Some good ideas...
SWMBO won't have a Multipla (ugly, no auto) Mazda MPV (no auto), Stream (not quite big enough!!).
My mother-in-law has a Trajet so we know the car, and hers, with leather seats, has lasted well. She has done over 20,000 miles in 12 months and car still drives like its new.
I think i'll wait until the baby arrives and see what her mood is then (mother not baby).
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Yes- i'd go for the leather seats 'cos the fabric ones are poor. Didn't like the diesel auto Trajet - felt very woolly and ponderous to drive but that's subjective isn't it. I preferred the petrol model. The rear doors and rear seats may well be where the Trajet gets annoying if/when you have to live with it every day. I'm pretty certain the Trajet's rear seats don't move so if your load is just a fraction too big (as it usually is when it's most inconvenient!) you either have to remove or fold them. From what I know of young kids and all their accoutrements I think that could quickly prove a real pain whereas a car with sliding seats means you needn't have that problem. The rear doors are vast and very hard to get in/out of in car parks and the like. If I were you I might be tempted to borrow the MIL's Trajet for a week or 2 and see how you get on with it over a period of time. If it still suits go for it and enjoy the 5 year warranty.
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Had a Grand Espace for 4 years now - loads of space for 5 kids as well as the luggage - and no need for roof boxes. Performance from turbo diesel is pretty good, handling is excellent and the only problems have been airbag sensor related, apart from my wife backing into a post box (hole in the tailgate!)
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If you are looking for diesel auto there is little choice. The Sharalaxy diese lauto transmission has suffered from a few reliability worries resulting in big repair bills - see www.fordgalaxy.org.uk for more info. The Renault's 4-cylinder diesel suffers from catastrophic failure, see HJ's car-by-car notes. This leaves the Trajet - I test drove both petrol and diesel with manual transmissions last year and greatly preferred the diesel, the petrol seemed gutless at low revs and didn't like accelerating from rest. The auto transmission does not seem to suffer from any known issues. Problems are that the interior plastics are a bit hard and crude, and I found the ride somewhat bouncy, meaning that I settled for a 2-year old Galaxy diesel (manual) instead of a brand-new Trajet diesel. Best thing to do is take an extended test drive yourself of all vehicles on your short-list.
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Thanks IET.
I found a very nice Hyundai dealer in Lancashire this week. Let me crawl all over an 03 model and even showed me into his workshop where there was a new 4x4 Forester typw car which is not yet on the market.
We know all about the Trajet except the driving of the diesel auto from my MIL V6 model, do its just waiting to test drive this engine/gearbox combo to see if SWMBO likes it.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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IET - Despite trying to arrange one I never got to test drive the diesel Trajet manual. I know the dealer was very keen to sell me a car and tried hard to source a manual but just couldn't get hold of one for some reason.
I really didn't like the auto at all though - it has a column change and an awful foot operated handbrake. What sort of MPG are you getting from your Galaxy and what engine size is it?
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Well I finally got a test drive of a diesel auto Trajet today. The 04 model is well equipped with trip computer, loads of airbags and rear air-con (very useful for child #1 who get travel sick easily). The new interior colour is much lighter and I quite like a column gearchange and foot operated handbrake on an auto. Loads of room in the front.
So what did it drive like. Well it had only done 1700 miles so was a little sluggish, but once warmed up, was very good. Comfortable ride over road imperfections that would have my Volvo crashing around, and cruising at 75mph was a doddle with enough torque left to get her up to 80 without sweat. A little slow on urban roads, but no worse than my old Peugeot 605DT and bound to get better as the miles come on and it warms up. Manouevering seemed to be good also.
I think I''m sold. Anyone want to buy a Volvo S80?
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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I notice that Hyundai seem to be selling well in mainland Europe these days. The Trajets (and the similar Kia vehicle - can't remember the name) are popular with Dutch and German families - so there can't be much wrong with them. Seeing lots of the small Far Eastern cars in Germany too (Picanto, Getz etc. - not 100% sure of names - getting old!). Must have VW worried for Polo and Lupo sales.
