortable?? Probably will go to UK to get the most outta the budget. 1st baby due so need 4doors.
- Passat?
- Accord?
- Avensis?
- 3-series?
- Octavia?

I dont know...

Standard diesel engines in all of the above will do around 5L/100k.
Practicality wise the 3 series saloon boot opening is small for loading buggies cots etc. I've seen it in action and its a squeeze.
The rest, less so but not a whole lot better. The estate versions would be more practical with the mondeo being the widest afaik.
Reliabity is going to be based on how the car was serviced etc. the avensis and accord would be most tolerant of a lack of maintenance but not immune obviously.
Funnily enough my little dirtbag of a yaris takes three boosters in the back but not much else! Its weird that bigger cars cannot do that but thats the way things are i spose!
Estates are very handy for loading kids gear along with shopping etc. so they are worth a look. 7 seaters are better again but for many they are a step too far into crappy vehicle-dom! Their height makes it easier on the back when loading infant seats for the umpteenth time in a day and if you are not using the 6th and 7th seats you have a very good boot.
But you get less 7seater for your money compared to a car.
Soul searching my boy, soul searching!
Good luck with the new addition to the family!

R.O.R

Have you picked your buggy yet? If you are going for one of the travel system ones, you'll need to make sure you buy a car that fits the buggy.

First buggy we had would fit relatively easily in to the boot of my old model Accord, but was a right pain to get in to the 5 Series. Fitted no problem in to the wifes V50 - but didn't leave much room for anything else.

Had a Juke as a rental for a few days a couple of months ago, and while the higer seats were great for getting the kids in and out, the lightweight travel buggy would only just about fit in the tiny little boot.

galwaytt

thatslife wrote: »

Ok, if you had max E15k, what would you buy that would give excellent mpg, never let you down, comfortable?? Probably will go to UK to get the most outta the budget. 1st baby due so need 4doors.
- Passat?
- Accord?
- Avensis?
- 3-series?
- Octavia?

I dont know...

Why 4 doors ? Your baby isn't going to need one, and can't open one.

I reared 2 x babies, c/w buggies and 'buggage' (copyright ) in an Audi TT and an old 911, then a series of 968's.

Now, aged 10 & 12..........we're still using a TT.

I had a rented 1-series 5-door in Germany last week for the 4 of us, and we got the exact same amount of luggage into it as a TT.

Stallingrad

galwaytt wrote: »

Why 4 doors ? Your baby isn't going to need one, and can't open one.

I reared 2 x babies, c/w buggies and 'buggage' (copyright ) in an Audi TT and an old 911, then a series of 968's.

Now, aged 10 & 12..........we're still using a TT.

I had a rented 1-series 5-door in Germany last week for the 4 of us, and we got the exact same amount of luggage into it as a TT.

While this may have worked for TT I would not recommend it to anyone. OP, I would go for an estate, it will be years before you outgrow it, if ever. Passat estate would be my choice, spacious and will swallow everything in the back, while allowing easy access. Accord is a nice car but looks like a hearse unless you get the current model.

H3llR4iser

In the end he's gonna get an Octavia or an Avensis, we all know that.

Besides, how much stuff does a baby REALLY need to carry around? I tend to agree with GalwayTT, looks like Irish parents simply love to bring everything and the kitchen sink with them. My brother gets around very easily in a Peugeot 308 with a 7 months old, and most of the friends and relatives with little ones comfortably get along in hatchbacks. Of course I wouldn't recommend a coupe' or sportscar for the sake of practicality, but I seriously doubt anyone really needs an estate nor the biggest saloon they can find for just one baby. If you plan on six, then that's a different story.

NIMAN

Exactly as I said, we have coped with 2 kids and a Focus with no issues whatsoever. If you buy big huge prams then they might not fit in the boot, but 2 buggies no bother so far.

For me, its only when you need to get 3 car seats into the back that it all goes belly up.

shedweller

NIMAN wrote: »

For me, its only when you need to get 3 car seats into the back that it all goes belly up.

