UKC

I need a new (used) car.

My requirements are at least 4 doors (though probably more like 5), automatic, a bit of room in the boot for shopping or climbing gear / my bike with its wheels off.  I'd prefer petrol and the ability to overtake other vehicles quickly and safely.  I have no brand loyalty. I'm not arsed about leather seats etc.  

I have 15Kish to spend.

I haven't got a clue about this stuff. 

Any advice welcome. 

Thanks in advance.

It's one of those hive mind posts...

In before everyone else with: Skoda Octavia estate.

In all seriousness though I had one and they sound about right.

The Skoda Octavia hatchback is also good, and from what I've seen a fair bit cheaper than the estate. With the back seats down it easily takes two bikes, with loads of space left to fit extra gear in. Also it seems reliable, at least going by my now seven-year-old model.

I've got a yeti now, after a string of other cheap bangers that took too much work, and it's great but the boot isn't that big and it could do with being just a touch wider for me but it's still good.

As others have noted Skoda Octavia is the default choice, as an alternative I have a KIA Optima estate - reason being it was a lot cheaper to buy than an Octavia c. 2 years ago (1 year old, £14k, an came with 7 year warranty and loads of kit). I can get my road bike in without taking the wheels off with the seats down to give an idea of space. 

6 year old S-Max. Ford reliability, oodles of space, reasonable performance.

Or a popular SUV - eg Rav-4, Yeti.

For more performance and less SUVness, look at a Golf R.

Have fun

  In reply to freeflyer:    Agree, Ford.  For me, a Focus Zetec estate. Fords, best £ for £ whathaveyou value, spares etc going. Currently running a VW caddy thing, not impressed.   

= F**ked On Rainy Days 

Prius? The electric motor takes all the stress off the clutch and and regen does a lot of the braking so things pretty much never wear out. In our 2nd Gen the back seats fold down and we can even fit 2 Exped Synmats inside for a fairly uncomfortable nights sleep. They are known to run to several hundred thousand miles (not the most common taxi vehicle for no reason!). They also hold their value well into old age, you see '05s approaching 150k miles still going for £3500. You could get a 4th Gen with that budget (don't get a 3rd gen, known mechanical issues)

Kugas are incredibly cheap for what they are as there are loads about, they have become an almost default fleet car instead of the Mondeo.  Only downsides for me (I have one) are the slightly small boot (but loads of room with a back seat down) and irritating turbo lag.  Otherwise spacious, comfortable and 50 to the gallon on the 1.5 diesel.

Another vote for the Borg Skoda Octavia - the DSG auto box makes life simple, if you go for the VRS engine (petrol or 180hp diesel) you get enough oomph to overtake on country roads safely without drama. Have a look at the Scout models, which have 4wd and are slightly raised with deeper section rubber on the tyres (17" wheels rather than 18") - they take the edge off rough roads and with 4 season tyres on seem to deal with all the snow/ice/mud living in the countryside throws at them, without being a SUV. Mine's done 85K and hasn't missed a beat with regular servicing. Not as comfy and less toys than my old Volvo, doesn't sound that great if you boot it, but tough as old boots and a great load lugger.

+1 for KIA. Ran a nearly new Ceed hatchback for 150k miles with no issues, the 7 year / 100k miles warranty was honoured for what I consider to be consumables (CV boots and roll bar bushes changed free of charge at a month less than 7 years and 90k miles).

Now running a 16 plate estate version with no major issues, but the brakes / discs were replaced at around 50k miles which is a bit disappointing. Loads of kit and more room in the boot than the Ford equivalent.

I note the OP was looking at nearly new petrol. Mrs Ridge has a 2 year old petrol Seat Arona (too small for the Ops requirements). Great car, goes like the proverbial off a shovel, but I wake up in the night wondering how long a 1 litre turbo engine is going to last, but that seems to be the way things are heading.

As others have stated Skoda Octavia estate is the official UKC vehicle.

