Buying a MPV advice?

efwren

Hi,

Due to recent arrival of twins and the fact that I now have 3 children under 3 years of age...I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that I have to give up my nice 2011 octavia for a people carrier.

I have been looking around the different review sites, had a drive of a C4 picasso, a Peugeot 5008 and a Ford s-max..and the number of options can be confusing sometimes!

Basically i am looking to spend as little as possible on a trade in, but need a car that is big enough, and very importantly, reliable...being cheap to run would be a bonus too!

So far i am considering ( and have taken for a test drive)

This 2010 Peugeot 5008
http://www.carsireland.ie/county/dublin/peugeot/5008/detail.php?ad_id=887346&r=s.php%3Fm%3D67%26o%3D2137%26l%5B%5D%3D10%26g%3D0
(a tad expensive..however comfortable and nice to drive, flexible seats)

and this 2008 Ford s-Max
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Ford/S-Max/ZETEC-1./34613668364098460/advert?channel=CARS


Both are nice to drive and comfortable, the S-max seems a little bigger which would be an advantage as we would occasionly be using all 7 seats. However the Peugeot definitely feels newer and better equipped.

Anybody got any experience positive / negative with these cars? S-maxs are very pricey second hand hence the need to go down to 2008. That wouldn't bother me as long as its a reliable motor, going to want to keep this for 7 or 8 years. Peugeot's reliability record is a concern, although i have heard things may be better with the 5008.

Any experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Ta

Shakti

http://www.carsireland.ie/detail.php?ad_id=926800&r=s.php%3Ff1%3Dcaravelle%26g%3D0

Marcin_diy

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Ford/Kuga/2.0TDCi-/33913631788640940/advert?channel=CARS

FrontDoor

A Touran or Verso or CMax or 7 seater Quasqai.

All you want at that age is comfort to fit 3 seats across the back and access to two further seats.

ablelocks

s-max and peugot are quite expensive in comparison to the renault grand scenic / citroen c4 grand picasso / opel zafira

we have 4 kids and are trading up from a renault grand scenic - we will be buying a citroen. pure economics really, for what are very similar cars there is a 4k spread on the price - 9.5k for the citroen, 11.75k for the renault and 13.5k on the peugot (2010, circa 40k miles) + our own.

friends of ours have 3 smallies too, and they went with the 5 seater Citroen C4.

3 under 3 - congrats and best of luck.

efwren

Thanks for all the replies..

Ford Kuga: I don't think its going to be big enough to be honest..we have a lot of stuff to carry around any time we need to go anywhere twin buggies are not small..

I was looking at the Verso and Touran ..they are also options, didn't think the C-Max was big enough, I had heard people say its difficult to get 3 full child seats across the back ?

Same with the Zafira..again I was under the impression it wasn't big enough.

My original plan was to go for a C4 grand picasso as they seem competitively priced...my concern would be reliability (hence I started looking at the S-max)

Also if you look at the maxi-cosi car seat fitting guide (not sure if anybody pays any attention to these things), they do not recommend any of the seats in the Grand Picasso for a newborn child seat.

Hadn't considered the Renault or the 5 seater Citreon..might be worth a look.

Would you recommend the grand scenic?

Thanks again all for the input..much appreciated..

Neffa2

We had a Touran for 4 years, really nice one with DSG/leather and the 170 engine. Great car, but you should be aware that the three seats in the middle row are not quite the same size, it's a 35/30/35 split and it's hard to get a proper child seat into the middle seat without impacting the outer seats a bit. The S-Max is better as it (like the Galaxy) has three equally sized seats, it wasn't out when we got the Touran but would be the one I would go for now instead if you need the 3 full seats in the middle row. I'd avoid anything with a bench 2nd row (Zafira etc).

Your car will take a real hammering with 3 kids (we have 5 now, so speak from experience), I think the interior build quality of the French cars is not great and the S-Max/Touran are considerably better.

BoardsMember

Hi efwren - did you end up going for the S-Max? Any advice/suggestions, I am looking to buy one in the next while.

Thanks

NIMAN

I'm in that market too at present with No3 on the way, and the cars on my list are Touran, Corolla Verso, Honda FR-V and Mazda 5.

Mazda has advantage of sliding doors but its really a 6 seater as the middle seat in 2nd row is very narrow, meaning will always have to use one of the rear seats.

The Honda is a genuine 6 seater, and more compact than the others.

The Touran is dull looking but the 1.4TSi interests me.

The Verso is also compact looking but not sure if it has 3 full size middle seats or not?

Stallingrad

NIMAN wrote: »

I'm in that market too at present with No3 on the way, and the cars on my list are Touran, Corolla Verso, Honda FR-V and Mazda 5.

Mazda has advantage of sliding doors but its really a 6 seater as the middle seat in 2nd row is very narrow, meaning will always have to use one of the rear seats.

The Honda is a genuine 6 seater, and more compact than the others.

The Touran is dull looking but the 1.4TSi interests me.

The Verso is also compact looking but not sure if it has 3 full size middle seats or not?

First question is how will it be used, long or short journeys? If short then discount getting a diesel.

