Family car advice

chabsey

I'm in the market for a new (to me) car and have been doing research for a while. It's getting close to the time to purchase and it looks like it'll be a trip up north or over to the UK (if possible). However, it occurred to me that even though I've been researching this for months I might have made a preliminary decision early on and haven't been looking as widely as possible since.

So, in the light of that I thought I'd throw it out to the community with a description of my requirements and not mention that car I'd locked in on. Just to see if others with more knowledge in this area would arrive at the same car I had, or possibly I get suggestions of other better options.

So, here are a list of the requirements as I see them, some more important than others.

• Automatic (has to be)
• Be able to comfortably fix three child seats in the back, iso fix isn't required but nice to have. Seats must have space and not be squashed together.
• Plenty of boot room to fit a double buggy plus shopping
• Decent fuel ecomony, currently drive a petrol but open to diesel or (unlikely) electric / hybrid.
• Not too expensive to import (if having to buy from the UK)
• Semi decent looking, prefer less van-like cars although flexible if other boxes are ticked
• Ideally no boot lip / ridge so can slide shopping / buggy in and out easily.
• Not too big / long. Currently drive a Prius so something not hugely bigger would be ideal.
• For me a decent level of tech gadgets would be nice but not required
• Reliable, I care less about the excitement of the drive than I do about the frequency of garage visits.

Budget is in the region of 20K.

Like I say I've already got my candidate but just fear, given the size of this purchase, there's another or multiple options I'm not considering.

Horseshoe600

https://m.carzone.ie/used-cars/Skoda/Superb-COMBI-STYLE-1.6Tdi-120HP-DSG/202001216423854

chabsey

Horseshoe600 wrote: »

https://m.carzone.ie/used-cars/Skoda/Superb-COMBI-STYLE-1.6Tdi-120HP-DSG/202001216423854

Interesting, thanks - not one I had considered before. I do love the leather seats given the mess kids can make and how easy they're to clean compared to fabric.

Only minus point really is the boot lip, but the boot itself looks massive.

corks finest

Horseshoe600 wrote: »

https://m.carzone.ie/used-cars/Skoda/Superb-COMBI-STYLE-1.6Tdi-120HP-DSG/202001216423854

Small engine- big car, nice bloody car TBH had a few Skoda's,all mine were fault free

Shefwedfan

The Superb is a Passat with a Skoda badge. You asked not to have space which you will not get. As usual people ignore the requirements to shove in recommendations for a Skoda.

The biggest car you will get with back seat space is A6 or 5 series. So you could look at either of them in the estate. They have more space.

To get proper full 3 seats then you really are into MPV. The king of the MPV is the Ford Galaxy which would be in budget. Nice to drive. Plenty of space and they are solid as a rock. A few things can go wrong depending on the model but cheap to repair because of the amount on the road and the engine is solid as a rock and doesn't cost a fortune on diesel. THey also drive like a car compared to some of the other MPV.

Personally if you wanted a car then go for this: https://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/audi/a6/fpa/202004178979860?journey=Search
Will get good value from the UK but need to check the import tax

Mjolnir

Because life's short buy an evo....
A6 or 5 series will be comfortable, relatively well specced, decent space, costly on repairs and sometimes general maintenance.
Vw / skoda, usually less well specced, relatively reliable, not as cheap to maintain as used to be, still good value.

3L diesel 5 series touring would be sweat, look flash, still return good economy and no chain worries.

nu_90

Car wise look into the Volvo V70 , cheaper than the usual Mercedes, Audi's, Volkswagen estates. Built in booster seats on some models , depending on ages / weight of kids you could mix car seats and booster seats.

MPV wise , as said above the Galaxy

Dravokivich

Shefwedfan wrote: »

The Superb is a Passat with a Skoda badge. You asked not to have space which you will not get. As usual people ignore the requirements to shove in recommendations for a Skoda.

