UKH

I'm looking to get a car (max budget ~£7000) with the primary use of being practical for climbing trips.

My priorities are:

• BIG BOOT: fits 2-3x bouldering mats without taking down rear seats
• Good fuel economy: 55mpg+ on long trips
• Reliable: I'll be doing upwards of 15,000 miles per year 
• Comfortable on motorway

If anyone has experience of the following cars or has any other recommendations let me know!

• Mazda 6
• Ford Mondeo Estate
• VW Passat
• Volvo V40/50/60

Cheers, Ocean.

The answer to this question has always been (and always will be) a Skoda Octavia estate.  

I'll be returning to an octavia following a disappointing year with their Kodiaq)

Cheers, that is confidence. You got any particular reason or does it just tick the boxes?

It has all the comforts etc of Volkswagon / audi at a much reduced price. The 1.5 petrol is a pretty nippy beast and economical. With the seats down the octavia can swallow my bass rig (pair of 410 cabinets) plus the band PA with ease. If you wanted more spacve the Superb is vast inside but does cost a bit more. 

Passat is bigger for similar VAG reliability? They tend to be cheaper than used Skoda Superbs too. Although Octavia is aqequate for what you describe. 

Meant to add, in addition to 3 octavia estates, My main pleasure has been driving Land rovers. However the only reason I'm not still driving a defender is cos I have to cross the edinburgh and glasgow LEZ boundaries.

Obviously, as Graeme has already said, the answer on here will be Octavia.

An alternative, oft-overlooked vehicle, is the Ford S-Max. I owned one for a couple of years as a company vehicle. Very impressed by the package but the thing most notable is its internal size.

E.G - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202405049385534?advertising-locati...

Had a 2010 Mondeo Estate that was great. Very wide boot that could fit a Moon Saturn width ways. Sadly it got stolen so we replaced with a 2018 Skoda Superb. This is vast but doesn't have the same super wide boot. We did just do a trip to Northumberland in it though and it was excellent. It came with a towbar so I put a bike rack on the back and strapped two pads (A Moon Saturn and a Moon Warrior inside it) to that, three more pads (An organic full pad, a Snap Wham and small BD pad) in the boot and five people too. 

Just out of interest what was disappointing about it?

Wow, that is impressive, sounds more than adequate!

Mazda diesels don't have a great reputation for reliability. 

Petrols are nice though, but will probably get 40mpg ish depending on age.

A couple of things - despite being a 2 litre diesel, the low torque is rubbish so I can't drift up to a roundabout in third and expect to pull away without dropping to second (or even first) like i have in every other diesel I've owned.  BUT the main issue is that in the entire range of Kodiaqs, mine;- 4x4 scout ,diesel, manual, 7 seats is the only model that hasn't been type approved for towing despite the salesman at the time saying I could fit a bar - "but go independant because Skoda will charge £3 grand". 

I have had passat estates (2 litre diesel) for the last 13 years. Decent car, enough grunt just not very exciting but unless you can afford to run 2 cars practicality has to trump excitement. No problems other than glow plugs. Can't comment on boulder mats but definitely ticks your last three bullet points.

I have driven a Mazda 6 as a hire car but it feels smaller and the rear visibility is not as good as the passat. They have a good reputation for reliability though.

+1 for the ford mondeo estate. I had a 09 Titanium and it was fast and big enough for all sorts of fun. If you can find one thats been looked after ....

my only other estate has been an MG ZTT (the less said about that the better) but I currenly have a 2012 Honda Accord Tourer with the 2.2 diesel engine and I love it. I have not tested stacking bouldering mats without the seats down, and I do know that the roof does taper down toward the rear more than do a lot of estates, so it may not be a spacious as you like. But for the money it's great and ticks a lot of your boxes. I've had it a year, best mpg I've seen is 53, I average 48. Super comfortable (heated leather seats and a very nice sound system, good ergonomics on various controls on the steering wheel) and is really quite nippy and agile. I paid I think £7800 last March, it had 91k on the clock, seemed a high price for the mileage but apparently it's about right. It was a little bit of a distress purchase but I feel that I got lucky. I've put 17k onto it so my annual mileage tallies with yours. All it needed at last MOT was brake pads and a headlight bulb.

