[tomtom]

Because they’re cheap - because they’re diesels.

With the Covid demise of public transport - apparently there’s been a rise in used car prices under 10k...

Leon estate is an option too.

Anyway, He’ll probably
Come back from the showroom having put a deposit on. Ssansong Ryvita or something obscure.. 😀

[sdm]

My mum recently picked up a Mondeo estate for 1200 quid so might be worth looking at them at the value end of the spectrum. Obviously no high spec stuff though!

You can get a very high spec Mondeo with more comfort, bells and whistles than a similar priced Octavia.

They have a much larger and more square boot with no lip and the seats fold down flat if you need more space. I think the Focus is more square than the Octavia too(?)

On the downside, they are BIG so parallel parking and maneuvering are more awkward if that's a consideration but it's fine with parking sensors etc.

My sister's Octavia has a boot lip. I think there is an optional extra to flatten the lip, but at a cost in boot capacity. With one toddler and a dog, their boot is barely big enough for the toddler's things and a dog (no climbing gear) so a family trip to Font might be a squeeze.

They would have gone for the next size up and a Superb/Mondeo/E-Class if they had their time again.

[JamieG]

Why do people always reach for an Octavia on this thread?

What’s so fucking great about them?

They do regularly come out as one of the best 2nd hand estates you can buy.

https://www.whatcar.com/news/best-used-estate-cars-and-the-ones-to-avoid/n17029

We recently got a new estate car (1 toddler and new baby coming next year, plus 2 dogs) and opted for a Passat. Two main reasons. Massive boot. And wife wanted leather seats (easier to keep clean) which is harder to find on octavias, golfs, mondeos etc.

So far very happy with it. Drives nicely. Diesel engine is very fuel efficient. Can get tons of shit in it. Seats are staying relatively clean. Success.  Although they are a bit more expensive.

[Andy F]

Seat Leon ST. I got a 5 year old 2.0l diesel DSG for under 10k with only 21K miles on the clock. Slightly less space than an Octavia, but better looking and better handling.

Good shout though it’s weird that people are buying vag diesels. Maybe it’s less of an issue if you don’t live in the ULEZ.

Not living anywhere near the ULEZ or having any intention of going into it, plus needing to drive 75 miles to the Peak/Yorkshire/the lakes/Wales to get to a crag at the weekend, having a diesel makes sense.

[cowboyhat]

We had a focus estate diesel and it was a dog. I mean I bought one for his mum because that’s what she wanted at the time.

Get a 320i Touring or really, echoing the previous posts: go up a size class.

Better value for what you get and once kids are involved with pads and the rest, you’ll find these Octavias and the like pretty tight.

[dunnyg]

With the octavia boot, a dmm highball works well as a boot flattener.

[tomtom]

Amazing that 560l of Octavia estate boot isn’t enough!!!

My car has 380 or so and we get by fine with toddler and all his stuff. For long trips we reach for the roof box. Mats go in the back with the seats down. That said I wish I had something larger -  though long cars are a problem in our road (herringbone parking) so something Octavia length is a problem for me.

I sometimes think car boot capacity is always volumeneeded-1 - if there’s room you’ll fill it!

Anyway - think I’m going to eek out my motor for another year-18months and get an electric one when they’re a little more developed/cheaper/infrastructure

[Will Hunt]

I think from my point of view this is all moot anyway. I'd optimistically thought that I might be able to say her but her mind is made up and she knows what she wants!

If it explodes in a year's time I'll direct her to this thread and say I told you so 

[cowboyhat]

A focus estate? Cheap date

Premium and bigger cars have better seats, as someone who has done about 17k a year for the preceding 12 years or so, this is very high up my priority list.

Good luck anyway

[JamieG]

I sometimes think car boot capacity is always volumeneeded-1 - if there’s room you’ll fill it!

The boot space equivalent of Parkinson’s law. Have to agree.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_law

Amazing to think I’ve been on bouldering trips with 3 adults and a dog in a 106 but now I ‘need’ as large a family estate as we can get. 

[tomtom]

😄 five to font camping in a Yaris. Two mats strapped to the roof...

[sxrxg]

Something to note is that larger estates often have smaller boot capacity due to the rear seats being larger and having more leg room. Obviously the overall load capacity with the seats down is more on larger estates, this isn't of use when you have kids in the back seats though.
Obviously if the kids are teenagers having larger seats maybe better, when young though I don't find the space in the rear seats to be an issue with car seats and would rather have the boot capacity for all the paraphernalia that goes with toddlers and babies!

[sdm]

Amazing that 560l of Octavia estate boot isn’t enough!!!

It isn't the overall volume that's their problem, it's the shape.

The angle of the seats and the loss around the wheel arches reduce the amount of useful space.

With a dog crate, a pushchair, a baby carrier etc, they have a lot of large items that can't be squashed down.

Soft bags and even bouldering mats can be squashed down a bit in to whatever shaped space you have. Big, unsquashable items don't fit well in an irregular shaped boot, even if the volume is large.

There's probably also an element of filling whatever space they have and the grass always being greener.

[Paul B]

Why do people always reach for an Octavia on this thread?

What’s so fucking great about them?

The boot is pretty darn good, especially on the newer models (IMO) with the floor that rocks down as required. There's more load space than the A6 I've just replaced mine with (although TBH the dog seems happier with less room to slide around; the interior side boot panel did end up a bit bent). She's also got far less headroom and the other dog we had briefly would've struggled (although he was massive and a bit of a goon).

Previously I've taken two bikes, the dog, and a lot of climbing gear down to South Wales, all inside the car (bikes on the back seat). When I tried to do this recently with the A6 I really struggled (the seat bases don't flip up so you lose headroom with them flat).

The Octavia vRS models are also relatively cheap thrills (although nowhere near as engaging as a 3-series). Having just sold mine, it really didn't cost me much over its life apart from standard consumables (brakes and tyres etc.).

I don't see the hang-up with mileage on these things (Will, why less than 50k?). If anything, I'd be wary of anything around the timing belt/water pump needing changing age (which isn't overly clear with VAG cars).

I had to look up ULEZ which is probably a good thing having just bought a 3.0 V6 TDI. I had to do a round trip to Cornwall within 24H for work and I was blown away but just how competent it was for long distance cruising.

Pretty pleased to see our Mini go through its test straight away again today. Small cars are so refreshing when two new decent-branded tyres come out at ~£100! (although I'm still wishing I'd been given the nod to change it to a Fiesta ST a few months ago; the dump valve was branded "childish" after my test drive).

[tomtom]

Sounds like you could do with a Ute to get that lot in Sdm! A tray back would do you right! 😀

[cowboyhat]

Strange to hear the Octavia is more practical than an A6, I wonder if any of those features carry over to the Superb?

See far fewer of those though, Superb rare in these toddler heartlands of north london, compared to Octavia, A6, 5 series, xc90s, etc.

I’d buy a fiesta ST if I was in that marketplace. Apart from the fruity exhaust, you liked it?

[Andy F]

If I could stretch to it, I'd go for a Cupra ST. Pace, space and grace. A Golf R estate in nicer clothes and less money.

[Sidehaas]

Strange to hear the Octavia is more practical than an A6, I wonder if any of those features carry over to the Superb?

I have an Octavia vrs estate that I bought because of boot space. I could fit all four of my pads at the time (3 mediums and an old smallish pod one) in the boot with the seats up and no impact on rear visibility. This wasn't possible in anything else I tried (with the pads physically at the garage) - including a golf, leon, passat or 5 series estate. Although the latter two had wider boots than the octavia, they were not quite as deep /high (can't remember which) and I had to leave one pad out.
All these were 5-6 years old a couple of years ago. Never tried a Superb.
I've gone and bought a big Cirro pad now so have to put half the seats down anyway 

[Paul B]

The A6 is a funny one, the outer dimensions aren't too much different but it feels massive in comparison. I think I'll have said it a few pages earlier but I wanted high clearance 4WD for around here during winter. There's not a huge amount of choice in that market if you're not fond of SUVs!

I’d buy a fiesta ST if I was in that marketplace. Apart from the fruity exhaust, you liked it?

Sorry, perhaps I wasn't clear, I loved everything about it (apart from the slight ditch finder potential). Nat scowled through the majority of the test drive and it felt very different (obviously) to the A6 we'd just been out in. Our London 12 Cooper D has been amazing but the boot is a total joke and I want to be able to put the dog in both cars at a push.

[Mike Tyson]

I have a Mazda 6 Estate. It’s got a very good spec, with a heap of toys. Bose sound system, fancy auto headlights, that are bright and also turn when you turn the wheel, keyless entry and push button start, rear view warning system (beeps if you indicate and something coming passed you), heated seats, auto wipers, parking sensors etc, the list goes on.  Great big boot with a handy feature that allows you to drop the rear seats from inside the boot. I’ve had it for two years and been solid and reliable for me at least. It’s done two trips to Cornwall from North Yorkshire, fully loaded with family and luggage. Done 111k miles now. I had it remapped recently so it has 200bhp and a heap of torque. It can certainly pick its skirt up!  I like it, it’s very well specced vs it’s German counterparts and is very competitively priced too.

[cowboyhat]

Masda comes with Bose? That’s well good. I have a Bose system and it’s fucking mega.

Along with seats, another major consideration for me is stereo. This is compound with noise at motorway speeds, I find my priorities evolving as I age.

[chris j]

There's more load space than the A6 I've just replaced mine with

Good info, thanks. I'd been toying between an A6 and Superb to replace our Octy (with kids, bikes, camping, wetsuits etc the Octy is packed like a sardine can) so I suspect we'll look for high end Superbs rather than the base A6 now.

[Paul B]

I don't know if you lose less in terms of the boot if its not the Allroad/Quattro version?

I can take a few snaps and send them via another means if it's useful.

Along with seats, another major consideration for me is stereo. This is compound with noise at motorway speeds, I find my priorities evolving as I age.

Amen, and in every other aspect of life too! The North West to Cornwall and back solo would've been a completely different prospect in the Octavia. My opinion on gear boxes has also shifted (pun intended).

[tomtom]

Along with seats, another major consideration for me is stereo. This is compound with noise at motorway speeds, I find my priorities evolving as I age.

Seats are a big issue for me too. Under non WFH scenarios I do 20k+ per year - and my persistent lower back problems disappeared when I moved from a Golf to a Volvo. Prior to the Golf I had an E46 BMW, and that was good. So brands where I’ve had no back issues (based on ownership and lengthy hire car drives) are BMW, Volvo and Hyundai.. unfortunately, all the VAG group (VW Gold, Audi A3, Skoda Fabia & Octavia) have all led to back pain...

For motorway noise - tyre choice can make a noticeable difference...

[tomtom]

BTW Will - if you want to buy a car before December (or quite possibly later now..) car showrooms will have to close as of Thursday. #lockdown2.0