I'm pretty sure it's longer than the Passat. It was designed initially for the Asian market that prefer a larger rear portion of the cabin.

Shefwedfan

Dravokivich wrote: »

I'm pretty sure it's longer than the Passat. It was designed initially for the Asian market that prefer a larger rear portion of the cabin.

Based on the posts here the Superb is based on Passat so would have the same back seat space.


That will not fit 3 car seats comfortably. THe A6 is a bigger back seat.

chabsey

chabsey wrote: »

............
[*]Not too big / long. Currently drive a Prius so something not hugely bigger would be ideal..............

Surely that discounts A6 estates, superbs etc etc etc.

Toots

What ages are the kids? We tried fitting car seats for my 8yr old and 2 yr old plus my 5 yr old niece in the back of my brother in law's Superb and it wasn't happening. I think anything with a "bench" type back seat you could struggle with. An MPV type with 3 individual seats across the back would be your best bet. My other brother in law drives a VW Sharan and gets 3 seats comfortably in the back, plus when the 2 boot seats are folded down there's plenty of room in there. Also it has sliding doors, which are very handy in car parks for putting the kids in their seats.

I've a Renault Grand Scenic which has plenty of boot space and no lip, but the middle seat is smaller than the other two so depending on the size of car seat you want to put in there it might be too small.

colm_mcm

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Based on the posts here the Superb is based on Passat so would have the same back seat space.


That will not fit 3 car seats comfortably. THe A6 is a bigger back seat.

I would say that neither an A6 or a Superb will fit the brief of comfortably taking 3 child seats.
In my opinion, you need a car with 3 individually sliding rear seats to do this.


Ref x car being based on y car, this is a bit ambiguous these days, given that the likes of VW Group have at least 40 cars ranging from the SEAT Ibiza to the Skoda Kodiaq which are all on the same MQB platform.

I will concede that the dimensions of the Superb and Passat are quite similar, but the Superb has a longer wheelbase and more headroom.
The key point in this case though is positioning of the isofix points relative to the position of the doors. lots of cars have wide seats, but if the bolstering on the seats and the position of the isofix points bunch the child seats together, its all for nothing.

My brother has a mk2 Superb estate, and I have a Mk3 Octavia estate, and the Superb is not any wider . It's got a lot more legroom, but isn't any better in terms of getting child seats in.


I'd suggest something like this petrol (non turbo) Kia Carens
https://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/kia/carens/fpa/201912215525663?journey=Search

5 years or 130000kms warranty remaining.
Only 4" longer than a Mk3 Prius.


Ref seats, compare the position of the centre of the outer seat relative to the door with what you get on a saloon. A child seat wont sit up on a heavy bolster.

bazz26

A Renault Scenic might do the job, it has 3 rear individual seats:

https://www.carsireland.ie/detail.php?ad_id=2511260&r=s.php%3Fm%3D72%26o%3D621%26r%3D2018%26pp%3D50%26g%3D0

Shefwedfan

colm_mcm wrote: »

I would say that neither an A6 or a Superb will fit the brief of comfortably taking 3 child seats.
In my opinion, you need a car with 3 individually sliding rear seats to do this.

You quoted me but only part of my post so I will return the favour


I didn't say the A6 would fit them comfortable. I just said it had the biggest back seat along with the 5 series.



As per my post, the bit you forgot to quote the best option for 3 car seats is a MPV and the best on the market is the Galaxy.

colm_mcm

I quoted the whole lot of the post

(Post #9)

chabsey

Toots wrote: »

What ages are the kids? We tried fitting car seats for my 8yr old and 2 yr old plus my 5 yr old niece in the back of my brother in law's Superb and it wasn't happening. I think anything with a "bench" type back seat you could struggle with. An MPV type with 3 individual seats across the back would be your best bet. My other brother in law drives a VW Sharan and gets 3 seats comfortably in the back, plus when the 2 boot seats are folded down there's plenty of room in there. Also it has sliding doors, which are very handy in car parks for putting the kids in their seats.

I've a Renault Grand Scenic which has plenty of boot space and no lip, but the middle seat is smaller than the other two so depending on the size of car seat you want to put in there it might be too small.

The kids are 6 and will be two new borns (in a month or so). So, they'll be in car seats for a while and the 6 years old's seat is big.

TBH I kept my original choice out of this thread because I wanted other opinions and I've got food for thought from various replies. However, I was originally looking in the MPV area for practicality but since posting here and doing more reading I'm liking the look of the Peugeot 5008 a lot. It's expensive though, not within my price range unless I up it by 5K or so....but I find the outside and drivers area very appealing.

Regarding the Sharan the sliding doors do appeal and sound great (same on the Alhambra I believe) but the look of those cars do nothing for me.

Shefwedfan

chabsey wrote: »

The kids are 6 and will be two new borns (in a month or so). So, they'll be in car seats for a while and the 6 years old's seat is big.

TBH I kept my original choice out of this thread because I wanted other opinions and I've got food for thought from various replies. However, I was originally looking in the MPV area for practicality but since posting here and doing more reading I'm liking the look of the Peugeot 5008 a lot. It's expensive though, not within my price range unless I up it by 5K or so....but I find the outside and drivers area very appealing.

Regarding the Sharan the sliding doors do appeal and sound great (same on the Alhambra I believe) but the look of those cars do nothing for me.

The Sharan and Alhambra are a serious jump up in terms of size. We had a S-MAX and Misses upgraded to Galaxy which woul dbe similar size to Alhambra/Sharan. She hated it because it was so big. A transit van was her description.


THe other option with young kids of course if Multimac which is what we have got.



In reality with children of that age you need to look at a MPV or Peugeot 5008 which is a lovely SUV type in the newer model but stil have the 3 seats in it

beauf

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Based on the posts here the Superb is based on Passat so would have the same back seat space.


That will not fit 3 car seats comfortably. THe A6 is a bigger back seat.

The Superb is bigger in the back than the Passat. More legroom and more shoulder space. At least on the older model. The newer ones look more similar.

None of these are in the same ball park as a decent MPV though, for 3 kids. Not even close.

beauf

The mid size MPVs like a Touran are shorter than a passat saloon but with far more interior space. Estate cars are even longer again.

In the future, When you can put each child on a seperate seat row, on a long journey its solves a lot of issues!

Shefwedfan

beauf wrote: »

The Superb is bigger in the back than the Passat. More legroom and more shoulder space. At least on the older model. The newer ones look more similar.

None of these are in the same ball park as a decent MPV though, for 3 kids. Not even close.

According to reviews it’s 30mm bigger. Not even a big toe :-)

beauf

Shefwedfan wrote: »

According to reviews it’s 30mm bigger. Not even a big toe :-)

Like I said it was more noticeable on older version. Any reviews mention more legroom and headroom even for the current one. Haven't sat in rear of the new models of either one.

If you are concerned about space, a MPV is king anyway.

shane b

chabsey wrote: »

The kids are 6 and will be two new borns (in a month or so). So, they'll be in car seats for a while and the 6 years old's seat is big.

If you are having twins, a 7 seater is really the only option be it van based or car based. My wife had twins in March and we have a girl who just turned 7 so very similiar situation.
We looked at estates but fitting the 3 car to a seats proved awkward. Some of the mpvs struggled to fit the 3 seats too. The Toyota and Kia seemed to be 2 and a half seats with only the outer seats being isofix, rather than 3 full seats . I looked at the van based 7 seaters which were grand but my wife was having none of it.
If you are Dublin based 7 seaters.ie and kearys motorstore have a good range to help which model what suits.
We eventually picked a Citroen C4 grand picasso exclusive model. We got a 2016 for 16k with 34k kms on it from a Citroen dealer. The upper models are quite well specced for the money. For 20k it should be able to get a relatively new one. Boot space is ok, we can fit the buggy, the 7 year olds bike and some shopping. My wife likes the higher seating position too.
The VW/Seat and Ford options are bigger but a lot more expensive. Also we found low mileage ones hard to find.
My wife had 2015 corolla to trade in so she wasn't driving anything older than it even though she was getting into a more expensive car.

