Need a bigger car!

[trendkill555666]

We have got child number four on the way, so the wagon has to go.

We have looked around, territory has very little room in the rear (storage and leg room) but its a reliable and relatively cheap car.

Honda odyssey is a nice looking car and very comfortable but how reliable is the engine over 150000 Kms?

Kia carnival, same question as the Honda?

We are after a car for around $10000-$15000 to get us through the next couple of years before getting a newer/better car.

Should we suffer with the lack of space in e Terri or take a chance with the unknown? Does anyone have four kids in a Terri? Does anyone own an odyssey? And what are your thoughts?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[madwag]

Not sure what wagon you currently own, but is it worth getting a seat for the boot?

[trendkill555666]

Vy commie with 240000 Kms! It's a piece of.........well you get the point.

[madwag]

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/ford-falcon-2000-11806498?base=1216&vertical=Car&eapi=2&page=1&sort =~Odometer&cr=12&__N=1246%201247%201252%201282%204 294966463%204294966285%201216%204294680280&silo=St ock&Range=Price:Min,Max~0.5|Seats:6,Max

[Yellow_Festiva]

Do you also need luggage space? What about the smaller 7 seaters like that stretch Corolla looking thinggo (Avensis??) or the Hyundai Trajet?

There is a certain range of engines that were stuffed in the Carnival. If you steer clear of those dates they are pretty honest busses. There is also the 3.5 / 3.8 versions that have some decent pull but out of your price range perhaps.

[XR Martin]

I wouldnt touch the first Carnivals, latest ones arnt bad though.
Honda engines are great if they are serviced on time. Odyssey is fairly gutless when loaded.
Mitsu Grandis? Power is again a problem.

[Fiesta God]

Honda's are generally regarded as ultra reliable when well serviced. I see plenty of Civic's and Accords and CRV's with 250k+ km's on the clock on Carsales. The Odyssey is regarded as pretty much the best in its class for what it does.

[madwag]

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/ssangyong-stavic-2005-11946931?base=1216&vertical=Car&eapi=2&Page=2&sort =~Price&cr=29&__N=1246%201247%201252%201282%201216 &silo=Stock&Range=Price:Min,Max~0.5|Seats:7,Max|Mi leage:Min,150000|Year:2002,Max


hehe dont buy it

[madwag]

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/toyota-avensis-verso-2002-12325764?base=1216&vertical=Car&cr=0&eapi=2&__N=12 16%201246%201247%201252%201282%204294962861&silo=S tock&Range=Price:Min,10000~1|Seats:7,Max|Mileage:M in,150000|Year:2002,Max&sort=~Price

[WILDB]

Grand Carnivals are good vehicles, the engine is almost bulletproof if it gets serviced as per the schedule.

The earlier Rover 2.5L engined Carnivals are an absolute POS and had heaps of engine problems, steer well clear.

[El Venom]

The kia's are good if you buy one newer then an '07'. They have loads of room, very flexible seating and possibley too much power. the Hondas are also good but apparently you need to be looking at the 2nd gen models as the first gen wasnt as good. The problem you then have with both cars though is the pricing can be higher due to being later models.

Someone mentioned the toyota avensis. I was a salesman for a toyota dealership when they were new and while they are a decent car they are small and even new they were had to get as there wasnt alot of stock in the country so that could then drive up the price of a used one due to fact there arent as many around as say a tarago.

Tarago I personally wouldnt bother. They are very good cars but unless you get a v6 model which would cost more they are rather gutless and when compared to a Carnival, the tarago just ends up being to cramped.

Hyundia trajet is another opton mentioned but they are shocking, just as bad as the first kia's and they are a small car and very expensive for parts.

The terry's I just found to have no space in the rear once the 3rd row seats are up and I found that the 7 seater models attracked a higher price and was 4 kids I dont know if you could get the kids and all there stuff in if you went for a drive.

I know form when my wife and I were in the same situation with a similar budget we narrowed it down to a 4x4 or a wagon. You could find a decent 80 series land cruiser or nissan patrol/ford maverick and have some left over cash. There is also prados and pajeros as well but 4x4's come with high cost for parts. We ended up with a v6 pajero and while pajeros are normally great cars we had some bad luck with ours and have spent a further 8 grand on it on engine repairs.

I would recommend that for your budget go look for a series 3 AU or BA/BF wagon with the 3rd row seat. They are going to be cheaper to fix if you have any issues and from personal experience you end up was more floor space between the back of the 3rd row seats and the tail gate. ALso if you wents with a s3 au you can then go get some bonus accessories for the car if you wished to keep the kids entertained.

If you are set of a van then a '08' carnival or newer would be the pick of the bunch just because of the space you get and the standard gear you get that is a option of some of the others

[RedHotGT]

I've got 4 kids - and a 7-seat territory.

It's great, and for the handful of times you'll need luggage space it will serve you well.

One downside, though I think you will find this for any SUV or WAGON is that you've got no room for a pram - and only the smallest strollers will fit in the back.

We easily get 3 x child car seats across the middle, though my older two kids normally sit in the back row.

Long term - it should still work, because as the kids get older and bigger (as in teens) then the bigger kids will be in the middle row and the smaller in the back.

Luggage/Grocery capacity is always an issue, though you can still get a fair bit of stuff in the rear anyway... And remember if you've got small kids then you can use the room under their feet!

If I look to upgrade or go bigger - then I'm looking at a Pajero/Landcruiser/etc. Not a big fan of vans - though the only one i've ever driven was the Honda Odessey and that was pretty crisp.

