Family sized hatchback suggestions

Hyperxr

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

5 door family sized hatchback that gets decent mileage (at the very least it needs to out perform my current car which gets approx 41 mpg). It also needs to have air conditioning

OP I think it's quite difficult for even modern family sized cars to return more than 41 mpg in urban/traffic conditions.

I think a hybrid such as the Prius would fit your criteria perfectly. It should be able to easily achieve more than 40 mpg even in stop/start traffic, strong residual value and comfortable for a family of 5.

Tilt

My suggestion

http://www.fiat.co.uk/uk/fiat-punto/trims-versions

Or wait until the 500x comes out

http://www.fiat.co.uk/uk/

Or if you want something a little less than the ordinary

http://www.alfaromeo.co.uk/uk/models/mito

getmore4less

Consider auto for that drive mix

Modern ones are close/better on economy.

If you went a bit older a VAG 1.9 pre dpf would give the economy.

Or an Octavia in the 1.8 people report 40mpg and great performance.
Massive boot.

Lungboy

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

I've just has a look at the skoda website and saw the rapid - and I think it's worth a closer look. I hadn't seen that model before but I think it looks nice and the price I'm not keen on the Octavia - what's the point of a saloon shaped car with a hatchback???

Thank you for the other suggestions above - I thought about a hybrid and did test drive the hybrid Yaris. It seemed a good little car and very sensible but was exceptionally boring to drive and look at and felt quite cheap for a car that price.

Any opinions on the seat leon?

There are 2 Rapids, one is also a saloon shaped hatch, the other is called the Spaceback and is a more traditional hatchback. Make sure you look at the GreenTec engines, that add stop start and bring the car unto a lower tax band. There's also the Facia, which is about to get a facelift and so the older model is being sold off at big discounts.

OddballJamie

ACG wrote: »

Im picking up a diesel 1.5 renault captur on friday. Does around 65mpg (75mpg if you listen to their sales spiel).

You can buy them new for around £15-17k so I imagine one which is 2-3 years old can be bought for around the £10k mark.

Where are is the OP going to find a three year old Captur?

Apart from the future.

getmore4less

Economy reliable with space look at the taxi fleets.

OddballJamie

OP MPG isn't the be all and end all, depreciation is the big cost.

Aside from that I'd be looking at the new Leon with a Tsi.

womble12345

Hyperxr wrote: »

1. His doing 12k/year, most of which is urban/traffic. Best to stay away from a modern diesel. Petrol would be his best bet

2. Partly relates to my first point, but the amount of mpg a car can give isn't everything. Yes, I do not doubt that a 1.5 dci Renault can return 65 mpg (on a motorway run) but if one were to do 12k/year in stop/start traffic you'd have a lot of expensive repair bills, one of which is the DPF

I am not sure I agree with the suggestions to go for a petrol.

I was in a similar situation recently except I do 10k miles and wanted a larger estate car. I decided to go for a diesel Mondeo. The diesels I was looking at gave me at least an extra 10mpg and were £100 a year cheaper to tax. On my mileage that equates to a £300 saving plus the £100 tax saving. Clearly there are more big things to go wrong on a diesel but I believe I will have to be very unlucky if I have to spend more than £400 extra a year on repairs than I would on a petrol.

BeenThroughItAll

womble12345 wrote: »

I am not sure I agree with the suggestions to go for a petrol.

I was in a similar situation recently except I do 10k miles and wanted a larger estate car. I decided to go for a diesel Mondeo. The diesels I was looking at gave me at least an extra 10mpg and were £100 a year cheaper to tax. On my mileage that equates to a £300 saving plus the £100 tax saving. Clearly there are more big things to go wrong on a diesel but I believe I will have to be very unlucky if I have to spend more than £400 extra a year on repairs than I would on a petrol.

One blocked DPF replacement at £600 will change your mind. And I bet it's a 2.0TDCi isn't it? In which case, when the injectors fail you'll be staring down the barrel of another £1000. Add in the inevitable coked up EGR and potential Variable Vane Turbo failures (all common faults on the Mondeo/Focus/C-Max, S-Max) and you'll be very lucky to save any money over your ownership.

womble12345

It is actually a 1.6 econetic, what are the injectors like on that engine?

Oh and you also forgot clutch or dual mass flywheel failure which is another thing often quoted by diesel haters.