What MPV?

Transportation, Travel and Trips
1
Appreciate help from others on purchasing a sensible MPV ideal budget 50,000 CHF.

Background:

Need to change car to put in 3 full car seats for our young children and something that has practicality stamped over it. The extra 2 child seats would be great for sharing the rides for our friends children to and from, tennis, gymnastics and an ever growing list of activities.

Driving we do is 80% around Geneva, 10% to the mountains and 10% on a couple of annual jaunts to other countries.

I can't believe I am seriously thinking of buying a French car over a Toyota, so what am I missing here?

Cars definitely in contention:

Toyota Verso 2.2 D Sol Premium Auto - approx. 50,000 CHF

Peugeot 5008 2.0HDi Auto - approx. 50,000 CHF (but further 8% off if I purchase through my company)

Here is my thoughts about Toyota:

I have had a couple of Toyotas before and loved them, top notch quality and reliable as anything. We have test driven the Toyota Verso and it is a very solid drive and there was no surprises or anything to write home about. Seven seats, clever rear seating but disappointed that only the two outside seats of the middle row had ISO fix for child's seats. Definitely into the rubix cube of working out who sits where and looks like just enough room to a squeeze at times. If you want the built in Sat Nav you end up looking down, hmm! Side mirrors do not fold in electrically. Roof rails are not on the new model and so back to more conventional roof bars if you want to deck out the top to take our skis. Otherwise it seems well put together and quite like the look and feel of the car overall. Size compared with existing car (Skoda Octavia) it is 5 inches shorter in length, the same width and 6 inches taller, so no problems parking or doing battle down town Geneva for my wife getting into Manor car park. Big upside for this car is the Toyota reliability.

Here is my thoughts on the Peugeot 5008:

Saw this by accident as we went in asking about the Ford S-Max but the Ford/Peugeot show the same showroom, could not see the S-Max but the 5008 caught our eye so we went over to look at it. We looked inside and were taken back by the middle row of seats 3 ISO fix and yes, tape measure in hand meant you can get 3 standard 17" wide child seats there. The rest of the cabin seemed bigger and to have a better layout. The boot with the 2 rear seats down provides a massive boot. Sat in the drivers seat, the SAT Nav is on top of the dash so you are not looking down, they also have a gizmo of the head up display. Overall the quality and the feel of the finish of the interior felt better and more practical than the Toyota. Has roof trim which looks like the cross bars clip into, so nicer solution to the skis on top. Size compared with existing car (Skoda Octavia) it is 3 inches shorter in length, it is 2 inches wider, and just over 6 inches taller. Mixed feelings about French car quality and reliability, however the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso which a lot of the Peugeot is based on came top of the J D Powers survey for MPV's (above Toyota) for customer satisfaction. Good initial reviews from the times online, telegraph, honest john and a few others but not a proven car. Have a test drive booked on Monday for this one.

Other cars being considered as contenders:

Ford S-Max - they do not have one to show us and no prices either (must be selling fast) - they have been promised to have one available on Tuesday to see.

Citroen Grand C4 Picasso - They have 90th Anniversary and 8,000 Francs off the price - this is a pretty safe buy as well tested and good reviews.

Other cars looked at and off the list.

VW Caravelle, just love this, moves 7 people and all their luggage without blinking, in reality we rarely have that need. Forced the wife to have a test drive, she loved it.

VW Touran, seemed reasonable but very bland after seeing the Peugeot.

2
hows about the Volvo XC90? ok new is over budget but lots of them around a few years old.

We have one and love it

very versatile and Diesel is very good for long trips -

cazx

3
How is the middle row of seats, with 3 full child car seats would we have to have two in the middle row and one in the back or is there room for 3 on the middle bench?

Have to say I like the idea of Volvo and the XC90 does not look too bad either.

Budget is flexible so we can stretch it if something really ticks all the boxes and some plus. There is also the advantage with the AWD versions is the trips for sking trips when snow and ice is on the ground.

How do you find this for parking?

Will pop into the Volvo garage on Monday to take a look.

4
three seats is no problem - good road holding and loads of space for skis etc -

we often have three car seats and it is a running joke in one toddler group I go to that we are really the XC90 owners club because we have 5 parked outside

caz

5
I would recommend measuring your home parking space before considering. Our neighbours had one when they moved in and now they switched to a smaller (shorter and narrower) car.

