SUV or MPV - Cheap car/van, SUV or MPV

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Thu 16 May 2019 14:02
SUV or MPV - Cheap car/van, SUV or MPV - Matty1976
Hi,
I need a new cheap car/van.
I work for myself in art and antiques and currently run a Renault Grand Espace
It’s great to use as a van, but also a great family car at weekends.
Only problem has been removing, then storing, the putting the VERY heavy rear seats back in again, all the time.
I need something where seats can be folded flat, so I can use it as a van, but then pulled back up again if I need to pick the kids up from school suddenly or unexpectedly out with the boys and got to take someone home from football etc..
Family wise, there’s only 4 of us, so don’t need 7 seats, but the extra room is great for when I go to auctions and buy furniture etc.

So do I keep looking at MPVs, or should I also look at SUVs? And if so what of each category??
A mate advised me on old Honda HRV 3 door, or Nissan X-trail for SUV. And Ford Galaxy or S-Max for MPV.
Any others I should look at?
What’s reliable etc?
My budget is small at £2k - £3k

Many thanks
Matt
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Thu 16 May 2019 14:11
SUV or MPV - Cheap car/van, SUV or MPV - bazza

There is no point looking at SUVs as they are primarily off roader vehicles rather than space_ efficient vehicles. Look at small combo Vans or people carriers for space utility. Citroen berlingo format would suit, or Caddy. Do you need the extra height or would a large conventional estate suit, such as skoda superb or Mondeo? I would add that it's hard to beat a large estate car for sheer carrying capacity and all round ability.

Edited by bazza on 16/05/2019 at 14:13

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Thu 16 May 2019 18:08
SUV or MPV - Cheap car/van, SUV or MPV - badbusdriver

Depends on how large the items you transport are, but i'd be thinking along the lines of a Citroen Berlingo/Peugeot Partner, or a proper estate like a Ford Mondeo.

Reliability wise, there are no dead certs at this price point, but you should avoid diesel (apart from maybe a Berlingo or Partner 2.0HDI). Unless you do a huge mileage, or the stuff you buy is very heavy (or you tow a caravan), petrol would be the best option.

Here are a couple of options i'd be thinking about,

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20190216499...1

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20190319604...1

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20190505763...1

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20190417706...1

By the way, a Honda HR-V is a very odd suggestion, offering no more space than a Ford Focus?. A CR-V maybe, but not an HR-V.

Of the cars i've posted links to, the Berlingo's load space would be the most volumous (because of the height), but nothing like as long as the Vectra's. Hence what i meant about what you carry!.

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Thu 16 May 2019 17:51
SUV or MPV - Cheap car/van, SUV or MPV - SLO76
You’ll struggle to get a decent MPV or SUV for that sort of budget. I’d also forget the SUV as they’re more complex and expensive to run. A large petrol engined Estate like an Avensis would be the best bet if it’s big enough for your needs.

If it must be an MPV then the Mazda 5 (petrol) is the most reliable at this money and possibly a Ford Galaxy (petrol) which uses a Mazda engine. But with both watch for major rot underneath and buy knowing that it’ll be quite thirsty.

Avoid diesels at this money too, there’s just too much to go wrong.

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Thu 16 May 2019 19:55
SUV or MPV - Cheap car/van, SUV or MPV - nellyjak

Given your needs and your budget...why not consider a Toyota Previa.?

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Thu 16 May 2019 20:51
SUV or MPV - Cheap car/van, SUV or MPV - corax

Given your needs and your budget...why not consider a Toyota Previa.?

Don't the seats have to be removed for decent space? OP wants them to fold to avoid expensive visits to the chiropractors.

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Fri 17 May 2019 08:17
SUV or MPV - Cheap car/van, SUV or MPV - nellyjak

Given your needs and your budget...why not consider a Toyota Previa.?

Don't the seats have to be removed for decent space? OP wants them to fold to avoid expensive visits to the chiropractors.

The ability to be folded flat was mentioned...my JDM Estima (effectively a Previa) has seats that can be folded flat...I assume the UK/Euro Previa has the same ability.

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