Thinking of an estate - am I mad?

onrail

First baby just arrived, and after thinking that we'd be comfortable enough with the old Golf, there just doesn't seem to be enough space once the buggy and all the other stuff is loaded in.

We'll be making fairly regular 2-3 hour trips down for visits, and it really seems as if an estate or possibly a large saloon is in order. It just seems mad that one baby has driven me to considering anything beyond the usual hatchback!

Looking at £15k budget roughly (live in NI), and while I love being frugal where I can, I keep being tempted by Audi A4/A6 Avant while looking for a Skoda or Ford.

Might a large saloon, something like a Passat, Skoda Superb or Audi A6 do the same job??

Darc19

4 door A5?

But I can vouch for the 5 series touring in terms of comfort and flexibility

onrail

Darc19 wrote: »

4 door A5?

Yep, they're a lovely car tbf. Wonder how practical it is as a family car though?

Sam Quentin

You're not mad at-all..and 2 great suggestions in the Octavia..more so the Superb or Ford Mondeo,. Superb so roomy and looks stylish,. the Mondeo looks an absolute beast beautiful head on view. Actually they're the 2 yokes I've been eyeing up for a long time now,.2016 onwards.

onrail

Yeah, the Mondeo estate is actually a real looker! I'd worry about depreciation with it though

colm_mcm

Even the Mondeo hatch has a massive boot. I’d have the Superb over it though as the Mondeo has a good few annoyances for me.

Tabby McTat

Estate is definitely a good shout. We have just gone from 1 to 2 kids and I got an E Class estate in January. Haven't used it too much with the lockdown and all, but the boot just eats up buggies, shopping, anything I've thrown at it.

Also, they are relatively rare as a family car (compared to SUV/crossover) and handle like a saloon.

corkgsxr

onrail wrote: »

Yep, they're a lovely car tbf. Wonder how practical it is as a family car though?

Big inside but low.

Big boot but low glass of the boot restricts height.

heroics

I had a 5 series saloon and when we had the 2nd child changed it for a 5 series estate.

Best thing I did was change to an estate. Double buggy no problem. Chuck it in. Shopping, baby bags, bikes, scooters etc etc it just swallows them up. No playing jenga every time. Split tailgate is something I wasn’t pushed about but use it all the time.

GustavoFring

Herself has a saloon. A couple of times we've been caught out with baby stuff and a dog. It's only a very odd time you get caught out so you could argue a roof box...still was enough for me to get another wagon this time around. Once you have one you definitely miss the flexibility with saloons or hatches of being able to load them up.

onrail

heroics wrote: »

I had a 5 series saloon and when we had the 2nd child changed it for a 5 series estate.

Best thing I did was change to an estate. Double buggy no problem. Chuck it in. Shopping, baby bags, bikes, scooters etc etc it just swallows them up. No playing jenga every time. Split tailgate is something I wasn’t pushed about but use it all the time.

Interesting to hear, thanks. Would the 5 series estate offer a huge advantage over a 3 series estate? Similarly - A6 avant offer a big benefit over an A4 avant?

kirving

corkgsxr wrote: »

Big inside but low.

Big boot but low glass of the boot restricts height.

As in the rear slope angle of the glass?

If so, the W212 E-class has quite a square back and has 695l of boot space compared to the A6 Avant's 565l. 5 series touring is 560l.

You won't regret an estate. Unbelievably handy. Want to bring two bikes on a weekend away in Ireland? Throw them in the back along with the luggage. Full car to the airport? Not a second thought.

Only thing is, I have a black W212, and the hearse jokes never end.

onrail

Kevin Irving wrote: »

Only thing is, I have a black W212, and the hearse jokes never end.

Yeah, there is an absolute glut of decent value black estates on the market that I’m avoiding for that vary reason!

knucklehead6

I hate to be the one to put the letters SUV into the equation, but with a baby you have a few years of baby seats and putting the baby in to said seat.

I have a 2016 mondeo estate, love it to bits. But I’d have been better buying something that sits a bit higher off the ground. My wife finds it difficult putting the kid into the car, because of needing to bend down and he’s a big un

RobAMerc

knucklehead6 wrote: »

I hate to be the one to put the letters SUV into the equation, but with a baby you have a few years of baby seats and putting the baby in to said seat.