As for holidays and road trips - get a 6x4 caged trailer - problem solved. I can get so much stuff into that and it leaves us plenty of room in the car.

Thats just my opinion - but with 4 kids under 7 - it works.

[jcxr]

Get a Prado. Toyota reliability, good resale, plenty of room, 7 seater.

[El Venom]

Prados, jackaroos, pajeros and even some patrols start to get tight inside especially if you need to fit a pram in them. I am not sure how old you kids are but we have a limo pram for our 2 youngest and you can only just fit it behind the 3rd seat and a pajero and then add in school bags and a nappy bag and there is very little room left

Also do your kids use car seats or boosters? You might find that in some 4x4s the anchor points for seats cause a problem if you need to use the 3rd row seats or they are in a spot that when the seat is fitted accessing the child is hard.

One other vehicle that might interest you is a Ssangyong stavic. They are a Mercedes with a butt ugly body fitted. They come with so much gear and they can be had cheap and have the bonus of mercedes engineering on all the major parts of the car.

Oh and it has the biggest boot I have seen in a vehicle of its size and thats with the 3rd row seat inplace. Only way to get more space in a van is to by a mini bus and remove the unwanted seats

[mik]

my cousin came over showing off a chyrsler grand voyager a while ago, electric opening and closing sliding door on the remote(a nice feature), lots of kit, did seem to have plenty of room, might be worth a look anyway,
found one on car sales.
http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/chrysler-grand-voyager-2004-12123659?base=1216&vertical=Car&eapi=2&Page=3&sort =~Price&cr=43&__N=1246%201247%201252%201282%204294 966897%204294966680%201216&silo=Stock&Range=Price: Min,Max~0.5|Seats:7,Max

[XR Martin]

Not sure why people are recommending stuff like a Pajero, Patrol, Prado etc when he has already dismissed the Territory due to lack of space.
With the seats up in any of those you wont have any more room than a Territory has.

Voyagers? Are you trying to make him broke, single and destitute?

[RedHotGT]

Wow - the Ssangyong Stavic really looks great (inside)! The space in the back is WAY bigger than my Territory, and the layout inside of 2 2 3 makes sense too!!

I could honestly see that working for my situation - but I don't know if I could ever look past the exterior looks...

Call me shallow hal, but jeez... they aren't pretty... not even close to being pretty...

[Nic85]

Have you thought about a Delica? Some of them are genuine 8 seaters, most are 7 seaters. 2.8L diesel (103kW / 314Nm) heaps of room and Mitsubishi reliability.

Just an example. This one is on LPG too.

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/d...cr=12&__N=1216

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by loftie

Wow - the Ssangyong Stavic really looks great (inside)! The space in the back is WAY bigger than my Territory, and the layout inside of 2 2 3 makes sense too!!

I could honestly see that working for my situation - but I don't know if I could ever look past the exterior looks...

Call me shallow hal, but jeez... they aren't pretty... not even close to being pretty...

I was close to suggesting the Stavic but didn't want a holiday from the forums....

In all honesty, the inside can be measured in acres. Google images shows them with a 4th row and it still doesn't look cramped!

Think of the bonuses... low purchase price, merc hardware where it counts, it will never get stolen and probably costs bugger all to insure.

Ummmm... didn't know that they also had a 2.7 turbo diesel model with high and low range 4x4, can tow almost 3 tons and gets 8L per 100 on the freeway......

http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de...ce:Min,Max~0.5

If I were looking for a cheap people mover based on bang for your buck that would be it.

[Uncle Niceguy]

man that stavic looks the goods if you can get past the looks

[trendkill555666]

Kids are 12, 7, 2 and not yet born.
Might make do with a territory and a tailor, but we have got a couple of months of looking yet.
I have driven a territory but haven't driven the others, so I was after some advise from people who were crazy enough to have more than three kids.
Thanks guys, I'll have a look around for a stavic.
If i bought a Chrysler my dad probably would never talk to me again, haha.

[350125GO]

Bang for buck people mover?

ding ding ding we have a winner!

[Franco Cozzo]

If taking out a second mortgage for fuel usage appeals for you:

http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de...1998-11793464?

Sufficiently big

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by 350125GO

Bang for buck people mover?

ding ding ding we have a winner!

Oh man thats something out of left field!

10 seater! Would have liked to see some pics of the setup in the rear section.

[XR Martin]

Kids will love the Stavic until they hit High School. Then they'll never want a lift anywhere

[XR Martin]

What about a 6 seater AU wagon?

http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de...6&sort=default

http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de...6&sort=default

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/d...6&sort=default

[Crazy Dazz]

We had an Odyssey and it was a brilliant car. Ours copped a hammering and never missed a beat.
The big Carnivals are decent, but at the time we bought ours we got a really good deal on the Honda, and it was barely more expensive than the Kia.

[4.0i OHC]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

What about a 6 seater AU wagon?

http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de...6&sort=default

http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de...6&sort=default

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/d...6&sort=default

This would be my pick.

[fpv51]

have a look at a captiva heaps of room 7 seater not bad on fuel.

ill be lost with out mine lol.

[mik]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Not sure why people are recommending stuff like a Pajero, Patrol, Prado etc when he has already dismissed the Territory due to lack of space.
With the seats up in any of those you wont have any more room than a Territory has.

Voyagers? Are you trying to make him broke, single and destitute?

my cousin has one, he`s got a couple of youngens and a teenager in wheel chair, it`s no power house but he reckons it does the job, and it is well equipped.