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According to car magazines the Ford Mondeo has the most leg room in the front and rear and a massive boot.
Edited by Videodoctor on 14/07/2009 at 20:43
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I'd look at a Mondeo too, especially if the budget is limited. Baby kit will go into a saloon boot but it can be a right pain getting it there, so a big hatchback will be easier to live with The current model has vast legroom, but is also vast outside (and ugly with it.) The previous, Xantia-esque model is spacious too and there are plenty about.
Just make sure you get on with the seats. I rejected the Mondeo back in 2002 because I'm the long-bodied type (only 6'5" though) and found they didn't fit round my shoulders. I didn't like the Passat's seats either, incidentally.
But do look at MPVs. The extra height isn't just headroom; it means that the legroom is downwards rather than forwards. Our Toyota Verso is about 200mm shorter than our Volvo S60 but I can sit comfortably behind my own driver's seat, which I couldn't possibly do in the Volvo. (4x4s, incidentally, don't offer the same benefit because the floor has to be higher to accommodate the 4wd hardware.)
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Just been looking at the Renault Grand Scenic - and I have to say it seems to tick an awful lot of boxes.
Ok, so it's 7 seats in many cases which are not needed, but they can be laid flat, giving me 600 ltrs of boot space (I think). The Accord has 459 ltrs.
It's higher up.
It's frugal (48mpg)
It's not too slow (in 1.9 dCi form it's 0.60 in 9.3 ish seconds)
It's very family orientated
I know Renaults are not renowned for their reliability, but my brother-in-law has the Laguna (04) and it's had a few niggly problems, but very little mechanical and drastic (expensive).
Just need to sit in one now...
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Try a Mazda6. Loads more room than our previous Audi A4. I am 6 foot 3 and don't need to have the drivers seat all the way back. Even when I do there is still ample room behind. My head is well clear of the sunroof. The car gets about 40mpg on a gentle run in our 2 litre petrol. I hear the diesel can have big problems so probably best avoided.
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Let us know how you get on with the Scenic, HW. It was on my list for a short while, until I tried one in a showroom and found that even my stumpy little 36" legs wouldn't fit between the seat and the pedals. Same with the VW Touran. No such problems in the Verso, which is one reason why we eventually bought one.
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That's interesting (and possibly discouraging), I'm also a 36" leg.
Did look at the Mazda 6 before buying the Accord - they were pretty similar on paper and the interiors are very similar. Honda won on that occasion on the reliability front (I didn't realise I'd need quite so much storage room at the time).
The search goes on.
Some interesting suggestions thus far, cheers peoples.
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Our son was 15 and 6ft 3 when we changed car in 07. He's now 6ft 5. As many on here know due to previous posts, we bought a Citroen Berlingo. Having read your OP I'm guessing this is not on your short/long list(!) but I mention it to add evidence to the view that MPV seating is more commodious. Measuring distances between front and rear seats was no indication of how practical the cars we looked at were, and we looked at a lot. The boy sat in about 12 different cars and only in the Berlingo did he sit comfortably, with front passenger/driver not compromised at all.
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You're right in that the Berlingo hasn't featured on my list - but each to their own.
The reason for quoting distance between the seats is primarily because it's the baby seat that has to fit in this space - the "foot" of the seat touches the rear of the back seat, and the "head" of the seat touches the back of the front seat (still with me?). As it is, the baby seat will not fit behind me as I have to have my seat right the way back in order to drive safely, and the passenger seat has to be moved forward slightly in order for it to fit behind that. The resultant empty seat behind me (which my wife sometimes uses) is restricted of legroom as a result of my seat being all the way back.
I don't intend to keep the car for 15 years - by which time we'll all be using hydrogen powered jetpacks anyway.
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Just been looking (online) at the Focus C-Max. Anyone have any experience of them they'd care to impart?
S-Max would be ideal, but out of budget.
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I've got an 06 C-Max Zetec 1.8TDCi, bought from new.
The space in the car is excellent for its size. I'm 6 foot tall and in all the other cars I've driven I've had to have the driver's seat all the way back, but I don't in this car.
A colleague of mine who is around 6'4" does find the console in the front passenger side a bit close to his knees when he's in the front. He's not tried to drive the car but I think he'd have plenty of room in the drivers seat.
The rear roof slopes down, so there's slightly less head-room in the back. My tall colleague finds it a bit close to the top of his head, but if I sit in the back there's plenty of room. If you fold the rear middle seat and slide it into the boot, then move the rear two seats back you get a huge amount of legroom in the back for the two rear passengers, at the expense of losing some boot space and the middle seat.
