Boring family car needed, what to get?

TopGearDog

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2007
Messages
500
Location
Iceland
Car(s)
Mondeo TDCI
So, i have 2001 VW Golf 4Motion Variant, which you would think would be a great family car, since it's a Variant and has a nice boot, but everything else is still Golf, so i have to put the front passanger seat up to the glove box to fit the Graco baby seat in the back where i keep my 3 month old son. So i want something bigger.

Also, the 4Motion has alot of parts not shared with the regular mk4 Golf Variant and the only place to buy those is from the main dealer, where everything is 500.000% more expensive. So, the 4Motion is more expensive to maintain then a regular.

So, the cars i've been looking at are VW Passat, Skoda Octavia, Toyota Avensis and Ford Mondeo. Keep in mind, i'm looking at models 2000-2002 since that is what i can afford.

What are your opinions and experiences?
 
If you want space in the rear seat, Mondeo is the best choice. Lots of space in the back.
 
Fucking WillDAQ! Beat me to it again!

My money? Octavia. You have experience of its mechanicals anyway as it's a Golf underneath.
Passat? Pipe and slippers
Mondeo of that age? On its last legs.
Toyota? Total Recall!

Just my $0.02.
 
I would recommend the Octavia, but at 2002 it's still the old model which is just as tight in the back seat as the Golf.
 
My family (1 daughter, 2.5 yrs in group 1 booster seat, 1 daughter 8 8 months old, in group 0 Maxi Cosi seat, myself and wife) fits fine in my 2001 C220 CDI sedan :)

From your shortlist, the only car that was on my shortlist was the Mondeo.
 
Last edited:
skoda superb


end of line.


infact you can have mine for ?2500.
 
Last edited:
It's not like VWs or Skodas don't rust either. With cars that old, it is more dependant on how they were kept than anything else.

EDIT: Okay, it may complicate finding a rust-free example.
 
Last edited:
Another one for the Mondeo camp, although its all close together in that segment and at that age, with the superb I see rarity beeing a problem in finding parts (remember it's Iceland) the Avensis is well....an Avensis and quite frankly nobody deserves those levels of boring, Passat I see beeing more expensive to maintain then a Ford (atleast that's how it would be here).
The Mondeo was always a good car anyway, never a great car, but never a bad car.
 
Umm...E30 BMW! Yeah!
 
If you want massive rear seat space for reasonable monies, no way past a Superb. Don't worry about parts too much, it's basically a long wheelbase Passat. Almost all of that extra length goes towards the back seats btw :nod:


If a Superb is a bit on the expensive side, an Octavia can take a child seat (1-2yo) and two adults in the back without breaking any sweat. It's just a bit less roomy than a Superb... and basically a Golf underneath.
 
Last edited:
Yeah i've had my eye on the Mondeo, it seems to be the most spacious in the back. Also it is cheaper here and better specced then the others. The only one with aircon and heated seats as standard. The Skoda is the most basic, and honestly, after driving a Golf for the past 3 years, i couldn't go without basic comforts like power windows and cupholders. :)

Regarding the Avensis, understand that somehow Toyota has always been one of most popular badges here and it's always the best selling car (Corolla and Avensis) year after year, so there's loads of these Avensis around so it's cheap to repair and get parts. It is a dull car indeed, but it drives really well and is the most economical of the lot, excluding maybe the 1.6 Octavia.

Now the Passat, i do like them, (the 2001 facelifted one and later), they drive well, but i feel they lack in engines. Almost every 2.0 Passat here is either a 4Motion or an automatic and thus pretty bad fuel economy. The 1.6 is too weak for such a big car. That leaves the 1.8T which is a great engine, but comes only with automatic and is more expensive.

It's a tricky situation. This is Iceland and we are recovering from the economic crisis. There have been almost no new cars sold the past 2.5 years so the used market is really blooming and all the good 6-10 year old cars are being scouped up so they are much more expensive now. 3 years ago we threw away cars that sell for 3000? now. I could get a loan and buy a newer car, but i don't want owe anyone money right now, so it has to be something i can pay in cash.
 
Last edited:
Mondeo of that age? On its last legs.
Really? I still see plenty of Mk1 Mondeos around here.

Apparently the average car in Australia is 10 years old. I've never seen a 10 year old car be scrapped unless it was written off. A car is not dead until it is dead. And then once it's dead, it has another life as a 17-year old's mobile McDonalds bin. And then after that it has a third life taking Bazza and Shazza to the bottle shop. And then after that it sits in Bazza and Shazza's council house's front garden. Then, and only then, may it go to a scrapyard. At least Gillard managed to fail to keep her scrappage scheme promise too.
 
No snow, and hence no road salt, will considerably increase car lives.
Ah, rust. But that wouldn't have much effect on the car mechanically, would it?

/No idea about snow or rust caused by procedures to deal with it
 
Top