People Carrier v Large Hatchback Dilema

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taytoman

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I have 4 kids aged 2,6,9,and 10, and am thinking of replacing my saloon car with either a people carrier or a large 5 Door. I would use the car monday- friday for commute to work, and then for transporting the kids at the weekend and also on holidays. I'm torn between a 1-2 year old 7 seater Renault Grand Scenic or Peugeot 5008 / Citroen Grand Picasso, or else getting a new "large hatchback" like the new model skoda octavia that is just out. I have considered the Opel Zafira but it seems v bland. I know the obvious choice would seem the people carrier, but there is a certain attraction in getting a new car that will have a 3/4 year guarantee, is 4 years away from an NCT and is more fuel efficient. Of course, you are looking at having the 10 year in the passenger seat (this is legal) and maybe a bit crowded in the back with 2 boosters and 1 baby seat. Nevertheless, the allure of a brand new german engineered / v reliable skoda octavia that is almost the size of a ford mondeo or a VW Passat and could be held onto for say 10 years is attractive. Any thoughts?
 
taytoman said:
Of course, you are looking at having the 10 year in the passenger seat (this is legal)..
Click to expand...

It's based on height, not age. And, in my experience, mostly ignored. And even if your 10yo is below the recommended height, they could use a booster seat in the front passenger seat. AFAIK, there is no issue with a booster seat in the front.
 
Yes, you can use a booster in the front seat, in fact you are required to if they are of the height/weight where they would have to use one anyway. If they are in the booster then I would also leave the airbag turned on.

Personally speaking, With 4 young kids, I would go for the biggest car I could get.

The Grand Scenic will have 3 ISOFIX points in the middle bench, and 2 extra seats for occassional use, or a large boot which would come in very handy.

For modern cars, I do not think there is much of a muchness in reliability. All modern cars, especially diesel, are complicated now and all can suffer from similar expensive repairs.

If you research the car/engine you have you can usually figure out what the major failure items are and even nip them in the bud, preventative maintenance.

I used to own a 10D Grand Scenic 1.5 diesel and I really liked it.

If you can, make sure your budget covers a suitable car and still allows you to put 1k aside just in case something major goes wrong, and then don't worry about it.
 
If you do intend to hold on to it for 10 years, then on balance, the large hatchback might be the better call. Especially if the majority of your driving is a daily commute alone anyway.
 
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