| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers 09:28 - Jun 1 with 7336 views | Axeldalai_lama |
Looking to get a second hand family car as the old Focus has finally gone kaput.
Need boot space and back seat space for one/ soon to be two baby/child seats, plus dog. Want reliability and decent economy, not worried about flashiness or performance besides basics, want it to last so we don't NEED to replace it for years.
£10k budget.
Were originally thinking Skoda Octavia but the rear seats are limited especially with 2 car seats. Now thinking of the Citroen C4 picasso. Looks a decent option. 3 proper back seats and a boot, plus decent kit.
Anyone have anny experience of the C4, Octavia, or any other recommendations.
Many thanks in advance. |  | | |  |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 09:36 - Jun 1 with 6442 views | MJallday |
if youve had a focus - then the mondeo is the next step up. they are pretty much bullet proof and youll pick up a low mileage decent one for <10k. i had one for 3 years - most comfy car i have ever had.
aside from that in the ford range, you could do worse than a cmax - old focus chassis and suited perfectly for families. we have one for years - spot on it was. (upgraded last year for the kuga sport now kids have grown up) |  |
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| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 09:38 - Jun 1 with 6442 views | BlueBadger |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 09:36 - Jun 1 by MJallday |
if youve had a focus - then the mondeo is the next step up. they are pretty much bullet proof and youll pick up a low mileage decent one for <10k. i had one for 3 years - most comfy car i have ever had.
aside from that in the ford range, you could do worse than a cmax - old focus chassis and suited perfectly for families. we have one for years - spot on it was. (upgraded last year for the kuga sport now kids have grown up) |
Currently driving a second hand Berlingo. It's a proper old workhorse with loads of room for kids, kids and the associated clutter that comes wit them. |  |
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| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 09:43 - Jun 1 with 6426 views | Smithy |
Reliability & French, never gone together in my experience
Stick to Japanese if you want reliability |  |
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| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 09:51 - Jun 1 with 6409 views | Axeldalai_lama |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 09:36 - Jun 1 by MJallday |
if youve had a focus - then the mondeo is the next step up. they are pretty much bullet proof and youll pick up a low mileage decent one for <10k. i had one for 3 years - most comfy car i have ever had.
aside from that in the ford range, you could do worse than a cmax - old focus chassis and suited perfectly for families. we have one for years - spot on it was. (upgraded last year for the kuga sport now kids have grown up) |
Cheers. The Focus wasn't the best car for us. The mrs really hated it. So we were probably looking to move away from Fords although they're pretty solid. Did look at a c max actually, but were a bit uninspiring compared to some of the similar sized family cars.
Didn't give much thought to the mondeo. Could be a good shout. It's whether we're taking the plunge to a full on "family" car(picasso/Zafira/ C max) or trying to cling onto a "normal" but bigger car (Octavia/Mondeo etc). Were originally going to just get a bigger car, but might go full family car after giving it more thought. | | | |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 09:51 - Jun 1 with 6409 views | NewcyBlue |
A mate of mine has given me a tough one.
Find a car for him for under 3 grand that he can use to cart his 3 boys about who are all under 6, and he can use on long journeys... |  |
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| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 09:52 - Jun 1 with 6405 views | factual_blue |
The Octavia is excellent. With regards to children, the little 'uns demonstrated that you can easily fit two in the boot (the minute we opened it, they jumped in. No coercion involved), and they were twelve and ten at the time. |  |
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| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 09:54 - Jun 1 with 6400 views | Axeldalai_lama |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 09:43 - Jun 1 by Smithy |
Reliability & French, never gone together in my experience
Stick to Japanese if you want reliability |
Well that was a big reservation we had. C4's seem less reliable than the likes of an Octavia or similar workhorse, but pretty good overall against the bigger family cars.
Not sure in reality though. | | | |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 09:59 - Jun 1 with 6392 views | Axeldalai_lama |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 09:52 - Jun 1 by factual_blue |
The Octavia is excellent. With regards to children, the little 'uns demonstrated that you can easily fit two in the boot (the minute we opened it, they jumped in. No coercion involved), and they were twelve and ten at the time. |
The Octavia is clearly a great car, that's almost the problem. If it wasn't an option we'd probably just got more for a full on family car like zafira/ picasso or C Max etc. It's such a good car, just the chances of getting two proper baby seats, a dog, and a boot full of stuff in at the same time is an issue.