Which is going to be in the next 2 to 3 years. People tend to knock out the babies in a reasonably short time. Which means the OP will be back here in 3 years wondering what estate he needs! And kids being what they are, dont leave parents with a lot of money to spend on cars a whole lot! Which was why i went the estate route. Getting organised to go out with young babies is something non baby drivers probably arent too familiar with. So things like doing the shopping tend to get done while you're out. Hence the need for galactic boots. I know i wouldn't have fancied heading back out to do the shopping after unloading everyone and everything from a smaller car!
Just saying. OP needs to think about when he's going to buy a car again, how he and the wife will do day to day things, when the next kids are coming, how much money they are prpeared to save for all this.......
If he's very well paid then there's no problem of course!

witnessmenow

Can I just recomend not going for the 3 series. My Mam has one and although its a nice car to drive it surprisingly cramped e.g. I am not a tall man 5'8 or so and I feel a taller person would have absolutely no comfort in it. Also not an awful lot of room in the back. Boot is a decentish size though.

Also, if you fart too loud in the thing a warning light comes on (not literally!) but between run flats etc its not a cheap car to run.

NIMAN

There is the chance that the OP may only be having 1 child, a lot of couples stop at one these days.

Thats why I suggested deciding on how many you are thinking of having as it certainly impacts your car choice and frequency of changing car.

If you are thinking that you might pop them out like a Pez dispenser then buy the right one now and it will last.;)

shedweller

^^^^^^^^^^
"pez dispenser"

LOL!

Well, we were planning on two but we got one extra free! Curveball much?? I nearly fainted when i saw the scans. I thought they just took loads of pictures of the baby but i was sorely mistaken...

thatslife

NIMAN wrote: »

There is the chance that the OP may only be having 1 child, a lot of couples stop at one these days.

Thats why I suggested deciding on how many you are thinking of having as it certainly impacts your car choice and frequency of changing car.

If you are thinking that you might pop them out like a Pez dispenser then buy the right one now and it will last.;)

She got some shock this evening when I asked her when we would be thinking of having a second!! I think getting a decent car now is the best option. I'll post up a comparison list and see what you think:

NIMAN

shedweller wrote: »

^^^^^^^^^^
"pez dispenser"

LOL!

Well, we were planning on two but we got one extra free! Curveball much?? I nearly fainted when i saw the scans. I thought they just took loads of pictures of the baby but i was sorely mistaken...

Well we are expecting No3 and I have been looking at changing to a suitable car due to that, but if the scan this week shows we are expecting No3 and No4 then I'll need gas and air there and then!!:eek:

gowley

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Skoda/Superb/Ambition/34013643865155660/advert?channel=CARS what about something like this. comfortable reliable and economical. all boxes ticked. if you are thinking of importing from the uk you may get higher specs for similar prices here

thatslife

gowley wrote: »

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Skoda/Superb/Ambition/34013643865155660/advert?channel=CARS what about something like this. comfortable reliable and economical. all boxes ticked. if you are thinking of importing from the uk you may get higher specs for similar prices here

Cheers man, never thought of looking into them - Know anything about the Superb? is it superb??

NIMAN

Meant to be pretty good, yeah

http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/search?dimensionIds=369&dimensionIds=257&dimensionIds=4294963594&page=1&pageCount=10&orderBy=None&orderDirection=Ascending

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/skoda/superb/hatchback-2008/

gowley

got a company one in feb 12. 2.0 tdi elegance 168 bhp. 89000km and no issues. had mondeos for years with no probs either but just fancied a change. i found that the spec i could get for the money was much better on the skoda. servicing at dealers is also much better. they hoover and wash the car. a wash was the most i ever got with the ford. its not as good to drive as the ford but its comfortable spacious reliable and has loads of bells and whistles

thatslife

So I drew up a comparison table (night shifts are quiet!); cars priced had less than 60k miles. Gave each car a reliabilty rating, just a personal thing it was more of a general feeling i was getting reading through reviews etc

So from this - Im leaning towards the Vauxhall Insignia EcoFlex.
Owner reviews were decent. Good MPG Plus power which I need on my commute. Decent room in the boot. And fits nicely into my budget!

BMWs & A4s too expensive.
Passat Bluemotion came in 2nd place - 2.0 Common rail model '09. Relability let it down. Volvo s40 1.6 next - budget would be tight.

What do you think?

