Suitable cars for 2 adults, 1 teenager, 2 newborns and dog!

[developer]

A family member has asked me to find her a new car. She's soon to give birth to twins, so needs a car with rear seats wide enough for two child seats and her teenager step-daughter in the middle. Dogs are also on the horizon.

I don't know exactly what she's after so the list for the moment is quite long. The descriptions are for her benefit as I don't think she knows all the models.

She wants the car to last her 15 years. I'm not sure of budget but guessing <£30k.

Any cars I should be removing or adding?

Has anyone tried fitting twin child seats and a teenager in the back of their cars?

Audi Q5: Mid-sized 4-wheel drive, 5 seats, 2.0TDI 43mpg £27k
BMW X3: Mid-sized 4-wheel drive, 5 seats. xDrive 2.0d 50mpg £34k
Citroen Grand C4 Picasso: 2-wheel drive, 7 seats, 1.6HDi LX 51mg £18k
Ford Grand C-Max: Medium family sized vehicle, 2-wheel drive, 7 seats. 1.6 TDCi Zetec 57mpg £20k
Mercedes B-class: Medium Multi-purpose Vehicle, 2-wheel drive, 5 seats, B180CDi 50mpg £20k
Nissan Qasqai +2 ,Mid-sized 4x4 Style,, 2 and 4-wheel drive, 7 seats, 1.5dci 54mpg £18k
Peugeot 5008, Large Multi-purpose Vehicle, 2-wheel drive, 7 seats, 1.6HDi 53mpg £19k
Skoda Yeti: Medium Multi-purpose Vehicle, 2 and 4-wheel drive, 5 seats, 2.0TDi CR 52mpg £19k
Subaru Outback: Large Family car, 4-wheel drive, 5 seats, 2.0D 44mpg £27k
VW Golf Plus: Medium family sized vehicle, 2-wheel drive, 5 seats, 1.6TDi Bluemotion 65mpg £18k
VW Touran: Medium Multi-purpose Vehicle, 2 wheel drive, 7 seats, 1.6 TDi Bluemotion 61 mpg £20k
VW Tiguan: Mid-sized 4-wheel style, 2 and 4-wheel drive, 5 seats, 2.0TDi 45mpg £23k
Volvo XC60: Large Multi-purpose Vehicle, 2 and 4 wheel drive, 5 seats, 2.4D 37mpg £24k

Thanks.

Don't forget she has to drive it - some of these buses are big. If she's ok with the size I'd go for a diesel S Max every time - very well thought through, well built, stylish, functional, economical.

 

[BTB 500]

M-B Viano has surely got to be worth considering. Flexible seating, they drive well, plenty around, no bigger than an R class, excellent visibility from high driving position. Or VW Caravelle.

A key question has got to be whether they actually need the weight/cost/complexity of 4WD.

 

[nick mercedes]

She wants the car to last her 15 years.

That might be a bit ambitious, why not just spend less and get a newish car every 5 years?

 

[trapperjohn]

John

Would that last 15 years?

Just a thought, teenage daughter will soon fly the coop and then it will be 4 + 2 dogs.

Whilst a W124 7 seat would do for 15 years (probably) I think for the next 5 years such as a 7 seat MPV and then something slightly smaller C class estate?

BWDIK

Paul

Probably not. My thinking was that said Mum would change the motor anyway prior to the fifteen year slot. Natural Churn as they call it.
I have had two childseats in the "boot" of my 124 which is great for the children they love it, but - a bit of a stretch for the old back to check seats and babes are secure each time you load up. Also difficult to see they keep buckled up without another mirror mounted on the back window.

Will be interesting to see what is bought and what feedback we get from Will in fifteen years time when some high milage "only one previous owner" motor comes up forsale

 

[219]

A W123 stretch limo will seat everyone in comfort and outlast much of the modern junk that has been mentioned .

For even more interior space a W126 stretch limo would be an option .

 

[moonloops]

 

[corned]

I think you should attempt to manage that 15 year expectation! That is quite simply unrealistic. Why does it have to be able to last 15 years? Seems a rather odd specification to me. Do you know the thought process behind it (to help us understand)?

 

[nick mercedes]

A W123 stretch limo will seat everyone in comfort and outlast much of the modern junk that has been mentioned .

Parking might prove to be a bit of a mission, still with a 250 and it's love of petrol it might not spend much time away from a forecort, finding a rust free one might be far from easy...

 

[wemorgan]

The ~15 years is what her father used to do. He bought brand new and ran his cars to the ground, then started over again. He always bought diesel Peugeot estates.

Maybe in reality the car will last 10 years, but should have the potential for 15 years.

