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What MPV?

R

roman

pfm Member
My current car is near the end of its long life and now has moss on the inside and out so needs replacing very soon. MPV is the way to go as I need the space and flexibility, probably a used Vauxhall zafira , although I'm ready to consider Ford s max and others if a compelling case for them can be made.

As things stand though it looks like a zafira and I find the more I research the more confusing it becomes. Some say 1.6 petrol, others eco diesel models and 1.8 litre models. In other words contradictory advice from various persuasive sources.

If anyone has experience of cars in this sector then I'd really appreciate your advice what brand but also which model.

Cheers!
 
My experience of MPV's is limited to having owned two Zafira's (petrol) 1.6 then two Citroen grand picasso's (deisel) 1,6, I would say the Citroen wins hands down on everything, the Zafira's were agricutural in comparison.
 
If you can find a clean Previa, they are big and go a long way. Out of production for the uk market for a while now, though.
 
Re modern diesels, watch out for DPF woes. A friend had a Cmax diesel, newish, used for short trips. It's just handed her a bill for £2000, new DPF, new EGR valve. Ouch. She's traded it in. The problem was she does only short trips and it was full of carbon. If these cars do long trips every week or two, happy days. If not, they soot up and you have to take them out to clear their lungs. One chap I know does 10 miles to and from work a day, similar trip at weekends to the shops, but every 2 weeks the warning lights come on and he has to take the long way home with a spell at 70 on the dual carriageway. I don't regard that as fit for purpose. If that's diesels, you can keep them.

In contrast, another friend had an Smax that had no problems. The difference is that she does 30k miles a year on the motorway so the thing spends hours getting very hot and keeping clean.
 
Same thing has been happening with the little engine town car diesels. It's not the diesel engine but the DPF in the exhaust as it needs a very high temp to burn the soot away. I had the DPF go in my BMW 330d and it cost £3500 to fix. One mine went I read up on a lot of the forums and a lot of people are paying companies to remove the DPF completely and chip the ECU to think it is still there as it isn't a requirement for the MOT yet (EU emissions thing currently)

Guy at work swore by his Ford CMAX diesel and said one of the benefits with kids was that the seats didn't smell of puke after cleaning them numerous times :)
 
We've had a couple of Renaults, but they seem to die spectacularly. They are great for so long, and then they are suddenly gone, as if everything fails at the same time and suddenly it's uneconomical to fix.

We now have a Freelander and love it, but it is by no means sensible - more a case of loving it so much that we accept it's trouble. We'd have another.

The sensible option as far as I can tell right now is Ford. Ford seem to get lots of praise and very little criticism, and their engines are fantastic. I'm just not sure I could get excited about it though.
 
If you're buying an MPV you probably have kids and your days of excitement are over anyway :p
 
The MoT rule has recently been changed, it is now a requirement that if a DPF was originally fitted it has to be still there. As a result the companies that unbolt them and put in a straight pipe are setting you up for a fail. However the smart ones take off the box, smash the DPF out of it, and replace it. The MoT man can't see inside the box so if it hits emissions targets he won't know.
 
thebiglebowski said:
If you're buying an MPV you probably have kids and your days of excitement are over anyway :p
Click to expand...

That is the total opposite of my personal philosophy.

Having kids is having a responsibility to excite them. It is only since having kids that I have had an MX5 in the garage for weekends and weekends away one kid at a time. They adore it and it works brilliantly. It is what makes perfect childhood memories for them, and that is something I am acutely aware that is happening now whether I put anything into it or not. I choose to put something into it so that those memories will be good and have real content.

So with all due respect, you are wrong. :)
 
Had a 1.8 Petrol Zafira for about 9 years now - bought it for a good price when it was about 1 year old.

Has been largely trouble free and fairly economical to keep on the road.

Wife has gone to a Kids Swimming Championships with my son tonight and with the 7 seats has been able to take another family and their kids too - so very practical.
 
That GM 1.8 is a decent enough engine. I had one, the death knell was the clutch hydraulics leaking; I had it all replaced, a big job involving full clutch replacement, and the replacement also leaked after 3 months or so. The mechanic, who was 250 miles away, took to disappearing and no longer answering his phone. By this time 6 months had gone by and the test was due, so it was sold off cheap. Other than a stupid clutch design the things are pretty good, it's simple enough engineering. Mine burned a drop of oil, but that's hardly unique to that engine after 100k miles. Some do, some don't.
 
I've gone from a 2.0 diesel to a small efficient petrol. There's no way I will buy a diesel again for my usage. The little car is a hoot.
 
I keep trying to like diesels because I do 20k miles+ a year. Unfortunately every one I've had, 3 x company cars, deprived me of the will to live. Afer all, I could live on lentils and rice if I had to, I'd save money but it wouldn't be a lot of fun.
 
A 1.6 zaffira will be really slow. The 1.8 is MUCH better, and probably a better bet than the diesels unless you are doing long journeys.
 
Thanks, useful stuff so far on brands and the dpf issue with diesels. I see now that my mileage means a diesel won't suit.

I went to 'car giant' today to sit in a few cars and ask some questions. No test drives yet.

Ford s max seemed good and was highly thought of by those I spoke with but pricey.

Ditto citroen c4 grand piccasso, though two people highlighted a particulate filter problem with this. I suspect that they were referring to the DPF thing and therefore I can ignore it. It offered a lot inside and was light and airy in contrast to all of the others. I was surprised to see none of the cars had sun roofs.

Toyota verso was well built but only the high milers brought it down to zafira price, the same with mazda 5.

The zafira was pretty basic inside but was big and clever in the back and that counts heavily in its favour. Cheaper than the others too. Only Renault scenic cost less but I've been put off Renaults, a shame as they have good design inside and out.

So a shortlist of zafira, verso and C4. I could do with a bit more on engines (petrol) etc and any tips on buying (not least where to buy in London). Car giant is reassuring but nothing under 6k whereas I'd rather spend no more than 4k. However private sellers and dodgy dealers would be rubbing their hands at the thought of a punter like me. I don't trust myself not to buy a lemon.

By the way Steve, what's a GM 1.8?
 
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