Auto - Estate or SUV £12k

[Richtea1970]

Hi,
I currently have a Vivaro van in which I do a 200 mile (all motorway) round trip every weekend during the spring/summer. I have this to transport my dog (a large German Shepherd) and sometimes bikes and stuff, done to the beach etc. Unfortunately the mpg is awful and it’s now getting to the age where little things are going wrong. Also as some of the journey is on the M5 a lot of it can be stop/start so I really want an auto.

Normally in this scenario a Skoda Octavia seems to be the go to, but seem to hear a lot of issues with the high maintenance DSG box. Similar with the Ford Powershift set up.

It is only a 2nd car/dog wagon so max of £12,000 really but open to anything with a big boot/good mpg (so probs diesel).
Any recommendations?
Thanks

[JQ]

Volvo XC70 D5 SE Lux fits the bill and I had for dog, biking and family duties. The mpg isn’t amazing at circa 40mpg but it’s a lovely place to sit with a huge boot. Go for a post 2012 for the more powerful engine and upgraded media.

And don’t worry about mileage, they cope incredibly well. I sold my first with 250,000 miles and my second got written off at 170,000. Both looked and felt like they’d done 30,000.

[Richtea1970]

Thanks, yeah that's an option.
I has a XC60 a few years ago and really liked it. Any issues with the auto box in those?

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say the last gen Insignia is the pick it'll have android auto & carplay as well as a conventional auto & you can get a top spec Elite Nav well under budget:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310102...

Or for a lot less you can get a 508 GT again with a conventional auto:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310253...

[Richtea1970]

Those both look good value too, lot of spec on that 508 for just over £6k.
That leaves me 6k in the bank for when the French electrics go wrong

[ZX10R NIN]

Richtea1970 said:

Those both look good value too, lot of spec on that 508 for just over £6k.
That leaves me 6k in the bank for when the French electrics go wrong

In fairness they're actually pretty sorted electronics wise.

[Richtea1970]

ZX10R NIN said:

In fairness they're actually pretty sorted electronics wise.

Yeah, never really looked at Peugeot to be fair, so going to check a few reviews, thanks for the info, appreciated

[ALawson]

What are the Euro 6 answers to the same question?

[georgeyboy12345]

This is what I'd pick - Mercedes E220 CDI
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311234...


Other ideas

If you go 2.0 TDIs, then the DSG boxes are wet clutched ones that are more robust

Audi A6 Avant 2.0 TDI Ultra
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311174...

Skoda Superb 2.0 TDI SE
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310243...


What about an MPV - not too far off a van in terms of interior space, but more car like with regards to how they drive and fuel economy

BMW 218d Gran Tourer
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202308070...

VW Touran 2.0 TDI
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304286...

[Jamescrs]

Richtea1970 said:

Those both look good value too, lot of spec on that 508 for just over £6k.
That leaves me 6k in the bank for when the French electrics go wrong

Have a couple of those 508s at work in GT line spec and they are fairly robust cars and the auto is perfectly acceptable in my experience. I actually prefer them to the newer model which looks prettier but actually is a PITA due to the more swooping roofline which is a pain for anyone particularly tall

[JQ]

Richtea1970 said:

Thanks, yeah that's an option.
I has a XC60 a few years ago and really liked it. Any issues with the auto box in those?

Not that I am aware of, both of mine were still on their original boxes and worked very smoothly.

The only issue I found was sticking door handles. Happened on both cars and is a known issue, but really didn’t cause me any major issue. Door handle would stick 2% of the time and would just require pushing back in.

[agent006]

ALawson said:

What are the Euro 6 answers to the same question?

In the case of the XC70, the answer is "the same car but twice the price".

[Richtea1970]

georgeyboy12345 said:

This is what I'd pick - Mercedes E220 CDI
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311234...


Other ideas

If you go 2.0 TDIs, then the DSG boxes are wet clutched ones that are more robust

Audi A6 Avant 2.0 TDI Ultra
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311174...

Skoda Superb 2.0 TDI SE
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310243...


What about an MPV - not too far off a van in terms of interior space, but more car like with regards to how they drive and fuel economy

BMW 218d Gran Tourer
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202308070...

VW Touran 2.0 TDI
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304286...

I’d love an E Class but at the 12 grand mark they tend to be older or very high mileage. The van I’m replacing is 2012 so want something newer than that really. The Mercedes /BMW 5 Series and Audi A4/6 are on my list but finding one with the right history/age is a problem,
Not adverse to an MPV but they tend to be a bit boxy/bland. I quite like the Citroen Grand Picasso as the seating options are very flexible giving you a flat boot floor but a think a Citroen might be too of a risk as suffer a lot of electrical issues apparently.

[Richtea1970]

Jamescrs said:

Have a couple of those 508s at work in GT line spec and they are fairly robust cars and the auto is perfectly acceptable in my experience. I actually prefer them to the newer model which looks prettier but actually is a PITA due to the more swooping roofline which is a pain for anyone particularly tall

Good to hear, as I said, they look like very good value for money.

[dhutch]

We have just bought a 4yo V60 Mk2 auto, very nice place to be and drives perfectly fine.

We also drove a 2.0 TDi DSG Gen4 Octavia and that was lovely too, if anything I slightly prefered the drive. But the Volvo does look nicer from the front!

MIL has a 1.5 Tsi DSG Gen3 facelift Octavia which has the dryclutch gearbox and it reliable, but not great and picking a gear.

[edc]

Richtea1970 said:

I’d love an E Class but at the 12 grand mark they tend to be older or very high mileage. The van I’m replacing is 2012 so want something newer than that really. The Mercedes /BMW 5 Series and Audi A4/6 are on my list but finding one with the right history/age is a problem,
Not adverse to an MPV but they tend to be a bit boxy/bland. I quite like the Citroen Grand Picasso as the seating options are very flexible giving you a flat boot floor but a think a Citroen might be too of a risk as suffer a lot of electrical issues apparently.

I bought a little while ago a 67 plate auto C4 Grand Picasso at 50k miles with no history. Looking now you can get 17 and 18 plate or newer manual from circa £9k. They won't win any cool awards but as a utility vehicle do the job. It's more refined, more comfortable and more fuel efficient than a previous Merc Bclass diesel.

[dhutch]

OP does state they want an automatic, which in this day and age, and with that drive, I can't fault at all.

[Richtea1970]

Yeah, has to be an auto, at my age I’ve had enough of going up and down gearboxes in stop start traffic!