Recommend a good car for camping

gazfocus

Currently got a 66 plate Astra hatchback (current shape) which I absolutely love. My only issue is it’s size. When we only had the one child we could just about fit all our camping gear in the car across the remainder of the rear seats and the boot. Unfortunately now that we have two kids we’ve not got a cat in hells chance of squeezing everything in.

As a temporary measure we have gone down the route of a small trailer for this years holidays but we want to upgrade our car to something bigger.

We’ve set a budget of around £10,000 - £12,000 including the sale proceeds for our Astra, so what would you recommend for that?

Cars we’ve considered...
Astra estate
Freelander 2
Volvo XC60

Thanks in advance

Nebulous2

Any decisions you make on cars will involve compromise. If you use the car a lot around town and only camp two weeks a year the trailer is a good compromise. We've been all over the place from Spain and France to Cornwall and Orkney with ours.

With young children we had people carriers, though they seem to have gone out of fashion. They can have limited luggage room if you fill them up with people though.

From the ones you've suggested my choice would be the volvo, but I'd also consider other estates, such as a mondeo and a skoda - pricewise probably the octavia, but I have a bit of a hankering for a superb as a towcar.

Decisions, decisions ........

photome

The biggest you can afford, the more gear you take the more comfortable camping is, or stick with the trailer..you can the leave the gear ( at least some of it) in the trailer when not in use.


Just been to silverstone for a weekend camping 2 of us with a focus estate and I only just got everything in

[Deleted User]

As you’ve invested in a trailer and tow bar already and you love your current car why not get a roofbox too. You should have plenty of space.
However if you intend on doing a lot of camping why not go the whole hog and get a camplet? These are very light to tow and all your camping equipment is stored in there all the time and it is comfier than any tent.

vansboy

If you like your Astra, then look at Astra estates, but maybe 1.6 petrol would be a bit more relaxed, under extra weight, despite many feeling the 1.4 is good.


There is difficulty as to value, due to the crazy aray of model specs, which confuse even the dealers. There are deals to be done, though as Vauxhall is not a brand that will be around for long term.


And you would be well advised to keep the trailer, as mentioned above, as it;s such a convenient way to squeeze a lil bit more n board.


VB

Herzlos

+1 for the trailer and roof box options - gives you a fair whack more boot space when you need it, without having to pay out more on the car.

Norman_Castle

Cars we’ve considered...
Astra estate
Freelander 2
Volvo XC60

The Freelander and Volvo might not offer any more luggage space than the Astra estate. They will also have noticeably higher ownership costs.
If you're only after more space for camping an estate plus roof box is the practical solution.

Avoiding the inflatable settee and carpets throughout the tent will also help.

Bonniepurple

I have a Zafira and my husband has a Berlingo multispace. The difference in what we can fit in is staggering. Van based cars really are versatile, god workhorses - and are tall enough to stand out in a car park!

daveyjp

Another vote for a van bases car or if you want a car a Skoda Superb or Mondeo Estate.

mobileron

Skoda superb estate meets your requirements also very reliable,ask the taxi drivers.

laidbackgjr

You need to look at stats for cars to find out how much boot space they have - currently an Astra hatchback is 370 litres and a small trailer around 300 litres. So you probably have around 670 litres of space.

An Astra estate offers 500 litres, Freelander 2 755 litres, XC60 496 litres, Superb estate offers 660 litres.