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FRV is MUCH better made than a Multipla. The Fiat has also gone from quirky "cool" to just plain ugly.
I rather like the Seat's but my experience (ok, so I only had 1) is that while it was great fun to drive the build quality and ultimately long term reliability was a bit shonky. Rather partial to the S-Max and that, to me, would be a better family car. More room and more versatile. As the kids grow older I reckon you will find the C-Max too small.
FWIW we have a Vectra estate. Not quite the "drivers car" that others may be but they are cheap as chips, bigger than a P&O container ship, reasonably economical and, in my experience, pretty reliable (had 3 or 4 over the years now and not had a major issue with any of them - total of 240,000 miles driving). I like the new shape Mundane and it does drive very nicely although on a long distance I found the drivers seat just a tad too short.
My brother in law thinks Vauxhall are super reliable, because his dad had a van that was good. So they bought a Zafira and had all sorts of expensive trouble with it 🙂
You'll hear as much bad as as much good about any car, but we've enjoyed owning the Toyota Verso we're about to trade in. If Toyota did a bigger MPV we'de be sticking with the brand, despite all the bad press.
my ex missus had a vauxhall carlton estate, followed by an omega estate as her company cars some years ago. not cheap cars by any means, each costing around 20k at the time. but without doubt they were the most unreliable, poorly built excuses for a car that I have ever had the dubious pleasure of "owning". customer service by vauxhall was just appalling and for that reason alone I would never, ever get another one, no matter how reasonably priced, well specced, or allegedly improved they were
ok I'm back from Arnold Clark (Honda but not Honda). There's loads of cars to choose from. Some new front runners are the Mongdeo Estate and the C-Max. The best deal for me looked like:
56 Mondeo Edge 1.8 35k on the clock £6500
I've got looooads of garages still to try. Going to a 'real' Honda place tomorrow.
A quick scope on Autotrader I spotted an 2009 FRV it had a high 40k on the clock but as your a low milage user it would even itself out. It was a bit more than that though but under 8k, the original owner has taken a massive hit.
1.8 petrol or diesel? The 1.8 diesel, even new one, is meant to be dire.
twas a petrol and as far as i know it doesn't roll into cars infront 🙂
Bonus!
2009 FRV it had a high 40k
Was it circling a roundabout with a breeze block lodged on the accelerator?!!
Oh, interesting to see (the) two hybrids in the top 10 list of reliable cars in joolsburger's Telegraph link, since complexity and unreliability were one of the main arguments against them originally.
fwiw i have a cmax and the rear 2 outer seats can slide forwards and backwards.
if you remove the middle rear seat and slide the 2 outers backwards it makes a massive 4 seater!!
equally i can get 3 cars seats / big lads across the back eat with no complaints about it being to small etc.
i cant see how you would grow out of it??
My reqs for a family car are the same as joolsburger
Reliabilty
Safety
Comfort and space
Economy and running costs
Performance
and I've had 2 Honda Accords - first was the saloon which we swapped for the tourer in Jan. I looked at something else when we swapped but it's hard to find anything else for the money that comes close.
I am selling my Accord tourer in the next few weeks its silver 2.2 cdti EX, 54 plate, vvgc, FSH 17" penta alloys new ish tyers, parking senors, roof bars, and a tow bar (never towed only a bike rack has been on it) owned for the last 5 years very comfortable, 50 mpg, with 48,000 miles on the clock.
the nicest car I have ever owned.
Surf-Mat - MemberCouple of observations that perfectly fit the stereotypes...
I would be happy to own a mundaneO, its a perfect family car, that & they are more 'exclusive' than a 3 series.
Errmm - if you want "exclusive" you do NOT buy a Mondeo. And why try and outdo a 3 series (that wasn't even mentioned)? This is typical of the point scoring rep wannabee. It may fit the OPs requirements but I'm sure he couldn't give a stuff how common the car is.
I have always aspired more toward a Mondeo than a three series myself, although I can only manage a lowly Vauxhall as our our family car, it suits our needs that require occasional 7 seats & a hate of big pointless cars you cant park anywhere.
m- - MemberErrmm - if you want "exclusive" you do NOT buy a Mondeo. And why try and outdo a 3 series (that wasn't even mentioned)? This is typical of the point scoring rep wannabee
Errmmm - I suspect that it's more typical of someone pointing out the irony that the 3-series shifts more units than the Mondeo annually in the UK, despite the former being perceived as more 'exclusive' i.e. it was a recommendation for a worthy family car without getting tied up in badge snobbery, rather than someone passing judgement about other cars and their drivers...
