2 cars into 1 - Mid sized Estate - Astra/Octavia/Leon/Focus?
Discussion
Looking to combine my car - a Mercedes E350 CDI (massive, quick, superb to drive) and her car (Mazda3 Hatch - modern, good looking, cheap to own) into 1.
(Partner does a lot more miles so makes sense for her to have a more modern, better car that can stand in for family hauling. Frees up me to have something coupe/big engine/older/faster to sit alongside my Elise for winter duties).
Must be:
- Estate
- Petrol
- Reasonably pokey, it'll have to do the fully loaded family trips replacing the Merc (so avoiding to teeny tiny petrol engines).
- 2015-ish on (newer than her Mazda)
- 11-15k ish.
- Have enough pep and interest to stop me hating it and missing the E class, as ill have to drive it more!
I chop and change cars all the time but as this will be 'her' car, it will be kept for a few years and do a decent mileage so got to get it right.
Potential number 1 choice so far is actually the Astra Sports Tourer - good reviews, spectacular value (because of the Luton Intolerance of most) .
This is the rare 200hp 1.6 which would please me but would probably settle for the 150hp 1.4 which is very common.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111279...
Octavia is the sensible choice - closest in size to the Mercedes? Not as good value these days as they used to be? 1.4 or 1.5 tsi engines supposed to be pretty good?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204285...
Theres the Leon which sacrifices a little of the space of the Octavia for a little more style.
Focus is always a good choice but the price range puts me at the end of the life of the Mk3 shape, look a bit old and the decent engines are very rare (most estates seem to be the ancient Nat-Asp 1.6 and slushbox).
Any other outliers we might have missed?
(Partner does a lot more miles so makes sense for her to have a more modern, better car that can stand in for family hauling. Frees up me to have something coupe/big engine/older/faster to sit alongside my Elise for winter duties).
Must be:
- Estate
- Petrol
- Reasonably pokey, it'll have to do the fully loaded family trips replacing the Merc (so avoiding to teeny tiny petrol engines).
- 2015-ish on (newer than her Mazda)
- 11-15k ish.
- Have enough pep and interest to stop me hating it and missing the E class, as ill have to drive it more!
I chop and change cars all the time but as this will be 'her' car, it will be kept for a few years and do a decent mileage so got to get it right.
Potential number 1 choice so far is actually the Astra Sports Tourer - good reviews, spectacular value (because of the Luton Intolerance of most) .
This is the rare 200hp 1.6 which would please me but would probably settle for the 150hp 1.4 which is very common.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111279...
Octavia is the sensible choice - closest in size to the Mercedes? Not as good value these days as they used to be? 1.4 or 1.5 tsi engines supposed to be pretty good?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204285...
Theres the Leon which sacrifices a little of the space of the Octavia for a little more style.
Focus is always a good choice but the price range puts me at the end of the life of the Mk3 shape, look a bit old and the decent engines are very rare (most estates seem to be the ancient Nat-Asp 1.6 and slushbox).
Any other outliers we might have missed?
Focus ST Estate with manual
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205155...
Ford Mondeo Estate, not quite as quick but reasonable mileage
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201040...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205155...
Ford Mondeo Estate, not quite as quick but reasonable mileage
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201040...
We have an Octavia vRS petrol and a base-spec Leon estate at home (and thinking of selling one because we don't really need two estates!).
There's nothing to choose between them in terms of style or fit/finish/quality really.
The Octavia is usefully more big but the Leon is pretty practical too. The Leon has a usefully smaller turning circle in city environments.
The Octavia in vRS trim is a lot of fun but the suspension is a little firmer than my family like for a big family trip, though still perfectly reasonable. However, the Octavia is still brilliant for the job , and if you want a sportier car then you'll get more for your money with a Skoda than you will for anything with a Cupra badge.
EDIT: Before buying the Octavia vRS, I test drove a Focus ST3 estate. It was noticeably smaller in the back seats and a big step down in terms of useful load space. Not as much fun as I was expecting though I know of many people who loved theirs. I wouldn't swap the Octavia for a Focus.
