Could you recommend a petrol car with a large boot to replace our Mazda 6?

I was extremely concerned to read about the problems with the Mazda 6 Diesel as I have a TS2 Diesel Estate with a 56 plate. I check the oil every fortnight, but on reading your column last night I checked the oil to find it had risen above full to just under the X mark. My Mazda dealer has agreed to change the oil on Wednesday. Until now I have been very happy with the Mazda, but I have lost all confidence in the car and now looking for an alternative to carry my family of 3-year-old twins. Reliability is paramount. I am interested in the Honda CR-V petrol and wondered if you can recommend any other very reliable petrol alternatives to my Mazda 6 with a large boot capacity. My budget is up to £25,000. I do lots of short runs, which clearly isn't a good idea with a diesel engine. My husband is also 6 feet 5 inches and will occasionally drive the car.

Asked on 28 May 2010 by E Hill

Answered by David Ross
The Skoda Superb is one of our favourite estate cars. It's extremely reliable and well built, plus for less than £25,000 you could get a top of the range 1.8 TSI Elegance. It has a huge boot, masses of rear legroom and a very spacious and well built cabin. It's certainly worth checking out. The fact it's turbocharged means it's actually more economical than a larger petrol engine (for instance a 2.0-litre) and the claimed average fuel economy is 38.7mpg - impressive for a petrol car of this size.
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