It's pretty much just the 3 full rear seats and a bit of extra spec that make the Picasso an option, otherwise the Octavia would be a no brainer. | | | |
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| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 10:13 - Jun 1 with 6372 views | Guthrum |
Octavia is excellent. I have a fairly old one (2004 1.9 diesel estate), but it's pretty much bulletproof, has cost me very little in the way of repairs, MPG of around 55 even when heavily loaded, reasonable amount of power. Lots of space in the back (doubles as a work van).
Had a Citroen C5 (not the Picasso), was a heap of junk and very expensive to maintain. Almost everything electrical went wrong. Then the engine blew up. |  |
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| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 10:20 - Jun 1 with 6357 views | ITFC1983 |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 09:51 - Jun 1 by NewcyBlue |
A mate of mine has given me a tough one.
Find a car for him for under 3 grand that he can use to cart his 3 boys about who are all under 6, and he can use on long journeys... |
Ford Focus C-Max mine is a proper work horse, low miles well maintained diesel will come in around that price. The one below just came up in a quick search, 9 years old but 58k miles, very good fuel economy and very usefull space for all the kids and bits!
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201704064136340/usedcars |  |
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| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 10:21 - Jun 1 with 6357 views | Axeldalai_lama |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 10:13 - Jun 1 by Guthrum |
Octavia is excellent. I have a fairly old one (2004 1.9 diesel estate), but it's pretty much bulletproof, has cost me very little in the way of repairs, MPG of around 55 even when heavily loaded, reasonable amount of power. Lots of space in the back (doubles as a work van).
Had a Citroen C5 (not the Picasso), was a heap of junk and very expensive to maintain. Almost everything electrical went wrong. Then the engine blew up. |
That's pretty much my fears summed up in 2 paragraphs!
Octavia; bulletproof, economical etc.
C4; potentially dodgy if slightly more suitable for my requirements. | | | |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 10:23 - Jun 1 with 6353 views | ITFC1983 |
Brother has the Octavia Estate, he has young 2 boys and says it is deecnt but not amazing. He had a C-Max before the Octavia and says he prefered that.
I have been told that the Honda CR-V is the best for this kind of requirements. However for a decent one you will need to stretch the budget to about £12-13k. Very Solid, excellent MPG and only £30 road tax! Whats not to like!
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201705245771597 [Post edited 1 Jun 2017 10:26]
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| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 10:36 - Jun 1 with 6344 views | BluJu |
We took delivery of a new "facelift" C4 Grand Picasso a couple of months ago.
Great space, and full of gizmos, like reversing camera, parking assist, satnav, full panoramic glass roof w/ electric blind etc. all as standard on our model. (try spec'ing up a volkswagen similarly and you'll add thousands beyond an already inflated starting price).
Having next to no dials and knobs and just a touch screen takes some getting used to - still haven't. It's a bit of a barrier actually - e.g. when I want to turn the fan down, I have to go through the menu. But on the flip-side, there is a lot of control.
The radio is slightly iffy. Sound is good but not as good as the S-Max, and it keeps losing digital stations, or mixing them up - and reception is not as reliable. But hey Radio Suffolk is still on FM anyway.. lol.
Reliability will be the biggest test. After owning 4 Ford Focus, then 4 Ford S-Max in a row, without a single breakdown (for something like 720,000+ miles?) our shiny new Citroen broke down after 700 miles (needed a new master cylinder for clutch). Fine since, and the dealer was excellent, but I am less trusting of the car.
The C4 drives nicely, but in my opinion does not have the premium handling of the S-Max, which really drove like a much smaller car, with an extra bit of zip over this. The Citroen actually has a real spare wheel! An increasing rarity...