E Class estate.

You're new here I see

But with an Octavia people don't assume you're a grandmother (of course it is up to you to determine whether or not this is an issue)

VAG reliability is a myth! 

https://www.warrantywise.co.uk/blog/advice/insights/warrantywise-data-germa...

My 2011 Mondeo estate just got written off, and I'm on the lookout for another (I want another petrol one and they're very hard to find). If diesel is ok, the Titanium X models from 2011 on are amazing value, with a ton of kit. 

That's where you are going wrong, ditch the bouldering pads, nick a bar towel from the pub, and all your gear fits in a Skoda fabia.

You'll be quids in.

Do pubs still have bar towels? Used to be the thing to sneak out with when I started off but every pub I've been in lately has some sort of modern composite thingy on the bar

Call me sceptical, but that looks like infomercial marketing to push car warranties. I've been very happy with Skoda and VW (crosses fingers).   

I'm a great fan of Accord Estates, and have had a couple. 91k miles is nothing; the last one i sold on at 193k having put 35k on in 2.5 years, with nothing needed except tyres / brakes. Load area v. long, but not very high. Lovely to drive especially the Exec trim ones. I've now got a CRV with the same engine and trim (2009, 133k miles) as the general runabout / lugging / towing car and that would fit the OP's spec (bloody massive inside) but lower geared and only gets 45 mpg unless driving carefully, and much less around town.

And from a good friend's experience, +1 to the mondeo / s-max suggestion. Not inspiring, but big, comfortable and cheap to run.

Honda are a bit weird on trims. For my vintage which I think is the same as the 2009, there's only four, of which the bottom two scrimp on a LOT of stuff that's well worth having for the small price margin at the now 10+ years old second hand end of the market, and then the top trim adds little other than low profile alloys which I didn't want anyway (I had four years of "the real driving experience" of feeling every pebble on the road through the boyracer fancy NISMO wheels on a Nissan 350Z!)

What, are you suggesting the S-Max lacks street-cred? How very dare you........

I had a third gen Mondeo estate, it was 2 litre diesel. It was a fantastic car in every way and the loading space was cavernous. Never got 55mpg though. 
I think the fourth generation might have less boot space when the seats are up but you’d need to check

We've had a 1.6 diesel Volvo V50 for about 7 years now and done about 100k miles in it including a fair number of European road trips of more than 3000 miles. It has been super comfy and reliable and very economical.  On long motorway runs we wrte getting over 700 miles from its 55l tank.

We’ve got a Superb and it’s great. Large and comfortable. Fits my Core Titan in the back seats and 2-3 more pads in the boot if needed. 
Not sure how much Superb you’d get for £7k though. 

I’ve had mondeos for the last 20 years, serves all my needs and i’m pretty good on the spanners so when you know a car, why change. 

Last 12 years I’ve had 3 estates, mk3, mk4 and now a mk4.5. (all 2.0 TDCI)

For your sort of budget you should get a decent mileage, nice mk4.5. The 4 and 4.5 isn’t much between them, no DAB in my newer 4.5 but it is built in radio/climate/satnav touchscreen. This newer one is £30 a year tax though! Duratorq engine on this one, cambelt snapped on the last but it was well overdue and it started with electrical gremlins so I wasn’t gonna put anymore money in it. Cambelt and water pump done shortly after buying this one which I’d recommend you do with any car if there isn’t any evidence it’s still in spec.

