Best cars for families - please see further

Hjad

Hi,

I'm tying to decide on a family car - first baby is due March.

Looking for something with good boot space, reliable and good for fuel.

Budget of around up to £13k.

Currently have a 58 Toyota Yaris which is too small and is rubbish on fuel.
I have been looking at the Nissan Qashqai as I am used to driving those. However, I do not think they are that good with fuel etc looking at reviews (I never fill up etc when driving my parents so I do not see the affect of it).

I will only really be doing city driving with the odd motorway travel now and again if that makes any difference to recommendations.

Thank you

PasturesNew

I've not got a family, never had one ... but I do have a car that has rear sliding doors and it's incredible how easy they are to open when your hands are full, making it easier to then dump your belongings inside the car to sort them out. No "open door" in the way of traffic either.

I don't know why people struggle with doors, where you are limited as to how far you can open them, then probably can't open them fully, have to worry about the wind catching them ... all a faff. Sliding doors are the future for all in my opinion.

Goudy

£13k could get you a 2 to 3 year old Suzuki Vitara.
Plenty of room in the back and boot and comes out well in the NCAP tests.

Stick with the straight 1.6 petrol and FWD and you should see decent mpg, we see high 40's mpg on a steady motorway run
The 1.4 Boosterjet petrol turbo is a bit more fun, but there's not a lot between the two to warrant the extra money, the 1.6 does have enough grunt for FWD (maybe not 4x4 with auto 'box though), plus small turbo petrol's tend to be thirstier.

I wouldn't bother with the diesel, it's lifted from Fiat and the way things are going, diesels will soon be a liability.

Suzuki's always fair well for reliability and owner satisfaction. They are often off peoples radar, but once they come around to them they often go back time and again.

Look out for the SZ5 model and you'll get some decent kit.
Full length sunroof, Swede/leather seats, Sat nav, DAB, bluetooth and so on but the best reason is due it's safety kit.
It has a fabulous adaptive radar cruise control and radar crash mitigation system that works better than anything else I've tried and is well worth bothering about if you're lugging your offspring around.

The only negatives, the interior plastics feel a bit cheap (or hard wearing) but not those that you continually touch and the gear change can feel a bit baggy (but I'm jumping between a sporty car with a quick shift).

knightstyle

SIL needed similar and ended up with a Skoda Roomster. Not made any more but for £8-10k you would get a really good one.

ratrace

After owning 3 skoda fabia's i can say they are great cars (vw really) a lot of carfor the money lots out the you can pick up a really nice one for around £7.5k you can get diesels or petrol depending on the miles you do each year


or if you already have a toyota, you can buy the auris hybrid for around £13k low miles etc....... i have a family member who has one and they get around 100 miles to £10 of petrol, im not really a toyota fan but if you want reliability its not a bad shout



https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2015-65-SKODA-FABIA-1-4-TDI-S-5-DOOR-DIESEL-ESTATE-IN-WHITE-1-OWNER-FROM-NEW/143001790654?hash=item214b9228be:g:kxkAAOSwn6Jb-1x0:rk:30:pf:0



https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2014-64-Reg-Toyota-Auris-1-8-Excel-Hybrid-Vermillion-Red-ESTATE-ELECTRICITY-AU/192725841270?hash=item2cdf5af576:g:~zQAAOSw87lb86CC:rk:41:pf:0

Hjad

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so far, I have been looking at the Nissan Qashqai as I am used to driving those. However, I do not think they are that good with fuel etc looking at reviews (I never fill up etc when driving my parents so I do not see the affect of it).

I will only really be doing city driving with the odd motorway travel now and again if that makes any difference to recommendations.

Thanks!

mgfvvc

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've not got a family, never had one ... but I do have a car that has rear sliding doors and it's incredible how easy they are to open when your hands are full, making it easier to then dump your belongings inside the car to sort them out. No "open door" in the way of traffic either.

I don't know why people struggle with doors, where you are limited as to how far you can open them, then probably can't open them fully, have to worry about the wind catching them ... all a faff. Sliding doors are the future for all in my opinion.

I have a Grand C-Max, with the sliding doors. They seem incredibly heavy and my youngest still can't handle them when parked on our sloping drive. Given the weight of them, I worry about a child's hand getting caught in a closing door and sustaining some serious damage. They can be really good in tight car parking spaces, but they have their downsides too.

bob_a_builder

something lost in translation ?
"(I never fill up etc when driving my parents so I do not see the affect of it)."

worried_jim

bob_a_builder wrote: »

something lost in translation ?
"(I never fill up etc when driving my parents so I do not see the affect of it)."

She drives her parents car then hands it back empty.

OP- what is your definition of "good on fuel"?

jimbo6977

if you like Nissans and want practicality you could look at an NV200.

Low milage examples on Autotrader are within your stated budget.

Depends how much of an aesthete you are I auppose.

edde

Depends on a few things

What car seat do you have (our seats are huge so many cars dont allow them to move.

How long do you want the kids in the seats

DO you plan more kids so need a bigger car.

Short journeys?

Age/milage/spec demand ie only 3 yrs old max with 10k and heated seats etc?

Badges you will/ wont have

My personal recomendation would be the Seat Alhambra, sliding door big inside easy enough to drive.

However the Vauxhall Zafira is the best one if you don't need to spend the whole 13k. 10k will get you into the newer zafira tourer one or look at the older model (upto 2014 ish) and your looking at £5k. That a bargin Just if you look at the older models don't get the diesel petrol is much better.