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The Irish Sun
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Best used family car UK: I'm a used car pro with a family, THIS is the model I'd buy in 2025
KIDS are a privilege, but it doesn't always feel that way when you're trying to park your car and everyone is screaming at you. Unless you're in the centre of London, a family car is a vital expense, but when time and money are tight, what should you buy? 6 The best family car should be affordable, reliable and practical. You can spend anything from a few thousand pounds to an average annual salary on a family car. You'll need to choose wisely to avoid getting stuck with something that won't work for you and your family. I've driven and owned a wide variety of family cars, from an 8-seater camper van to a compact SUV and am happy to share my insights into what makes a good (and bad family car). We can't stop the kids screaming, sand getting everywhere and running out of space if your next pregnancy involves triplets, but here's our choice of the best family cars. READ MORE USED CARS Used family cars: What is a family car? There's no definition of a family car in any book that we can find, but common sense suggests these things are essential to families: Most family cars have 5 doors with enough space in the rear for kids' car seats Decent boot space for prams, shopping, bikes and any other hobby you can think of A high NCAP safety rating (they're the most precious thing you'll ever have to protect, after all) Large families (those with more than three children and two adults) will need a people carrier Your family will have its own list of requirements. In fact, before buying a used family car, it's a good idea to write these down as it can help you in your search. Most read in Buy Is it safe to buy a used family car? Used cars should be just as safe as buying a new car. You can check out the NCAP rating of how safe any car is Be aware that the ratings have recently changed and are *really* strict. Even a 4-star rating can be much stronger and safer than older cars. What's important is to buy one from a dealer that you can trust. This will ensure that your car is safe and ready to go, with most used cars sold with a brand new MOT with all issues sorted out. Where can I buy a used family car? Starting to search for a family car? You can find everything from low-cost family cars to high-performance Range Rovers. When you buy from a Sun Motors dealer, you've got the confidence you're getting a car that has been checked over by a professional. You'll also find that many dealers offer warranties, too, giving you protection if anything does go wrong. Yes, you'll pay a premium when you buy from a dealer. For our money, it's worth it. Best family cars for sale on Sun Motors This is an entirely subjective list of the best used family cars for sale in the UK today. Remember, your family will have its own unique needs, so take time to choose a car that works for you Best all-round family used car: Skoda Karoq 6 Model: Skoda Karoq If you want a family car that will deliver 10 years or more of reliable motoring, the Skoda Karoq is our choice. The family-friendly SUV delivers on the road with fantastic visibility and excellent in-car extras. Driving is quiet, fuel economy is high and handling is light, making it a breeze to navigate in tight spaces outside the school or in the supermarket car park. It's bigger than the Kamiq, which comes in handy when heading away on family holidays or carrying larger loads. Skodas are known for reliability and can clock up high mileages if looked after. Whether you're ferrying your newborn baby back from the hospital or picking them up after their first time at the pub, the Karoq is our choice. We'd go for the petrol-engined Best 7-seater family car used: VW Multivan 6 Model: VW Multivan It's not cheap, but the VW Multivan is a brilliant choice for those with a big family. It's everything you expect from a VW, including a bullet-proof diesel engine (if you want that) and exceptional build quality. The internals are great too. There's nothing like the Multivan in the sector, says It doesn't feel like a van at all, which is great – especially if you're driving (as we do) in the city a lot. You'll need fairly deep pockets as the Multivan isn't cheap. This petrol-powered Volkswagen Multivan 1.5 TSI comes in at £35,990. But as it's a VW, used values will hold up well. Buying a used car? Find cars for under £200 on Sun Motors Best affordable family car UK used: Dacia Sandero Stepway 6 Model: Dacia Sandero Stepway The Dacia Sandero is the best-selling car in Europe. Dacia started as a challenger brand, but its no-nonsense approach to motoring is winning fans across the continent. It's a pretty simple car, which works in its favour as there's less to go wrong. The turbocharged 0.9 litre engine is surprisingly good, because the car is so light. It's not fast or big, but it's economical and affordable. We prefer the Stepway model because it features an elevated driving position that gives a great view of the road. It's a fairly joyless driven but it's quiet, easy to handle and powerful enough. The interior features a lot of plastic, which is easy to clean and maintain. Trust us, you'll welcome that. Oh, and you can buy one like this 2017 model Dacia Sandero Stepway for less than £5,000. Best used small family car: SEAT LEON 6 Model: SEAT LEON The SEAT LEON is basically a VW Golf, but a bit cheaper. The FR model (our choice) features a much more refined in-car experience, although the suspension can feel a little hard to some. The LEON isn't an out-and-out family car like, say, the Skoda Octavia is. That can be a plus point. Once you've dropped the kids off at school you can (almost) convince yourself you're driving a cool hatch (if you ignore the car seats in the back). You'll struggle to get two growing teenagers in the back, but it's still a great small family car. This 2019 SEAT LEON 1.5 TSI EVO FR is a snip at £10,495. Best used family car under 10k: Ford Focus 6 Model: Ford Focus This should really be the Dacia Sandero as that's available for much less than £10,000, but as we've already featured it, we'll go for the next favourite: Ford Focus. It couldn't be a family car list without the Focus. It's such a familiar sight on the roads because it's just such a practical and functional car, as you'd expect from a Ford. There are far too many options and variations to list, but if you're looking for a cheap family car, check out this beautiful blue Ford Focus 1.0T EcoBoost Titanium for a few quid under £8,500. Buying a used car? Check out
Top Gear
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Buy Kia Sportage Price, PPC or HP
That's a big leap in price, and if you're not able to charge the plug-in regularly then there's no chance you'll make back the difference in fuel savings. However, thanks to its zero emissions range it attracts a Benefit-in-Kind company car tax rate of just eight per cent, compared to the 30 per cent you'd be liable for even with the full hybrid. For anyone earning over the 40 per cent tax threshold, that's a significant saving. Things kick off at £30,170 for the petrol-powered mild hybrid in base-spec 2 trim. The full hybrids are available on GT-Line spec and above, costing from £36,215. Plug-in hybrids attract a premium of around £5k with the cheapest priced from £40,685, although you can pay up to £45,885 for the full fat GT-Line S if you're so inclined. And that's before options. That starting price puts it competitively in the mix compared to rivals, with the Citroen C5 Aircross, Seat Ateca and Skoda Karoq coming in slightly cheaper, the Nissan Qashqai, Mazda CX-5 and Toyota C-HR on par, and the likes of the Ford Kuga, Hyundai Tucson, Peugeot 3008, Renault Austral, and (by some way) the Volkswagen Tiguan all starting over £30k. For private buyers, a two-wheel drive hybrid in 3 spec is probably the sweet spot of the Sportage line-up, setting you back £37,215. This gets 18in alloys, cloth and leather seats, heated steering wheel and front seats, smart cruise control, three-zone climate control, the 12.3in touchscreen and instrument clusters, a rear-view monitor and those handy extra USB-Cs. If aesthetics matter to you, you might be able to justify the extra couple of grand for the Shadow Edition, with its uber-cool, matte paint job (you can have it in grey, black or green) and fake-cow-bedecked seats. Aside from a few black gloss styling swaps though, you don't get much that isn't already on the '3'. Best stick with that. Kia's finance calculator can be tweaked depending on your preferred annual mileage and deposit budget, but stick £5,000 down on a hybrid '3' and you're looking at monthly repayments of £445 over three years, with interest at just over three per cent APR.
