Any thoughts on a new family car?

agrinnall

As someone whose current car is a Fiat Panda and previous one was a Porsche Boxster I can't really give a personal recommendation on the models you've listed, but I would suggest that an estate might be a good option for ensuring you have enough room for all the [STRIKE]junk [/STRIKE] vital family equipment that you'll need to carry around.

wba31

So everyone writes off citroen and pug, who are actually making decent cars at the mo (come on Top Gear parade, Clarkson loved the DS3 on Sunday night!). Is the Pug 3008 not worth a look? I'm sure it won car of the year for the small crossover range?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't Seat, VW, Audi and Skoda all pretty much the same company? so your Audi A3 is a Leon/Golf with a bit more kit, but costing a lot more as you pay for the badge? so why not look at the Leon and the Octavia, which gets a lot of love on these boards.

The Mazda is a good car, don't know too much about the 3, but I've heard good things about the 6.

I think the Civic would be too small for you, worth checking out a second hand honda FRV?

BoroPhil

Thanks for the input, I'm certainly not ruling anything out so I'll get a quote for an Octavia - it does seem to get good wrtite-ups. Contacted Seat, Audi and Mazda with a view to getting some test drives.

pitkin2020

wba31 wrote: »

So everyone writes off citroen and pug, who are actually making decent cars at the mo (come on Top Gear parade, Clarkson loved the DS3 on Sunday night!). Is the Pug 3008 not worth a look? I'm sure it won car of the year for the small crossover range?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't Seat, VW, Audi and Skoda all pretty much the same company? so your Audi A3 is a Leon/Golf with a bit more kit, but costing a lot more as you pay for the badge? so why not look at the Leon and the Octavia, which gets a lot of love on these boards.

The Mazda is a good car, don't know too much about the 3, but I've heard good things about the 6.

I think the Civic would be too small for you, worth checking out a second hand honda FRV?

I wrote the french ones of as i'm just not a fan of them, cheap interiors and don't like the french styling. Couple that with the fact a lot of the new french cars are jammed packed with electronics and the french don't have a clue about these gadgets it just ends up in disaster, too many reports of complete meltdown due to the electrics. Not saying the others are fault free though but would still have an Audi with some decent styling over the PUG. Everyone has a different opinion hence why the OP really needs to just try them all and see which they prefer.

LandyAndy

wba31 wrote: »

So everyone writes off citroen and pug, who are actually making decent cars at the mo (come on Top Gear parade, Clarkson loved the DS3 on Sunday night!). Is the Pug 3008 not worth a look? I'm sure it won car of the year for the small crossover range?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't Seat, VW, Audi and Skoda all pretty much the same company? so your Audi A3 is a Leon/Golf with a bit more kit, but costing a lot more as you pay for the badge? so why not look at the Leon and the Octavia, which gets a lot of love on these boards.

The Mazda is a good car, don't know too much about the 3, but I've heard good things about the 6.

I think the Civic would be too small for you, worth checking out a second hand honda FRV?

I think the point is that they are all going to cost pretty much the same (see OP) and that changes the decision process somewhat.

The Mazda6 is good.

Secondhand isn't an option.

pinkteapot

^^^

OP had Mazda3 on the list and there is a MASSIVE size difference between the Mazda3 and Mazda6. They're a different class of car ("small family" vs "large family" cars).

We currently have a 2002 Astra and wanted something newer for long distance driving (we do a lot of UK holidays) and we're also thinking about kids in the next few years. We looked at the Mazda3 in the show-room and the new shape Astra, and decided they were just too small (inside and boot-wise), but we're bad at travelling light. I know a few people with young kids and VW Golfs who get on just fine.

The Mazda6 is totally different to the Mazda3 and is comparable with the Mondeo, Avensis and Passat that we test-drove on Saturday. The only reason we didn't test drive a Mazda6 is that there were none for sale nearby with the right engine/trim/colour (we're buying a 1-2 year old car). OP isn't really looking at this class of car and it becomes a different search if they end up considering it.