650Ginge

thatslife wrote: »

Ok, if you had max E15k, what would you buy that would give excellent mpg, never let you down, comfortable?? Probably will go to UK to get the most outta the budget. 1st baby due so need 4doors.
- Passat?
- Accord?
- Avensis?
- 3-series?
- Octavia?

I dont know...

Seriously there is nothing economical about spending €15k on a car. Does not compute?

R.O.R

thatslife wrote: »

So I drew up a comparison table (night shifts are quiet!); cars priced had less than 60k miles. Gave each car a reliabilty rating, just a personal thing it was more of a general feeling i was getting reading through reviews etc

So from this - Im leaning towards the Vauxhall Insignia EcoFlex.
Owner reviews were decent. Good MPG Plus power which I need on my commute. Decent room in the boot. And fits nicely into my budget!

BMWs & A4s too expensive.
Passat Bluemotion came in 2nd place - 2.0 Common rail model '09. Relability let it down. Volvo s40 1.6 next - budget would be tight.

What do you think?

The boot in the S40 isn't big enough. It's a great car, but a small enough boot with a very narrow opening isn't really suitable for a growing family.

Passat 2.0Tdi 110 Bluemotion isn't too bad. Most of the niggly issues in the Passat had been ironed out by 09 and the engine seems to be reliable enough. Got one back last month with 186k on it and looking through the history, the only issue listed was a turbo waste gate at 120k. It's sister car (same spec, one no. difference in the reg) came back last year at just over 100k and that had no issues except the A/C compressor needed replacing when it came back.

The early Insignia's didn't have great fuel economy, but were decent to drive. When they introduced the ecoFLEX system to lower emissions, they stuffed up the performance by extending the gear ratio's. Until they introduced the Start/Stop to further lower emissions (2012) they are not great to drive at all. Not exactly bulletproof either - issues with brake discs and we've had quite a few fail recently with the EGR cooler going kaput and leaving them down on power.

Any Accord's in budget? Fair size boot, reliable and decent fuel economy. Other choice would be the Superb, but preferably with the 2.0Tdi engine and minimum Ambition Spec (SE is closest UK equivalent I think). The 1.9Tdi is noisy and a little on the slow side, but it's adequate and proven. 2.0Tdi is quicker, quieter and probably more fuel effecient. Decent boot size that opens as either a saloon or hatch, and soo much leg space in the rear seats that the little un won't be kicking the back of the seats in a year's time

Zubeneschamali

thatslife wrote: »

So from this - Im leaning towards the Vauxhall Insignia EcoFlex.

Have you driven one? You can't see out the back at all, you can't see any of the corners of the car, and the mirrors are crap. The interior is a coal-hole of black plastic.

Easy to get comfortable, easy to drive and good at Motorway work, but I wouldn't fancy it at all.

FR85

Have you had a look at the likes of the Altea/Altea XL? The 1.9 TDI is a super little stove once you keep them serviced, I got great MPG's out of it, never once got left on the side of the road with it.

With 30k miles a year allow for the DMF in the Octavia, Passat and any other car you go for dying and it can be an expensive repair, there is no avoiding it though.

Best of luck with the babba!!!

thatslife

R.O.R wrote: »

Any Accord's in budget? Fair size boot, reliable and decent fuel economy. Other choice would be the Superb, but preferably with the 2.0Tdi engine and minimum Ambition Spec (SE is closest UK equivalent I think). The 1.9Tdi is noisy and a little on the slow side, but it's adequate and proven. 2.0Tdi is quicker, quieter and probably more fuel effecient. Decent boot size that opens as either a saloon or hatch, and soo much leg space in the rear seats that the little un won't be kicking the back of the seats in a year's time

Didn't really come under the budget but probably worth stretching. Itll probably handle the mileage better too. Superb 2.0 VRT is 23% compared to Accords 19% if I get the ES GT model. Both costing roughly the same GBP to buy.
Passat 2.0 bluemotion probably ticks all the boxes - going by what you said they should have most of their problems ironed out if went looking for 09/10 one.

thatslife

FR85 wrote: »

Have you had a look at the likes of the Altea/Altea XL? The 1.9 TDI is a super little stove once you keep them serviced, I got great MPG's out of it, never once got left on the side of the road with it.

