Recommendations wanted Automatic

brehede

Hi - I am looking for a 2 - 3 year old automatic family car, something like Passat or Mondeo in size. Very flexible about make & model! I would prefer 5 door if it exists at that size. I would be grateful for any recommendation regarding good models in particular reliability. I drive relatively short distances every day but heavy traffic in Dublin (last car BMW 118 has died with only 68,000 miles).

Thanks!

Skyfarm

I'm driving automatic Citroen c4 and find it really good on all journeys..has all little extras which i enjoy(paddle shift,self-adjusting reverse mirrors etc )

how did the beamer die?

Redtop

You can't beat the Toyota Prius Hybrid. 4 Door with very a practical Hatch - useful for hauling large items for the family e.g. 2 X adult bikes comfortably. Stick it into "D" and away you go. No clutch to worry about. We get 50MPG (Petrol) on ours. The petrol tank is small to keep the weight down. Packed full of nice features to monitor Economy/MPG. Includes "Power" & "Eco-Mode" modes when you need either extra Oomph for overtaking or if you want to save on fuel (the power drops). The brand suffered a little with the recall a few years ago, but at least Toyota owned up, declared it and fixed it (Other manufacturers brush problems under the carpet). Ours is bullet-proof. Zero trouble.

brehede

Thanks for the recommendations!

The BMW has a lot of problems that make it not worth fixing I'm told, engine burning oil, transmission problem (doesn't show up as a fault on computer but struggling/reving to shift), coolant fan, and some intermittent things! Mechanic thinks may not have been serviced well before I bought it (UK import in 2009 with c. 20,000 miles, I think it had a full history though!).

bazz26

Passat is not available as a hatchback only 4 door saloon or estate. Skoda Superb is worth a look at, the non estate version is both a saloon and hatchback in that the boot opens both as a saloon or hatchback. They are also huge on the inside and the majority of parts are shared with the Passat.

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Skoda/Superb/ELEG-2.0TDI/4394184345930971910/

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Skoda/Superb/ELEGANCE-2.0TDI/9029007439688357511/

colm_mcm

I'd recommend a Prius, only they're more focus sized than mondeo.

Bigus

Prius all the way for Dublin traffic, 2010 >model on is plenty big inside.
Super reliable, better and way easier than a lot of "luxury "cars to live with.

bazz26

Lexus CT200H is worth a look at too, same as the Prius but a bit more upmarket and normal looking:

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Lexus/CT200H/1.8-HYBRID/4421568049844704797/

grogi

bazz26 wrote: »

Lexus CT200H is worth a look at too, same as the Prius but a bit more upmarket and normal looking:

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Lexus/CT200H/1.8-HYBRID/4421568049844704797/

If only it wasn't sooo much smaller inside...

brehede

Thanks to all for the advice! Not sure about a hybrid, my husband would prefer regular petrol engine, What make Prius so well suited to traffic, mainly fuel efficiency? Any other suggestions?

colm_mcm

Apart from the fuel efficiency thing, the Prius has a really smooth gearbox.
Forget about it being a hybrid. You don't have to interact with any of the hybrid stuff. It all goes on in the background.
The big draw with them is it has a relatively small engine and isn't slow. It is also epically reliable.

Bigus

brehede wrote: »

Thanks to all for the advice! Not sure about a hybrid, my husband would prefer regular petrol engine, What make Prius so well suited to traffic, mainly fuel efficiency? Any other suggestions?

Take a test drive in one before you go any further.

Engine is off most of the time in city traffic.

In traffic they are completely silent but uniquely they also move off silently and the engine starts and stops imperceptibly unlike normal stop starters,

making hybrids ultra relaxing for city traffic,

also causing no driver anxiety as to whether the engine will fire because they move off smartly on the battery regardless of engine on or off .

No need to ever plug them in.

quenching

I have to recommend a Prius as well, have had one for 4 years with zero problems and they are ideal for city traffic. I'm not sure I'd buy anything else from now on.

Bigus

quenching wrote: »

I have to recommend a Prius as well, have had one for 4 years with zero problems and they are ideal for city traffic. I'm not sure I'd buy anything else from now on.

And got encouragement on here if memory serves correctly

BionicRasher

Would also recommend the Prius
We get about 55mpg in ours and thats driving a 11km each way trip to work on a mix of town and a small bit of motorway driving. I live in a hilly area so maybe dragging up the hills is costing me a bit in fuel efficiency. We recently did a drive to Dublin from Cork and included a trip out to Navan and got 49mpg on the round trip.

Very comfortable and much easier to drive than a stick shift (also easier than our other regular Audi A3 automatic). Cheap to service and none of the hassle of a diesel (believe me diesels are a pain the rear-end if you only drive short stop start journeys)

We have fitted 3 child seats in the back (although only fit 2 if they are isofix) Also can fit 2 child seats and an adult in the rear.
Boot is fine and big and the overall car is nicely specced but some UK imports will have better specs than the Irish version.

I think this is the way forward for the commuter driver - especially if its shorter distance and you need a hassle free ride

quenching

Bigus wrote: »

And got encouragement on here if memory serves correctly

Yep, sold an old W124 Mercedes estate which I still see around town and still looking great. The Prius was the right choice for what I needed, its done 60k km in our hands in the last 4 years and has been completely trouble free. Its been regularly serviced by Toyota who are very reasonably priced (not that you really have a choice with a Prius) and I even quite enjoy driving it

cros13

You wouldn't think of going for an EV?

They are 10 times cheaper to run than a diesel without the maintenance issues (My first service on my 151 isn't due until next January... I do 50-60 thousand km a year).
They're also more fun to drive and more relaxing in long distance driving.

Provided your daily trips fit inside the range (it's unlikely that they wouldn't) they're ideal. And for longer journeys you can just use the rapid charging network.