I was looking for one last year but they were like hen's teeth. I ended up with the very similar under the shell Seat Leon ST 1.2 petrol. 

I'll add another voice for Kia, the Ceed estate. I had a diesel one for 7 years and 100k miles. Would've bought another if I'd found a suitable one.

I'd highly recommend a BMW 320d Xdrive touring for that money. Bombproof, reliable, fast, great to drive.

Volvo v70 d5. Mine is a phase 3  2008 onwards.

Massive, comfy and fast as feck! I call mine Growler. Sounds like a v8 when you floor it to overtake, and the kids scream and look like they’re on a rollercoaster. 
 

My mate Whisky Dave has a Jag sport, one of only a thousand left on the road, and even he went ‘feckin hell this has some pull off’’.

 5 people  in the car, 2 kayaks on the roof and 3 cases plus dog in the boot and 2 cases of Stella. 35 mpg to northern Scotland,

Wardrobe to skip tomorrow, no problem.

Overnight kip in the boot. It all goes flat, plus you can sit on the edge of the boot as it’s flat and have a brew/beer with the boot lid up to keep the rain off.

And  cost 4.5 k pre covid.

Found On Rubbish Dump, etc, etc.

Always had Fords in my family - Grandad used to be a manager at Dagenham. Never had any real issues with them.

Loved my Focus estate - 1.8 tddi, cavernous boot, could get 3 bikes, 3 people and a weekend's worth of camping/climbing gear inside. Still occasionally miss it.

Audi A3 would do all that - need to put rear seats down to get bike in, though.

The OP wanted petrol, but you'd get a good 320i touring for that money, xdrive for a bit more. It's what I'd have bought if I didn't need a little off-road ability.

I don't like the styling of Octavias. Opted for a SEAT Leon, bought at 18 months old, now 9 years old, MOTed yesterday with no issues. 1.4 petrol is fairly quick without being silly. Not tried an automatic.

I had a KIA Ceed as a hire car on holiday last year and whilst I wanted to like it, I didn't. I guess whatever you think might work for you, spend some time in it before you buy.

Thanks for the advice - very helpful.  I'm having a look at a few today (Leon, Octavia and a Yeti) so hopefully one of them fits the bill.  

Fair point, I missed the petrol piece.  Agreed.  3 series estate in any guise is a great piece of kit.

Went from an octavia estate 1.6 petrol, to ceed sportswagon hybrid. Octavia was a little bigger, but not much. The octavia did what octavias do for 200+k miles, but was getting a little tired. They do as you say each have their quirks or oddities, but both are to steal the phrase 'a reasonably priced car' that suit the outdoors user. 

There's a nice 57 Chevy station wagon on E##y at the moment. Just a touch over £15k. If I had the cash I'd have it myself

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209179856905?atmobcid=soc3

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205246061205?atmobcid=soc3

Im on my 4th 5 series estate. All have been brilliant. I have a 530d but the 520d is quick enough and you'll get very good mpg. There are 530ds in that price range, just a little older.

Superb to drive and acres of space. Looked after will do 250k and not as expensive to maintain as people think.

We have an Octavia estate; we ran that for years and (sadly) now have need for two cars - which I had avoided for 12 of the last 14 years despite being a family of four. So we bought a Skoda Superb 4WD estate too. It’s even better (but a bit thirstier, and has silly wheels that you can’t fit chains on - the only two problems in an otherwise fab vehicle). Mind you 45mpg fully loaded with a roof box on isn’t really that thirsty… just more than the Octavia! 
b

I have a Volvo XC70 that was £7.5K and I think it's the bees knees. Comfortable, surprisingly easy to drive, and reliabke. A flat boot so large you can sleep in it. Plenty of ground clearance for parking at the Buachaille.

A friend has a (newer) Skoda Octavia estate that was £10K and it also is the bees knees. Not quite as big as the Volvo but lower overall price and cheaper to maintain. 

What's the fuel consumption like on an XC70?

