What to think about in a family car?

pinkteapot

Hubby and I don't have kids yet but would like to in the next few years. We were hoping to keep our beloved Mark 4 Astra (Oscar ) going for a few years until we have at least one sprog, so we have more idea of the practical considerations when buying a family car. Unfortunately Oscar just passed his MOT but with 14 advisories and the garage said he's going to start costing a lot more money in the next year or so. And the garage we use is owned/run by a family friend so they're not stiffing us. Been lucky up to now; had him from 80k to 106k miles and the worst we've had to do is replace the brake drums.

So, we're starting to think about the next car now as we like reliability in a car so will change sooner rather than later when things start breaking regularly.

I know that babies/kids will actually fit into any car that's not a two-seater. But, what sort of cars/features really make life easier when you've got little ones?

We're probably going to be looking at brand new or pre-reg rather than second hand so we'd want to own it for a LONG time.

Things we want:
- Comfy motorway ride (we do lots of UK holidays and weekend days out)
- Good boot size but not too huge overall (something I love about the Mark 4 Astra - can get two sets of golf clubs in the boot, and we're useless at packing light for holidays)
- Lower road tax than our current £215
- Good visibility; when I bought Oscar I test-drove a Focus (the version that was around in 2002 ish) and didn't like the rear windscreen being so small - modern cars seem rubbish for visibility

Going to look at the new shape Astra and also the new Meriva (want to try out the rear suicide doors ) on the Vauxhall front.

I know that some Asian brands are considerably cheaper than British for similar shape/features - a friend who had never owned anything other than a Ford bought a Hyundai last year when buying a brand new car as she couldn't pass up the cost saving.

Also like Japanese. When I lived at home I drove my mum's Y-reg Civic and really liked that. Is it fair to say that Japanese tend to be reliable but expensive for parts when something does go wrong?

Anti-French, just because when I was little our family Renault broke down in the outside lane of the M25 and I was scared. :rotfl:

Budget? £15k I'm comfortable with. Up to £18k is ok when I see something for that much that I want as I can't stick to budgets. I can't bring myself to spend much more than that on a car though.

bauk

Hi Pinkteapot,

About 4 years back I went through the same process. I needed a car for the family which was coming. I ended up getting the new shape Civic... While it had a good boot and engine and a lot of extras in the end visibility was a major problem for me. The spoiler that cut through the back windscreen and the thick pillars really did reduce my view and on top of that there was no wiper so when it rained it was even worse. What I did like was the versatility such as the magic seats that flip up etc and the safety features. Due to "issues" with the car never working we got a full refund 6 months later and were very glad as for us it was a massive mistake.

Personally I would look at:
1. ride and comfort.
2. safety features including child lock, windows.
3. wide boot to fit your pram/pushchair and other baby bits.
4. Visibility
5. Isofix
6. Some come with heat resistant side windows that are tinted which is good for your child.
7. A 5 door is a must!

I would consider the new shape Golf. It is a very good car and visibility and safety features is always very good. They also have very good residual value if you want to sell it on. I recently had a look at the Kia Ceed and was extremely impressed. The quality of the cabin was very good and the boot was big and it comes with a 7 year warranty. The only issue is the residual values are extremely poor. The Ford Focus is a no brainer as well and servicing etc should be cheap but I agree the rear window is small which put me off (and it seems to be even worse in the newest version). The Golf was a little too expensive for me this time round so I have purchased a VW Polo which is like a mini vw golf.

gonzo127

most things are easy to think about, big boot for all the baby stuff, isofix is helpful, and 5 doors, most other things are probably just the normal things you would look for in a car such as comfort and visability.

what might be of interest although no firm details have come out just yet would the the hyundia i40 which is due out September-ish, estimated to start from about £17-18k, same size as a mondeo with estimated good economy, insurance and tax for the size, with the 5 year warrenty which should cover the reliability side of things (you would hope)

Strider590

pinkteapot wrote: »

- Comfy motorway ride (we do lots of UK holidays and weekend days out)

Motorway miles = medium to large car, but nothing tall like an MPV/4x4. Lower cars are more stable at high speeds.

pinkteapot wrote: »

- Good boot size but not too huge overall (something I love about the Mark 4 Astra - can get two sets of golf clubs in the boot, and we're useless at packing light for holidays)

See above

pinkteapot wrote: »

- Lower road tax than our current £215

That's unimportant, people seem to forget that over 12 months, £200 isn't really a hell of a lot.
You could buy a low tax car and then have to spend £100+ on fitting something that came as standard on a larger car.

pinkteapot wrote: »

- Good visibility; when I bought Oscar I test-drove a Focus (the version that was around in 2002 ish) and didn't like the rear windscreen being so small - modern cars seem rubbish for visibility

No way around this im afraid, windows are getting smaller because more metal = stronger = better ncap safety ratings.

pinkteapot

Thanks for the tips all. Glad there's not some top-secret child requirement for a car that I hadn't thought of. bauk - that's a really helpful list of things to look for.

New Meriva anyone? I'm really liking the reviews of it, though it doesn't fit the 'nothing tall' suggestion.
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/vauxhall-meriva-new-2010-01-05
http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/vauxhall/meriva-2010.aspx

I'll have a good look at the Golf - a couple of friends with kids have bought new ones in recent years.

