Car questions!

[alex__17]

Looking to upgrade my tiny Hyundai I10 at the end of the year as a couple of my schoolies need occasional school holiday care and it'll mean we can get out and about in the car as I have 3 little ones taking up all my seats. Will also mean less of a squeeze for buggies and bags!

I don't want to go to full people carrier size, hoping to get more of a Vauxhall zafira, Ford C-Max grand, Toyota verso size car, so a 5 seater that has 2 occasional seats in the boot for use as and when needed.

I've done a bit of research and the zafira seems quite bad on fuel consumption and has high road tax, if anyone has any of these cars and can give me an idea of cost to fill the tank and number of miles you get out of it that'd be so helpful (more so than mpg!).

Also any other car recommendations would be great!

[loocyloo]

I had a toyota verso and i loved it. I can't remember but i think i did about 350 miles on a tank. I had an automatic. Very reliable.
Tiny boot with all seats up but could squeeze a single umbrella stroller in.

I now have a vw touran diesel. I do over 500 miles a tank. Again, its an automatic. Even smaller boot with all seats up but great.

I would have had another toyota but dh has a vw obsession!

Edited to say i think it costs about £60 to fill both tanks.

[smurfette]

I have a Renault grand scenic, quite like a zafira. It's cheap enough to run does 550 Kms to a tank that costs €75 to fill (sorry in Ireland so don't know the miles or pound equivalent ) we have had in the past a ford galaxy and a Hyundai trajet both of which had more space and real seats in the back (but didn't fold into floor which meant we had to take them out to get full use of the boot ) but guzzled the petrol

[smurfette]

I have a Renault grand scenic, quite like a zafira. It's cheap enough to run does 550 Kms to a tank that costs €75 to fill (sorry in Ireland so don't know the miles or pound equivalent ) we have had in the past a ford galaxy and a Hyundai trajet both of which had more space and real seats in the back (but didn't fold into floor which meant we had to take them out to get full use of the boot ) but guzzled the petrol

Tiny boot with all seven seats up too but can put my Phil and Teds in if I stand it up in the well in the boot

[tulip0803]

I had a zafira and hated it. My pushchairs didn't fit in so bought another which also wouldn't go in the boot! so had to go across the footwell. Hated moving the seats. No room for older children to climb though between the back seats so the middle row had to slide but wouldn't with 3 seat belt fixed car seats so Little ones had to go in the boot so I could slide seat forward. Seat could be in place in middle seat and seat can move forward or isofix seats without the feet. Although my Mum's newer zafira fits my pushchair in the boot and was cheaper to run when I had to borrow it because my head gasket went.

Now have a "people carrier on steroids" 8 seater Hyundai i800 miles of room in boot and cheaper to run than the zafira I had.

[alex__17]

Interesting to hear the big people carrier type cars seem to cost the same or less to run than zafira/verso... I assumed the bigger the car the less economical! V hard as I've found manufacturers mpg doesn't always match up to what it costs in real life

[smurfette]

I had a zafira and hated it. My pushchairs didn't fit in so bought another which also wouldn't go in the boot! so had to go across the footwell. Hated moving the seats. No room for older children to climb though between the back seats so the middle row had to slide but wouldn't with 3 seat belt fixed car seats so Little ones had to go in the boot so I could slide seat forward. Seat could be in place in middle seat and seat can move forward or isofix seats without the feet. Although my Mum's newer zafira fits my pushchair in the boot and was cheaper to run when I had to borrow it because my head gasket went. Now have a "people carrier on steroids" 8 seater Hyundai i800 miles of room in boot and cheaper to run than the zafira I had.

I'm not keen on my scenic for the same reasons, no leg room in the back for the bigger ones and hard to get babies in. The seats do all flip forward though and the two outside ones flip forward into the well. There isn't really enough length in the car for all the seats.. If the middle row isn't forward enough the rear seats won't pop up and to take the middle ones forward enough to do that you have to pull the front ones forward. But it does the job and costs less. Interesting about the Hyundai I have often wanted an 8 seater! What does it cost to fill and how many miles ?