There's nothing to choose between them in terms of style or fit/finish/quality really.
The Octavia is usefully more big but the Leon is pretty practical too. The Leon has a usefully smaller turning circle in city environments.
The Octavia in vRS trim is a lot of fun but the suspension is a little firmer than my family like for a big family trip, though still perfectly reasonable. However, the Octavia is still brilliant for the job , and if you want a sportier car then you'll get more for your money with a Skoda than you will for anything with a Cupra badge.
EDIT: Before buying the Octavia vRS, I test drove a Focus ST3 estate. It was noticeably smaller in the back seats and a big step down in terms of useful load space. Not as much fun as I was expecting though I know of many people who loved theirs. I wouldn't swap the Octavia for a Focus.
Edited by blearyeyedboy on Monday 20th June 15:01
I did wonder about Kia/Hyundai and perhaps need to have a sit in one.
Whilst their larger and recent models, and EVs, are clearly right up there, im not convinced about the slightly older ones - the Ceed SW looks a bit miserable, certainly not 'much nicer' than the Astra.
Not touching a Fiat with your bargepole never mind mine when spending this much on something that needs to last/be trusted/pile miles on. Those Tipos are all over the car supermarket places (stacks and stacks of them) and they are all ex-rentals and all a bit s
t.
Whilst their larger and recent models, and EVs, are clearly right up there, im not convinced about the slightly older ones - the Ceed SW looks a bit miserable, certainly not 'much nicer' than the Astra.
Not touching a Fiat with your bargepole never mind mine when spending this much on something that needs to last/be trusted/pile miles on. Those Tipos are all over the car supermarket places (stacks and stacks of them) and they are all ex-rentals and all a bit s
t. In addition to my post above:
I've driven a 1.0 Astra hatch. Darty, agile chassis, with extremely light steering that lacks feel. I enjoyed it but my wife hated the lack of weight of the steering. The load bay of the estate is huge. I have concerns about its longevity and how well bits of trim will last based on previous generations of Vauxhall but to be fair it seemed to be reasonably well put together.
I've driven a 1.0 Astra hatch. Darty, agile chassis, with extremely light steering that lacks feel. I enjoyed it but my wife hated the lack of weight of the steering. The load bay of the estate is huge. I have concerns about its longevity and how well bits of trim will last based on previous generations of Vauxhall but to be fair it seemed to be reasonably well put together.
Beware: The Mk3 Octavia 1.4/1.5TSI uses a very crude rear torsion beam suspension. Truly awful.
The engine is fantastic, but the estate chassis (ride/road buzz, steering, handling, traction, composure, resonance, pressure pulses) is terrible and the brakes over-heat when driven enthusiastically in the hills.
I really disliked mine. I tried to resolve some of the issues, but sold it on after a few months.
ps. The boot space did not feel as usefully large as reviews suggested.
The engine is fantastic, but the estate chassis (ride/road buzz, steering, handling, traction, composure, resonance, pressure pulses) is terrible and the brakes over-heat when driven enthusiastically in the hills.
I really disliked mine. I tried to resolve some of the issues, but sold it on after a few months.
ps. The boot space did not feel as usefully large as reviews suggested.
Edited by MC Bodge on Monday 20th June 15:38
snotrag said:
Nope, both of those too juicy/miley.
It's exactly the kind of thing that I would buy for ME, but not for her. Not looking for any kind of performance variant at all.
45mpg should be easily doable by the cars I've linked but not an ST.
Ah ok, I never saw any mention of desired mileage in your opening post.It's exactly the kind of thing that I would buy for ME, but not for her. Not looking for any kind of performance variant at all.
45mpg should be easily doable by the cars I've linked but not an ST.
I thought you wanted something with a bit of poke because you would also be driving it?
ninjag said:
Ford Mondeo Estate, not quite as quick but reasonable mileage
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201040...
Similar to mine, although mine is a 2017. Those Mk5 cars are much better than the early reviews suggested and vastly better than the Mk3 Octavia. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201040...
