I'm in Europe, looking for family car and have no idea what to look for, as cars are far from my thing.
I'll start with a bit of info. We don't drive that much, most often just short rides in town (like groceries, kids to school, etc.) or short drives to nearby towns (10-15km). Longer distances about once a month (50+ km). Slughtly bigger car is a preference as we usually have stuff to carry in boot. Currently we have old Ford Mondeo turnier from 2003 and due to its engine problems it needs to be replaced. I have around 15k € budget, so will be looking at used market cars.
Because of intended use I scratched out all diesel offerings. Right? Leaving me with either gasoline or hybrid options. Full EV are probably no go due to price. I've picked a few possible cars from local/nearby sellers and would really appreciate your input on them (or alternatives I should be looking at).
Ford Focus wagon from 2019. Has 1.0 ecoboost engine (92 kW / 125 hp), has some nice equipment options like auto AC, heated seats, steering wheel and front screen. It has a mileage of just about 90k km (60k miles). It's priced slightly under 13k €.
Toyota Auris sports wagon hybrid, from 2018. It's typical Toyota prius-like hybrid with 1.8 liter engine and electric motor. Not plug-in hybrid. Mileage of around 150k km (100k miles). It's slightly less equipped than the Focus (and it doesn't support android auto or carplay) and is priced around 15k €.
2019 Kia Cee'd wagon. It is probably the simplest car in this list - it has 1.4 liter engine without direct injection and without turbo (73 kW) - does it mean less things to break? Other equipment is pretty good though (parking camera, heated seats and wheel, ...), it has mileage if just 40k km (25k miles) and it should still be in factory warranty till 2026. Priced at 12.5k €.
There's also VW Passat variant 2016 plug-in hybrid. It's decent condition, although it has over 210k km (like 140k miles). I don't have option to recharge at home (flat), but there are 2 or 3 public stations in walk distance. Priced at roughly 16k € it's slightly over my intended budget, but it's a bigger more comfortable car and has plenty of optional features (like parking camera, driving assistants, full led lights, etc.).
And there's about another gazzillion of cars and my brain hurts... Would you please help me decide?
Well, interestingly enough VW is considered one of the more reliable brands in Europe. Indeed, cars and their usage is way different on both sides of the pond... Why would you dismiss hybrid option? The car supposedly was well serviced throughout its life, with all prescribed oil changes, spark plug changes, etc.
As for Kia the good thing is Kia has authorized service right in my small town (15k people). I know the brand has (had) its problems, but again, the reputation of the brand is quite high now. This could not be said like 10-15 years ago, when these cars were considered mostly trash. Nowadays? Everyone says they've matched (or even surpassed) traditional European brands.
If I checked right Auris should be renamed Corolla. No idea why Toyota did this name change, especially when Auris was a thing for only like 10 years and now we're back at Corolla name. Weird. Never mind, Toyota states their batteries should be like 90% after 10 years? That's more than enough with me assuming it's true. And how long do I plan to have the car? Probably until it falls apart, like both my previous cars did 🙃
Glad to hear good words on Ford in general. Was one on top of my list. I've been happy with our Mondeo over all, but it's 20 years old, been through some tough conditions and it shows...
I've indeed looked at Mazda offerings. If I had the money I'd be driving 6 already 🤣 My coworker is huge fan of the brand and he can't recommend it enough, so I hear it almost every day. The 2 is definitely too small, I mean it would be probably OK inside, but its boot is virtually non-existent. The 3 looks quite nice, it has decent sized boot, but I'm not a fan of small back seat window design. I have small kids and the car feels really dark inside and has very restricted view out, which is not really a thing I'd want, sadly :-( Pricing is decent for 3 too. The 6 would be ideal, but I can't really fit in my budget with one.
Iirc is rated pretty high in reliability here too. That doesn’t always translate perfectly to reality. I dismiss the hubris option of a VW without thought. As I said, I’ve seen too many vw with electrical issues, and then add in a complex hybrid system. Lol. No thanks. As I said, others may disagree with me, but this is my experience.
Kia may have a good warranty, sure. They may also have a service center near you. That doesn’t mean they will honor the warranty (manufacturers deny for BS all the time) or like in my experience, they legitimately don’t know how to fix a problem, and you’re left without a car for months on end. As I said, we were like 4-6 months without our car before I got so frustrated I traded it in on the hyundai. The quality of materials they use, in their late model cars, from what I’ve seen, is inferior to the more established brands like Mazda or Toyota. They also feel cheaper to me.
I’m pretty sure I said the Toyota would be fine just boring like the rest of them. Yeah, a Corolla is boring and cheap feeling but should be reliable.
Ford is ford. There’s a reason they sell as many cars as they do worldwide. Would I personally prefer a Japanese (built in Japan) car to a ford? Yes, but would I prefer a ford to a VW? Again, yes.
Imo, you literally can’t do better for the money than a Mazda. If the 2 is too small, then look at then CX3. Same chassis totally different feel. Or, the 3 comes in a sedan too, which is usually cheaper. Late model Mazdas feel, and drive like they should cost at least 15k more than they do, and if you can make it work, worth the price imo.