Nail hit squarely on the head, thank you for the defence in my absence.
As for the rest of the thread... I lost interest amongst the bickering 🙂
Cheers.
Vauxhall is not "lowly" at all IMO - they make some great cars.
They also do/did some great fast cars - VX220 and most of the VXR range (including the VXR8 loonmobile).
2unfit2ride
Was trying to mail you about a frame you were selling, but can't get your email to work. Could you mail me please?
boxelder, request completed.
Matt, fast Vauxhall's don't do it for me 😉
There's far too much choice out there.
Honda FRV is now the current champion for the budget.
There's far too much choice out there.
One of the problems of Capitalism.
Saw one in the car park today, reminded me how good they looked. I still want one 🙂
Cant argue against an FRV, all the practicality of my Uglipa, but without the trim falling off.
Bloke I used to work with does a lot of camping with his family & bought an FRV for the practicality aspect.
And it does seem like a great car, he loves it. I think the only thing he ever had negative to say was that the fuel economy was MUCH lower than claimed, but I have heard that about the Honda 2.2 in general, not just in the FRV.
There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of Seat love on here, but mine has been great. I've put 103k miles on it in about 3 1/2 yrs (it's now on 127k miles). Only issues have been a boost pipe failing, which cost £45 to put right and a new wheel bearing which oddly went at 34k miles and not had any problems since.
The front discs/pads lasted 119k miles.....!
I do ~600 miles/wk just commuting in it and it has been great. Would like to swap for an estate ideally, but can't justify getting rid of this while I'm putting so many miles on it & it stays reliable. I get about 55mpg on average with 60mpg not unheard of on long runs.
The only issues I have with the car are the ride quality is a bit jarring (but I knew that when I got it) and the cabin is getting a bit creaky, but the original owner had some of the dash panels out to put a CD changer in & didn't put them back in that well so I suspect that has a lot to do with it.
thank you for the defence in my absence
No problem. It rewarded me with the privilege of being abused by Surf-Mat, and I didn't even mention BP 😉 (Tongue firmly in cheek for Surf-Mat's benefit...)
just to throw my views in the mix. I've got a Honda (civic, fine for our one kid, maybe a bit small for multiple kids esp if older) and I think the build quality, reliability and overall grin factor on it is great. so much so that my next car will be a honda. If the FRV is anything like the civic in build quality I'd go for that.
I've got the 2.2 CDTI, and yeah the fuel econ isn't great. about 43 in town, if taking it very easy.
Abused? If you call that "abuse" then God help you!
Now I might and go and find a thread asking what hardtail to buy. I will recommend a £700 Giant Talon 1 bike because it will be a lot more "exclusive" than a £1000 Specialized Rockhopper SL Pro... I will then rattle on about how much better the Giant is and how daft those silly Specialized owners are even if the OP didn't even mention Specialized bikes in the first place... 😉
Can vouch for Honda as I have had an 04 CRV for a few years now. We looked at FRV's but with 2 kids and 2 big dogs we needed a biiiiig boot.
Build quality is excellent and everything is over engineered, I liken Honda to the Japanese equivalent of Audi, but more reliable!!
Go for it!!
You will not be disappointed.
Love Honda's and the FRV look great but they are wide so if you park in a narrow street.....
HOLY CRAP WE'VE BOUGHT A CAR
Despite the missus saying she didn't care what car we bought it was quite obvious that when we got to the dealer she did. A couple of test drives later she settled on....
.....wait for it.....
a ****ing Vectra!
this ****ing Vectra
[img] 
[/img]
vital stats:
2007 57 VAUXHALL VECTRA 1.9 CDTI EXCLUSIVE DIESEL [120] 5 Door Hatchback
57k on the clock
£6982
(which we got down a bit and also got a vaguely good trade in price on the now 'old' car)
Thanks for all your help
(still would have pref'd a Honda but this'll do for a few years)
edit: boot not as big as the Avensis but with the seats down you can easily get 2 Nicolai's in there
I don't know why we bother...! 😉
Thats lots of car for the money
Contact DTUK and get a tuning box for it 😉
Just hope the seats are better than the Vectra I used to drive, worse than a wooden church pew. That's not a base model though, so it has to be better.
Earl - Member
Love Honda's and the FRV look great but they are wide so if you park in a narrow street.....
POSTED 7 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST
it's about half an inch wider than a Mondeo. The front third seat is gained by positioning the drivers seat as far off-centre as possible. When you first drive it, it feels a bit odd but you do quickly get used to it. And the build quality is absolutely out of this world