EDIT: To anyone looking at French cars, check for the phantom braking highlighted on Watchdog a few weeks back (whereby the brakes can be applied from the passenger footwell)! They showed it on Citroen Xsara Picasso's but people then wrote into them about other model Citroens and some other French cars, Renaults IIRC.

vikingaero

I would discount the French cars - unless you plan to change them when the warranty is up.

I agree that the Skoda Octavia is a good wildcard. The Audi and VW are around the same price to lease as the others because they hold their value better and less needs to be accounted for by depreciation.

Are you looking at a service inclusive package? If not maybe call dealers up and ask for a fixed price servicing cost?

wba31

pitkin2020 wrote: »

I wrote the french ones of as i'm just not a fan of them, cheap interiors and don't like the french styling. Couple that with the fact a lot of the new french cars are jammed packed with electronics and the french don't have a clue about these gadgets it just ends up in disaster, too many reports of complete meltdown due to the electrics. Not saying the others are fault free though but would still have an Audi with some decent styling over the PUG. Everyone has a different opinion hence why the OP really needs to just try them all and see which they prefer.

It is all opinion, i respect that. I think Pug and citroen get some bad rapport in places it isnt deserved. My old man works for pug, and I am considering a lease of a new one through him (replacing a 7 yr old Honda that is starting to have things go wrong - who would have thought!?!) I wouldnt touch the 207 or the 308, and he agrees with me on that, but they have made real progress with the 3008, 5008 and 508. Citroen seem to be doing ok with cars like the DS3 and the DS4, but obviously time will tell once people have owned these cars for 3/4 years or so.

Personally i wouldnt buy an Audi, I would go for it's cheaper alternative. I'm not saying they are not good cars, but i do believe the stuff that comes on them is available at a lower price, in a slightly different body...

in other news, what are people making of the new Kia's and Hyundai's? seeing all sorts of interesting press, personally would have never considered one at all?

BoroPhil

vikingaero wrote: »

I would discount the French cars - unless you plan to change them when the warranty is up.

I agree that the Skoda Octavia is a good wildcard. The Audi and VW are around the same price to lease as the others because they hold their value better and less needs to be accounted for by depreciation.

Are you looking at a service inclusive package? If not maybe call dealers up and ask for a fixed price servicing cost?

yeah, it's for 3 years and everything is thrown in, servicing, insurance, tax, breakdown cover etc.

LandyAndy

pinkteapot wrote: »

^^^

OP had Mazda3 on the list and there is a MASSIVE size difference between the Mazda3 and Mazda6. They're a different class of car ("small family" vs "large family" cars).

We currently have a 2002 Astra and wanted something newer for long distance driving (we do a lot of UK holidays) and we're also thinking about kids in the next few years. We looked at the Mazda3 in the show-room and the new shape Astra, and decided they were just too small (inside and boot-wise), but we're bad at travelling light. I know a few people with young kids and VW Golfs who get on just fine.

The Mazda6 is totally different to the Mazda3 and is comparable with the Mondeo, Avensis and Passat that we test-drove on Saturday. The only reason we didn't test drive a Mazda6 is that there were none for sale nearby with the right engine/trim/colour (we're buying a 1-2 year old car). OP isn't really looking at this class of car and it becomes a different search if they end up considering it.

EDIT: To anyone looking at French cars, check for the phantom braking highlighted on Watchdog a few weeks back (whereby the brakes can be applied from the passenger footwell)! They showed it on Citroen Xsara Picasso's but people then wrote into them about other model Citroens and some other French cars, Renaults IIRC.

I know. I was replying to wba31's comment about the Mazda6 not suggesting the OP should buy one.;)

I have a Mazda6 estate (and a Mazda2). They are both excellent.

All the Mazdas I've had have been ultra reliable (even the RX-8).