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Hyundai/Kia just overtook Nissan in Europe monthly sales, considering they haven't got a good medium size car (Focus or Mondeo size) that's very impressive. They will be releasing new models every few months for the next couple of years, so a large sales increase may happen (only need to increase by a third to overtake Toyota).
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Presumably you're referring to the Kia Sedona Aprilia? It is a well equipped car and the dealer who supplied my friend chucked in a DVD player. IIRC the Sedona only came/comes in 2.5v6 and 2.9 diesel (diesel with only 6k service intervals?) neither of which are exactly frugal. Nevertheless, lots of car for not many £££'s - loads around here despite the dodgy 2+2+2.5 seat configuration.
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I went to my fourth Hyundai dealer earlier this week. The first refused to even give me a price '... until I was serious...', the second was very helpful and gave me a reasonable price but wasn't able to test drive the model I wanted (diesel-auto), the third gave me a testdrive immediately, but the salesman was too junior and took two days to come back with a price by which time...I have been to the fourth dealer who sells Trajet by the truckload and gave me a price that was £650 better than dealer #2. Gave him the order.
Don't know what will come first; child #3 due to arrive on Sept 1st, same day as car. Have gone for leather, sunroof, parking sensors, privacy glass, mud flaps and foil strip along the top of the rear bumper so it doesn't scratch when older children climb all over it. The price to change is the same as dealer #2 but with the additional extras of sunroof, foil, mud flaps, cherished number transfer and hands free kit transfer.
Looking forward to sailing along on a crest of torque, and five year warranty and three years free servicing.
Any recommndations about oil to use after the first oil change at 10,000 miles?
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Sorry for delayed response Volvoman - all Galaxy, Sharan and Alhambra have just one diesel engine option - a VW-built 1.9 in varying states of tune depending on trim level and build date (and wallet size of original purchaser). Mine has 115PS/113BHP TDI PD engine and 6-speed manual transmission. Returns aroung 50mpg on motorway and dual carriageway trips, around 36mpg in general town/urban driving and mid-40's in general visits to nearby towns, friends etc.
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Well, all being well the Volvo is sold rather than trading in, so I am £1,200 better off that when I started this exercise.
I must admit that to date, the experience of buying a Hyundai has been positive. The dealers (the good ones at least) are friendly and helpful and without asking, they are dlievering the new car to us on 31st August with promise not to drive it until midnight. i'll cope with that - I just hpoe that our first journey isn't a forced one at 1am taking SWMBO to the maternity ward.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Interesting IET - best I've had as yet in my MPV (136ps whatever that means!) is 44mph. Lately I've been ferrying around the kids, MIL etc. with the air con on all the time so it's been about 10-15% less. It's still only done just 6k and is due it's first service next month so it'll be intersting to see what I manage to get after that.
All in all, very pleased thus far - no squeaks, rattles or problems to date, just a minor concern about the recessed rear door runners which seem as though they might wear if gunk is allowed to accumulate on the metal guide wheels.
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good to see you're paying attention EH :)
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who am I! I once spelt Alfa with a 'ph'
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Alhambra, Sharan, Galaxy (Sharalaxy) are advertised as having 115 or 130 horsepower diesel engines. This is german horesepower (PS) rather than "imperial" horsepower (BHP) which work out at 113 or 128.
Potential problem is what to replace the Galaxy with, in a few years' time. Looking at things I really wouldn't want to give up, front and rear parking sensors feature very highly since they make parking the "QE2" so easy. Heated front screen is also very useful in winter even if mine is under cover at night. Trouble is, no other MPV on sale in the UK other than Sharalaxy comes with these features, not even as options. Sliding doors would also no doubt be beneficial for unloading the children in car parks and outside the house. Current Espace may have hinged doors and looks slightly odd but seems much roomier inside than the Sharalaxy - especially with the glass roof option - and has the benefit of very slim front pillars which improves safety greatly when emerging at junctions. It is also horrendously expensive.
Does the 2.2 litre diesel engine still suffer from the thrust washer failure that results in expensive bills when the engine goes bang? Anyone know.
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