I have a 2016 mondeo estate, love it to bits. But I’d have been better buying something that sits a bit higher off the ground. My wife finds it difficult putting the kid into the car, because of needing to bend down and he’s a big un

Thats probably the only good reason to have an SUV over a car - otherwise I'd go with a car every time. Cars are still dynamically far superior to SUV's

knucklehead6

RobAMerc wrote: »

Thats probably the only good reason to have an SUV over a car - otherwise I'd go with a car every time. Cars are still dynamically far superior to SUV's

Not disagreeing with you at all. I had a Kuga for a few days and wasn’t a huge fan. The boot was a fair bit smaller than my own too.

But it was SO much easier putting the lad into the Kuga than the mondeo.

We wouldn’t do a huge amount of distance driving as a family, most of the time it’d be about an hour at a time. And that’s mostly motorway too. The better driving dynamics don’t count as much when cruising along.

When I go out to play on the mountains (hiking is my hobby) the mondeo is MUCH more fun driving on those roads.

Lurching

Are you tall?
We have an F30 320D saloon and struggle with space with the baby seat behind the passenger seat. It got worse when we upgraded to the larger seat at ~9 months.

Combine that with the fact that the boot is just about full with just the buggy in it - now considering a station wagon or large SUV.

galwaytt

You are literally the client Renault invented the Scenic for. And which every manufacturer then followed with..Smax, Cmax, etc etc.

onrail

knucklehead6 wrote: »

I hate to be the one to put the letters SUV into the equation, but with a baby you have a few years of baby seats and putting the baby in to said seat.

And I’d only just convinced myself that I didn’t need an SUV...lol

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t considering something like a Volvo XC60, but I find it difficult to justify the loss in economy. We’re a short enough family, so maybe the height won’t be as much of an issue for us!?

onrail

galwaytt wrote: »

You are literally the client Renault invented the Scenic for. And which every manufacturer then followed with..Smax, Cmax, etc etc.

I know - but I really really hate the idea of buying one. An estate seems like a compromise solution

whippet

decent estates have far more run than SUVs.

I've had both the Superb Combi and Kodiaqs and the boot space in the superb is far bigger and easier to load.

All day long i'd prefer to be in the Superb than the Kodiaq. We have two kids and three dogs so know all about the need for space

Yermander

We got a SUV (Kia Sportage) after our first arrived, it is great for lifting kids into the car but not a lot of room in the boot when heading away for the weekend.

Looking at an estate now myself as I can’t get away with a 3 door hatchback any longer.

The boot arrangement in most saloons are not great for buggies and bags, unless they are the hatchback type like the mondeo or superb.

awec

Bought a Superb Estate when child 1 arrived, best decision I ever made. Boot is massive, absolutely no issues with double buggy, suitcases and whatever other crap we need to put in there. Loads of room in front and back.

Going from your hatchback to an estate will be a real eye opener. Biggest problem you'll have is avoiding the urge to fill it every time you go on one of your trips!

logie101

I was in an identical situation a number of years back. I had a lovely Golf GTI but when the second kid came along it had to go.

I ended up buying an estate. Best move ever with kids. You can throw in buggy’s, bikes shopping etc. over the weekend I just bought a double fridge/freezer and threw it in the back of the car. Saved myself €50 delivery.

Oh I’ve an Audi A6 Avant Sline auto. Great car albeit a little boring to drive. But I’d highly recommend for families.

Tabby McTat

One thing to look out for is the rest facing child seats. Not the infant ones but for the bigger kids. They are supposedly safer but they take up so much room! Even in my W213 it limits the amount of space you can push the seat back. Think the Superb is probably the only car where you don't need to worry about it.

I have only ever driven saloons and happy out with them. Would be afraid to try an SUV in case I liked it!

Definitely worth looking at the boot space as they can be deceptively small in all but the larger SUVs.

BPKS

awec wrote: »

Bought a Superb Estate when child 1 arrived, best decision I ever made. Boot is massive, absolutely no issues with double buggy, suitcases and whatever other crap we need to put in there. Loads of room in front and back.

Going from your hatchback to an estate will be a real eye opener.

Hope to get a new Octavia before the end of the year. Have never had an estate before but considering it now. Octavia boot might struggle on the odd occasion I'd be trying to get 4 or 5 suitcases into it.

A stupid question somebody might be able to answer - would the estate handle as good as the hatchback.

wonski

BPKS wrote: »

Hope to get a new Octavia before the end of the year. Have never had an estate before but considering it now. Octavia boot might struggle on the odd occasion I'd be trying to get 4 or 5 suitcases into it.

