UKC

Hi all,
unfortunately asking the question yet again!
I know the standard answer is Skoda Octavia which is in my mix of cars.

Basically, we have sold our SWB T5 so I can raise some capital for a new business. I've got about 5-6 k to spend on a car and I'd like a fair amount of space in the rear as that's what we have been used to and actually use.

So, I've been looking on the net at 7 seater Tourans, Seat Alhambras, Ford Galaxy's, VW Caddy kombi's ( a bit too pricey but that is what I wanted) and a few others.

Anyway, any recommendations for something that has a huge boot, well built and reliable, good with mpg, tax and insurance costs etc etc. I know it's often asked on here so apologies in advance.

Real life ownership reviews if possible
Thanks, Den

In reply to Denni:
Well, I've got a Skoda Octavia estate on a 55 plate and it's just passed the second mot I've put it through, with flying colours. I treat it like crap but i do remember to give it an oil change. If you want to sleep in the back you'll need the kit which raises the boot height up, but mine came with it. Also it's not truly, completely flat as the back seats have a very slight incline when folded. The boot is very roomy but two of you in there would be too much of a squeeze (in my opinion).
Have you looked at Renault laguna estates?
Very cheap, loads of room in the back, and it really does lie flat. We had one previously and it was a nice car but not very reliable. We may have been unlucky as I haven't looked at others reviews.

In reply to Denni:
Kia C'eed? I chose mine over the Octavia because it drove better, had a flat boot without playing games with a kit, and for the same price was two years and 20k miles younger.

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

Is that the one that looks just the same as the Octavia?

In reply to Denni:

Skoda Octavia. Great mpg - Inverness to Glasgow just under 70mpg....if driven sensibly!
I made myself a raised platform from timber I had in garage. Took an hour - no cost. I am sure my mate's older Octavia was level though? Huge capacity rear.

In reply to Denni:

I had a 57 VW Touran 2.0 TDI for a while, strong engine, comfortable ride, masses of boot space (I could put a Moon Saturn boulder pad flat in the boot), comes with roof bars to attach bike racks etc to and despite driving it like the feral youth I am, averaged 40+ mpg and never had any problems with it.

If you want utterly bombproof, I recommend the manual Audi A4 2.5 TDI Quattro. You can pick them up pretty cheap now and mine (53 plate) had over 150k on the clock when an incident killed the car, according to the service history it had previously had nothing more serious than a timing belt change done and having donated the drivetrain to a friend (who wanted an upgrade from a 1.9), I know it is still going strong at a solid 200k however there are many many more examples with many many more miles out there! Around home, it seemed to do about 40mpg no matter how I drove it (more on a motorway) and having done a few Alps and Scotland trips in it, I can firmly say they're brilliant mile crunchers and great in snow. The only problem I found with it was my previous insurance company told me that 'we don't insure performance vehicles', which was a surprise when insuring a diesel estate...(and to be completely honest, it wasn't that fast!)

In reply to deacondeacon:

Yep, they're pretty similar.

In reply to Denni:
If you stumble across a mid to late 90's era Audi estate with low miles going cheap they're ment to be as tough as old boots, the guy who serviced my Dad's A6 before he generously gave it to my childhood friend from nextdoor was always going on about how good older Audi's are, and the one we had was awesomely reliable.

Not quite as nice to drive as a more mdern car, but very reliable and self serviceable to a some degree. I'm on the look out for a mid to late 90's A6 estate with low miles, they can often be had for under or around a grand.

My 2p's worth.

In reply to RobOggie:

I don't think an A4''s load bay is big enough for the OP, I was surprised and disappointed to see how small they are when I looked at one a few years back. Nice cars though so I'd go with the older A6 suggestion.

In reply to Denni:

Toyota Avensis Tourer?


Chris

In reply to Denni:
Vauxhall Astra (H also called mk5 from 2004 to 2010) either in 1.8 petrol or 1.7 diesel

In reply to Denni: it's hard to kill Mazda's. Not sure what the space is like in the back of a 6 estate, but they're horribly unfashionable, so cheap

In reply to Denni:

For these exact reasons I bought a volvo v50 estate this afternoon. I can sleep in the back...will report back soon

In reply to Kemics:

I just bought a v50 too what fun. A rather silly T5 AWD version though,the idea is to get it LPG converted. Lovely interior.

