bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Deciding what car to get next
Narrowed it down to two, for the wife and me.

Ford s-max or vw touran these two are my favourite ATM, 2.0tdi engines but the road tax is about £170 a year, which is not a major issue I suppose.

Budget will be around £10k, under the better.

Has to be 7 seater option, good mpg, reliable, bit punchy if possible for when car is full of family etc.
Cheap to run. And good to drive.

Anymore recomendations.

Thanks

SRSport

Only one winner then and it aint the VW.

The Ford should be a better drive as well with most other things are equal.

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Lol, personally I like the look of the vw but like the inside in smax

SRSport

I guess the VW has a more desirable badge...Heaven only knows how. I think its all about perceived quality, something that German manufacturers are masters at.

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

Grand Scenic - decent 1.5TDi (although there is a 1.9 version) with a good slug of torque. Tax for the 1.5 is only £100 per year and they appear to be quite solid these days - none of the old Renault 5 style flimsiness about them

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

Are the kids going to trash it ? Football for us today and the C4 grand Picaso has half a football pitch in it !!

Shaun

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Never been a fan of French cars, prefer German or jap. But I'll have a look,see if the wife likes it but dont think im set on it tbh, Image is important too,

SRSport

I dont have much experience with French cars but my brother in law had a grande scenic. He said it was brilliant for the first 3 years and then as if by magic it fell to pieces. The windscreen leaked, the electrics failed and something to do with the steering rack. he got rid straight away as he felt as thought it was designed to fail after 36 months. A bit like the German cars...I'd stick with the Japanese or Ford.

jpor

iTrader: (1)

Mate of mine has owned both the 'C' & 'S' Max fords. Must admit the last one he had which was the 'S' max had all the gadgets and went like the clappers. But the cost of ownership was the biggest pit fall for him. It was costing him around £100 a week to fill up :-(

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Was it petrol or diesel? There a few engine options, and what amount of miles was he doing weekly?

jpor

iTrader: (1)

It was a TDCI Titanium. He was managing around 300 Miles on average :-(

SRSport

Was there something wrong with it?...after harping on about buying Japanese or Ford due to their superior reliability.

My inlaws 1.8l petrol Cmax does around 300 average and most of it is around town.

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

After reading a few owners reviews on both cars on parkers, the s-max has mixed reviews in going back to dealers regularly for faults, but is that from new I wonder.
And vw seem similar too, but just minor issues, egv, smoke in engine on cold mornings etc.

So still a bit stuck on this tbh, looked at the Mazda 5 and wow even worser (avoid) high running costs.

This car needs to last us for at least 5 years.

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Hm that's not right, are you sure it wasn't a 2.5 titanium x

SRSport

Any good? Hondas beat Mazdas in my opinion.

Honda FR-V options

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

I agree but don't really like it.
Think the s-max is a winner so far as I can't find anything as good with all the gadgets etc, do love the titanium with x pack on, st wheels, half leather, DVD screen etc. the s-max looks like a nice place to be in tbh and can't find anything similar. Will just have to make sure I thoroughly check it's a good un, and stay away from dealers

sweden

iTrader: (2)

Chevrolet transport full 7seater with way better boot space than the other 2, all options you could want.

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Don't think I would touch a Chevrolet for obvious reasons (parts) and the boot dosent bother me as the back 2 seats will be down, only used for occasions.

sweden

iTrader: (2)

Never had problem with parts very cheap easy to work on but if you don't need boot space then it'll be to big for you

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

If you don't need a boot whilst all the seven seats are in use, then a current shape Zaf or Touran are both good. Never driven a S-max so can't comment on those.

If you need a boot AND seven seats you need to look at a Galaxy/Sharan. I'd avoid the Alhambra though as although mechanically identical, the parts specfic to the Seat version are more pricey (body parts, interior trim etc).

If you don't care about driving, then a Kia Sedona will do the job. Not bad, but utterly boring though. Same goes for the chrysler grand voyager, apart from they are a bit thristy on fuel.

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Yes Ali, it will be used as a 5 seater primarily inc dog in back, but need 7 for the family occasions with 3 child seats and 3 adults etc.
The touran is one of my favorarites as they don't look too long etc, but I can't ignore the luxury in the smax, nice place to be

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

We have the newer shape Galaxy, have had it four years and it has been great, so much better than the Sharan it replaced, even manages to be quite good fun to drive (for an MPV), does 35 - 50 mpg depending on what its being used for.

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Is it the 11on model? What engine? Is it a good drive?

pflowers

IMO Citroen's are damn good cars, I have had quite a few and never had an issue with any of them. Whereas every ford, VW and Vauxhall I have owned have been a nightmare of faults and general unreliabilty.

We are going to have to replace the Forester with a seven seater by January as we have child number four on the way

Probably look at a Grand Picasso or possibly a Scenic, cheap to buy and cheap to run but far more stylish than anything German or Jap

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Ours is a 2007, they have revised it since then but not a complete new model, it does drive really well for an MPV, the handling is great for the size of it and it has enough power to not be too embarrassing, the 2.2 would be better, it is comfy, well equipped and has been reliable, image wise it isnt cool but looks smart enough, we looked at SUV's but couldnt see the point, I think a lot of people avoid them and buy something less suitable to get the right badge.

SRSport

Arent Fords S Maxs part of the Royal fleet? Im sure that I remember seeing them being used in Royal precessions. If its good enough for them etc.

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Sorry mate but IMO I disagree on the stylish department, everybody has diffrent taste, and driving French cars is a disappointment IMO, they maybe be reliable scince back in the day, Ive looked at a lot of mpvs and no French car looks good tbh, even the Hondas look poor

I hope so lol.
Speaking with missus today and seeing a few of smax's they look very long, so think the touran may win us as it dosent look too long and they still have 7 seats. Just need to make sure it's a sport model with full leather, even though I love the interior on the smax, think its too much of a bus looking.

pflowers

No problem mate, each to their own.

I just have too many bad memories of driving dodgy VW's and their pompous dealers.

Good luck with whatever you buy.

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

I agree entirely only used to jap cars that have been good to me plus a few German ones but no good people carriers, think most of these cars have problems of some sort and then there are some that don't, think its just pot luck that their a good un in the begining.
I'll have to have them thoroughly checked over prior to sale tbh
Just don't want to buy missus a car and constantly worry about things going wrong, I want to just buy her a car and forget about it so I can concentrate in buying my new beast

SRSport

Interesting comment. Why do you call them pompous?