Practical, reliable, economical comfy and £10k max

[Johnny Longstaff]

Afternoon all. The Roomster is definitely on it's last legs and will need replacing soon. What with. It seems hard to find anything that looks remotely decent value. We're considering estates or MPV/SUV whatever they are called these days. The Roomster has done a great job for the last 12 years. Looking for the Goldilocks sized just big enough but not too big. Rear leg room is important for whoever sits behind the driver, and the car will need to fit four of us including 2 teenagers. Roomster has a sliding back seat which makes things doable. We have a medium sized dog so need to get them and luggage in. For big trips we use a roof box and have a tow hook for extra space or a bike rack. I would prefer an Estate, but need to go to a superb or maybe insignia to get decent rear leg room and they are both long cars. Other option seems to be either CRV/RAV or Touran/Sharan/SMAx etc.
Petrol as won't do huge amount of miles. Will probably do longer trips when required. The last Auto I drove was from the last century and I hated it, but if they are any better now I might consider it, I've always thought it's another thing to go wrong though.
Anyone got any bright ideas?
Cheers

[Zlat502]

Skoda Yeti or Honda Civic Tourer?

[Boringvolvodriver]

Whilst you don’t mention the price you are looking at, I would suggest having a look the Skoda Karoq or Kamiq. Not sure about rear legroom though. That said, I was surprised at the rear leg room in my wife’s VW Polo and IIRC the Kamiq is based on the same platform but longer and taller with a bigger boot.

Octavia estate may also be an option.

ETA sorry missed the £10000 so ignore the first two ideas.

Octavia estate would be my choice tbh.

Edited by Boringvolvodriver on Saturday 12th October 14:10

[Silvanus]

Dacia Jogger is the modern equivalent of a Roomster/Yeti if in budget.

[Johnny Longstaff]

Thanks all,
Civic tourer is on the radar, but they don’t seem to come up very often round here and I’m not sure what the rear leg room is like.
Neighbours had a yeti and it felt less spacious than the roomster so probably not.
I agree that I think the best Octavia I can find is probably a good shout. Without the budget restrictions I’d be tempted by a Kodak but that is unrealistic.

[Boringvolvodriver]

Finding a petrol Octavia might be an issue from a quick look on autotrader although the hatchback might be big enough perhaps?

Think the Astra estate has a longer wheelbase than the hatchback so that might be worth a look.

Alternatively there is the Ford C Max - I had one of the older ones many years ago and it was spacious and a fairly good drive as well.w

[leef44]

Have you considered a Suzuki Vitara 1.6 petrol engine? They stopped making them as NA 1.6 petrol in 2018 so I got a 2018 model. They are practical, reliable, economical comfy and £10k max.

[ZX10R NIN]

Grandland X SRI Nav, these have a wet belt so I'd budget for a belt change.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202408062...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410105...

Elite Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409264...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409174...

The Insignia the one I'd pick as it's good family car:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409254...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410034...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403288...

Mondeo Titanium hybrid:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202408293...

1.5T Titanium:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409244...

Kia Optima Hybrid:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410074...

Sportage, but I'm not sure they have the boot space you're looking for:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410024...

[alabbasi]

Any Mercedes Estate

[Johnny Longstaff]

Thanks All,
I'll have a look at the Suzuki, and a look at the C-Max.
from your list ZX I like the look of the Insignias, hadn't considered a hybrid Mondeo, I'm not averse to a Mondeo but Master Longstaff who has spent the summer working in a garage can't find a good word to say about Fords, but then again he's a BMW fanboy, so his judgement may be clouded Optima looks a possibility, and you might be right about the Sportage lack of boot space.
Not sure about Mercs, I had a ride in a E Class estate and the rear legroom was nowhere near as good as the Superb. Plus I'd be looking at quite an old one and I'd rather go properly old Merc in that case, but not sure that is sensible. Interesting yes, sensible not so much....

[ZX10R NIN]

Johnny Longstaff said:

Thanks All,
I'll have a look at the Suzuki, and a look at the C-Max.
from your list ZX I like the look of the Insignias, hadn't considered a hybrid Mondeo, I'm not averse to a Mondeo but Master Longstaff who has spent the summer working in a garage can't find a good word to say about Fords, but then again he's a BMW fanboy, so his judgement may be clouded Optima looks a possibility, and you might be right about the Sportage lack of boot space.
Not sure about Mercs, I had a ride in a E Class estate and the rear legroom was nowhere near as good as the Superb. Plus I'd be looking at quite an old one and I'd rather go properly old Merc in that case, but not sure that is sensible. Interesting yes, sensible not so much....

Having supplied lots of Insignia's/Mondeo's (& owned one) I can tell you they're very reliable & make great family wagons, the hybrid has a CVT box which most people get on fine with but some can't stand so maybe test drive one first.

The Optima has a conventional auto & is a good car but it won't drive as well as the other two.

[andy43]

If the Optima is big enough an Auris hybrid tourer might work but I’d guess it’d be tight in the back. You’d be inside the ten year warranty on one of those.

[V6Nelo]

Been UK holidays and weekly trips up and down motorways the last 3 years in an Optima.

Fit the bill perfectly, lots of space in the back, mine is the saloon and boot space is good but an estate would have been ideal.

No notable issues at 104k miles.

Not quick of the mark but picks up nicely once out of first, not going to enjoying hairpins or chicanes but takes long fast bends in its stride and so comfy I enjoy it differently to my Alfa , listening to the awesome stereo instead of the engine. (1.7crdi)

[Johnny Longstaff]

Thanks for the suggestions folks, I'll go and check out the suggested estates and cross my fingers that the Roomster keeps going for a couple more months at least. Thankfully I'm not in a rush......

[Haltamer]

Civic Tourer is a good shout - The rear leg room is probably better than you'd expect; They should have the magic seats that allow the rear benches to fold up (60/40) which is something that becomes surprisingly useful once you have it, and rear doors that open to 90deg - Makes it much easier for the passengers to get in / out.

[blue_haddock]

I've recently purchased a superb estate and whilst it is a big car its easy enough to manoeuvre and doesnt feel too big to me at least.

[flatso]

The S212 generation of E Class Mercefes are built like tanks. The örevious gen (211) had its share of problems and MB realisd that one of their legacy cars was ruining their reputation. They did an expensive facelift of the 211 and decided to revert back to old values when developing the 212.

Especially the facelifted 212 is a great car, with prope care it will do astronomical miles. Go sit in one, slam the door shut and press the central locking button...the way it all sounds is heavy duty stuff.

The estate version is gigantic inside as well, a proper Benz wagon.

[andyalan10]

Funnily enough I came across this option in my interminable search for a replacement for a Volvo V70.

Citroen C5 Aircross.

Pluses - fairly compact, individually adjustable rear seats should overcome any legroom issues,

Minuses - Most petrols are the 130bhp 1.2 triple.

Not got as far as looking at one yet.

[magpie215]

If your happy to go down the import route have a look at the Toyota Noah/Voxy,Honda Stepwagon.

There are others plenty of petrol MPV options from Japan.

Cars are usually low mileage and rust free.

[Lincsls1]

My Vauxhall Astra diesel estate (2015 1.6) ticks all your boxes.
It is a great car for what it is and costs.
Highly recommended as a family bus or general workhorse.