What 5 seater Car/MPV would you recommend?

Pennylane

sillygoose wrote: »

OK I will bite the bait... if you bought a new one then I am not surprised. I bought a preregistered one that had done only 12 miles at a ludicrously low price. After 2 years the small car loan is fully paid off and the car is still like new. I will probably keep it another 3 years as all it costs is servicing and diesel after which I will have had more than my moneys worth whatever it sells for.

The fact you bought a PT Cruiser (and admit it on a public forum) tells us all we need to know :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

You had to take a loan out to buy a Sportage?:eek::D I get your sarcasm now!:p

OMG though - you ARE one aren't you? You are the very reason I traded my Sportage in very quickly. I used to get these old geezers in flat caps sidling up to me in car parks saying "what do you think of your Kia then? How many MPG do you get?":eek::eek: Like I said, badges don't bother me and I'm quite prepared to give any car a chance but after a few months and seeing it being towed away after just a few miles driving, it was depressing. Aside from the red hot deflector plate, the 4 x 4 hubs stuck on which wasn't funny and then there was the general tinny feeling driving the beast. Correction, runt. At least with the PT Cruiser I got younger & hunkier males asking me questions.:j:j

It must be nearly 14 years ago that I bought a Sportage (good deal on at local garage and they're cheap anyway which is what I wanted for a second car). I'd have another Chrysler, Peugeots, Citroens, Renaults ... gawd, even a Ssang Yong:p but never another Kia.

sillygoose

AdrianHi wrote: »

but I strongly suspect if you did another survey of years 4 to 6 of cars lives the BMW would slip down the chart with the Japanese cars taking top slot again. Many a BMW owner observes that everything about the cars early service schedule and design is orientated to making the first 3 years and 36,000 miles as cheap and pain free as possible, some suspect at the expense of long term durability, maintenance costs shifted later in the cars life.

Ah! someone who knows what they are talking about at last!

You are spot on with your BMW assessment I think. BMW have been very successful in giving company car drivers what they need, low emissions, good pace and low running costs. Audi are catching up fast although technically still a fair way behind, but then badge preferences start to contort the figures. I wonder if the new Accord will come back in at the top when figures start coming in?

sillygoose

Pennylane wrote: »

It must be nearly 14 years ago that I bought a Sportage (good deal on at local garage and they're cheap anyway which is what I wanted for a second car). I'd have another Chrysler, Peugeots, Citroens, Renaults ... gawd, even a Ssang Yong:p but never another Kia.

Now you really are showing your muppetry.. 14 years ago the Sportage was an industrial tractor from the dark ages and only someone without a clue (or a desperate farmer) would have touched one.

The totally new from the ground up model to which I am referring (well from late 2005) is smooth riding with a modern powerful diesel engine. Same ground clearance and approach angles as a Freelander, mine has a full leather interior, heated seats, ESP, ABS, traction control, cruise control, automatic wipers, electronic dimming rear view mirror, digital compass!, 235mm Alloy wheels, split opening tailgate so on and so on.

But I guess its more fun slagging off something you obviously have never even seen!

Batchy

m y OH has a Focus C-max... I actually drove it the weekend... and it feels great... far better than any french version I have tried.

Go take one for a test drive... :-)

goldspanners

sillygoose wrote: »

some unknown Citroen evangelist

i like that, a citroen evangelist! is that what james may became in top gear on sunday?

blue_monkey_2

Batchy wrote: »

m y OH has a Focus C-max... I actually drove it the weekend... and it feels great... far better than any french version I have tried.

Go take one for a test drive... :-)

You see, this is the thing. For 3k less than the basic entry level C-max we can a top of the range Kia Carens LX 7 seater - it has all the extra gadgets, the seats fold into the floor of the boot when not needed and then we can afford to get the 'multimedia system' for the kids. It also has dark fabric on the seats - all important for hiding all of those stains (from the kids of course, LOL)!! Tbh, we have not really seen a bad review on the newer Kia and having had one for 7 years I think we are going to stick with the Kia as we know the brand and we know the local dealer - although we are going to haggle them down as we have found one up the road 2.5k cheaper. I have been ringing around for prices tonight but think we'll not actually take the plunge until we get back from holiday though.

It will be nice to have one but we do not really use the car a huge amount and I sometimes wonder if we are being too frivalous but we do need a car and it will be nice to have one with the space that the kids need as the Rio is too small for them when they are on their booster seats.

michaels

We love our Fiat Multipla so much that we have just got a second one to replace our second car. It is Italian so I suspect will be off your list but you can get a new top of the range one for 12.5k from a broker and more leg room front and rear than you can shake a stick at. Looks a bit bland but then the same could be said of Kias?

d40eq6

Like with anything, opinions differ.

Mechanics I speak to reckon that whilst Japanese cars are best for reliability they can be a devil to fix if the electrics go wrong. Most seem to rate German cars for quality and reliability.

Having said that I have had 10 years of trouble free motoring with French cars:

1999- bought 7 year old Citroen AX- 10 years later it's still with my parents and running fine.
2002- bough Peugeot 307 new- 7 years later still excellent- no problems at all.

2006- bought 6 year old Peugeot 306- 3 years later great- only had to replace exhaust.

The common denominator with all- all owned by either my family or careful friends. Now I may well have just been lucky, but I would always recommend buying a new car a little while after launch to let them sort out the snags and buying used of someone who's looked after it carefully.

gingerdad

vikingaero wrote: »

I agree with your husband on the Picasso. Picassos are fine to own/use within the 3 year warranty period. Same with Renaults.

And the nissan she looked at uses which engines? that'll be renault