The middle seat itself isn't full size, so it's a bit of a squeeze for three adults in the back. Not a problem for children or child seats though, and my kids love the big wide windows and high seating position.
As for the car itself, it's been very reliable up to the three years, with one exception recently when 9typically) it's just out of warranty - an electrical fault that's now sorted. Until that time I'd never had it break down.
The car drives extremely well, with excellent road holding and is an effortless motorway cruiser. Economy is ok, the best I've ever got is around 65mpg on long motorway cruises, but it definitely doesn't like short trips, as the fuel consumption increases dramatically.
The driving position is very comfortable, and it's easy to get into and out of the car with the upright seats and large doors.
The build quality is ok, but it has developed various squeaks and rattles in the trim over the last couple of years. I just tune them out now.
Overall I'm very satisfied with the car. Even my wife said she likes it and she hates driving.
I'd definitely consider buying another if I could afford a new car, though I'd rather go for an S-Max instead, for the extra room, the full size middle rear seat and the flexibility of the two extra seats in the back.
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You can't always believe what you read can you?
Whilst out and about at the weekend we happened to pass by a Saab dealership, and having read on parkers.co.uk that the 9-5 Estate was a "roomy and comfortable" car I thought we'd have a quick look.
Not quite sure what "roomy" covers, but can't imagine the driver was much over 6ft who wrote the review. The knee room was woeful - much less than I have in the Accord.
After much deliberation my wife has talked me out of the MPV route for now I am in search of a decent Accord Estate, as it's seemingly the car that ticks the most of our boxes for now.
Just need to sell mine.
Anyone want a decent Accord saloon?
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Odd!?
There will be no more cabin room in the estate than in the saloon, only more luggage space.
Not sure you have made the right decision, but I stand to be corrected. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and not go down the obvious route. Most people here with children have 'family' cars at least whilst the nippers are small. We went from a Mitsubishi Spacewagon to a Hyundai Trajet when no. 3 arrived five years ago. Now we have an A-class which fits us all in.
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More luggage space is just one of the criteria. More cabin space would be another item on the wish list, but it would appear that I'd have to sacrifice economy (whilst maintaining similar levels of performance) to achieve that.
As previously said - at the moment the seat goes behind the passenger seat (moved forward), which is a compromise whilst we only have one child. I was hoping to find a car that meant I didn't have to change again when No2 comes along.
I think as and when we have more we'll have to give in on one thing or another - economy/performance/style etc.
Just fitting people in the car is one thing on our list, and I'm sure there are a number of cars we could all fit in (maybe not comfortably), but we often have more than just people in the car - hence the requirement for additional luggage capacity.
One thing I'm starting to realise is that we'll never tick all the boxes.
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If it's not too late, another vote from me for the C-Max. The ability to slide those rear seats in and back could make the difference... actually, scrap that idea, you'll have very little luggage room with those seats back. No room for buggy plus travel cot plus all the rest of that baby stuff.... ah, fond memories !
Have you looked at getting adapters made to raise the seat rails of the driver's seat at the front ? That could give you the leg support you need with the seat not quite so far back. I had some made for my 58 plate Galaxy, for about £40 by a local welder.
And keep putting pennies in the jar for that S-Max !
Edited by morellomax on 21/07/2009 at 12:39
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Well, put the Accord on Autotrader on Monday night, dude came round to see it last night and the car is now sold.
So, the hunt is on proper.
Looking at an Accord Tourer at the weekend, but I stumbled across a VW Touran this morning which looks tidy enough.
It's unlikely we'll end up with a Ford to be honest (no disrespect to all Ford owners out there), having had rubbish service from Ford personel whenever we've been into a dealership of late - it's put the wife right off, and these guys were supposedly trying to sell cars!!
I've also heard a number of reports (independatly and directly) from people who have had problems with Ford, and the cars they've owned - particularly engines it seems.
There must be a car out there!
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A 4x4 is fine if you aren't too bothered about fuel economy
How about a Skoda estate? VW build quality without the leg lifting price
MPVs are just vans with seats, windows and carpets IMHO. The versatile all-rounder that seats eight with luggage space for two
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The Caravelle and Berlingo are vans with seats, but most modern MPVs are pretty car-like. Might as well say that a Mondeo is just an S-Max with less flexible seating, less room and harder to park !
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