A stupid question somebody might be able to answer - would the estate handle as good as the hatchback.

I drove 201 Reg Octavia estate for a couple of weeks at work, 1.6tdi rental spec so nothing exciting. It did feel a bit heavy in tight corners, but handled just fine. Surprisingly quiet inside.


It really depends what you were driving before tbh.

It did feel a bit outdated from outside, I think you are buying the new model that comes out this year?

Baymax2020

I went from a seat Leon to a Skoda Octavia VRS when the 2nd child arrived unbelievable boot space on it. Takes buggys, shopping, golf bag and trolly with no issues. Plenty of space in the back for the kids too. Lovely car to drive also.

awec

BPKS wrote: »

Hope to get a new Octavia before the end of the year. Have never had an estate before but considering it now. Octavia boot might struggle on the odd occasion I'd be trying to get 4 or 5 suitcases into it.

A stupid question somebody might be able to answer - would the estate handle as good as the hatchback.

Handling is fine, it is heavier feeling but also feels very sturdy or something. Overall very comfortable drive.

My wife has a Kia Ceed, when I drive her car it feels like I'm driving a go-kart in comparison to mine.

Baymax2020

BPKS wrote: »

Hope to get a new Octavia before the end of the year. Have never had an estate before but considering it now. Octavia boot might struggle on the odd occasion I'd be trying to get 4 or 5 suitcases into it.

A stupid question somebody might be able to answer - would the estate handle as good as the hatchback.

Will handle the same, it's essentially the same chassis just a higher back end on it.

Damiencm

In the same boat now as the op with baby no. 2 on the way.

Looking at 2012 5 series estate. Apart from the well known timing chain issue anything else to look out for?

As someone else posed, is there a massive difference between the 3 & 5 series estates? Granted I am looking at a different vintage to the op

onrail

Cheers for the replies, it really does seem that an estate is the way to go with occasional long journeys needed. Especially if no. 2 ever arrives.

I do wonder whether something the size of a Superb/A6/Mondeo estate would be necessary, or whether something a little neater such as an octavia/A4/focus estate would do the job?

awec

onrail wrote: »

Cheers for the replies, it really does seem that an estate is the way to go with occasional long journeys needed. Especially if no. 2 ever arrives.

I do wonder whether something the size of a Superb/A6/Mondeo estate would be necessary, or whether something a little neater such as an octavia/A4/focus estate would do the job?

If your budget can afford the Superbs etc then I'd definitely go for it, but otherwise the Octavia etc will do the job and be a lot better than what you currently have.

Yermander

If you are looking for a smaller estate, the 2019 models of the Focus and Ceed look well I think.

colm_mcm

onrail wrote: »

Cheers for the replies, it really does seem that an estate is the way to go with occasional long journeys needed. Especially if no. 2 ever arrives.

I do wonder whether something the size of a Superb/A6/Mondeo estate would be necessary, or whether something a little neater such as an octavia/A4/focus estate would do the job?

I have an Octavia estate and it’s plenty big. There’s good room in the back and the boot’s massive at 610 litres. Because it has a retractable tonneau cover vs. a parcel shelf, it gives you a bit more flexibility if you have a slightly taller item to bring.

The Superb is gigantic in the area between the front and rear seats, that’s the main difference. There is an extra 1cm in height and more importantly 5cm in width but that’s only apparent if you try getting 3 in the back. The boot is 3% bigger than the Octavia.

The other differentiator between the Octavia and Superb is the cabin materials and design. There’s nothing particularly wrong with the Octavia interior for the class it’s in, ( I’d put it on par with the Mk7 VW Golf ) but there are a few areas where you can see where the extra money went on the Superb interior.

Green farmer

Even though not fashionable, hard to beat a mpv, if you've kids .Cheap running costs, as much space as a estate, but high up like a crossover. Easy for loading kids in and out of. Also in many cases 3 individual seats in the back row.

heroics

knucklehead6 wrote: »

I hate to be the one to put the letters SUV into the equation, but with a baby you have a few years of baby seats and putting the baby in to said seat.