I like it, but i'll like it more if it proves reliable. We chose it as we were forced away from the S-Max due to emissions regs, and needed a similar size. The equivalents from Volkswagen, Vauxhall, et all were dull, pricey or both. Many other alternatives did not provide 3 proper rear seats in row 2 (middle seat is always a compromise), which was a major factor as we have 3 kids and do regular long journeys. The 3rd row seats have more room on the Citroen, but takes up more of the boot when up.
If having back-massaging front seats is a must, then the Citroen is the way to go ;)
(edit: I would only go for the Citroen if buying new or leasing) [Post edited 1 Jun 2017 10:39]
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| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 10:37 - Jun 1 with 6339 views | No9 |
Have alook at the Skoda Superb |  | | |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 10:38 - Jun 1 with 6337 views | Throbbe |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 09:51 - Jun 1 by NewcyBlue |
A mate of mine has given me a tough one.
Find a car for him for under 3 grand that he can use to cart his 3 boys about who are all under 6, and he can use on long journeys... |
That screams old Volvo Estate to me. |  |
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| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 10:40 - Jun 1 with 6328 views | BluJu |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 09:51 - Jun 1 by NewcyBlue |
A mate of mine has given me a tough one.
Find a car for him for under 3 grand that he can use to cart his 3 boys about who are all under 6, and he can use on long journeys... |
S-Max of the right age for the price? | | | |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 10:57 - Jun 1 with 6293 views | NewcyBlue |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 10:38 - Jun 1 by Throbbe |
That screams old Volvo Estate to me. |
That was my initial thought, and then thought about the S Max as Guthers suggested.
Lagos - a Multipla is a decent shout.
OP - Peugeot Citroen have the usual reliability issues, but they are no worse than most other cars. The HDi engines are pretty good these days. It is mostly electrics on them. | |
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| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 11:02 - Jun 1 with 6284 views | bluelagos |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 10:57 - Jun 1 by NewcyBlue |
That was my initial thought, and then thought about the S Max as Guthers suggested.
Lagos - a Multipla is a decent shout.
OP - Peugeot Citroen have the usual reliability issues, but they are no worse than most other cars. The HDi engines are pretty good these days. It is mostly electrics on them. |
Added bonus of him getting a fugly car is you can mercilessly rip the p*ss too.
The correct answer if of course to get a motorbike. Leave the kids at home and get and out and enjoy the weather / sunshine. |  |
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| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 11:10 - Jun 1 with 6273 views | NewcyBlue |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 11:02 - Jun 1 by bluelagos |
Added bonus of him getting a fugly car is you can mercilessly rip the p*ss too.
The correct answer if of course to get a motorbike. Leave the kids at home and get and out and enjoy the weather / sunshine. |
He's not built for speed.... | |
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| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 15:16 - May 17 with 4936 views | oliviacolewood |
Have you tried looking on https://www.raccars.co.uk/? You can fill out your specifications and price range so it should help you narrow down you choices. I found it to be a helpful site when I was looking to buy a used car. | | | |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 16:08 - May 17 with 4893 views | Pinewoodblue |
One thing you may like about the CMax is the way the rear doors open.
Changed cars recently, stuck with Renault, went for Kadjar after five Scenics. Went to Hammonds on the old park and ride site by Asda. They have a good selection, wide range of brands, nothing older than a 65 plate.
Kadjar only cost £13,000 12 months old with 1,750 mile on the clock. Even if you end up buying elsewhere worth going there to compare vehicles. |  |
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| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 18:14 - May 17 with 4826 views | emergencylime |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 09:54 - Jun 1 by Axeldalai_lama |
Well that was a big reservation we had. C4's seem less reliable than the likes of an Octavia or similar workhorse, but pretty good overall against the bigger family cars.
Not sure in reality though. |
C4 practicality with Octavia reliability = Skoda Yeti , no? |  |
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| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 18:33 - May 17 with 4798 views | Pinewoodblue |
| TWTD car experts or C4 picasso drivers on 18:14 - May 17 by emergencylime |
C4 practicality with Octavia reliability = Skoda Yeti , no? |
No. C4 boot capacity 25% greater than Skoda Yetie. C4 also has no lip. | |
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