The 1.5 Ecoboost is not great (it feels more like a non-turbo 2.2), but the chassis is really very good. It rides and handles really well, even fully loaded (a Mondeo speciality since the 90s).
It is a big car, though.
Edited by MC Bodge on Monday 20th June 16:09
Thats a good point on the Octavia chassis, I've read that before.
The VRS (like the Focus ST estate) is a car I'd consider as 'my' replacement for the Mercedes but its not for me really, its for her. The Octavias seem to be all or nothing in terms of spec, whereas the Leon has a number of 'nice' variants with the 1.5 and 1.8Tsi and I am presuming a slightly sharper chassis.
To be honest - Its a shame they never did a Mazda3 estate as I'd be all over it! The 6, like a Mondeo I think, will be veto'd as too big unfortunately.
As for performance - I just want to avoid the smallest engine variants which will struggle fully laden - 1.0 Ecobost Fords, 1.2 VAG TSI's, etc.
The VRS (like the Focus ST estate) is a car I'd consider as 'my' replacement for the Mercedes but its not for me really, its for her. The Octavias seem to be all or nothing in terms of spec, whereas the Leon has a number of 'nice' variants with the 1.5 and 1.8Tsi and I am presuming a slightly sharper chassis.
To be honest - Its a shame they never did a Mazda3 estate as I'd be all over it! The 6, like a Mondeo I think, will be veto'd as too big unfortunately.
As for performance - I just want to avoid the smallest engine variants which will struggle fully laden - 1.0 Ecobost Fords, 1.2 VAG TSI's, etc.
My stepdad has got a 2017 1.5tfsi Octavia estate (i.e torsion beam rear suspension and my
mum a 150bhp 1.5tfsi Mk 7.5 Golf (multi link suspension)- admittedly a hatchback rather than estate but the composure and nvh difference between the 2 is vast. Not sure what the suspension is on the higher power powered Seat Leon estates but they might be worth looking at
mum a 150bhp 1.5tfsi Mk 7.5 Golf (multi link suspension)- admittedly a hatchback rather than estate but the composure and nvh difference between the 2 is vast. Not sure what the suspension is on the higher power powered Seat Leon estates but they might be worth looking at
snotrag said:
Looking to combine my car - a Mercedes E350 CDI (massive, quick, superb to drive) and her car (Mazda3 Hatch - modern, good looking, cheap to own) into 1.
(Partner does a lot more miles so makes sense for her to have a more modern, better car that can stand in for family hauling. Frees up me to have something coupe/big engine/older/faster to sit alongside my Elise for winter duties).
Must be:
- Estate
- Petrol
- Reasonably pokey, it'll have to do the fully loaded family trips replacing the Merc (so avoiding to teeny tiny petrol engines).
- 2015-ish on (newer than her Mazda)
- 11-15k ish.
- Have enough pep and interest to stop me hating it and missing the E class, as ill have to drive it more!
I chop and change cars all the time but as this will be 'her' car, it will be kept for a few years and do a decent mileage so got to get it right.
Potential number 1 choice so far is actually the Astra Sports Tourer - good reviews, spectacular value (because of the Luton Intolerance of most) .
This is the rare 200hp 1.6 which would please me but would probably settle for the 150hp 1.4 which is very common.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111279...
Octavia is the sensible choice - closest in size to the Mercedes? Not as good value these days as they used to be? 1.4 or 1.5 tsi engines supposed to be pretty good?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204285...
Theres the Leon which sacrifices a little of the space of the Octavia for a little more style.
Focus is always a good choice but the price range puts me at the end of the life of the Mk3 shape, look a bit old and the decent engines are very rare (most estates seem to be the ancient Nat-Asp 1.6 and slushbox).
Any other outliers we might have missed?
The Megane GT Nav is a very nice car but they're a bit hard to find:(Partner does a lot more miles so makes sense for her to have a more modern, better car that can stand in for family hauling. Frees up me to have something coupe/big engine/older/faster to sit alongside my Elise for winter duties).
Must be:
- Estate
- Petrol
- Reasonably pokey, it'll have to do the fully loaded family trips replacing the Merc (so avoiding to teeny tiny petrol engines).