 

[finisterre]

Fiat doblo, 7 seat van with windows 9K brand new.

 

[nick mercedes]

The ~15 years is what her father used to do. He bought brand new and ran his cars to the ground, then started over again. He always bought diesel Peugeot estates.

Another diesel Peugeot estate would not be a bad choice.

 

[Benzmanc]

Skoda yeti or roomster. Both well built and very roomy.

Daz

 

[Stempies]

You need a Citroen CX Familiale. Seats 8 in comfort and still have room for a dog!! All for a heck of a lot less then £30K!!!

 

[wemorgan]

I've formatted the data so far and included the vehicle width as I think this is important if she decides on a 5-seater.

The 'a' are a formatting different between Excel and this forum. The 'a' in Excel is a tick icon.

My favourites so far are; Ford Grand C-Max, Mercedes R-class and Volvo XC6.

Style seats width engine mpg RRP
estate MPV 4x4 5 7 (mm) size power
Audi Q5 a a 2089 2.0 140 43 £26,935
BMW X3 a a 1881 3.0 254 47 £37,250
Citroen Grand C4 Picasso a a 2100 2.0 138 48 £22,700
Ford Grand C-Max a a 2067 2.0 138 53 £21,200
Mercedes B-class a a 1975 2.0 109 50 £19,720
Mercedes R-class a a a 2168 3.0 187 30 £36,517
Nissan Qasqai + a a 2120 2.0 147 42 £19,250
Peugeot 5008 a a 2118 2.0 150 49 £22,195
Skoda Supurb a a 2009 2.0 138 51 £23,525
Skoda Yeti a a a 1956 2.0 108 52 £18,750
Subaru Outback a a a 1820 2.0 147 44 £26,870
VW Golf Plus a a 1946 2.0 108 55 £17,885
VW Touran a a 1794 2.0 138 53 £23,230
VW Tiguan a a 1809 2.0 138 44 £22,920
Volvo XC6 a a a 2124 2.4 160 37 £24,255

 

[A210AMG]

If you want a proper 7 seater with some room for luggage your looking at the

R class
GL
Vito
Disco
XC90's
S max


Others will 'fit' them in but little room for anything else.


I would be tempted for size / cost the S max. I just don't think the french mpv would 'last' very well.


Regarding size and parking, almost all should now have parking sensors and most are van like shapes with youy sitting higher up, The fronts the front any you can see the back. Much easier to park than most coupe type cars even thoough longer.

 

[E CLASS]

Could I just suggest that she puts the dogs arrival on hold.

She'll have enough on her plate managing the twins without needing to clean up after a dog.

Additionally a dog and small children to my mind (esp newborns) is not a good mix.

IMO!

 

[wemorgan]

You're correct. The dogs and newborns will not be arriving at the same time. Maybe a few years later. But she'd like the car to be suitable for dogs for when they inevitably do arrive.

I think I'll add a S-Max to the growing list. I'm not sure she'll be thanking me for making the task more complex than she first imagined.

 

[BTB 500]

LOL we had 6 Border Collies, a newborn, and two other small children!

Hence the Vito.

 

[Ade B]

I think you should attempt to manage that 15 year expectation! That is quite simply unrealistic. Why does it have to be able to last 15 years? Seems a rather odd specification to me. Do you know the thought process behind it (to help us understand)?

Why couldn't it last 15 years? My CE was coming up to 20 when I moved it on. Generally it was still in excellent original condition but had not had a hard life (until I owned it )

On a different tip - anyone like to predict the cost of diesel in 15 years time? I would have thought that hybrid technology will become the norm in the near future - the running costs of a conventional IC engine set up may become prohibitive in the mid term.. less problematic if you change every few years..

 

[Martyn_n]

If you want a proper 7 seater with some room for luggage your looking at the

R class
GL
Vito
Disco
XC90's
S max


Others will 'fit' them in but little room for anything else.


I would be tempted for size / cost the S max. I just don't think the french mpv would 'last' very well.

QUOTE]
My wife has a "french mpv" and it is lasting very well thank you. My friend has an s-max and I have to say that whilst that drives slightly better the c4 is a better family car. You can comfortably fit all of the op's requirements in without resorting to the 2 rear seats as it has three full size seats (all with isofix) in the middle row whereas with the s-max the middle seat is your typical occasional use seat meaning you would have to have the newborns on the outside and the teen squashed in the middle. Neither the c4 or s-max have a massive ammount of space when in 7 seat mode. If you want 7 seats and space (which the op didn't specify) you would have to go for the galaxy / C8 / vito type of vehicle (Van with windows)