Family saloon/estate advice

jiltloop

I'm currently driving a 2010 Mondeo 1.8TDI and am looking to upgrade and use the current car as a trade in.

I am looking for something with a similar boot size or possibly an estate as I need the space (camping & buggies etc). I do very low mileage annually but most of the driving I do is motorway journeys of about 30 - 40 minutes so although petrol would probably suit better it severely limits options so I am ok with going diesel if needs be.

Budget is between €7,000 - €10,000 plus my car as a trade in (would €2k be a realistic trade in value?) and I'd be looking at a minimum of 2013 onwards. Also switching to an automatic looks to be the preferable option as my fiancee will be more likely to drive it as well and we are looking to get a shared family car.

Cars I've been looking at, Octavia, Superb, newer model Mondeo, Passats (boots are a bit small in the saloon though), Kia Optima (small boot an issue again though), Seat Leon estate.

I'd love a Mazda6 but I'm very wary of the engine issues I've read about here which is a shame.

Any issues or things to look out for in the above options I'm considering or any other suggestions for cars I may be overlooking?

bazz26

Skoda Octavia - top end of your budget but realistically your choices are limited for what you have to spend:



https://www.carsireland.ie/detail.php?ad_id=2614964&r=s.php%3Fm%5B%5D%3D80%26o%5B%5D%3D682%26f%3D2%26b%3D3%26t%3D2%26yn%3D2013%26pp%3D50%26g%3D0

The other option is to sell your Mondeo privately and head up North or across the Irish Sea. Your Mondeo is a fairly low value car so should not be too difficult to sell privately. Realistically it's going to be worth very little to a dealer anyway.

Fargo Boyle

I have had a 2014 Leon estate for nearly a year now and am very happy with it so far. It was a high mileage import from uk, but the price was good so I went for it. Just been serviced last week, a few bits needed doing (brakes & discs) but mechanic said overall, car was in good nick. My previous car was a petrol focus so the fuel economy on the 1.6 diesel in the Seat is really noticeable to me, I'm still amazed how far a tank will get you. My only concern had been the DPF as I dont do much motorway driving, mostly country B roads but so far so good. Initially the car I was looking for was petrol avensis estate but there are not many out there for sale I found. Cant say much about the other cars on your list but I always hear people speak highly of the Octavia.

I find the whole second hand car buying process stressful. Its hard to identify the genuine sellers from the con merchants. Best of luck with it anyway.

GPoint

Mk5 Mondeo is much better drive than MK4. However avoid 1.5 diesels. I was on the market for it myself and all automatic I found were previous adaptations for special needs passengers with sliding seat. Especially true would be in estate body.
Check out BMW 3 series from 2015 up. I know it's outside your budget but give it a test drive at least.
Kuga drives horribly if you coming from Mondeo.
Passat 2015 and newer are excellent upgrade DSG should be no problems on them.
Good luck

jiltloop

bazz26 wrote: »

Skoda Octavia - top end of your budget but realistically your choices are limited for what you have to spend:



https://www.carsireland.ie/detail.php?ad_id=2614964&r=s.php%3Fm%5B%5D%3D80%26o%5B%5D%3D682%26f%3D2%26b%3D3%26t%3D2%26yn%3D2013%26pp%3D50%26g%3D0

The other option is to sell your Mondeo privately and head up North or across the Irish Sea. Your Mondeo is a fairly low value car so should not be too difficult to sell privately. Realistically it's going to be worth very little to a dealer anyway.

The Octavia is definitely a front runner I think. I have considered selling it privately but I kinda would like to avoid the hassle if possible. However if I'm struggling with my budget and am getting poor trade in values I think that's the way I'll have to go.

Hurrache

GPoint wrote: »

Mk5 Mondeo is much better drive than MK4. However avoid 1.5 diesels.

In general, or in Mondeos?

jiltloop

Fargo Boyle wrote: »

I have had a 2014 Leon estate for nearly a year now and am very happy with it so far. It was a high mileage import from uk, but the price was good so I went for it. Just been serviced last week, a few bits needed doing (brakes & discs) but mechanic said overall, car was in good nick. My previous car was a petrol focus so the fuel economy on the 1.6 diesel in the Seat is really noticeable to me, I'm still amazed how far a tank will get you. My only concern had been the DPF as I dont do much motorway driving, mostly country B roads but so far so good. Initially the car I was looking for was petrol avensis estate but there are not many out there for sale I found. Cant say much about the other cars on your list but I always hear people speak highly of the Octavia.

I find the whole second hand car buying process stressful. Its hard to identify the genuine sellers from the con merchants. Best of luck with it anyway.

Cheers, yeah there's a lovely FRS one for sale on done deal at the moment a little outside my budget and with pretty high mileage. It looks like a lovely car and has some nice extras, if my budget can stretch that far it would be one of go for.

jiltloop

GPoint wrote: »

Mk5 Mondeo is much better drive than MK4. However avoid 1.5 diesels. I was on the market for it myself and all automatic I found were previous adaptations for special needs passengers with sliding seat. Especially true would be in estate body.
Check out BMW 3 series from 2015 up. I know it's outside your budget but give it a test drive at least.
Kuga drives horribly if you coming from Mondeo.
Passat 2015 and newer are excellent upgrade DSG should be no problems on them.
Good luck

I have been focussing on the 2.0litre mondeos specifically and I love the styling of the mk5s. I had the opportunity of driving a brand new passat (manual) over the weekend and really enjoyed it which is why it's now on the list. Thanks for your input.

colm_mcm

Hurrache wrote: »

In general, or in Mondeos?

It’s a good rule of thumb! But yeah, specifically in Mondeos, it’s just not able to get the bulk of the Mondeo off the line. It’s ok once you’re up to speed but they’re a dose of a yoke especially entering roundabouts or junctions.

Mondeo is very comfortable and quiet, but it’s full of ergonomic mess-ups.

paddylonglegs

Iv been looking at octavias recently also. The 1.6 diesel estates have the “business” version which have much higher spec in the cockpit. Well worth it for the extras imo

jiltloop

paddylonglegs wrote: »

Iv been looking at octavias recently also. The 1.6 diesel estates have the “business” version which have much higher spec in the cockpit. Well worth it for the extras imo

Is this the case with all of the estate 1.6s?

jiltloop

Speaking of the Mondeo being quiet I was shocked by how loud the Passat I drove at the weekend was on the motorways. Loads of wind noise, very noticeable. Other than that it was lovely to drive, adaptive cruise control is a game changer.