- 2015-ish on (newer than her Mazda)
- 11-15k ish.
- Have enough pep and interest to stop me hating it and missing the E class, as ill have to drive it more!
I chop and change cars all the time but as this will be 'her' car, it will be kept for a few years and do a decent mileage so got to get it right.
Potential number 1 choice so far is actually the Astra Sports Tourer - good reviews, spectacular value (because of the Luton Intolerance of most) .
This is the rare 200hp 1.6 which would please me but would probably settle for the 150hp 1.4 which is very common.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111279...
Octavia is the sensible choice - closest in size to the Mercedes? Not as good value these days as they used to be? 1.4 or 1.5 tsi engines supposed to be pretty good?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204285...
Theres the Leon which sacrifices a little of the space of the Octavia for a little more style.
Focus is always a good choice but the price range puts me at the end of the life of the Mk3 shape, look a bit old and the decent engines are very rare (most estates seem to be the ancient Nat-Asp 1.6 and slushbox).
Any other outliers we might have missed?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205276...
When going for the Astra I'd be getting her an Elite Nav model even at the cost of a bit of BHP:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202102...
Auto:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202152...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202102...
V60 T3 SE Nav:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203023...
MC Bodge said:
Beware: The Mk3 Octavia 1.4/1.5TSI uses a very crude rear torsion beam suspension. Truly awful.
The engine is fantastic, but the estate chassis (ride/road buzz, steering, handling, traction, composure, resonance, pressure pulses) is terrible and the brakes over-heat when driven enthusiastically in the hills.
Fair point about the chassis. My complimentary comments about the Octavia regards to the multilink arrangement and decent brakes in the vRS.The engine is fantastic, but the estate chassis (ride/road buzz, steering, handling, traction, composure, resonance, pressure pulses) is terrible and the brakes over-heat when driven enthusiastically in the hills.
Edited by MC Bodge on Monday 20th June 15:38
Octavia vRS is the answer as has already been mentioned, especially if you will be driving it a lot. I think anything lower powered you'll end up hating
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202112...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202112...
AliMc99 said:
My stepdad has got a 2017 1.5tfsi Octavia estate (i.e torsion beam rear suspension and my
mum a 150bhp 1.5tfsi Mk 7.5 Golf (multi link suspension)- admittedly a hatchback rather than estate but the composure and nvh difference between the 2 is vast.
It is indeed. mum a 150bhp 1.5tfsi Mk 7.5 Golf (multi link suspension)- admittedly a hatchback rather than estate but the composure and nvh difference between the 2 is vast.
Interestingly, the Mk3 Octavia hatch that my father-in-law is more comfortable (and without the horrible booming/pressure problems) than the estate I had. Skoda presumably fitted stiffer springs to the estate and the shape of the estate changed the stiffness & natural frequency of the roof etc.
snotrag said:
To be honest - Its a shame they never did a Mazda3 estate as I'd be all over it! The 6, like a Mondeo I think, will be veto'd as too big unfortunately.
The Mazda 6 Tourer is shorter - and has a shorter wheelbase - than the saloon. No, it’s not a tiny car, but I’ve always found the estate to be less bulky than the saloon.You may know this, but I personally wouldn’t write off the 6 Tourer on size alone.
It’s a really nice car to drive, surprisingly good value and oddly I much preferred the way the pre-facelift versions drove, though the cabin in the pre-update models isn’t as nice - especially the media system.
RoVoFob said:
snotrag said:
To be honest - Its a shame they never did a Mazda3 estate as I'd be all over it! The 6, like a Mondeo I think, will be veto'd as too big unfortunately.
The Mazda 6 Tourer is shorter - and has a shorter wheelbase - than the saloon. No, it’s not a tiny car, but I’ve always found the estate to be less bulky than the saloon.You may know this, but I personally wouldn’t write off the 6 Tourer on size alone.
It’s a really nice car to drive, surprisingly good value and oddly I much preferred the way the pre-facelift versions drove, though the cabin in the pre-update models isn’t as nice - especially the media system.
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