It’s a doddle to service, got one of them oil sucker things (brilliant) and the cranked wrench for the filter and an oil change is a 20 min job without even kneeing down. Brake and suspension parts (Brembo - Euro car parts) are fairly cheap. of all the ones i’ve had, i’ve never really known of a really common fault at all. rear radius arm bush’s break down every 5 or 6 years, handbrake gets ‘sticky’ often, it’s simple to lube the lever on the back calipers but it does seem to come back. Front pads and tyres every 2 years on my mileage (15k) they are heavy cars. 

my trip computer reports 56mpg at 70mph in 6th gear at just under 2k revs. Engine is hardly working, last one was the same, great on the motorway. Every one I’ve had has always gone in a dead straight line, they are just great cars. Regularly used to sleep in the back of mine the night before a climb. Have a big dog now so the back is his, tow a small trailer if camping or use a roof box if we don’t need the trailer. So versatile, what’s not to love! 

From personal experience Fords are generally very good cars but unreliable (5 cars over 20 years all driven from new). Lots of niggles, a few breakdowns and never got one over 150k miles. Both Mondeos were joyous cars to drive though and had more space than you'd need. Briefly had a Passatt (c2010) and due to handling issues (severe torque steer) and continuous electrical issues I'd avoid VW like the plague. The Toyota Avensis got to 220k with almost no issues, very comfortable to drive, back seats fold flat which is handy for sleeping. However ground clearance is very low which makes rough car park a bit challenging. Easy cars to service on your own though and I'd buy another if they still made them. Lastly, as an outside call, Citroen C4s have all the space youll ever need and are the perfect family car if kids are intended. However reliability is poor and getting worse (I'm on my third one now and it'll be the last).

I have a diesel Superb estate. It was life changing when I was doing high mileage for work, upgrading from an Octavia - on motorways it feels like a limmo and still gives 60 mpg (Mrs Exile gets more, blowed if I know how.)

160k so far and no desire to change at the moment.

I've got a 2013 Mazda 6 estate, the 2.2l skyactive. When it comes time to replace I wouldn't be looking at another. Feels very spacious to me but I did come from driving a Nissan 350Z before so anything with a boot would feel spacious!

As someone else has mentioned above, do have question marks over reliability, mine's current party trick is keeping activating a 'low oil pressure' warning despite checks showing otherwise. Main issue with it though is its MOT came back last year with a warning about rust issues on the underside. Chatting to my mechanic he said it is apparently common with them as Mazda don't bother putting under kind of coating on the underside of the car! Hoping I can get another couple of years use out whilst I save up for a replacement.

Make sure you let your Insurance company know about the towbar, as it's classed as a modification.

My insurer didn't charge any extra to add it (when I realised I had to declare it).

I have a Peugeot 308 diesel estate (basic 1.6 engine) and it's brilliant.  Well thought out luggage area (with seats down I can fit 3 road bikes with wheels on) and great fuel economy.

Bit left field but I would go with an Lexus RX450H.

You can pick them up now for £7k.

Far more reliable than anything in your list. Massively so. The Lexus Hybrids are so impressive on reliability.

Plenty of boot space.

Very luxurious (not on your list, but why not?) treat yourself.

Amazingly comfortable on a motorway.

Doesn't quite meet your mpg on long journeys as it will only do 48mpg, but it will also do 45mpg in a town. And, it's not a diesel so you haven't got the issues of DPF, EGR. It doesn't even have a starter motor, alternator, dual clutch flywheel, torque converter to go wrong.

If you only do motorway miles, maybe give it a pass, but if half your annual miles are not on a motorway you may find the excellent urban efficiency makes up the difference.

Honda Civic Tourer, the rear "magic seats" are awesome. boot is massive. With the seats down the rear is completely flat so handy for sleeping in and there is no boot lip which doesn't sound like a big deal but is in reality really handy. 

My 1.6 diesel gets 65mpg cruising at 70 and is the comfiest car I've owned, seats are awesome, interior layout looks quite busy on first glance but its exceptionally well thought out.

Being a Honda reliability is second to none but oil change intervals are worth keeping on top of (as with most eco diesels).

If i was going to mention one drawback its that the car is long and wide so not ideal on tight country lanes. but that's the payoff with big estates. 

at the other end of the spectrum perhaps and not strictly an estate but the Citroen C4 Grand Picasso is cheap and frugal (in theory and more boot space than any so far mentioned?..