The Courier
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Courier
Is the Dacia Duster the UK's best value car? We tested it in Tayside
Way back in 2012 the original Dacia Duster won the Scottish Car of the Year Award. Back then it cost from just £9,000, making it by far the cheapest SUV available in the UK. Millions were sold worldwide and they've become one of the most popular cars in Scotland. A dozen years on, I was excited to find out what the third generation of the Duster was like. The first thing I noticed when the Duster arrived at my home in Dundee is how stylish it is. Dacia's designers have done an excellent job of creating a car that looks both rugged and modern. It doesn't look downmarket or dowdy when parked next to other family SUVs such as the Seat Ateca and Skoda Karoq. Launched late last year, the third-generation Dacia Duster is available with a 130hp, 1.2 litre three-cylinder petrol engine, or as a non-plugin hybrid that pairs a 1.6 litre petrol engine with an electric motor and battery. Oddy, the pure petrol is the only Duster available with four-wheel drive and the hybrid is the only one available as an automatic. The 4×4 Duster is surprisingly capable off-road but unless you need to hit the dirt often the hybrid is the one to go for. It's more powerful, smoother, more economical and more modern. And two-wheel drive Dacia Dusters still have enough ground clearance to get you up a rutted farm track. Everything costs more in 2025 than it did in 2012 and you can no longer buy a Dacia Duster for nine grand. However, with prices starting at a little over £18,000 it is still astonishing value for money. The Skoda Karoq starts at just under £30,000, with the Seat Ateca costing more than £28,000 and the Nissan Qashqai coming in at £30,000. My hybrid version came in mid-spec Journey trim and cost a touch over £26,000. It had most of the creature comforts you could want, including keyless entry, a wireless phone charger, reversing camera, and plenty of USB ports for charging. It also came with a false floor in the boot that's useful for stashing muddy gear. We took the Dacia Duster to Carrbridge for the weekend. Setting off from Dundee, its light steering made the city's streets easy to navigate. The hybrid system means that at low speeds the car often goes about its business in electric mode. On the A9 at 60mph it isn't as quiet and refined as a Mazda CX-30 or a Hyundai Tucson, but then it is only about two-thirds of the price. There's a modicum of wind and road noise but nothing particularly intrusive. Ride quality is very impressive. As we got off the A9 and onto the backroads around Aviemore the Duster soaked up bumps and undulations very nicely. The Duster has a 0-62mph time of around 10 seconds, giving it a decent enough turn of speed. It's frugal too – official fuel economy is 55mpg and I averaged around 49mpg during my week with the car. The driving position is high up giving a good view of the road. Meanwhile, plenty of adjustment makes it easy to find a comfortable driving position. Dacia earns a gold star for installing proper physical controls for the heating system instead of making you fiddle around with a touchscreen. The infotainment system is used for what it should be – changing the radio and so on. It's a bit slower and less responsive than the best rivals' systems but you get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so most people will just mirror their phone's controls. Our four-month old daughter didn't complain about legroom in the back and with good reason – she's tiny and can't talk. However, all but very tall adults will be fine back there, with ample levels of leg and head room on offer. At 517 litres boot space is excellent and it can lug more gear around than some bigger cars. Since the Duster came on the scene a couple of other budget options such as the MG ZS and KGM Tivoli have sprung up. And it's true that a lot of people lease their cars nowadays and there are some great deals to be had. But the Dacia Duster retains its title as the country's best value SUV. In a world where everything seems to cost a fortune it's great to know there's a car that offers so much for so little. Price: £26,050 0-62mph: 10.1seconds Top speed: 106mph Economy: 55.4mpg CO2 emissions: 114g/km
BBC News
17-04-2025
- BBC News
Family release tribute to beloved toddler Teddy
The family of a toddler who died in a crash have issued a year old Teddy Britten Goddard died in a road traffic collision on 28 people were injured after their grey Skoda Karoq collided with a white Peugeot 208 on the eastbound A303 in a statement, Teddy's family said: "It's with a truly broken heart that I say our gorgeous boy gained his wings today." "He was truly the sweetest most loving little character that we were blessed to have," they added."Our hearts are shattered into pieces. Teddy Jason this isn't a goodbye just a see you later."Salisbury Police said the thoughts of those who attended the incident and the whole of Wiltshire Police are with Teddy's family at this time.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Toddler seriously injured in car crash dies
A one-year-old toddler who was seriously injured in a road accident has died. Four people - including two boys aged five and one - were injured after their grey Skoda Karoq collided with a white Peugeot 208 on the eastbound A303 in Amesbury on 28 March. The family of the toddler has now confirmed that he died in hospital from his injuries. The Peugeot was being driven by a woman in her 20s who suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries, as did the five-year-old boy. After colliding with the Skoda, the Peugeot then spun onto the westbound carriageway and crashed head-on with a silver Volvo V70 near the Bulford junction. The driver of the Volvo, a man in his 70s, suffered minor injuries. Wiltshire Police has asked anybody with relevant information about the crash, which happened at about 17:30 GMT, to get in touch. Toddler suffers life-threatening injuries in crash