Along with many on this thread.. Skoda Octavia, what's more i bought one a few months ago having asked myself 'what's the best buy second hand car' and researched it. Do a search on Autotrader and see how many are still going at high mileage. 

I'm no expert so forgive me mentioning to check for the timing belt change at 5 yrs/100k. Also personally these days I only ever buy with very good service history, don't let anyone say it's all the same without. 

My current car is a Yeti. There are still plenty around though not made any more. I find it has several good points. For folk of my age getting in and out is just a bit easier than the Octavia we had written off by some crims when the trailer they were towing (pursued by police at 2am) with an ATM machine they had stolen from Booth’s supermarket became detached as they passed our house at god knows what speed.

Other things I Iike: it has good ground clearance; with seats down you can get a bike in without taking front wheel out - just. Also, if you are like me in deploring the tank-like body shape of most cars now, you may like the fact that it’s quite easy to judge where the corners are. The auto gear box is really wonderful. Fuel economy for the 1.2 petrol varies a lot with how you drive. I’m a steady driver these days and the overall mpg I get is 43. On a longish cross country trip something over 50 is possible.

I have an XC70 D5 and get between 40-50mpg depending on journey type. Just done a long trip, mostly motorway and A roads. Fully laden too and we averaged 46.5mpg over 800 miles. Pretty good for a large AWD with a 2.4L engine

It's also supremely comfortable.

330d touring for me but same logic. Faster than my Z3m with none of the drama. Weirdly common, euro6, well equipped and very easy to live with, high 40's to the gallon mixed use and better on a long run. We'll see how the 4wd and TC likes snow but it's excellent on muddy wet roads.

No idea what the petrol options are like, you'd need a big one to match the go of the N57 diesel so why bother for family car use. 

Basically decent value if the performance matters as well as the practicality.

Jk

I completely agree! I've just bought an M340d touring Xdrive myself and love it. I just figured for a £15k budget a 2 litre model may be more sensible and may mean getting a better spec/less miles etc. The 330d is a great piece of kit.

(There is a lot of BMW hate on this forum) 

Around 45mpg with an empty car.

Around 45mpg when fully loaded up.

Haha. I notice that with my V70.

I wanted an xc70 until I got this phase 3 D5. It’s a 2008. The extra clearance you get and comfort compared to my previous phase 2 is noticeable.

What year is your xc70 if you don’t mind me asking, as the phase 2 xc70 a didn’t get that.

Only asking as I may upgrade in the future.

Thanks

Dave

I had an '06 which I ran to 195K before the brake system became too expensive to repair. I'm now on a '10 at 130K.

To not meet the OPs criteria, I would buy a brand new Dacia Jogger. Only downside is it doesn't have many toys, and isn't very fast.    

Thanks, that's not too bad at all. Mate had an XC90 as a company car. Loved it, but said he was glad he wasn't paying for the fuel.

I've had mine for 10 years, bought at 18 months old and now at 110k miles. A local taxi company keeps making me offers to buy it but there's no way I'd find anything to replace it at a sensible price at the moment!

I've got a Honda CRV as a utility vehicle alongside "the posh car" (had loads of honda's, always been really good); big, ultra reliable especially the 2.2 diesel (chain driven cams, 250k easily). Gets low 40's mpg.

but also +1 to the BMW 5 series estate. Very nice way to travel long distances, but not that much ground clearance, in a mate's expensive experience, should you inadvertently catch the exhaust on something......

Another vote for Honda ( Civic ) four doors hatch back petrol engine available. 
I have destroyed every other make of car I have had ( including Volvos) the three  Honda civics I have bought are all still going strong a 2008 son, 2010 mine 2012 daughters. 

I also have a Civic, very reliable and spacious enough. My only gripe is it’s not quite big or flat enough to sleep in the back of with the seats down, but I’m tall-ish so it might be okay if you’re short. 

Hate to sound like a cliche, but I just bought a Skoda Octavia Estate. Seems pretty good so far, nippy enough, loads of space and cheap to run.