What family friendly car for £5k?
Discussion
I'm currently driving a manual Ford Focus but am now looking at buying new car, which has to be automatic as my partner doesn't drive manual.
Budget is £5k or under. One young kid at the moment so has to be fairly spacious, easy to fit a buggy and bags etc and room for another child in the future. A bonus would be something capable of doing the odd trip into Europe, so not tii wheezy an engine.
I'd love something that has a bit of a fun side, or slightly warm, for example an Octavia VRS but I'm budget driven as well so it might have to be more 'boring', bearing in mind insurance costs. We've both been driving for over 10 years.
I've been looking so far at Honda Civic MK8, 1.8 auto (I've read the I-shift is to be avoided) and this seems like a good shout, although fairly boring from a performance point of view. Could be hard to park as I've read rear visibility isn't great.
What else should I be looking at?
Budget is £5k or under. One young kid at the moment so has to be fairly spacious, easy to fit a buggy and bags etc and room for another child in the future. A bonus would be something capable of doing the odd trip into Europe, so not tii wheezy an engine.
I'd love something that has a bit of a fun side, or slightly warm, for example an Octavia VRS but I'm budget driven as well so it might have to be more 'boring', bearing in mind insurance costs. We've both been driving for over 10 years.
I've been looking so far at Honda Civic MK8, 1.8 auto (I've read the I-shift is to be avoided) and this seems like a good shout, although fairly boring from a performance point of view. Could be hard to park as I've read rear visibility isn't great.
What else should I be looking at?
Volvo V50 in D3/D4 trim if you can do Diesel, or T5 if you don't mind 25mpg with a tailwind and £300 a year to tax it. Less full-on tank than Mondeo and Insignia and it'll feel very similar to your Focus as it is essentially a Focus estate - just with a better selection of engines and a nicer interior.
Edited by Pegscratch on Thursday 4th March 13:03
I'd like to stick to petrol, I mostly do short journeys.
Personal preference is not an estate, I feel like I'm too young for that at the moment!
Mondeo and Insignia are both good options, I've been a bit fixated on the Civic though as I feel it's got a bit more character, just in terms of looks, and Honda reliability seems good although the same can probably be said of Vauxhall and Ford.
Personal preference is not an estate, I feel like I'm too young for that at the moment!
Mondeo and Insignia are both good options, I've been a bit fixated on the Civic though as I feel it's got a bit more character, just in terms of looks, and Honda reliability seems good although the same can probably be said of Vauxhall and Ford.
You'll regret not an estate with the buggy. Saloons and hatches just lose so much space with having to post stuff to the back of the boot; but in any event the Volvo S40 comes with pretty much the same brief.
Also, aren't Civics and Focuses pretty much the same size? So you just want a new car then?
Also, aren't Civics and Focuses pretty much the same size? So you just want a new car then?
Pegscratch said:
You'll regret not an estate with the buggy. Saloons and hatches just lose so much space with having to post stuff to the back of the boot; but in any event the Volvo S40 comes with pretty much the same brief.
Also, aren't Civics and Focuses pretty much the same size? So you just want a new car then?
Fair point but an estate just feels too big and unwieldy for me at the moment. Also, aren't Civics and Focuses pretty much the same size? So you just want a new car then?
I haven't looked at the Civic but from pictures it does seem bigger.
The main reason for getting a new car is my partner only drives auto so for the last few years I've been doing all the driving - it's time for that to change therefore we need an auto car and I'm just exploring options. Coming from a Mk2 Focus I'd like some kind of upgrade so the Civic seems to fit the bill but at the same time an S40 or Insignia are also interesting ideas.
Mk3 Focus is also an upgrade; yeah the Civic's boot is meaningfully bigger than the Focus - just check whether that's bigger in the right ways for you. Buggies take a lot of floor space, and if the extra space in the Civic is from height or length that might not change how much space is available to you.
Op I am in an identical situation..3 door MK1 focus but it's getting on a bit and need 5 doors with bigger boot.
I like the MK2 focus (pre -face lift) but not sure if they are getting on now esp with rust which seems to be a bigger issue with Ford's Vs other brands. The older Mondeo's with big N/A engines are tempting too if you can find one that's not been ragged silly or fitted with questionable exterior mods.
