should i avoid French MPV's?

burlington6

It's the opposite when it comes to vans. The biggest piles of crap are VW, Mercedes and Ford Transits

salubrious

They keep me in work, so I have no complaints

dominate2010

i dont think you can fit three car seats in a row with backs in the back of a Zafira can you?

[Deleted User]

dominate2010 wrote: »

i dont think you can fit three car seats in a row with backs in the back of a Zafira can you?

It is a squeeze but it can be done. There are three full seat belts. I would not pay the extra running costs for a full sized MPV,.. It's not necessary.

Curr

Which? mag have just released best/dont buys for cars incl. used. in MPV's the French get a hammering BUT if you are buying <2 years you might be OK (jury out on reliability)

Diesel. Agree with posters saying >15k mi is decider. I think gonzo127 is wrong; DPF's came in with the Euro IV diesel emmissons class of engines (started appearing 2005 owards). Most OEMs to comply with this (catch and burn all soot) raise the T in the DPF to >500oC by a process of 2-4 additional injections per diesel cycle that kicks in when the DPF fills over a given level (ca. every 50-200 mi); this combusts within the exhaust gases as this mix passes thro' the manifold. The "blow by" (look it up) has caused major issues (e.g. 2.0l D Mazda 6 and 2.0l D Mazda 5 - which i drive) up to 2011 and 2010 respectively (as Mazda moved to the Euro V standards. The blow by dilutes the oil with diesel, but the service schedule clings to the sacred oil change every 12k mi). For low mileage journeys in Euro IV diesels, especially in winter, the engine fights to get in this burn off (it cannot complete the process if the eng op. temp is low or even at op temp if journey is <few miles, 20 mins). I change my oil when the level gets a little higher than "full" - cars in the winter this may be <4000mi. I now do this after learning how the diluted oil generates new issues with turbo bearings (all diesels have them) not to mention the engine itself, etc. The Euro IV Mazda 6 had a few "oil catches fire" headlines for the above dilution..driver unaware and thinking (s)he is OK til next service.

Most OEMs for the Euro V engines use either ad-blue (VAG) or similar (a fluid reactant, topped up every 20-80k mi that re-combusts the hot exhaust gases to raise T) or they have a second combustion chamber below the manifold where the late-stage diesel injections happen (to achive same). Both methods thus keep this DPF nightmare well away from the engine and turbo

The Euro Vi has further "new" chambers (selective catalytic reduction) in the exhaust pipe / rats nest, to remove the NOx.

The Euro VII will probably force many OEMs to stop making diesel cars altogether. Then diesel will either be very cheap or very expensive. 2020 onwards I think.

edit: Emissions has one m.

ChumLee

Deleted_User wrote: »

It is a squeeze but it can be done. There are three full seat belts. I would not pay the extra running costs for a full sized MPV,.. It's not necessary.

But not three full sized seats, with one child seat in the back you can't carry two adults.

adjests

Make of car
Agree with Gonzo’s comments above. There’s good and bad one whatever make. A friends 5 yr old Audi (premium brand??) spent months in a garage whilst they tried to find the fault. Sometimes even the owner is to blame for not topping up oil, service checking fluids etc.
Japanese cars generally better on reliability, but dull and uninspiring. I’d recommend the Toyota Verso or Honda CRV/FRV.
Diesel
Here I disagree with most posters on >15k miles pa. The 15k is usually based on new car costings. We have a diesel and do 8k mile pa. Annual cost fuel differential is c£400 compared to our previous car which had a petrol engine.

[Deleted User]

ChumLee wrote: »

But not three full sized seats, with one child seat in the back you can't carry two adults.

we can get 2 adults next to the baby seat in our Zafira and 2 kids in the back 2 seats. The only way this would not be possible is if the passengers are obese. The Zafira (and many other cars) are designed to carry 3 adults or 2 adults and 1 baby seat or 1 adult and 2 baby seats across the middle bench... If this wasn't the case the car wouldn't be fit for purpose. It might be tight squeeze but is doable and much preferable to the sometimes horrific running costs of larger MPVs unless you can't physically fit in the car because your usual passengers are of a larger frame than tgenso called average person.

gonzo127

Curr wrote: »

Diesel. Agree with posters saying >15k mi is decider. I think gonzo127 is wrong; DPF's came in with the Euro IV diesel emmissons class of engines (started appearing 2005 owards).

although a lot of manufacturers did start putting DPF's on cars before 2010, it was not the law, for example, you can get a 2009 Peugeot 308 without a DPF, but it has to be the 90bhp one as they fitted the DPF's to the 110bhp ones as standard, but i dont know which other cars didnt fit them

https://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/fuels-and-environment/euro-emissions-standards.html

shows the euro 4 didnt mean all cars had to have a DPF, but for Euro 5 they did

chaucer

I have just bought a car that is a first for me on many levels ...
1st MPV
1st Diesel
1st French

A Citroen C3 Picasso 1.6HDI Exclusive.
30K miles on a 61 plate.
Immaculate interior condition.
Very pleased with everything so far.


I have additional questions.

The dealer suggested avoiding supermarket fuel station diesel but to pay a little extra for premium quality brands (BP etc). How good is this advice?

Also, it has 12V chargers for mobile phones etc. What type of adaptor do I need for iphones / ipod?

Many thanks.
Please forgive thread derailment.