BoardsMember

Yeah, mine is certainly short journeys so am looking at non-diesel options.

Currently interested in Mazda 5, Ford s-Max.

I really like the look of the Citroen & Peugeot but would have serious reservations about their reliability, which is a shame, because for design & space etc, they are really great.

NIMAN

Stallingrad wrote: »

First question is how will it be used, long or short journeys? If short then discount getting a diesel.

Yeah I have more or less discounted the idea of a diesel anyway, as it will be mostly short journeys, with maybe only a 50 mile round trip once a week.

I have been looking at 1.6 Versos, 1.4/1.6 Tourans, 1.8 FR-Vs, and 1.8/2.0 Mazda 5s.

Stallingrad

For petrol then the Verso is hard to beat, next up would be the Mazda 5 for me. There is also the 1.6 Zafira but the are nowhere near the Japanese for reliability.

BoardsMember

Reading more reviews about suitable cars, the ford s-max would look a difficult one to beat, though the petrol version is not too plentiful compared to the diesel.

colm_mcm

OP, consider a Multimac for the Octavia.

http://www.multimac.co.uk/4_child_car_seat


They're not cheap, but neither will getting an Mpv be

BoardsMember

Starting to think estate rather than MPV.

Those BMW5 Series Touring look nice!!

R.O.R

You'll struggle to fit 3 full size child seats in an Estate. The 5 Series isn't that wide, so seats will be bunched right up against each other. Volvo V70 is a bit wider in the back and would probably just about fit 3 side by side.

If looking at smaller MPV's, you need one with individual sliding seats in the middle row. Centre seats are usually a bit smaller than the outside seats, but if you can slide each one individually, you can move the centre seat forwards and the outer seats back - that means the sides of the child seats aren't rubbing against each other.

A smaller MPV will also be a lot easier to pilot around town than a large estate, especially if herself isn't used to driving something so big.

Also - if going to look at vehicles, make sure you can fit the buggy in the boot. Some of the double buggy's (like ours) can be monsterous, and really cuts down on the number of suitable vehicles.

bbam

Hi guys..
We've had 2 MPV's so I'll give some feedback..

Zaferia 1.6 Petrol. Nice car to drive but underpowered. sort of a mid sized car really, can't get 3 seats across the back. Very rear seats are a pain to rais and lower.

C4 GP 1.6D VTR+ Have this 2+ years much more space and storage than the opel. More economical and powerful. Much more comfortable. Ours has been very reliable, although the clutch kit had to be done at a cost of just under €500 with the man dealer. No problems with electrics nor suspension - the things people said would break my heart. Ours is a 2008 with 130,000+km's and we have no intention in changing anytime soon.. find it a great car.. Plus the rear seats can be raised/lowered with one hand and without changing anything else - makes them very useable. I know 2 others who bought since and are also happy.

ablelocks

after 2 months of owning a C4 GP we're happy. feels very spacious and more to the point, kids are happy as there is more legroom (at the expense of storage if 2 are in the middle and 2 in the boot). Got used to the automatic very quickly, rarely use the flappy paddle manual. seems to be economical. very comfortable to drive, but it's not a car to be pushed hard. cruise along and it's fine. better on windy roads than i thought it would be. if you get one, get protectors for the door and boot sills. kids + studs = scratches. there is a problem with the edge of the drivers seat collapsing, seems to be a known issue but as it's a uk import citroen ireland don't seem to want to know.

our mechanic didn't have any concerns about reliability before we bought it - no better or worse than any other similar cars was his view. the only car he warned us off was the Hyundai tragedy.

overall prefer it to the Renault Grand Scenic that we had.

ITDept

We've had an S-Max for the last three years and I really like it. Plenty of space, nice to drive, no issues in terms of reliability (touch wood) and generally a good car. We went for the 2 litre diesel Zetec version, bought in England, and brought over. Even after the much-hated VRT we still saved quite a lot against buying the same thing here.

BoardsMember

Getting more & more confused. We only need 2 booster seats, might need one baby seat in future but probably not. that's why am steering towards the estate rather than MPV, assuming it to have better drive, not as big/cumbersome. Based on absolutely no evidence or test drives, so maybe I need to get out and do some test drives.

PaulieC

think about what you actually need, as opposed to what you think you need. We had twins and immediately fell into the trap of buying an MPV, in our case a Renault Grand Scenic. A miserable 6 months of driving ensued. Ended up getting rid and getting a Passat which was wide enough to accommodate a booster and two car seats. Boot was also big enough too.
A lot of the smaller MPVs are actually quite narrow so I would advise bringing all your boosters/car seats to the garage to make sure they fit. If they don't, it's a bloody expensive mistake.
Also, I'm not sure if we're still in the age of the gigantic buggies, but sometimes all you need is a smaller buggy rather than a new car. Some of the buggies are/were ridiculously sized and required removing wheels to get them into the car, but we got a Maclaren double buggy that worked form birth to 4 years old and folded down not much bigger than a single.

FrontDoor

A full size MPV will be an expensive car to buy and run. For the most part, you will be driving around an enormous and empty van.