I had a MK7 Accord Executive estate, 2.0L petrol - for a 2004 car it had a lot of comfort features, it was very slow, but I managed to fit a fridge-freezer and a sofa in the back (not at the same time!), and it cost next to nothing in terms of maintenance once I'd had some minor work done on the exhaust and suspension shortly after buying it.

The one car I regret getting rid of.

Have you considered Citroen Berlingo/Peugeot Partner (they are the same car). I currently have one after always having estates. It drives as well as most estates I have had and with just as hood if mot better fuel economy (diesel) and is about the same size as a biggish estate except being higher. I have found it great on long journeys. The back seats can be unclipped and removed (though I believe this might mot be the case on the most recent ones unfortunately (mine is 2017)), making the back truly cavernous and I imagine it would take enough pads for pretty much anything. 

I'm currently looking to replace my own estate which is a Passat which is now getting on a bit and is the slightly under-powered petrol 1.4TSi. Other than that I can't fault it. I've had 2 other Passats (both TDi's which were great, more economical but realistically probably never getting much above 50mpg, and were a bit agricultural. The current petrol one averages 40mpg long-term.) and also a Diesel Mazda 6 which was a nightmare - never again Mazda! Constant DPF issues and also the load capacity was noticeably less than you'd expect in terms of usefulness due to the fast-back design compared to the Passat.

I can get an Ocun Dominator and a smaller Red Chili pad in the back of the VW with rear seats up, possibly another slimmer mat on top if you don't mind scuffing the headlining. But the rear seats do fold down completely flat, which a lot of the Octavia's don't unless they have the adaptor kit. They're also a bit under-spec'd IMO and a bit .... boring. A friend has a new Superb estate, but not sure about the flatness of its boot. I just checked AutoTrader and you can still get a decent one for well within your budget of £7k.

Volvo V70s are generally also worth considering. V40/50/60 are all too small for what you're after and the V90 are still too expensive.

The Merc E-class is a good option, but you're more than likely looking at an auto not manual, if that concerns you. Given the budget and if it's an auto, I'd want to see evidence of a gearbox service due to the likely mileage done by that age of car.

One thing you've not mentioned is compliance with Euro 6 emissions standards and if that's an issue for you. Almost all older diesels won't meet that std.

Edit: meant to say, the Lexus RX 450h suggestion up-thread doesn't fit your requirements for boot space, they're really not great, and the interiors in your budget of car are IMO quite plasticky and Japanese. Having said that, it would be reliable!

I’ve got a Skoda Octavia Estate. 1.4 (I think) and frankly, I’m not mad about it. 

The issues we’ve had may just be limited to our car, as I suspect it’s done a lot of city miles before we got it, but I’ve had to spend a packet each time it’s gone for an MOT, and it needs a new rocker cover gasket fitting (circa £450) so I have to put a litre or so of oil in it every month. 

It just doesn’t feel right ever, which is a shame, as it’s a nice car, lots of room and nippy enough (when you’re in the right gear, it has nothing before 2500 rpm) and economical to run, but if it needs anything else done at it’s next MOT I’ll be moving it on. 
 

Would be tempted to give another one a try as I can see it could be great, it’s just that ours isn’t!

I've got a 2015 Skoda Octavia Scout.

Takes pads, partners, family and dog ( not all at the same time) Crosses France on the way to Spain easily. 

Good for snow and icy roads with appropriate tyres, add a roof box for mega capacity.

Only minus was rear differential rebuild (1800 + VAT) Rare but known problem in last edition of Scout.

Unfortunately since 2020 no longer sold in UK. I'll be keeping mine!

Loved my

V50. Went to 210,000 miles on nothing more than a regular services. Amazing car.

