The trusty legnum is no longer cutting it as we can't fit three car seats across the back. We've started looking around and like the two models Grand Scenic and Touran as they have 3 full seats in the middle so can get all 3 kids in that row and put the back seats down for heaps of room when going away or can fit in extras as needed. Budget is around $7000 and there's a few tidy vehicles around. Just worried about the availability of euro parts for these and if either model has known quirks or issues. Any feedback especially comparing the two would be great, thanks!
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 19, 4:17am
Touran, every time. VW parts are very well priced and easy to get hold of in NZ, much easier than Renault. The Touran is just a VW Golf underneat (as are lots of Audi/VW/Skoda's) so you have a car built on what is by far and away the most popular platform in the world.
The only catch with the VW, like any car of the age is you need to also budget a sensible figure for bringing all maintenance up to date. You would also be very wise to keep it that way. They are a very reliable ultra economical vehicle, so long as you just follow the manufacturers instructions.
Key things are, make sure you do the timing belt/water pump/tensioners on purchase, they expire on age (5 years max) long before km's and everyone conveniently "forgets" to tell you that when they sell them. Thransmission must be serviced every 60K so count on that being due as well. Also new coolant, and brakefluid. This all comes to around $1500 if you go to a good third party VW specialist, budget on more if one isn't available.
When looking at Tourans a key indicator as to whether they have been serviced properly is whether they are running the correct VW coolant which is ESSENTIAL. It's a meths pink/purple colour. If it has green coolant in it, it's been serviced by an untrained monkey and you don't want it.
Other than that, just make sure you run it on high octane fuel, ideally BP Ultimate 98 but whatever is the highest you can get. NEVER run it on E10 Biofuel muck (Like Gull's E10) it's not compatible and will ruin the engine (IMO).
Hope that helps.
tamarillo,
Apr 19, 4:18am
Agreed with jazz. Renault has appeal but I'd buy the vw every time.
annam08,
Apr 19, 5:10am
Thanks very much! Appreciate the feedback.
franc123,
Apr 19, 5:13am
Bugger those, the trusty Toyota Estima is where its at. No cambelts, no special pricey Europotions needed for cooling, trans or brakes, its all universal stuff and largely Camry based, parts readily available, anyone anywhere can work on them, no allergies to local fuel high octane or otherwise (91 is fine), not dear to buy and resale is no problem. Downsides? None really, perhaps not as fuel efficient but who cares, fuels only one cost of vehicle ownership and able to be easily budgeted for.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 19, 6:24am
You are most welcome annam, If you would like I can give you a fairly detailed buyers guide as to what to look for and how to go about maintenance, parts etc.
Just give us a yell if you are going to seriously start looking for one and I will write something up for you. I also don't mind if you want to post a few links to potential cars for an opinion.
These are a fantastic vehicle, nothing else came close to them in their day, and even now most other manufacturers are only just catching up to where VW was with the Golf/Touran over 10 years ago.
We have had over a dozen MK5 Golf platform cars in the family, and all have been a picture of reliability and very nice to work on.
msigg,
Apr 19, 6:44am
Make sure anything you buy you get it checked out by a competent mechanic, When these thing go wrong it will cost you big bucks. Do the Big service of all items, $1500 should see you right. Happy motoring.
mugenb20b,
Apr 19, 9:06am
I'd go for a Honda Odyssey. VW Tourans are just too small and unreliable, Renault parts are hard to obtain.
tamarillo,
Apr 19, 9:35am
Thing is Op asked for opinions between two cars, not which people mover to buy on market.
annam08,
Apr 19, 9:52am
Thanks tamarillo, yes we've looked at heaps including the odyssey and the estima, which are great cars but don't offer the features we are after for our family - in particular those 3 seats in the middle as said in my first post. Really appreciate your offer thejazzpianoma! We're in Palmy and there's not a lot here in our first quick look. Just waiting to get a few other things sorted, so will bump this post if/when our search gets serious. Cheers!
mugenb20b,
Apr 19, 8:05pm
What's the attraction of having three car seats in a row? All the kids will end up doing is fight.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 19, 9:24pm
I am all for suggesting an alternative if there is advantage to be had, but I have to disagree with you on this.