With 30k miles a year allow for the DMF in the Octavia, Passat and any other car you go for dying and it can be an expensive repair, there is no avoiding it though.

Best of luck with the babba!!!

Firstly thanks. These flywheel repairs, normally at what sort of mileage would this happen?

gowley

thatslife wrote: »

Cheers man, never thought of looking into them - Know anything about the Superb? is it superb??

auto express has published their annual survey today. according to their results the superb won best family car to own and came second overall. this survey covers all makes and models.

FR85

thatslife wrote: »

Firstly thanks. These flywheel repairs, normally at what sort of mileage would this happen?

I've heard mixed reports of anywhere from 50k miles to 100k miles.
Mine went at about 105k, a friends went at 70k in a Mondeo. It happens the VW, Skoda, Seat, Opel, Ford.....
Again, it might happen, it might not. That and a timing belt are probably going to be your biggest two services.

Left Back on the Bench

i currently have a 99 lexus is200.its killing me on petrol tho. would a Mazda 6,04 or 05 model b much better?

Damokc

Dacia Duster - Brand new it's about 16K
Every car depreciates like a bitch so why not?
Comes with the same engine as the Quasioskaqisoua and the Megan. 1.5DCi


However something like this would also be pretty nice.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-cars/vauxhall/insignia/used-vauxhall-insignia-2-0-cdti-sri-nav-160-5dr-darlington-fpa-201304266453381?logcode=p

thatslife

Left Back on the Bench wrote: »

i currently have a 99 lexus is200.its killing me on petrol tho. would a Mazda 6,04 or 05 model b much better?

Mazda 6, diesel or petrol?

thatslife

Damokc wrote: »

Quasioskaqisoua

ha!

pred racer

galwaytt wrote: »

Why 4 doors ? Your baby isn't going to need one, and can't open one.

I reared 2 x babies, c/w buggies and 'buggage' (copyright ) in an Audi TT and an old 911, then a series of 968's.

Now, aged 10 & 12..........we're still using a TT.

I had a rented 1-series 5-door in Germany last week for the 4 of us, and we got the exact same amount of luggage into it as a TT.

+1
You're having a baby, not an elephant. The bigger the car you buy the more ****e herself will want to carry with you everywhere you go.

This is the way it happened in my house

Baby1, entire house + kitchen sink was brought everywhere

Changed car from colt to lancer to xantia still not enough room:eek:
Both of us copped on......then

Baby 2, essentials + nice to have items

Baby 3, essentials only (nappies, formula, clothes, tiny buggy) 1 small bag and the small buggy, These will fit in a fiesta or smaller, no problem.

Guess what? baby 3 survived too;)

Id be thinking more of your commute, any car that can comfortably do that commute will be more than able to deal with 1 baby!

Left Back on the Bench

thatslife wrote: »

Mazda 6, diesel or petrol?

1.8 petrol.Just wondering would i still be spending the same on petrol as i am at the moment.I spend €40 a wk travelling 125km a week

For Forks Sake

R.O.R wrote: »

The boot in the S40 isn't big enough. It's a great car, but a small enough boot with a very narrow opening isn't really suitable for a growing family.

I'll +1 that. We had an S40 when the child was born, great car couldn't fault it in any way, but the boot really is really small, and the opening is pretty narrow as well.

Anyway, that problem was resolved my my missus writing it off in January. Replaced it with an 08 Citroen C5 1.6HDI, same engine as was in the S40. FAr bigger car, very comfortable, economy round the same. Boot has some clever hinge thingy going on which means the opening is gigantic.. Id recommend it as a left-field choice.

NIMAN

Talking of S40s, anyone know if the Volvo V50 is asny good for 3 young children?

Is it any bigger inside than the S40?

The_Honeybadger

NIMAN wrote: »

Talking of S40s, anyone know if the Volvo V50 is asny good for 3 young children?

Is it any bigger inside than the S40?

For three young children I'd guess not but depends on their age, you'll never get three child seats in the back of it and the boot isn't huge either. You are into mpv territory with 3 I'm afraid. You can probably get three seats into a mondeo or similar sized car, but it'll be a real squeeze and a nightmare to get the seat belts buckled any time you are going anywhere.

NIMAN

Was thinking that, and its a shame, as they are nice looking motors.

I feel its MPV land for me.