I like the MK2 focus (pre -face lift) but not sure if they are getting on now esp with rust which seems to be a bigger issue with Ford's Vs other brands. The older Mondeo's with big N/A engines are tempting too if you can find one that's not been ragged silly or fitted with questionable exterior mods.
Mondeo Titanium X 200 smart spacious quick reliable & a nice place to be:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101198...
2.5 Mazda6 Sport
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009183...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103029...
1.8T 159 Lusso 200 check to see if it has enough boot space
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102259...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101198...
2.5 Mazda6 Sport
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009183...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103029...
1.8T 159 Lusso 200 check to see if it has enough boot space
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102259...
I don't think diesel is good for me, doing mainly short journeys.
I've been having a look at Mondeos. Seen one or two nice post-facelift 240bhp Titanium X Sport - boot is massive, seems like a good steer but hard to find one with Nav (not necessary just spices up the interior). This might be the answer for me. Not sure if post-facelift is a necessity.
I've been having a look at Mondeos. Seen one or two nice post-facelift 240bhp Titanium X Sport - boot is massive, seems like a good steer but hard to find one with Nav (not necessary just spices up the interior). This might be the answer for me. Not sure if post-facelift is a necessity.
ShankCraft said:
I don't think diesel is good for me, doing mainly short journeys.
I've been having a look at Mondeos. Seen one or two nice post-facelift 240bhp Titanium X Sport - boot is massive, seems like a good steer but hard to find one with Nav (not necessary just spices up the interior). This might be the answer for me. Not sure if post-facelift is a necessity.
They do a petrol VRS too...I've been having a look at Mondeos. Seen one or two nice post-facelift 240bhp Titanium X Sport - boot is massive, seems like a good steer but hard to find one with Nav (not necessary just spices up the interior). This might be the answer for me. Not sure if post-facelift is a necessity.
Do you actually need the nav? I few people have said to me about my Octavia not having it but I wasn’t bothered about it (or cruise control for that matter) and even if it had it I wouldn’t really use it. I’ve got a phone if I really needed it anyway.
MiniMan64 said:
ShankCraft said:
I don't think diesel is good for me, doing mainly short journeys.
I've been having a look at Mondeos. Seen one or two nice post-facelift 240bhp Titanium X Sport - boot is massive, seems like a good steer but hard to find one with Nav (not necessary just spices up the interior). This might be the answer for me. Not sure if post-facelift is a necessity.
They do a petrol VRS too...I've been having a look at Mondeos. Seen one or two nice post-facelift 240bhp Titanium X Sport - boot is massive, seems like a good steer but hard to find one with Nav (not necessary just spices up the interior). This might be the answer for me. Not sure if post-facelift is a necessity.
Do you actually need the nav? I few people have said to me about my Octavia not having it but I wasn’t bothered about it (or cruise control for that matter) and even if it had it I wouldn’t really use it. I’ve got a phone if I really needed it anyway.
Octavia VRSs are harder to find for similar money and it seems like the Mondeo is a bit more bang for buck.
ShankCraft said:
MiniMan64 said:
ShankCraft said:
I don't think diesel is good for me, doing mainly short journeys.
I've been having a look at Mondeos. Seen one or two nice post-facelift 240bhp Titanium X Sport - boot is massive, seems like a good steer but hard to find one with Nav (not necessary just spices up the interior). This might be the answer for me. Not sure if post-facelift is a necessity.
They do a petrol VRS too...I've been having a look at Mondeos. Seen one or two nice post-facelift 240bhp Titanium X Sport - boot is massive, seems like a good steer but hard to find one with Nav (not necessary just spices up the interior). This might be the answer for me. Not sure if post-facelift is a necessity.
Do you actually need the nav? I few people have said to me about my Octavia not having it but I wasn’t bothered about it (or cruise control for that matter) and even if it had it I wouldn’t really use it. I’ve got a phone if I really needed it anyway.
Octavia VRSs are harder to find for similar money and it seems like the Mondeo is a bit more bang for buck.
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