Big Car - £2500 to spend

boyse7en

Need a large car to move a collection of children and paraphernalia around the countryside. Got £2500 to spend.
Needs to be a hatchback or estate, won't do many miles (5k per year) and needs to be comfortable (partner has two cracked vertebrae) rather than sporty
I like unusual cars (currently Alfa Romeo 166 and a dead Citroen XM) but suppose I might have to go for something more mundane...

Ones under consideration are:

Renault Vel Satis 2.2DCi
Saab 9-5 Estate
Vauxhall Signum
Volvo V70

Any others that are worth looking at? Or any owners of the above got useful hints and tips or experiences to share?

Chippy_Minton_2

Vauxhall Signum- Only four seats.
Volvo V70- Problems with the clutch.

Can't comment on the others.

Hintza

Lot of car for the money with the Vel Satis, even though it's a Renault I would be having alook at that. Chech forums for known faults to give you a proper idea of any potential problems.

jeannieblue

Not sure of the prices - but I know Toyota come up trumps for comfort re back problems - the Avensis in particular, and they have large boots in the hatchback or saloon.

mrscb

The Saab from that list.......

lovethymini

We had an old Mercedes E class estate from the stone age. It was brilliant, very comfy, and never let us down. Never seen such a big boot, either!

goldspanners

lovethymini wrote: »

We had an old Mercedes E class estate from the stone age. It was brilliant, very comfy, and never let us down. Never seen such a big boot, either!

i would agree with this if comfort and size are the 2 main issues, an older merc will be bomb proof and super smooth,ive never had a comfier drive than in my mates old 1989 merc 500 sec.
i wouldnt be worrying about it being diesel either as you only do 5000 miles per year,i would buy a petrol at those kind of miles.

jeannieblue

I was thinking more of back support - and I know Toyota's are boring (don't tell my bosses I said that...) - but the support from their seats are really very good.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

boyse7en wrote: »

Need a large car to move a collection of children and paraphernalia around the countryside. Got £2500 to spend.
Needs to be a hatchback or estate, won't do many miles (5k per year) and needs to be comfortable (partner has two cracked vertebrae) rather than sporty
I like unusual cars (currently Alfa Romeo 166 and a dead Citroen XM) but suppose I might have to go for something more mundane...

Ones under consideration are:

Renault Vel Satis 2.2DCi
Saab 9-5 Estate
Vauxhall Signum
Volvo V70

Any others that are worth looking at? Or any owners of the above got useful hints and tips or experiences to share?

The Vel Satis is an unusual but lovely looking car, they're very cheap. Watch out for turbo problems and suspension issues.

The 9-5 - no, just no. Unrefined and horrible to drive.

Signum - its a Vauxhall Vectra.

V70 - from your list this would be my pick. I've had one, it was simply brilliant. Make sure you get an automatic.


You should also consider an E39 5-series, there are plenty of them around, they're still a great looking car, and there are lots of nice lairy V8 engines to choose from at that price

hewhoisnotintheknow

at that mileage get a petrol, a diesel will be a waste of time

dan_essex

i'd go for the V70