MPV diesel engines to avoid?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
View Threaded
Tue 5 Mar 2019 17:03
MPV diesel engines to avoid? - lleiro

Hi,

I am currently driving a Seat Altea 1.9 tdi that has been very reliable for the last 2 years and the 18k miles I put on it. All little stuff.

I am however considering changing my car for a bigger Diesel MPV for road trips (Preferably with no DPF) and there is quite a few that I fancy. All in the 2004-2010 range due to budget.

1) S-Max (or galaxy but I don't like it as much)

2) C4 Grand Picasso

3) Grand Scenic (MK3)

4) Sharan

5) Zafira

6) Honda CR-V (Like the MK3 but budget would point to the MK2)

All of them offer a variety of engines and BHP and while obviously maintenance and care is a huge factor, statistically speaking some of them are apparently worth avoiding.

The one I am liking the most overall is the S-Max so if you only have time for a brief comment I would love some opinions on the TDCI lineup and how to tell the PSA derived from Ford's own. All other comments welcome.

I can maintain and repair my cars for most things not requiring a lift and a crew and I am not crazy about having huge BHP on tap as long as I can move when needed.

Thanks!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 5 Mar 2019 18:10
MPV diesel engines to avoid? - badbusdriver

If you like your Altea and you don't need 7 seats, just a bigger boot, then look at the Altea XL. Mechanically identical to yours, but with an extra 130ish litres of boot volume. I had one as a hire car in Majorca a few years ago and it swallowed 10 days luggage for 5 adults easily!.

The S-Max/Galaxy, not sure what you mean re the PSA vs Ford engines, but they seem to be well enough liked on the forum, just avoid the 1.6 (which definately is a PSA unit) as it doesn't have a great reputation.

The Grand Picasso and Grand Scenic, as far as i have read, they both suffer from numerous fiddly electrical issues. Engine wise, the 1.6 Grand Picasso uses the same engine as the one used in the Ford (avoid), but the 2.0 is more reliable. I believe the 1.5 Renault engine is pretty reliable, not sure about the 2.0. But, TBH, i'd avoid both of these.

The Sharan, as a 1.9, has the same engine as your Altea and are very reliable. But, i do remember when that style of Sharan and the >'06 Galaxy (the same cars, along with the Seat Alhambra) had a dismal reputation for reliability. I seem to remember on one of the JD Power surveys, they were amongst the most unreliable cars on the road!.

The Zafira diesel uses a 1.9 Fiat engine, which doesn't have a great reputation either!.

The Honda 2.2 diesel is, i believe, pretty reliable.

Not sure what your budget is, or what miles you plan to cover, but there is going to be an element of risk in most of these becuase of age, unsympathetic/skint owners. Couldn't you get a trailer and keep your current car?, better the devil you know, etc!.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 5 Mar 2019 19:41
MPV diesel engines to avoid? - Happy Blue!

I had a 2009 2.0TDCi S-Max for almost five years and 44,000 miles. I loved that car. If I could buy it again now, I would even though I don't need the space.

The only repair I had to make was replace a self-leveling rear shock absorber for the Xenon headlights.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 5 Mar 2019 22:44
MPV diesel engines to avoid? - lleiro

Thanks!

Indeed the Altea XL would be a candidate!

Before buying the Altea I wrote here and was severely scared away of budget cars... and was suggested to fork up to £9k instead (All with good intentions of course). I bough it for £1100 2 years ago and I must have spent £600-£800 including new tyres and a new varta battery, I did replaced the coli springs my self and a few other mechanical stuff that I am happy and quite enjoy doing. As I mentioned I put almost 20k miles in 2 years and never left me down.

Of course there is a risk but to an extent similar risks would be there if I spent £10k instead of the £2500-3000 I am hoping to spend for this upgrade.

The only reason for the change is because I want to be able to camperize the mpv and experiment with spending a few odd nights on the road here and there in the summer. Been wanting to do it for quite some time now and I can't afford both a car and a motorhome and unfortunately my regular altea is too short for it otherwise I would run it till the end....

The PSA derived vs ford is because I read that some 2.0 TDCIs are made by Ford and others 2.0 TDCI are the result of the PSA-Ford Venture

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 5 Mar 2019 23:07
MPV diesel engines to avoid? - Nomag

We had a 2.2 diesel S-max from new in 2009 to late 2015 and did over 85k miles.

That was definitely a PSA derived engine and gave no trouble whatsoever. We also had no DPF issues, mixture of short and long runs as the family bus/my wife's commuter/towing our caravan.

I loved the S-max to drive and its internal space and only moved to an SUV because we live 1/2 mile from the road up a farm track and the suspension on the S-max was starting to clonk a lot with this use. We replaced the rear bushes but the problem returned after a year or so.

It developed an electrical problem towards the end of its time with us which was from a leak somewhere into an ECU below the glovebox (Poss blocked pollen filter) but an auto electrician sorted it for £80.

I had the car maintained at my local indie after the warranty expired, so I would imagine it's reasonably easy for a competent home mechanic to maintain. And plenty of parts availability.

If you get one I have four steel wheels with good all season tyres sat in my garage that nobody has taken an interest in!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 6 Mar 2019 06:41
MPV diesel engines to avoid? - SLO76
“The one I am liking the most overall is the S-Max so if you only have time for a brief comment I would love some opinions on the TDCI lineup and how to tell the PSA derived from Ford's own.“

The only Ford engine used in the these was the old 1.8 TDCi. It’s noisy and a bit slow but quite robust if looked after and there’s no DPF to worry about. At this money I wouldn’t discount it but I also wouldn’t really recommend buying any cheap diesel despite this. A sub £3k S-Max will have 100k plus mileage and be right at the stage where potentially ruinous bills await. I’d either spend more or reign yourself in a bit.

I’d possibly buy a petrol one or a good petrol Zafira at this money. Any diesel S-Max you buy will likely be well overdue a timing belt change also which on these will set you back a good £400 plus including water pump while the 2.0 petrol uses a chain driven Mazda motor.

Edited by SLO76 on 06/03/2019 at 06:58

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

We give you the low down on how to save on insurance, little-known tricks and tips, what insurance groups mean and how to use insurance aggregators to beat insurers.

Insurance group finder and how to save on insurance