New Driver needs MPV!

Bewar3them00n

I'm a 40-something, ( male) just passed my driving test, have 2 kids, and have relatives that regularly visit.
I need an MPV that will suit all my needs, I had my sights on a Citroen Grand C4 Picasso,
(my mother had the old Xara Picasso, I liked the ride height, and the panoramic views)
but after a few trawls through these boards, I'm a bit confused!
Diesel or Petrol, Manual vs Auto? My wife ( who has yet to pass) wants an auto, as she doesn't like manual, whereas I've only ever driven manual ( I don't want to give her any reason not to pass her test, making me chief taxi driver!)
So I'm putting it out to you, And all you drivers with vastly more knowledge and experience in these matters than I,
budget £7.5k Max
Thanks!

wrightk

Do you REALLY need a 7 seater?

If the answer is yes your options are quite limited with regard to reliability.

Have a look on the reliability index http://www.reliabilityindex.com/

Not 100% accurate but i always check before a purchase.

Personally i'd steer cleer of a zafira diesel or petrol (i've had 4 and all have had significant problems) With the recall for fires and water ingress problem too its just not worth the hassle. Even the CDTI has ridiculous timing chain +water pump intervals (every 40k)

The Galaxys are fairly robust but seem to have issues with the auto boxes and ridiculous repair costs.

I have a mazda5 sport which is scorned mostly but so far have had no issues with the dpf or reliability and its a really comfy drive

Cant comment on anything french

Like i said you will get far more reliability in a 5 seater vehicle.

For your budget you'll be looking at a diesel with a dpf. Something to consider, and think about if your driving style suits one. Diesels aren't what they used to be. The saving over a petrol is minimal once you factor in costs such as dpf replacement/regen, any DMF problems


Personally if i had two kids (i have 3 and 2 with special needs),i'd be looking at something like a petrol c-max- nice high soft ride compared to the focus/mondeo, cheap servicing/repair costs, no timing belt to worry about and very little to go wrong

Hope any of this helps

[Deleted User]

How many seats and what sort of journeys and distance will you be doing?

I have an old 7 seat Safire and it is perfect for our family however if I could find a nine seater that was as cheap to run I would as sometimes i could do with the extra seats so think about this carefully.

Strider590

Better off with a Mondeo type of car, you get all the seats you need AND a tonne of boot space + reliability + high speed stability (great on motorways) + better MPG, etc etc etc.

The only reason they sell MPVs is because of clever marketing making people THINK they need them.

Same goes for 4x4s, BMW were using Facebook to advertise their new 4x4 system, I made one comment about winters tyres and within 1 hour my post had been removed.

It's all marketing BS at it's finest, create something and then make people believe they need it..... Instead of creating something that people genuinely do need.

wrightk

Strider590 wrote: »

Better off with a Mondeo type of car, you get all the seats you need AND a tonne of boot space + reliability + high speed stability (great on motorways) + better MPG, etc etc etc.

The only reason they sell MPVs is because of clever marketing making people THINK they need them.

Same goes for 4x4s, BMW were using Facebook to advertise their new 4x4 system, I made one comment about winters tyres and within 1 hour my post had been removed.

It's all marketing BS at it's finest, create something and then make people believe they need it..... Instead of creating something that people genuinely do need.

Im not sure what relevance this has

The thing about mondeo/focus type vehicles is that the back seat configuration is too tight, especially if you have two small children with car seats and want an extra passenger in the middle.

Take the focus vs c-max for example. Yes the c-max is being sold as an 'MPV' but by making it slightly higher and slightly wider 3 passengers can easily fit in the back, even with 2 in car seats. I even managed to squeeze in 3 in car seats when i had mine and that was only possible because it had a proper seatbelt and not a lapbelt in the middle seat which is not compatible with most car seats. Not something which features on the focus. And it had the same if not slightly bigger boot space over a focus

Not massive differences i know but enough for a small family to think about swapping over as its slightly more practical

AdrianC

Remember that if your wife passes her test in an automatic, she cannot legally drive a manual-gearbox car, so it's worth encouraging her to stick with manual for that, even if you then buy an automatic.

motorguy

wrightk wrote: »

Even the CDTI has ridiculous timing chain +water pump intervals (every 40k)

The CDTI engine is belt driven, not chain.

And I think most of them are 72-100K changes, though i'd definitely be doing it sooner than that.

Bewar3them00n

Thanks for the advice.
Firstly, I like the slightly higher ride height of the MPV style cars ( due to being a cyclist for most of my life, ) and being 6'2" some driving positions are a little claustrophobic. with 2 car seats permenantly fixed in, it leaves one spare seat only, maybe getting the 7 seater for the odd occaision might be overkill, so I can be flexible on that.
I will definitely look at the Ford C Max.
It will be mainly used for shortish trips, days out, and the occasional trip from London to the Peak District to visit family, so not too fussed about increased aerodynamics etc. Decent boot space for prams, bike, trips to skip/ Ikea etc..
I just want a reliable car, that won't cost me an arm and a leg to get fixed if a part goes, (I'm reasonably mechanically minded, so willing to fix what I can myself if possible)
Thanks, plenty to digest!

motorguy

Bewar3them00n wrote: »

I'm a 40-something, ( male) just passed my driving test, have 2 kids, and have relatives that regularly visit.
I need an MPV that will suit all my needs, I had my sights on a Citroen Grand C4 Picasso,
(my mother had the old Xara Picasso, I liked the ride height, and the panoramic views)
but after a few trawls through these boards, I'm a bit confused!
Diesel or Petrol, Manual vs Auto? My wife ( who has yet to pass) wants an auto, as she doesn't like manual, whereas I've only ever driven manual ( I don't want to give her any reason not to pass her test, making me chief taxi driver!)
So I'm putting it out to you, And all you drivers with vastly more knowledge and experience in these matters than I,
budget £7.5k Max
Thanks!

I'd personally either go for the Grand C4 Picasso petrol OR a Zafira 1.8i petrol.

Both will be as cheap as chips with petrol engines, and what you'll lose in economy you'll gain in peace of mind and simplicity.

AdrianC

Bewar3them00n wrote: »

It will be mainly used for shortish trips, days out, and the occasional trip from London to the Peak District to visit family, so not too fussed about increased aerodynamics etc.

Definitely petrol, then.

wrightk

motorguy wrote: »

The CDTI engine is belt driven, not chain.

And I think most of them are 72-100K changes, though i'd definitely be doing it sooner than that.

Sorry typo.

VX say 80 in the book (or at least they did with mine) but even when hundreds of dealers (both indy and main) are screaming 40 due to so many catastrophic failures of engines, the advice is still 80

:mad: