Petrol family hatchback/estate, €12k, what to check out?

Turbulent Bill

I'm looking for a petrol hatchback/estate as a family wagon. Budget is about €12k, and I'd expect to keep it for a long time so the starting mileage should be reasonable. It will mainly be used for short trips,which I think rules out any modern diesel. Given the outlay I'll be looking at dealers rather than private sales.

Contenders I'm looking at currently:
Mazda 6 1.8 petrol: looks great and probably suited to task, but rare to find a petrol hatchback, and I've never seen a petrol estate. Would need to be Executive SE spec or above.
Mondeo 2.0 petrol: same pros/cons as above, would need to be Titanium spec as the cheaper interiors are horrible.
Passat 1.4Tsi: would need to be an estate, and none are available for sale.

Is there anything else I should consider? Availability of petrol family cars seems to be an issue after 2008 for obvious tax reasons, so I'm struggling to find something to actually buy. Thanks!

grogi

Turbulent Bill wrote: »

I'm looking for a petrol hatchback/estate as a family wagon. Budget is about €12k, and I'd expect to keep it for a long time so the starting mileage should be reasonable. It will mainly be used for short trips,which I think rules out any modern diesel. Given the outlay I'll be looking at dealers rather than private sales.

Contenders I'm looking at currently:
Mazda 6 1.8 petrol: looks great and probably suited to task, but rare to find a petrol hatchback, and I've never seen a petrol estate. Would need to be Executive SE spec or above.
Mondeo 2.0 petrol: same pros/cons as above, would need to be Titanium spec as the cheaper interiors are horrible.
Passat 1.4Tsi: would need to be an estate, and none are available for sale.

Is there anything else I should consider? Availability of petrol family cars seems to be an issue after 2008 for obvious tax reasons, so I'm struggling to find something to actually buy. Thanks!

IMHO - UK import only... You'll wait ages for anything to pop up.

But you might also consider a Prius.

Turbulent Bill

grogi wrote: »

IMHO - UK import only... You'll wait ages for anything to pop up.

But you might also consider a Prius.

Was half-thinking about a Prius, but thought the boot might be a bit small for assorted kids' stuff, might check it out further. I'd also like something I'd enjoy driving, does the Prius have a reputation for being a bit dead to drive (even for a family car)?

colm_mcm

proud is a good bit smaller than the other cars youve listed. the boot is quite shallow.
it's not slow but it's not a car you'd chuck around either.

grogi

colm_mcm wrote: »

proud is a good bit smaller than the other cars youve listed. the boot is quite shallow.
it's not slow but it's not a car you'd chuck around either.

Bl...y autocorrection...

grogi

Turbulent Bill wrote: »

Is there anything else I should consider? Availability of petrol family cars seems to be an issue after 2008 for obvious tax reasons, so I'm struggling to find something to actually buy. Thanks!

One more thing: Octavia, HB or Estate...

Turbulent Bill

grogi wrote: »

One more thing: Octavia, HB or Estate...

I can appreciate that the Octavia is a good car (a few in the family have them), but they don't do anything for me. The current model looks better but would be out of budget. Same goes for something like the Superb.

The problems with being picky .

BionicRasher

Recently purchased a Prius. 2012 model
Must say it's perfect
I do short drives too and from work and have 2 kids under 4. We have frequently had 3 adults and the 2 kids with all associated paraphernalia in the boot which is surprisingly large.
We also just did a trip to IKEA and filled up the car with large items with no issues as seats lie flat

Getting 50/52 mpg also which is great.

Has nice gadgets like touch screen, bluetooth, keyless start and entry and reverse camera.
Very comfortable and has a flat floor in the back seats which is great
Dull enough interior but not in it long enough to notice!

Highly recommended

Soarer

BionicRasher wrote: »

Recently purchased a Prius. 2012 model
Must say it's perfect
I do short drives too and from work and have 2 kids under 4. We have frequently had 3 adults and the 2 kids with all associated paraphernalia in the boot which is surprisingly large.
We also just did a trip to IKEA and filled up the car with large items with no issues as seats lie flat

Getting 50/52 mpg also which is great.

Has nice gadgets like touch screen, bluetooth, keyless start and entry and reverse camera.
Very comfortable and has a flat floor in the back seats which is great
Dull enough interior but not in it long enough to notice!

Highly recommended

Delighted it's working out better than the Citroen. You'd your fill of that yoke.

quenching

BionicRasher wrote: »

Recently purchased a Prius. 2012 model
Must say it's perfect
I do short drives too and from work and have 2 kids under 4. We have frequently had 3 adults and the 2 kids with all associated paraphernalia in the boot which is surprisingly large.
We also just did a trip to IKEA and filled up the car with large items with no issues as seats lie flat

Getting 50/52 mpg also which is great.

Has nice gadgets like touch screen, bluetooth, keyless start and entry and reverse camera.
Very comfortable and has a flat floor in the back seats which is great
Dull enough interior but not in it long enough to notice!

Highly recommended

I have to agree completely, we have a 2005 Prius for 3 kids and have never found the boot too small, you'll fit 6 foot long boxes from IKEA in it without any difficulty, I do it regularly. You'll also fit a mostly full skip bag in it too, not much fun lifting it in but it fits! Have it over 3 years, its been faultless and has averaged 52MPG over the last 45k km, mostly short suburban trips.

Turbulent Bill

quenching wrote: »

I have to agree completely, we have a 2005 Prius for 3 kids and have never found the boot too small, you'll fit 6 foot long boxes from IKEA in it without any difficulty, I do it regularly. You'll also fit a mostly full skip bag in it too, not much fun lifting it in but it fits! Have it over 3 years, its been faultless and has averaged 52MPG over the last 45k km, mostly short suburban trips.

How practical is the boot when the back seats are in use? I'm thinking of kids in child seats, and trying to fit a buggy and kid's bike in the boot at the same time. This is probably the worst case for me.

colm_mcm

The big issue I had with the Prius boot was that it was shallow. Sure you can load stuff up to the roof if you roll back the parcel shelf if you want, but even including the cubby space, it's not a big boot IMO. The distance from the floor to the tonneau cover is 21"

Ardent

You won't find a bigger boot than that of the Volvo v70. Pre-2008 petrols can be picked up for peanuts, usually loaded with goodies like leather, sunroof, heated seats, etc. Tax will be high, mind.

grogi

Turbulent Bill wrote: »

How practical is the boot when the back seats are in use? I'm thinking of kids in child seats, and trying to fit a buggy and kid's bike in the boot at the same time. This is probably the worst case for me.

Not a chance...

It is a very practical boot - I've been carrying around various bits and pieces, a garden shredder for instance - but as colm_mcm mentioned, it is rather small.

Trying to put there a stroller, bike and groceries - not really realistic...

monkeysnapper

Can I just put out here and then run back out door quickly

Dacia Logan

Door shuts , ......

Soarer

monkeysnapper wrote: »

Can I just put out here and then run back out door quickly

Dacia Logan

Door shuts , ......

Door doesn't quite fit and bounces open again.

Lex Luthor

B class
Quashqai

monkeysnapper

monkeysnapper wrote: »

Can I just put out here and then run back out door quickly

Dacia Logan

Door shuts , ......

After I wrote that I went to test drive a dacia Logan .

What a pile of shyte . horrible to drive !!!! I then took the sandero stepway and she wasn't as bad in fairness but Logan was cheap and nasty looking and drive was awful.