Shefwedfan

Go to UK and try get a SMAX with low mileage. You won’t get one in Ireland as people buy and drive into the ground and then flog.

It’s does everything you ask for and reliability is fantastic. You can get full leather ones as well

kippy

Renault grand scenic or ford Smax.
Have the grand scenic a few years now. Great car for multiple uses. The smax would generally be a more expensive option.
They are adaptable 7 seaters with lots of space when the extra seats are folded down.

chabsey

shane b wrote: »

If you are having twins, a 7 seater is really the only option be it van based or car based. My wife had twins in March and we have a girl who just turned 7 so very similiar situation.
We looked at estates but fitting the 3 car to a seats proved awkward. Some of the mpvs struggled to fit the 3 seats too. The Toyota and Kia seemed to be 2 and a half seats rather than 3 with only the outer seats being isofix. I looked at the van based 7 seaters which were grand but my wife was having none of it.
If you are Dublin based 7 seaters.ie and kearys motorstore have a good range.
We eventually picked a Citroen C4 grand picasso exclusive model. We got a 2016 for 16k with 34k kms on it from a Citroen dealer. The upper models are quite well specced for the money. For 20k it should be able to get a relatively new one. Boot space is ok, we can fit the buggy, the 7 year olds bike and some shopping. My wife likes the higher seating position too.
The VW/Seat and Ford options are bigger but a lot more expensive. Also we found low mileage ones hard to find.
My wife had 2015 corolla to trade in so she wasn't driving anything older than it even though she was getting into a more expensive car.

Your situation does sound very similar to ours, and in fact the car you bought was the one I had set my sights on. In Ireland though getting an automatic with anything less than 100k on the clock is really difficult. So I'd been looking up north or the UK.

One thing that confuses me about the trim levels is that from what I've read there are three - touch, feel and flair (with flair being the top level). But I occasionally read ads where they mention Exclusive but I don't know what that translates to in terms touch / flair etc. Is it a different naming convention for the UK vs Ireland?

In terms of going to the UK....by the look of this lock down I might not have that option which is annoying. Maybe the north will have to suffice or pay someone to transport it back from the UK sight unseen.

Millem

I would get a 7 seater. I have a VW touran. I find it so easy to drive and park. The extra seats are very handy when it comes to birthdays/play dates etc.
The boot is brilliant and the seats can go down completely flat if you need to transport something. I think they can even come out! We always had VWs so stuck with them. My husband thinks we might look at the Sharan next time but tbh they are a lot more expensive plus I think they will be harder to park etc.

I would of gone for a Peugeot 5008 or a Citroen c4 grand Picasso though. They were cheaper and had more gadgets on them!
My own experience is that my kids wreck cars! I have a 6, an almost 3 year old
and a new baby coming this summer.
So I am delighted I bought mine second hand plus the 7 seaters seem to depreciate quickly unlike a VW Golf. It ended up cheaper than a golf of the same age.

shane b

chabsey wrote: »

One thing that confuses me about the trim levels is that from what I've read there are three - touch, feel and flair (with flair being the top level). But I occasionally read ads where they mention Exclusive but I don't know what that translates to in terms touch / flair etc. Is it a different naming convention for the UK vs Ireland.