A mid-size MPV is a good compromise in that you can easily fit seats across the middle, are easy to get kids in and out of and you have two seats in the boot, should you ever need them. Otherwise, you generally have a big boot.

For 2-3 small kids, something like a Touran/Verso/C-Max etc, is perfect. The S-Max is a bigger car to my mind, and more expensive.

BoardsMember

PaulieC wrote: »

think about what you actually need, as opposed to what you think you need. We had twins and immediately fell into the trap of buying an MPV, in our case a Renault Grand Scenic. A miserable 6 months of driving ensued. Ended up getting rid and getting a Passat which was wide enough to accommodate a booster and two car seats. Boot was also big enough too.
A lot of the smaller MPVs are actually quite narrow so I would advise bringing all your boosters/car seats to the garage to make sure they fit. If they don't, it's a bloody expensive mistake.
Also, I'm not sure if we're still in the age of the gigantic buggies, but sometimes all you need is a smaller buggy rather than a new car. Some of the buggies are/were ridiculously sized and required removing wheels to get them into the car, but we got a Maclaren double buggy that worked form birth to 4 years old and folded down not much bigger than a single.

This is exactly the train of thought I am on now.

Admittedly, as well as a big boot, I would like a hatchback, and therefore thinking of estate rather than something like the VW Passat. I also like the higher ride on some of the estates, like the BMW, Audi or Mazda tourers.

Am pretty set on going for a car in the UK so that I get a higher spec.

Thinking about 2011+, budget of mi-twenties all in, including VRT. Might try the Avensis or the Mazda 5.

derry

ablelocks wrote: »

our mechanic didn't have any concerns about reliability before we bought it - no better or worse than any other similar cars was his view. the only car he warned us off was the Hyundai tragedy.

MY first cousin had three kids 6, 8, 10 when he bought new in 2005 the Hyundai Tradjet 2,000cc and never had any major problems after that
Yes its big car full 7 Seater with boot to spare and has transported many boy and girl scouts all across the country .Its heavy on fuel but was the car for the time .Now the kids are teens one drive thier own car so the need for the big car has dropped but it still tows the boat the canoe surf boards on top and five of us still go west for week trips in comfort

The only main issues were headlights were painful to change bulbs when they blew as I had to change them .

There was some recall issue for front suspension a few years back but they fixed that mostly caused a rattle of some sort if my memory serves me .

The car ate front brake disks and front tires for breakfast but its heavy car mostly city traffic and disks are not that expensive and tires if you shop around are not so expensive .
Yeah it got some rattles now its done ~150,000 miles . Now its used less often .I will probably buy it from My cousin as my old back find the high seat beats the saloon cars low seats which cramp my back on long journeys .

Yeah its ugly sort of car but it goes tad expensive to run if you drive fast and hard and the 2000cc engine is pushed to supply power over 70MPH in overtakes or from standing starts

The interior held up fairly well but its is basic plastic interior but my cousin got extra stuff to protect known bad spots like doors and floor mats etc .
The interior held up better than his first new car a 99 the Volvo estate v40 which threw its big big end after ~250,000 kilometers and got scraped in 2012

Now maybe the mechanic knows other that gave troubles but my cousin is happy enough other than i wont pay him what price he asks so we are still in selling mode six months later LOL. I must admit it might be worth the price he asks but no harm to string it out another year the price drops each year


So I fail to see why it would be called tragedy other than it does have a kind of tragic look about it it has proved to be OK work horse

If I had three kids it would be my first choice on the list you cant move kids and the kids freinds and do the driver swaps with small cars and estates and smaller MPV so well .If you can bite the bullet and get the bigger models biggest box is best with three plus kids .You can always downsize like my cousin did to 1000cc runner when the kids grow up and spread their own wings

But to help me push for lower price inform me of other warts i don't know off for the Trajet tragedy .Must use that line for the buying tragedy LOL


I for one will never ever buy any car of any type from Europe manufacture (exception pre 2000 mercs ) due the issues of the matching the electrical and electronic components to the ECU a dirty trick the euro car makers invented so you forced to buy only parts made specifically to Irish market

All Asian cars don't have this problem parts from any part of the world will work directly with ECU so spares are more easy to get




Derry

efwren

BoardsMember wrote: »

Hi efwren - did you end up going for the S-Max? Any advice/suggestions, I am looking to buy one in the next while.

Thanks

Hi,

Yes I went with the S-MAX...I had driven the 5008, C4 Picasso and the Verso, and the S-MAX is a much better car in my opinion. Its not perfect..its not as nice to drive as my old Octavia but the space is fantastic. A Month on and I don't know how we would cope without it.

Any specific advice? Well I managed to get one that had the foam inserts in the underfloor storage which is advised if you have car seats with the supporting leg. Make sure the car you are buying has the puncture repair kit in it, as the cars do not come with spare wheels.

They are a very solid car...however take it for a drive as the biggest issue I have had to adjust to is the seating position on the actual drivers seat (its quite hard compared to my old car).

The best piece of advice I was given was buy the biggest car you think you'll need, as you'll need it. This has proven to be the case for me.

Best of luck

BoardsMember

Thanks for the reply and advice efwren