looking for a car with soft suspension (hence boring handling) and small engine

gilbert_and_sullivan

Berlingo/Partner/Picasso

Arg

The last few models of the Polos have soft but wobbly suspension.

Biglad_3

The peugeot 407 has a wonderful ride and was really comfy to drive................now would I buy one........well never had a Peugeot but have had a Citroen and a Renault and will never ever ever buy another French vehicle.

Weird_Nev

Volvo S40. You can get a diesel for £1500 or a Petrol for £1000. You don't need to spend £4k.
Some come with nice leather interiors. I've just been given one, and they're certainly boring but very comfy!

wannabehermit

I would never recommend French, and certainly never a 'Poocasso' but if you like soft suspension you'll love it. Citroen still use torsion beams for their suspension so they are very soft and roll around all over the place.

Notmyrealname

Ford Mondeo LX or Ghia. The Zetec has firmer suspension.

jase1

Early-2000s large Korean. Hyundai Sonata in particular is cheap, very solid/reliable and has a very soft ride (coupled with large armchair-style seats).

They were built for the US market and we all know how much they like their comfort They're ignored over here in part precisely because the handling is dull as a result of the soft suspension.

dada44

thankyou all for your responses.

yes - it seems strange that people here don't like 'dull suspension' yet it seems quite popular in asia (and france - peugeot and citroen)

I am looking at the peugeot 307 or toyota corrola.

curious - why are people saying they would never buy french?

Contessa

I had a diesel 307 for eight years. One of the most comfortable cars I've ever owned. Never let me down and had done 140K when it was written off when another car drove into me on the motorway, causing me to crash.

avantra

Ye, like Jase say, for some reason the rest of the world is wrong when it's come to how firm we Brits like it

In most places on the globe handling is something you do with your wife on the weekend not when you drive, hence the love of comfy cars.

The best one I can think of was a Korean rental few years ago known as the Dewo or Chevrolet Kalos, drive one and you will be surprised, she is like a couch, and if your back is on the receiving end you'll appreciate it, for your budget you can pick a 3 years old example with less than 30k but apparently the pre 2006 were much softer??!.