The trim levels are a bit confusing all right. Also Citreon changed the names in 2017 I think as they revised the range or something.
Our exclusive is the mid range model. It has 17 inch alloys, colour screen, sat nav, reversing camera, parking sensors and tinted windows.
There was an exclusive plus I believe as well which is the same as the Flair spec with half leather seats, lane assist, massage seats, powered bootlid, sunroof etc.
The powered bootlid on the flair spec would be handy. Its one feature we wish we had as we have woken the twins a few times closing the boot. Also if the boots open for a period of time my wife struggles to close it as the struts are hard enough to overcome.

Regarding the UK there was a thread here about 2 weeks ago about someone looking at buying a Picasso in Arnold Clarks. I had posted on the thread too. You could pm them to see if the sale went through.

macchoille

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Go to UK and try get a SMAX with low mileage. You won’t get one in Ireland as people buy and drive into the ground and then flog.

It’s does everything you ask for and reliability is fantastic. You can get full leather ones as well

Great advice there, bought one 5 years ago as we needed 3 full size seats in the back. It’s very practical still as we now put the kids bikes in the boot and can take them for a cycle while we get a good walk. The extra seats in the boot are nice to have as well for occasional use.

kanuseeme

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202003198585315?postcode=cv92pz&advertising-location=at_cars&body-type=Estate&make=KIA&fuel-type=Hybrid%20%E2%80%93%20Petrol%2FElectric%20Plug-in&radius=1500&sort=price-asc&maximum-mileage=60000&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&page=1

20 000 pounds vrt is 900 euro. 172 reg, 20k miles

plug in range is 38 miles probably around 30 miles

colm_mcm

kanuseeme wrote: »

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202003198585315?postcode=cv92pz&advertising-location=at_cars&body-type=Estate&make=KIA&fuel-type=Hybrid%20%E2%80%93%20Petrol%2FElectric%20Plug-in&radius=1500&sort=price-asc&maximum-mileage=60000&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&page=1

20 000 pounds vrt is 900 euro. 172 reg, 20k miles

plug in range is 38 miles probably around 30 miles

Won’t do the 3 child seats comfortably though.

chabsey

colm_mcm wrote: »

Won’t do the 3 child seats comfortably though.

Pity, would be a great one for efficiency. I think it has to be an MPV and within that it'll most likely be a C4 grand picasso (unless a 5008 drops hugely in price).

Shefwedfan

chabsey wrote: »

Pity, would be a great one for efficiency. I think it has to be an MPV and within that it'll most likely be a C4 grand picasso (unless a 5008 drops hugely in price).

I bought a Outlander PHEV and I have a multimac in it. 90% of the timne it is running on battery and then petrol kicks in if I need it

Millem

chabsey wrote: »

Pity, would be a great one for efficiency. I think it has to be an MPV and within that it'll most likely be a C4 grand picasso (unless a 5008 drops hugely in price).

Would you not look at the older 5008 model? You might get a 2017? 4 of my friends have them and are very happy with them. They have loads of extras on them compared to my touran.

kanuseeme

chabsey wrote: »

Pity, would be a great one for efficiency. I think it has to be an MPV and within that it'll most likely be a C4 grand picasso (unless a 5008 drops hugely in price).

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201911274807824?postcode=cv92pz&advertising-location=at_cars&make=BMW&fuel-type=Hybrid%20%E2%80%93%20Petrol%2FElectric%20Plug-in&radius=1500&year-from=2018&sort=relevance&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&model=2%20SERIES%20ACTIVE%20TOURER&page=1

Its an "mpv" but small,

I also have an outlander, newborn, mammy in the middle and 6 year old in a booster, 8 year old in the front.

A plug in is economical, if your doing a lot of short trips,

Maybe it would be better to buy seats to fit a car than buying a car to fit seats,

Congratulations and best of luck.

Toots

I'd just make sure you test drive the C4 Picasso - I had one as a hire car for a fortnight and found the automatic quite slow to respond. As regards seats, you'll definitely fit them in - my other sister in law has one and is expecting baby #5 - they've no issues fitting 3 full size car seats in the middle row.

bee06

In terms of fitting 3 car seats, there are lots of cars you can fit 3 car seats into, they just have to be the right car seats. There’s a Facebook page (link below) that has tons of pictures of three across in a lot of cars.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/456353881062172/?ref=share

Belfast

Skoda Superb would be my choice.
What mileage are you doing?