I've a 2017 Scout and am wondering about selling it before any expensive/terminal problems occur. (I'm also not convinced I need AWD and would rather have extra mpg) I know two people who had to effectively write off their scouts because of gearbox/diff issues. Otherwise I'd keep it forever. Although it is a good car it's definitely an appliance and not for driving pleasure and compared to their VAG stablemates VW and Audi it's a bit noisy in the cabin and the stereo is poor. The build, materials and general ambience though is of an upmarket car and equipment levels are good. When I bought it I thought, "Really, who actually needs a heated steering wheel?" The answer on the first cold morning was, "Everyone!" The heated seats are amazing too, a couple of years ago me and a mate did Quiver Rib in heavy rain and got back to car drenched to the pants and seriously cold. We were toasty within minutes so a great feature for any UK based outdoors person.

OP: Octavias are popular with the outdoor set for a reason (pretty much all the sea kayakers and cyclists I know have them as well) in that you don't pay for a badge (well, OK some do for perceived virtue points) and to get a comparable sized boot you have to size up to Mondeo/Passat/5series/E class barges. I'd consider the Berlingo recommendation if luggage space is a primary consideration, though if the newer ones don't allow you to turn them into vans by removing the rear seats then they are off my shopping list for the next car.

As I said it's a rare but known problem, not a definite eventuality. I understand this is a potential issue with shared VAG AWD rear differentials. 

It's NOT a Haldex AWD issue! The Octavia Scout forum is useful on FB.

The main issue was firstly differential diagnosis between tyres and rear wheel bearing. Once diagnosed then it was finding a specialist garage to do the rebuild. A new VAG rear differential unit is £4K.

Message me for the garage close to S. Wales / Bristol that did the work if useful for other owners.

Are you looking to outright buy this car? I have a volvo and its one of the best cars I have, I personally sometimes think its also about comfort and how you feel when you're driving it on a personal preference! If you're looking for any car finance I went with https://streamlinecarfinance.co.uk/ as sometimes that can be better, as then i a few years you can change it up if you decide you don't like it maybe?

A lot of votes for Volvo here. I'm toying with getting one once the Kia dies, but put off by what appears to be very high fuel consumption compared to other manufacturers figures. What's the view of the UKC Volvo owners?

I have a Volvo XC70 D5 (2.4L) AWD. Mpg is very good for the size and capabilities of the vehicle. When fully loaded on a motorway run it'll return high 40's. Local driving here in the Lakes (so very hilly) it'll manage 40. Currently on 118k and 9 years old, interior is in almost new condition and super comfortable. Until recently I used our local Volvo main dealer (Lloyd South Lakes) for servicing and prices were pretty reasonable. For convenience I have switched to a garage across the street from home, servicing price has dropped, so even more reasonable.

Rear seats fold completely flat, no load lip into boot, and the front passenger seat also folds. 

HTH

Thanks Mark. That seems very good for an XC70!

I’ve got a hybrid v60 cc which seems pretty good on the fuel - getting high 40s most of the time. Boot and entrance to boot aren’t as big as others in class. 

2015 V70 D3, gets 55mpg easily on motorways/long trips, about the same as the 2005 Audi A6 1.9l tdi did. Better ground clearance too, and only £30 tax. Can reccommend. 

Depends on the year. I have a 2009 S40 and have had flooding issues for years, as in puddles in the footwells. In Florida a class action was apparently launched (or at least considered) against this model because of leaky sunroofs, which was initially the problem with mine, but the source of the same problem later on for me was eventually pinpointed as the windscreen, which that capable mechanic Magma diagnosed then fixed with a bead of silicon all the way across the top.

See here for what seems a common complaint for Volvos of this vintage:

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/archive/index.php/t-224993.html  

hadn't thought of chipping the windscreen and claiming on insurance beyond your moral compass tho?  having it rebonded didn't seem that expensive. interesting about melting snow and slope pooling the water making the leak worse..

I probably won't change cars until 2026 (I'll be a dab hand at double declutching by then).

I'll probably be looking at a 2020 onwards model, probably. V rather than XC model

I had a Hyundai i40 for a while. 1.6 CRDI. Top car, only sold it due to its relative high value at the time