Volvo V70s will fit 3 kids seats in the back, 2 of which can be built-in boosters factory fitted. For slightly older models (not 2008/09), 2 fold down seats in the rear are an option for shorter trips around town for kid's friends.

6
I don't know about child seats, but you can get five adults in one of these and put the roof down or just the front half when you want.

7
Aren't these over 50K chf? I thought that I remember that from a dealership here in Lausanne.

Brian.

8
I think you cannot go wrong with a Toyota. I've heard horror stories regarding the reliability of the Peugeot 807 (that the 5008 replaces). It was, according to a British magazine, the most unreliable car of all the cars available in great Britain.

9
We are extremely happy with our Seat Alhambra (VW Sharan / Ford Galaxy are the same). 3 child seats definitely fit in.

10
This is a big plus point for the Toyota, also with 3 or 5 children onboard we definitely do not want it breaking down.

I am trying to put out of my mind the Renault 18GTS I bought it when I was eighteen years old. The experience was so bad I swore I would never buy a French car again.

My brother has a Peugeot 807 and can confirm he jokes about how much it consumes parts of the planet to keep it going. However he uses it for a runaround and Audi's do the day to day slog.

I thought the 5008 was a new car in the range as it is shorter than the 807 and based on the Citreon Grand C4 Picasso floor pan. Peugeot own Citroen I think?

11
Hi Swisskat,

My wifes freind has the Seat Alhambra with the 4 wheel drive version and size wise it does a cracking job. It is certainly does a very practical job of ferrying the children. There is a Toyota equivilant size of that but not bound for the Swiss market, which is a pity.

Will put it on the list as a possible.

12
Nice car and would be great in summer but the stare my wife gave me told me to put on the Captain sensible hat.

13
This was where I read about the Peugeot 5008 being based on the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso, this is the only reason I would give it any consideration.

http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/p...review/25920-7

Quality & Reliability4 out of 5 stars

The cabin looks classy, with lots of appealing soft-touch plastics, and it also feels like it's built to last. Peugeot hasn't got the best reputation for reliability, but the 5008 is closely related to a Citroen Grand C4 Picasso, which was the top-rated MPV in the 2009 JD Power customer satisfaction survey.

Maybe a safer choice is the Citroen itself as it is already proven.

14
Yes, you are right. Switzerland does not have the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 'X' or 'Sport' models now so the 'Sahara' model is the base model here. It cost's 52,400 CHF.

As the American base model is $24,525 it's a lot cheaper to buy in the US, ship it to CH, pay the taxes and convert it to European spec. My friend recently did this into the UK and saved a bundle. There are no diesels in the US models, but the gasoline engine is the same as the model sold in Europe. The only parts to change are the lamps and as the front lamps are standard 7" units the total cost is likely to be under 500 CHF in parts if you do it yourself.

15
Opel Zafira? CHF35k for the new 2.2i, leaving you enough for a cool Vespa each and a decent holiday. Maintenance is cheap, too.

Top Gear review

AutoScout

16
Back when I moved here the cheapest cost to ship cars from the US to Europe was about $6000.00 USD. The only other problem I can see is that you wouldn't get the US manufacturers warrantee. You would also have to pay import duties unless you have owned it for more than a year in the US or won't keep in for more than a year in this country. (I am not 100% sure about that last bit.)

Good Luck to the OP in finding an appropriate vehicle,

Brian.

17
Hopefully better than the 807. For having worked myself closely with several Japanese manufacturers, I can attest that the quality is really a step above everybody else.

After having owned a collection of European and American cars, I finally bought an Acura (Honda). I have 110,000km on the odometer and not a single problem yet. The car has never been back to the dealership.

18
CHF 52K for a Wrangler. It is totally unreasonable. Are they selling any at this price?

19
hmmm... you talk about a sensible, reliable MPV. and then you're willing to consider a Chrysler ??

20
You can't compare french cars with Toyota. It is a different dimention of quality. However, if you have a warranty and plan to sell the car after you can relax, the warranty will cover all the issues, but you know, your time costs also money... Also, the Toyota will be sold with a higher price later.