Gemancy

We have a 4 year old, 3 year old and 1.5 year old. We got a Toyota Estima just before the baby was born. 7 seater, hybrid, automatic. Originally we were going to UK for it but in the end purchased in Dublin. It’s a bit ugly on the outside but omg it’s fantastic! I can walk around the back of it, change clothes, change nappies, sit toddler on potty and fit the kitchen sink in if I wanted to. Windows are heavily tinted so nobody can see in the back. There are 2 seats behind the driver’s and front passenger seat and these fully recline with foot rests! The back row has one seat and and a 2 seater. These can be folded flat to the floor. The middle row is isofix. They come in 8 seater but these are 2 bench seats so 7 seater was preferable to us. Jap import btw. Fellow parents always coming up to me to ask about it.

Best of luck with whatever you go with. Would highly recommend this car!

bazz26

Skoda should pay you a commission.

Shefwedfan

Belfast wrote: »

Skoda Superb would be my choice.
What mileage are you doing?

That's a surprise, have you ever recommended any other car? :P

colm_mcm

Shefwedfan wrote: »

That's a surprise, have you ever recommended any other car? :P

To be fair he’s only after recommending a Skoda Octavia in another thread.

chabsey

Thanks for all the input. It was a close call between the Peugeot 5008 and the C4 Grand Picasso. Preferred the look of the 5008 but the petrol economy while good, wasn't close to what I was used to and it probably would have annoyed me every time I filled up. Decided on the C4 Grand Picasso diesel which will do for a few years anyway. ~50 mpg so hopefully should get about 600 miles from a tank - if it turns out to be a reliable car as well then it ticks most of the boxes.

chabsey

Toots wrote: »

I'd just make sure you test drive the C4 Picasso - I had one as a hire car for a fortnight and found the automatic quite slow to respond. As regards seats, you'll definitely fit them in - my other sister in law has one and is expecting baby #5 - they've no issues fitting 3 full size car seats in the middle row.

Haven't totally committed to it yet (pending test drive etc) so I'll keep this in mind and try to give it a good run on the test drive.

Lantus

chabsey wrote: »

The kids are 6 and will be two new borns (in a month or so).

Regarding the Sharan the sliding doors do appeal and sound great (same on the Alhambra I believe) but the look of those cars do nothing for me.

The grim reality of parenting is that very little will be your choice in the years to come. Anything that makes life a little better and easier lessens the pain a bit.

Pkiernan

I drove a brand new rental C4 picasso 3 years ago and I was genuinely shocked at the delay in the auto transmission and the terribly poor acceleration.
I found it very disconcerting when changing lanes on the motorway.

chancer007

looking at the S-MAX myself with 3 small children. Anyone other car suggestions for 3 child seats in the back?

colm_mcm

chancer007 wrote: »

looking at the S-MAX myself with 3 small children. Anyone other car suggestions for 3 child seats in the back?

What’s your budget?

chancer007

12-15k

Shefwedfan

chancer007 wrote: »

12-15k

SMAX is the best if you can find a good one. Usually that means going to UK or getting a UK import company to bring them in

chancer007

Shefwedfan wrote: »

SMAX is the best if you can find a good one. Usually that means going to UK or getting a UK import company to bring them in

thanks,only started looking recently & hope to purchase next 2/3 months. I see some zetec/titamium & some basic models..when I buy I wont be changing it for a while!

Pkiernan

chancer007 wrote: »

thanks,only started looking recently & hope to purchase next 2/3 months. I see some zetec/titamium & some basic models..when I buy I wont be changing it for a while!

Get a high spec 2.0 I auto if you can.