I have a 2016 mondeo estate, love it to bits. But I’d have been better buying something that sits a bit higher off the ground. My wife finds it difficult putting the kid into the car, because of needing to bend down and he’s a big un

We got these child seats and makes life so much easier as my wife struggled to get the kids into the normal facing ones.

https://www.smythstoys.com/ie/en-ie/baby/car-seats-and-bases/00-18kg-%7c-group-0-1/joie-spin-360-isofix-group-0-1-car-seat-ember/p/169434?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5q75x7eV6gIVaoBQBh0vlAELEAQYDSABEgIMfvD_BwE

Belfast

My sister had a Skoda suuperb estate and had no problem with it and said in was a very good car.
SKODA Superb



2016 (66 reg)

2.0 LAURIN AND KLEMENT TDI 5d 148 BHP £14,995
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202003208644358?minimum-badge-engine-size=2.0&radius=1500&transmission=Manual&postcode=bt370bq&model=SUPERB&advertising-location=at_cars&price-from=14000&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&body-type=Estate&price-to=15000&make=SKODA&sort=relevance&page=1

colm_mcm

That’s a nicely specced car.

I’d have this 190PS SEL AWD DSG
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202006160185401?fuel-type=Diesel&radius=1500&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&postcode=ln12na&model=SUPERB&year-from=2015&body-type=Estate&price-to=15000&minimum-badge-engine-size=2.0&make=SKODA&price-from=10000&sort=relevance&advertising-location=at_cars&page=1

Pkiernan

240hp Smax Eco boost if you're in NI.

colm_mcm

Pkiernan wrote: »

240hp Smax Eco boost if you're in NI.

One child!

Pkiernan

colm_mcm wrote: »

One child!

Plenty of room in the back to make more!

Pkiernan

colm_mcm wrote: »

One child!

Plenty of room in the back to make more!

clancger

I had 2 different Superb estates between 2011-2018, while my kids were small.. I echo all the comments about size, and would happily get another one in a heartbeat. I had also an Octavia estate before the Superbs when we only had the 1kid.

One thing I did find challenging along the way .. I had 2 big carseats in the back of the Superbs, which was fine when just accommodating the kids and the dog. When it came to the point of squeezing in an adult as well it was a very tight squeeze.
The legroom and bootspace is epic, but the width of a Car seat or booster seat is wider than the average adult backside.
I know i could have probably gotten narrower booster or seats, but didn't think about it till it was too late.

yop

I have a Skoda Superb (for sale *cough cough*) and this is the 1st estate I've had and its a monster. I have 2 kids and coach the GAA team and am a cyclist so I have lots of sh9-te to carry around and its got lots of room. Also with the room in the back the little fekers haven't the back kicked off me as their feet can't reach me the drivers seat now with the room!

Sister has an SUV, overpaid for it in my eyes, pays a fortune to replace tires and service. Just to be "up with the Jones"

Green farmer

yop wrote: »

I have a Skoda Superb (for sale *cough cough*)

Any further details ?

onrail

Maybe a stupid question, but did anyone find something the size of a Superb estate massive and unwieldy to park and drive after changing from a hatchback or saloon?

Belfast

onrail wrote: »

Maybe a stupid question, but did anyone find something the size of a Superb estate massive and unwieldy to park and drive after changing from a hatchback or saloon?

It took a bit of getting used to on the skoda suprb hatch back after smaller cars.
The Skoda Superb has parking sensors and reversing camera and self parking so that helps.

yop

Belfast wrote: »

It took a bit of getting used to on the skoda suprb hatch back after smaller cars.
The Skoda Superb has parking sensors and reversing camera and self parking so that helps.

SP is not as standard though, not on the Sportline I have.

ednwireland

Yermander wrote: »

If you are looking for a smaller estate, the 2019 models of the Focus and Ceed look well I think.

the 2013 ceed estate doesnt feel anywhere near as big as my 05 octavia hatch did and because it has a flat load space loses a lot in the boot. lots of cubby holes underneath it though. its only a 2 spec though the 3 and 4 tech models are like hens teeth in ireland. but has most things.

Belfast

yop wrote: »

SP is not as standard though, not on the Sportline I have.

indeed my 2010 skoda supreb elegance has it, but not reversing camera.
So I added a eonon android multimedia with reversing camera to in.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/eonon-GA9353-Navigation-Touchscreen-Compatible/dp/B07RHX1S3Z/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=EONON+GA9353&qid=1564678273&s=gateway&sr=8-2
The newer high spec models should have the reversing camera and self parking.

I think you should consider a dash cam to add to the car.
Good reviews on dash camera and what memory to use in them below
https://carcamcentral.com/
Might even help reduce insurace cost.