Which family car

[AHUX]

Hi All - I'm looking for some advice, we just sold our fantastic X5 due to the imminent arrival of our third child and the need to cut back on costs for my wife to have a half decent period of maternity cover.

I have a round £5k to spend on getting something that can comfortably fit three kids (in child seats) and a dog (in the boot). I would like a car that can be a bit of fun but also be a reliable family wagon. The cars I have been looking at are:

Citreon C4 Picasso - looks ok, but I'm not sure if it will be much fun;
VW Touran - To get one within budget I am looking at close to 100k miles, but the 2l diesel might be good,
Mazda 5 - 2l petrol, appears to have quite good reviews, but I don't think you can get three child seats in row 2
Volvo XC90 - to get one within budget its going to have a lot of miles on it and be very old, therefore, might be a little costly
Ford S Max - looks like a good car, but would need to be higher miles to get one in budget (I think some of these have an ST engine,

I'm not overly enthusiastic about any of the above, but I am hoping someone will make an amazing suggestion I had thought of...

thanks in advance

[anonymous-user]

One of these.

You underestimate the space.

Here you go:

E270 CDI






BMW 525i Touring





Audi A6 3.0 FSI Line quattro (petrol)






The German estates tend to be the most spacious cars in the market.

Summary:

Luxury, Image, space - Mercedes
Looks (most modern ), drive - BMW
Engineering, equipment - Audi


My pick: BMW

the most modern of the lot, reasonable mileage and history, straight six, aged well. Cheap too at £3500.

But for capability I'd go Audi
Or space and refinement Merc.


Links:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
^ Audi, £5500

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
^ BMW, £3595

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

^ Mercedes, £5000

[anonymous-user]

Just read the OP again,

The Audi is definitely for you

[gizlaroc]

AHUX said:

I have a round £5k to spend .....

.........I would like a car that can be a bit of fun......

Citreon C4 Picasso - looks ok, but I'm not sure if it will be much fun;
VW Touran - To get one within budget I am looking at close to 100k miles, but the 2l diesel might be good,
Mazda 5 - 2l petrol, appears to have quite good reviews, but I don't think you can get three child seats in row 2
Volvo XC90 - to get one within budget its going to have a lot of miles on it and be very old, therefore, might be a little costly
Ford S Max - looks like a good car, but would need to be higher miles to get one in budget (I think some of these have an ST engine,

This post makes me so confused???!!!!!!

[gizlaroc]

Buy a 525d or 530d sport touring or a Mercedes facelift S211 estate. (from september 2006 build onwards)

The A6 is crap in comparison.



Are they fun? Not really, but they are a nice place to spend some time.

[gizlaroc]

The Audi build is not as good as the BMW, and the BMW is so far behind the Merc.

The Audi feels positively flimsy compared to the other two.

[anonymous-user]

gizlaroc said:

The Audi build is not as good as the BMW, and the BMW is so far behind the Merc.

The Audi feels positively flimsy compared to the other two.

Tad biased ( ok a lot, I am a fanboy) but I'd take the Audi of those three simply because of the 3.0 FSI + S Line clmbo.

[Willy Nilly]

I wouldn't touch a 3.5 grand 5 Series with a 50ft pole.

A Mondeo might be worth a look at that price.

[eltax91]

Sent you a PM AHUX

[gizlaroc]

Willy Nilly said:

I wouldn't touch a 3.5 grand 5 Series with a 50ft pole.

A Mondeo might be worth a look at that price.

But he has £5k to spend, and with £5k you can now get into a facelift E61 525d or even better the petrol.
Not saying buy a 53 plate, but I looked at a couple of 57 plate 525d tourings and they felt really, really good still.

I just sold a 3.0i X3 with 88k miles on it and FBMWSH for £4k yesterday, which was pretty much perfect, only issue was an intermittent rear was jet, the suspension, engine, gearbox and condition was absolutely bang on.





So not sure why you wouldn't touch a 5 series for similar money?

[Willy Nilly]

Colleague bought an E60 525i for £10,000. It was nothing like as reliable as the Civic I had at the time that was just about at the end of it's life. chucked all it's coolant out on the way back from the airport for him when the highly durable plastic water pump that they must have sourced from Hotpoint failed. fk loads of electrical problems. Utter wk. £200/corner tyres, 150mph brakes for hatch back money. Nice.

[ZX10R NIN]

The Mazda5 won't take the three seats across but it is a good car, but the E Class is a good shout especially if you manage to find a seven seat version or you could grab an R Class.

[anonymous-user]

Willy Nilly said:

Colleague bought an E60 525i for £10,000. It was nothing like as reliable as the Civic I had at the time that was just about at the end of it's life. chucked all it's coolant out on the way back from the airport for him when the highly durable plastic water pump that they must have sourced from Hotpoint failed. fk loads of electrical problems. Utter wk. £200/corner tyres, 150mph brakes for hatch back money. Nice.

I admire the Civic, they are bulletproof and revvy but really not comparable to a 13 year old german saloon are they?

[AHUX]

Thanks all. I'm not sure the estates suggested will seat three child seats? I have a four, a two year old and will have a new bourn soon, along with a Labrador...

I currently have a 530d saloon (E60) and that doesn't have the space across the back for three child seats (ignoring the dog).

[Fastdruid]

AHUX said:

Ford S Max - looks like a good car, but would need to be higher miles to get one in budget (I think some of these have an ST engine

It's the nearest to being "car like" of the MPV's and is meant to be very good indeed (obviously it comes with the admission that you've given up on life when you settle for a people carrier. )

Yes they do come with the 2.5T as fitted to the Focus (and Mondeo) and it is a really nice engine too. Rare as hens teeth though with it though.

[exelero]

Volvo V70?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...



http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...


Don't let the mileage put you off, Volvo means to roll in latin. For these 300k miles are nothing (if maintained properly)

[Pistonheader101]

+1 for A6 avant.

[anonymous-user]

AHUX said:

Thanks all. I'm not sure the estates suggested will seat three child seats? I have a four, a two year old and will have a new bourn soon, along with a Labrador...

I currently have a 530d saloon (E60) and that doesn't have the space across the back for three child seats (ignoring the dog).

The E class will, it seats seven. Available in a 5.5 litre V8 N/A (E500), 5.5 supercharged (E55) or 6.2 Supercharged (E63) too