Family (+dog) car recommendation

Ardent

Calling out to the wise sages on this forum for advice on the following -

Wifey and I are expecting twins very soon so we are on the lookout for a well-equipped car to ferry around the newborns and our dog!

Key requirements:
Budget - 12-15K over 4 years (inclusive of tax)
Mileage - Less than 10000 miles P/A, nearly all city driving. So thinking petrol would be best, both from a cost and reliability point of view?
Size - We need lots of space in the rear for double buggy and/or dog - so as much as I love the Volvo V50 and BMW 3 series Touring, they are just too small.
Creature comforts - Leather seats, parking sensors, auto, 150+bhp etc are desirable.
Other - Need ISO fix for the baby car seats.
Tax - Don't mind paying high tax as long as the overall cost of ownership fits within budget

Utterly confused as to what to go for. Nothing decent has come up in the past couple of months of searching. Ideal car would be a petrol BMW 5 series Touring or high spec Ford S-Max, but they are as rare as hens teeth.

Anything I'm overlooking?

Thanks all.

Supergurrier

Something like this maybe ?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volvo-v70-2-0-se-man-ethanol/6517406

toyotaavensis

If it was me I would be looking at one of these
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Saab/9-5/2.0-LPT-/38213911878844900/advert?channel=CARS
I like saabs though.

Ardent

Supergurrier wrote: »

Something like this maybe ?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volvo-v70-2-0-se-man-ethanol/6517406

Good shout. Don't think I'd drive all the way to Cork (from Dublin) to get one though.

What are they like to drive? Heard they are a bit wallowy and boat-like..?

Ardent

toyotaavensis wrote: »

If it was me I would be looking at one of these
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Saab/9-5/2.0-LPT-/38213911878844900/advert?channel=CARS
I like saabs though.

Intetesting choice. What would you do if you needed parts, particularly electronic parts? Aren't saab out of business?

Blue850

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/mercedes-benz-e-class-e200-automatic-7-/6558704



http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/mercedes-benz-e-class-e200k-estate-7-se/6340634

R.O.R

Supergurrier wrote: »

Something like this maybe ?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volvo-v70-2-0-se-man-ethanol/6517406

That would have been my suggestion as well, although the Beige interior isn't the most practical. Having 2 young kids, double buggy and a dog ourselves, I can say it's about as good as it gets for load capacity. We had a 2010 diesel which was OK to drive - it's no sports car, but supremely comfortable and acres of space. The 2.0i Flexifuel is a touch underpowered for that car, but it's not deathly slow. Will be thirsty and needs a service every 10k, but at 10k miles and city traffic, it will suffice. Only 140BHP and manual though.

Biggest issue we had with the V70 was the size of it. It gets very cumbersome in car parks, ends up sticking out miles past other cars in parking spaces, and with the electric boot opening, you need to leave a lot of room behind so the boot lid doesn't bang in to stuff - and so you've enough room to pull the buggy out of.

Ours porbably still lives on - was a Cat D write off after an estimate of €17,000 to repair after an "incident". Slight bruise on the wife's thigh was the only sign of the accident - 6 week old and 15 month old came out without so much as a scratch.

Blue850 wrote: »

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/mercedes-benz-e-class-e200-automatic-7-/6558704

That's one of our old cars, so it's as described. Had a couple of minor love taps, but still running strong and came up well after a clean. Didn't realise it was the 7 seat until it came back. Not worth the extra 3K over the Volvo, for lower specification and the auto box.

Zubeneschamali

Audi A6 estate?

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Audi/A6/2.0-T-FS/201406221540556/advert?channel=CARS

Mc Love

Ford Mondeo estate - has the space and has loads of extra's although it will probably be a diesel!

toyotaavensis

Ardent wrote: »

Intetesting choice. What would you do if you needed parts, particularly electronic parts? Aren't saab out of business?

there is a company near the old saab factory who make replacement parts so parts are easy come by