[TinyTinker]

we have a zafira....it's a squeeze to get 2 carseats and a booster across the back seat - they fit but doing up belts etc is hard. Also with the back seats up there really isn't room for a double pushchair! currently we have one seat up in the back and can fit a phil and teds double folded with the wheels off in it!

[Louise_Oaktree]

I have a grand scenic and I LOVE it, I've had a Mazda 5 and a Doblo Family and my scenic is by far the best I've had, I also do motorway driving at weekends and the mpg is really good (I've got the diesel engine). You need to check the costs of road tax too for some of the larger people carriers as some are not that eco friendly hence much higher road tax but newer models seem ok.

You need to look at the different options available and try each one. I took my double buggy to the show room, I have a baby jogger city micro double. All my singles fit in the boot too.

[k1rstie]

I have the older style Citreon grand Picasso. I really like it, but it helps that my nephew is a Citreon mechanic. I have never had any problems other than me driving into bollards and pulling the shirt off in car parks on curbs!!
My parents have a new shape one, from new.

They have just traded it in, as they are downsizing due to ill health. (They also have had several of the style too) . They get great fuel economy from theirs, I've never worked mine out.

They traded their year old car in for £16,000, for it to retail at about £18,000. It had great gadgets. They always boast that due to the fuel economy the tax is zero!!!

Citreon - tiny boot - have to put double buggy in the front footwell.

I have enjoyed driving my Citreon, will be changing in New Year, not sure what I will get as currently falling out with my step fathers daughter and so therefore her mechanic son!!!

Locally, there are loads of these cars around, and several childminders have them

[hectors house]

Does a Picasso (standard version or grand version) have 3 full sized seats across the back? - as I have a standard Renault Scenic and the middle seat is only 3/4 sized which means the 2 outside car seats cover up the seatbelt buckles meaning using booster style seats is really difficult.

[BallyH]

I have an 8 seater, Citroen C8. The back seat is a long 'bench' and I can fit 2 car seats in but no booster in between, only a skinny adult. The middle row has 3 proper sized seats so 3 car seats fit in easily. Economical to run but high road tax. Hardly any trouble with it. Love the electric doors. Boot small when car seats in the last row. The middle seat in the middle row can be removed, making it a 7 seater for easy access for the children to move about, but at the moment I've got 3 car seats in the middle and am not using the back row. It's 9 years old now and the 'spring' on the 2 outside seats in the middle row have gone so I have to now manually 'push & pull' the seats forward for children to access the back row. When I've got my own children & their friends in it it feels heavy to drive but with mindees it's easy.

[hectors house]

I have an 8 seater, Citroen C8. The back seat is a long 'bench' and I can fit 2 car seats in but no booster in between, only a skinny adult. The middle row has 3 proper sized seats so 3 car seats fit in easily. Economical to run but high road tax. Hardly any trouble with it. Love the electric doors. Boot small when car seats in the last row. The middle seat in the middle row can be removed, making it a 7 seater for easy access for the children to move about, but at the moment I've got 3 car seats in the middle and am not using the back row. It's 9 years old now and the 'spring' on the 2 outside seats in the middle row have gone so I have to now manually 'push & pull' the seats forward for children to access the back row. When I've got my own children & their friends in it it feels heavy to drive but with mindees it's easy.

Funny you should say about "heavy to drive" I find my Scenic much harder to drive at weekends when my husband is in passengers seat than I do in week with mindees.

[alex__17]

K1rstie how and other Citroen drivers how much to fill tank and how many miles? A lot of the new ones boast really good mpg and have v low road tax so while I'd not considered it I now am quite seriously... Hoping to start going around garages with my car seats and buggy at weekends next month to start my shortlist!

[TinyTinker]

I would get a citroen picasso C4 7 seater :)

[BallyH]

Recently I put £75 petrol in the tank and get roughly 30mpg on my 2l petrol Citroen C8.