In reply to Denni:

Avoid VW cars especially passats , actually erase them from your memory would be the safest bet ! The list is just too long to fit on here but first off was handbrake sticking on - £560 ! Only 4 years old ! ! I wouldn't touch VW with a baseball bat !

In reply to solomonkey:

Just in the interests of balance, I'll say that I'm on my second Passat (this one's an estate) and I love it. It's a great, comfy, economical and reliable car. Mine's an old one however - 53 plate - so maybe the newer ones are worse. I know the pre-DPF engines are thought to be fairly bulletproof.

At the OP's price point, he'd be talking a newer model but if he spent only a couple of grand, he could get a lovely car...potentially.

In reply to Fraser:

To be fair I should of said any passat over 06 reg stay well clear ! Friend of mine has a old one that's bomb proof , my 8 grand one was squeaky plasticity disappointing expesive let down - I then bought a 600 pound runabout tdci mondeo and got 12 months trouble free motoring so just kept that , same price as to fix the electric handbrake button on my passat ! They only last 4-5 years !!

In reply to Denni:
Not sure if it's the case on the most recent model, but friends who needed maximum boot load space in an estate car plumped for a Mondeo as apparently they were the largest in their price range (theirs is 07 plate and was, I think, around £5k a couple of years ago).

We have a Volvo XC70 which has a lot of boot space but is also just a massive car; probably a bit on the excessive side for your needs? (edited to add that the XC70 is unlikely to fall within your budget range but would any of the other jumbo Volvo estates be worth a look?)

In reply to Denni:

Another recommendation for a car with a lot of volume - the Ford S-Max. I think they're a little smaller than the Galaxy but if you don't use the (very clever) last two seats, the boot seems cavernous, with more height than the more traditional estate car.

In reply to Denni:
Ford Mondeo estate, something to suit all budgets. There's really no reason not to buy one other than fashion, desire etc.

In reply to Denni:
Watching this has made me retract my enthusiasm for older estate cars a bit.

youtube.com/watch?v=HCecdOBCFjI&

More modern cars are probably always going to be safer.

In reply to Timmd:

wow....that's a real eye opener.

In reply to Denni:

I took a Volvo V50 and Vauxhall Insignia estate for a test drive over the weekend. I'm also looking for an estate.

Not much in it driving wise though the Insignia felt huge in comparison to the V50. The V50 was more stylish. Both same age similar mileage though the Insignia was about 1k less.

In reply to Denni:

mondeo 's are huge just gigantic and with the fairly standard 1.6 turbo diesel pretty efficient. much better value 2nd hand than passat octavia and has the same engine. as of 2011.

In reply to solomonkey:

My dad had an 02 Passat which he loved, replaced it with a 55 plate one that he hates. That electronic handbrake is a big part of his hatred. I wouldn't go near one.

Kia Cee'd SW for me. Meets most of OP's criteria, a good bit of space but not a huge amount.

In reply to Morgan Woods:
Yes it is.

In reply to Timmd:

Yeah I had a similar V70 wagon until it died.....and had thought it bigger bulk and Swedish build quality would offer better protection.

In reply to Morgan Woods:

It's looks like it was more or less a face lift of the one in the footage.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/1st_Volvo_V70.jpg

In reply to Timmd:

Hi folks,
thanks for taking the time to post, appreciate it.

Had a look at a few, Octavia Estate VRS (which I really liked!!!), the Volvo V50, also liked that. Had a look at a Galaxy and a Mondeo estate, bloody brilliant and worth considering if you're not a car snob, which I am not.

Also looked at a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso which is a beast and was going to look at some Vauxhall estate, but didn't have the time. We used to have a Peugeot Partner, all a bit OAP but was excellent so I might go and re-aquaint myself with that and the Berlingo.

Any more suggestions, please keep them coming.

Cheers, Den

In reply to Denni:

I'm considering a Superb…