We only do 9-10,000 miles a year currently as neither of us drives to work (this may change as hubby is looking for a local job), so I'm thinking we're better off sticking with petrol than changing to diesel (?).

Kia Ceed sounds interesting too. We're not desperately worried about residual value as we'd be hoping to keep the car 8-10 years. My Astra is 9 years old and worth about £500 on trade-in or £800 privately. I would guess that once you reach that age the values don't differ that wildly.

As I said, I really didn't like the Focus that was around on 2002 plates when I test-drove one; I didn't find the driving position as comfortable as the Mark 4 Astra and the rear window was too small. If it's shrunk on the newer model then it will probably rule it out.

The i40 may be interesting if they firm the date up. Oscar is MOTd till early May 2012 so we'd like to change by Sept/Oct (hence starting to look at new ones now due to lead time) ish so that he still has a decent amount of time on his MOT.

EDIT: Stupid question... What's Isofix?

bigjl

CarGiant has loads of the mk5 Astra, startning at mid 4 grand mark, up to six or seven grand.


Going cheap for a known quantity is sometimes a good idea. You can get a decent estate for under 6 grand.

I would go for a 1.8 auto as the engine and gearbox combination where very relaible in the mk4Astra that we had in London as response cars, using one at the moment working for Infection Control, over 140k on it and still giving 30mpground town!

I have thought aboutthen getting it converted to LPG for decent economy, which would cost £1200 with Flashlube.


I do think that safety is a major consideration when.considering a family car.

One reason why Renault still sell a lot of cars. But there is always the worry of reliability, especially as Renault do tend to fit a lot of nice trinkets to.their family.cars.

I must admit to liking the look of the Scenic, but would i risk.an automatic Renault? Maybe not.

Chimpofdoom

Ah another astra mk 4 owner deciding to keep or kill.

I tried looking for cars to replace my nine year old astra (paddy), Toyota Auris came close with boot size/comfort, although the stereo wasn't up to the job (not as good as the stereo in the astra!).

It had 5 stars euro NCAP.. so maxiumum protection and iso fix chairs (they are adjustable chairs if I'm correct?). You can reasonable used ones for decent prices online.

The Hyundai i40 does actually look nice.. my dad owns an i30 and except a couple of issues from "the deep freeze" (which were fixed by the hyundai warranty), he loves it.

I however, decided to keep dear old paddy on the road.. my MOT had a week to run and the dealers werent wanting to haggle.. although interestingly they were offing me £1000 trade in with 102k on the clock...

I know a guy who's very well respected in Honda.. he says to avoid the latest versions of the civic and to go for the previous model (better build quality).

bigjl

Isofix is just a mounting point for child seats. But only to be used up to a certain age. Can't remember the age, but by the time i had a car with isofix my kids were too old. Typical, lol.

If you aren't interested in diesel the the Zafira mk2 is a nice comfy drive. The LAS has had over 150 totalled since 2006 with no seriouse injuries, there is a bit of a blind spot caused by the A pillar. You can only get a proper auto in diesel or the 2.2 petrol. The 1.8 has a semi auto thing.

You can get them converted to LPG easily and the tank sits where the spare normally sits.

The only big problems we have had with them are to do with the diesel engine, egr issues and dpf problems.

Don't buy a diesel they will be expensive to run when, not if, they break.

Remember that the LAS had 350 of these, and the earlier 2.0dti proved more reliable, though much slower.

The Zafira isn't affected by mpv rolly polly syndrome. Another possibility is the VW Touran, a good buy especially if you can get one with a DSG autobox.

In the VW the diesel is a good bet, a better choice than the petrol, in fact the petrol.is rare and most are entry level with the small engine, 1.6?

For sheer value an ex motabilty Zafira for well under £10k seems a good buy, i am sure they are 5 star Ncap rated aswell

pinkteapot

Thanks again all - some good tips/suggestions for me to add to the list.

chimpofdoom - hope Paddy continues to serve you well I just love how easy the Mk4 Astra is to drive if that makes sense. Hard to explain why I love it so much when every three cars on the road you see another silver Mk4 Astra. Only downside of it is finding it in a car park if you forget where you parked. My mum has the signature bright green Mazda2 (called Kermit) and that's always easy to spot.

bigjl - I looked at the VW website to check out the Golf and was side-tracked by the Touran. The VW dealer is opposite the Vauxhall and Mazda dealer in our town so we can do an easy tour of those this weekend.

Also looked at the Kia website and saw the Ceed. Also saw the Pro_Ceed which wins the award for worst name ever.

I know it's MSE not to buy a brand new car. I've only ever had second hand and I hate buying them in case I get a lemon. I just want a shiny new car that no-one else but me has driven and abused. That should be my job. Once we settle on one I will be ringing round to see if anyone has a pre-reg though.

MX5huggy

Skoda Octavia estate, vast boot, rated as best in class again and again in the press. High spec for less than your budget.

fadetogrey

and dont forget to give oscar a good send off.:p:p actually we had a ford focus cmax excellent car but time arrived to change and my wife was in tears as we handed it over to the garage!!:rotfl: