Im having to get rid of my superb 4x4 as can no longer afford to run it, it only does 17mpg! lol, cost a fortune going up and down the country for dog shows.

NowI have to say I really like nice cars, well built cars but my budget is only going to be about 8k!  I need an estate a big one.
A volvo v70 diesel is my first choice as volvos are so well made and drive so well, there is plenty of room in the back too, however for 8k I would only get a 2001/2002 reg with about 80k on the clock which I know for a volvo is nothing.

But what is the alternative? My fave estates are the audi a6 and the bmw 3 series but both are too small, I need to get 2 large dogs in the back comfortably (Idont like my dogs squashed up)
Does anyone have one of the new vauxhall vectra estates? They look ok and are quite square at the back, they also do 50mpg which is great, I havent seen the boot space in one yet though who's got one?

Any other ideas please?  I know the berlingo' things are great space wise for dogs but I really wouldnt fancy driving one of those distance on the motorway too lightweight in my opinion.
Ive also thought of the honda civic tourer can anyone suggest anything else?

It doesnt have to be diesel some of the petrol estates are much better mpg than what I have now

Cheers

Hi
I've got a V70, 2002 model, but it's a petrol all wheel drive so is a bit juicy.  It is very comfortable (and quick!), and good space for the dogs.  I did look at the Honda when I bought it (secondhand) and was impressed.  It wasn't quite as soft a ride as my old V70 (2000 model) so I didn't go for it, but would certainly look at a secondhand one when I come to replace my current V70.  The Honda is actually more spacious than the Volvo - and I do think that Hondas are better made than Volvos nowadays.

We used to have a citroen C5 estate which was fantastic for dogs. We had the diesel which was very powerful (didnt even notice a twin axle caravan on the back) and quite economical (more so than a vectra estate petrol) I know not a very fair comparison but just from experience.

It fitted our large barjo double cage in the back with room to spare and the hydrolics (button inside the boot) to lower the back end of the car was very useful to help our old dog jump in and out.

I have a vauxhall Zafira, bought it second had 3 years old with 19 thou on the clock for £7000. It houses a large barjo double crate for 2 afghans easily, and has plenty of space for a full load of passengers too. ( Or extra visiting dogs :D ) They are not only cheap to buy (many are ex motability) they are good on fuel, and cheap on replacement parts. THere is also a reasonable range from basic model to something a bit more fancy. OK so its not a BMW, but if its budget you are after its perfectly serviceable. Its also much lower on insurance than many estates, i pay £300 a year fully comp.

We're hooked on VW Passat estates. We're on our ... (counts on fingers) ... 5th now. The only one we've had from new was a company car (our 2nd passat) which OH wrote off when a minibus pulled out in front of him when he was doing 60 mph and he only suffered a broken sternum and collarbone from the seatbelt and all the engine bits stayed where they should and didn't take his feet off. Anyway .... all the others have been second-hand and very reliable and economical.

My neighbours had visitors yesterday who had a vectra estate and I had a sneeky peek in the back and it looked to be very roomy. I am always thinking about our next car as we change it every year as we buy tax free then sell it and make a bit of money in the process. We have just got rid of our Range Rover Sport and got the BMW 5 series diesel tourer which isn't bad for space though I would of liked to have had a flatter back window for the crates. It isn't bad on fuel, mind you anything compared to the RR isn't bad!! though was lovely to drive.

Mondeo estate? I'd rather have the mondeo than the vectra but it's a personal opinion thing :)  If you're going for a private sale you should be able to get a 55 plate basic model '2.0TDCi LX (90ps)' estate. Again personal opinion but I'd rather have a slightly older ghia.. you should get an 04 ghia or maybe a 54 zetec (2.0TDCi 115ps).

Edited to say I do like the passat estate, and in fact the skoda octavia has good reports from the two people I know with them.

Hi,
We have the new C4 picasso 5 seater but looked at the 7 seater also and it was huge! Loads of room in the back. We are really impressed with ours, we've had it since August and went for the 2.0 HDI automatic model and its great - averages 41 MPG which isn't bad for an automatic. I know its not an Audi, BMW or Volvo but I would defo have a look at one.

Skoda. Now stop laughing and put away your prejudices. :) New Skodas are nothing like the old ones. I loved my Skoda and often wish I still had it. I know someone with an old Vauxhall estate and my Skoda had loads more room. I bought brand new, top spec with the DSG transmission and diesel engine for under 17. You could get a used one within your budget. I got 55 mpg on the motorway and 44 around town on very short trips. Never had so much as a rattle in 2 years. I only traded because I wanted am MPV for other reasons. On Thursday when the weather was so bad I was wishing I still had it. Really, give one a test drive. They don't win customer satisfaction surveys for nothing. If they ever make an MPV I'll be trading my Renault in a flash.

Nothing wrong with Skoda's they are VW's at the end of the day.

Exactly. Same transmission, brakes and engine as VW and Audi's. A lot of interior parts are similar too. Why pay more for a badge. :-D

Skoda Octavia Estate ..... great cars !

Skoda Octavia Estate = VW Golf Estate, but with less resale value. But if you plan to keep your car till it falls apart (like we do) resale value is meaningless. :) So Oktavia Estate = Great car!

My OH drives Fords - previously Focus and now Mondeo estates and both are excellent - the Focus is actually slightly bigger in the back than the Mondeo insofar as head room for a large cage.  I've never been a fan of Ford styling, equipment etc but in recent years it has come on leaps and bounds and IMO they are significantly better than the BMW 3 on looks, trim, room for dog paraphenalia and comfort :)  Also my friends with same breed as ours swapped their Audi for the larger Vauxhall estate because they felt space was compromised and both ride and fuel consumption disappointing.

If you can get a Ghia or Titanium in one of the fords you'll very possibly be surprised at the high spec and finish and should certainly not be let down by the amount of room in the back :)

Like you I loooooove having my own 4x4's and can't see me ever wanting to give up the elevated driving position (but then I only drive to dog shows within a 50 mile radius so further afield, which almost all of them are, I'm a very satisfied passenger in a Mondeo :D )

HTH, Teri :)

I love my Ford focus estate.  I have had vauxhall astras previously.  running costs are similar, but the focus is much better drive and the boot is huge...

Agree with Jen BUT
The Focus down poiunts.
If you want speed DONT go for a 1.6 Automatic. I think 2.0 litre upwards is a good bet.
ALSO the electrics in the fords. including the transit vans, leave alot to be desired!!!
The central locking has gone in 4 of our fords. 2 cars and 2 transits. So be prepared for cost of central locking electrical faults. Also the fans go. You end up with nothing on 123 but get the blower on 4.
BUT the focus are a comfortable drice and a huge boot space. Enbough room for 2 Rottie size and a Am cocker with room to spare. And enough room for a huge Dog crate collapsed, me 2 kids and 2 dosg to go to cornwall (400 miles to get there) for 12 days including tent cooking stuff and luggage!!!So big, but not reliable enough for me!!!!
Lea :)

I'm with you Lea on the ford thing. My husband has an Focus ST3 (definatly not a dog car) and I have to say that it doesn't feel very well put together. It only has 4000 on the clock and has started to make a funny noise from the engine when it is cold then it will dissapear. What is the saying about FORDS "Fix Or Repair Daily" I'm starting to think this is true. The lights keep switching back for driving on the left and has taken it to the Ford garage and they can't find a problem:rolleyes: He said he wouldn't have a Ford again.

the best thing I find about fords is in the wet my car decides it wants to protect me :) :) :) :)
It locks us all in
As for Skodas, I hated them until I drove one!!!! Skoda Octavia VRS. 1.8 Turbo. Lovely fast drive. Comfortabe. But that was the hatch back but would say the 2litre estate would be the equivalent of the 1.8 hatch back :D :D :D
Lea :)

My 2.0 diesel did 0-60 in 9.2 seconds - that's good for a big car that gets you from newcastle to bournemouth on 3/4 of a tank. :)

I'm on my second Honda Accord Tourer, from brand new. Obviously, I love it. A lovely drive, well built and reliable, lots of 'extras' as standard - oh, and the boot is huge. You'd probably get a three of four year old one for your £8k?

M.

Hi i have the new vectra estate and before this  i had a focus estate. The floor space in the vectra [in depth] is great but the hight and width is less than the focus. My friend also has the new mondeo estate and this does not have the boot floor space or interior space of mine but is alot wider and a bit higher. I would also say to drive there is not much difference. No other estate has the floor space of a new vectra. The reason i know this is i am selling a cage for the vectra and have had people with all different types of large estate cars and 4x4's trying to buy it and it is too big for all of them, somebody with a land rover today tried and it was too deep for it. I think the vectra is a much better looking car than the mondeo, the mondeo looks to bulky, were as the new vectra looks streamline. Another plus for the vectra is in the interior space, it is massive inside espesially in the back seats.  As far as 50 mpg, that must be for a diesel cause i dont get that in mine. when going to shows we also pull a dog trailer so i use a full tank for every 300 miles and it takes about £54.00 to fill the tank [i'll let you work that out]. We have german shepherds in ours without being squashed.
Mine is a 1800, i wanted bigger but coundnt get one at the time so just took the 1800.  If i had to put them in order for boot and interior size i would say the vectra, focus and then the mondeo. Hope this helps.

We have the Citroen Picasso which easily accomodates our Golden Retriever and a separate crate for our terrier in the luggage area. We also transport a wheelchair in the car as well and there is still room for passengers. It is the diesel version, very economical and a very comfortable ride.

Hi Karen,

I was looking at the two litre diesel model, said 50mpg on motorway! anything over 30 sounds good to me
How many German shepherds do you have in the boot ? Im guessing two, do they have plenty of room?   Imnot keen on fords, bought a brand new years ago was awful car, dont like them.

Like the vauxhall omega but they stopped making those in 2003 huge boot, if i could find a 03 diesel would have a look at that, but only ones ive seen are undertakers cars ! hee hee

Still love the volvos though, so comfortable and safe

I have a renault kangoo.  Dreadful for street cred but fantastic for my 2 great danes!!  :rolleyes:

We have two estates a BMW 330D and it is fantastic on fuel economy and is a good car to drive. The other one (mine) Is an Impreza WRX and although fuel economy is questionable the drive is superb

Both easily take two Labs without any issues :)

Members here also have the fiat Doblo which has more room.  On a similar theme there is the Citroen Berlingo and the same vehicle with different badge is the Peugeot Partner.

Ah but the arguement against the doblo, partner, berlingo etc is in the original post...

>I really like nice cars

"nice" not just practical....I rest my case :D

Excuse me! 

The 'original' CD Doblo owner

I've had 5 different people come knock at my door asking if my car was for sale!

Can see why the berlingo's , partners and Doblos ar so popular, they are great for dogs. If I only pottered around home would go for one (I could always drive it in disguise!lol) but I really wouldnt feel safe going on the motorway in one of those.
For a start they are really lightweight, dont have much power, cant see they would be comfortable on long journeys but most of all its the safety of them, a friend of mine has just had a bump in her berlingo on the motorway, not  a bad one thankfully , she was just coming off the sliproad and another car went into the back of her, the damage to the berlingo was considerable and only at 30mph speeds!! 
It was a good job the dogs werent in the back as it crumbled!  She is now looking for a stronger safer car to transport the dogs

In any accident damage can be considerable but believe me it makes a huge difference as to what vehicle you are in, my last volvo was an ex police car, I have been shown several pictures of volvos that have gone top speed into a barrier or wall its amazing that the car is usually still in one piece with minor damage and that the driver walks away!
All things to consider when you have your dogs in the car, and I do think you get what you pay for!

Mercedes C Class.... c**p! for dog showing I've found ( too cut away at the back if you know what I mean,) but a fab car otherwise....comfort, drive etc so my next one will be the E Class.
My friends have just bought the new vectra (they show Rotties) and I love it too.

The Doblo is wonderful for motorway driving as you are SO upright, visibility is fantastic, you sit higher up than the usual car and I wouldn't  go back to sitting so low as you miss what that extra height gives you.   I journey from Scotland for dog shows 'doon South' and this is the best car I've ever owned out of the 4 I've had - VW, Skoda, Mondeo.

Mine is a 1.9TD so it might not be the fastest out of the traps but it's a good honest car and only group 3 insurance.    I took someone down to pick up a cat from Wisbech, we filled up at Edinburgh, got to Wisbech and then went back via Peterborough (Passenger's rubbish Sat Nav) and had to fill up at Boroughbridge - all those miles on 1 tank of diesel!

Have to agree with Christine, as a fellow Doblo owner.  I use my car for my work which means it can do serious miles at times.  We have been surprised with just how economical it is.  Mine is the 1.9TD version as well and, while I agree that it's not the quickest off the mark, it is a good, solid drive and the elevated driving position & all round visiblity is excellent.

I fully admit that it's not the most attractive car but even my extremely image-conscious friend insists that we take my car for shopping trips as it is more practical and versatile than her hatchback.

Plus, with the rear seats folded, you can get 4 giant breeds in the back so OH can't put that up as an obstacle when  I add a 3rd (and 4th :D ) dog ;-).

"Only a 2001/2002 reg". :D LOL! We've recently paid £3000 for an R reg V70 and couldn't be more pleased. It's excellent and seems far newer than most other cars that ARE new. :)

I'm driving a Hyundai Lantra at the moment, and I can honestly say I miss my Passat ;) There just isn't the same room. I could get 2 cages in the Passat, but can only get one set up in the Lantra. The Passat was such a lovely drive, too.... pity the parts cost so much. New door handle cost nearly £50, and that was 4 years ago :(

I looked at a certain orange Doblo when it was sitting outside my house for a while and like the room it has. Not sure about the colour though........ ;)

I used to alway have a people carrier but due to the high mileage I do it is more practical to run my own day to day car and have a dog car seperately. ( doing about 33K per year just now)

I have to say for comfort as in real comfort I to would write off all the kangoo types for long motorway journeys.

The BMW boots are no good. I changed mine after I started to show more than one dog.

I actually bought a mondeo estate which I was suprised at because I have never been a ford person.  I honestly can't fault the boot space to be honest. I bought the Ghia X with the full leather interior but I can honestly say it has been very good AND you can pick them up reasonably cheap so depriciation has been done for you in the first 2 years of life.

Teri on here has the Focus I believe and also thinks this is excellent for boot space.

PS the one I picked up was the top spec a 53 plate for £6500 minted with 39K on the clock.

Take ChristineW's advice. Doblo's are so fab !! I went from a shogun LWB to a doblo. We have 3 boxers and loads of room.

You're the enlightened one aimibobs!   My back suffers in a normal car, in my Doblo I can get in & out with ease!

Pam, you didn't complain about being sore when I took you to Wisbech...........

I wasn't sore in your car at all Christine.  It probably does well for the dogs etc.   I wouldn't get in anyone's car and be critical of it.

The poster is looking for Now I have to say I really like nice cars, well built cars but my budget is only going to be about 8k!  I need an estate a big one.

I am reading she likes a quality build also.  Not knocking the practicality of the Kangoo type cars but up and down the motorway on a weekly basis for most if they like to travel in comfort would require just that bit more.  You can't drive too fast in comfort in these type of Kangoo cars either.

The kangoos and doblos etc for a few £ks are perfect but when you are spending £8K plus there are certainly a lot more to choose from.

I bought the top of the range 4 x 4 kangoo just over a year old and had it for about 6 weeks :-)  It was minted with less that 10K miles on it but up and down the M6 twice and it was gone.   I had no problem selling it, I got every penny back I paid for it BUT it wasn't for me and it wont be for anyone who likes real style and quality build in a car.

(It was that long ago I couldn't remember for the life of me why we went in your car as the trip was for me, but I remembered.)

It was that long ago I couldn't remember for the life of me why we went in your car as the trip was for me, but I remembered

I'm still wondering why I went - all I got was a lot of miles & wear & tear added to my car! ;)

I have to say as a last resort to the defence of the Dobl, look at who is buying them as fleet vans/MPV's?  The Post Office, courier firms, taxi firms, workmen etc.   You see far many more Doblo vans on the road than Kangoo's or Berlingo's which speaks volumes.

For £8000, you'd probably be able to add air con, tinted windows etc.

Don't take it so personally Christine :) The doblo is a very versatile, dog friendly car and yes they are good workhorses but they're not for people who love to drive, who get great enjoyment out of the power of their vehicle or the comfort of it. I didn't recommend my own car, as I didn't think it suited the op. Personally I love my Ulysse people carrier, it's economical, reliable, plenty room for the dogs, elevated driving position etc - but it's not for people who want a really nice car :D

Hi

I have just bought the Toyota Avensis estate, plenty of room for 2 GSP's in the back, and I have just started driving from Portsmouth to Southport on a Friday night.  I'm getting 58 miles to the gallon (diesel), and the car is pretty quick too.  For me it had to be Japanese, they just seem to get it right everytime.  But that's just my opinion.

Juliet

Yep, OH had the Focus ghia and now has the Mondeo Titanium - gotta say they've both been great cars for driver/passenger comfort as well as loads of room for the dogs and we've never had any performance or reliability issues with either :)  Particularly with the new Mondeo now on the market I'd imagine there are some really good deals to be had too.

TBH the Mondeo is too big for me and I rarely drive it (unless I can park in a big empty field :D ) but the 2ltr Focus felt really chunky and solid with a sporty edge to it so IMO anyone used to driving something a bit special really shouldn't be disappointed in either :)

That is how I felt with the Mondeo and was really suprised as I generally ( before dog showing) always had what I would consider quite flashy cars but the Ghia Mondeo has everything you could want and more.   I get about 45-48 MPG  out of mind and that is the 130BHP version.  I believe the lower specs do actually reach the 50MPG as they are not just quite as heavy.

I think look wise I prefer the Mondeo but I was thinking of having a test drive of the S-Max that looks pretty Good Teri. Any reviews on this one yet?? :-)

Hi Pam,

Don't know about the S-Max, sorry :) 

OH will probably be getting the new Mondeo, we've been to see them and must admit I like the slightly more substantial look of the new shape although, as with many models across the manufacturers now, the windows are becoming smaller (which with me being used to a 4x4 is a tad too challenging on my preferred visibility :rolleyes:  I'll have to drive everywhere with the hazards on :D )

I'll have to drive everywhere with the hazards on  )

And windows down with the head sticking out.   :-D      I think we must get more dittery as we get older ( I am only 36 but felling older this winter)

My husband passed me last night in his car I was driving opposite direction, He flashed at me but I never saw him. He said to me later , "you were too busy passing the parked car"   my answer of course, " what parked car" :-)

I wouldnt discount an older volvo or one with higher mileage.  I've got a V70 D5 52 plate thats currently on 152000 miles.  I bought it just over a yer ago with 112000, and its never gone wrong or needed anything major done at services.

Jill

Well if you like nice I did a quick search and you can get a 52 reg Octavia estate 1.9 diesel Laurence & Klement (leather interior, power everything, all the bells and whistles, multidisk CD changer etc) 37,800 miles on the clock for £7595 asking price. Have I convince you yet ;-) One of many such deals.