A properly maintained Touran 2.0 is exceptionally reliable, at least as much so as the Honda. It's also better on fuel, and far less bulky to live with.
Touran's are not "too small" for what the OP is wanting to do. They achieve what they are supposed to achieve, small easy to live with exterior while still having plenty of room inside. It's done with clever design, and making better use of the vehicles footprint.
The OP is completely right, the Japanese have an obsession with trying to make their vehicles too skinny and combine this with poor use of the vehicles footprint. This makes for a terrible compromise when it comes to people movers. Usable width is what you want, it makes for a far nicer vehicle to live with.
Just as the OP has figured out, if you put the three kids in the rear seat you have an enormous space for camping gear or what have you with the Touran. You also still have the extra seats for picking up their freinds etc. All this in a super compact, fuel efficient little vehicle that is as supurb on the open road as it is around town. It's a fantastic choice.
mugenb20b,
Apr 19, 10:12pm
The '06 Odyssey is wider than the Touran and is based on an Accord floorpan, so it's not a huge van like vehicle. Its 2.4 litre engine may use a bit more fuel but is far more advanced than the VW's unit. Odyssey is nicer to drive, doesn't look like a brick and with regular servicing, I can see it outlasting the VW. The only thing the Touran has in its favour is perhaps its galvanized body.
Don't get me wrong, I like the Tourans but they scare me should they start giving problems, especially with transmissions.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 19, 10:50pm
I think you missed the point I was making. The Honda may be physically wider externally but it doesn't translate in to efficient usable space inside (hence no proper second row seat as the OP has pointed out). It's just like when they tried to copy the Multipla with the Edix, they completely ruined the practicality of the Multipla layout because they put exterior "styling" ahead of practicality.
I also can't think of how the Odyssey engine is "more advanced" than VW's brilliant FSI 2.0, which was about as advanced as engines got in the segment at the time, and for a considerable time afterwards. I would genuinely be keen to hear your thoughts on this as there may be something I am missing.
I think you need to actually stop and consider the mechanics of the situation. As human beings we are wired to get "scared" of anything that is a bit different, especially if it's not accepted by our peers. The 2.0 FSI is a brilliantly reliable engine, easily the most reliable direct injected engine of it's time and the wet clutch DSG is also about as reliable as 6 speed auto transmissions come. They are also far easier to service and in the extremely unlikely event of a problem almost always easier/cheaper to diagnose and repair.
As mentioned we have had over a dozen of those transmissions in the family, all completely fault free, this includes our ones attached to the high output 2.0 Turbo and 185KW VR6.
I respect your opinion muganb20b but I suspect in this instance you are more reacting to "the fear of the unknown" and trying to somehow justify your "gut feeling" on the matter.
msigg,
Apr 20, 1:11am
Yea mugenb20b I hear you on that, plenty of documented cases there. I would not want that worry too.
mugenb20b,
Apr 20, 1:16am
It's not the fear of the unknown, but there's too many cars I see that have transmission failures relatively early in their lives which are associated with VAG, nothing to do with gut feeling. I simply don't have the confidence to suggest someone to buy one. As for Honda engines being more advanced / reliable, well, let's just say they have less plastic bits bolted to them. and they are V-Tec ;)
cagivachick1,
Apr 20, 2:19am
after the issues we had at work with a Toerag i wouldnt have a VW for free which was nearly what it was sold for, unreliable wasnt the word for it, even the local VW dealer couldnt fix it
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 20, 4:13am
I give up, mob mentality wins over lots of direct personal experience with the vehicle in question once again. Best of luck OP.
henderson_guy,
Apr 20, 4:24am
Sounds like the poster above you had some direct personal experience too jazz.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 20, 5:50am
With a completely different vehicle. The ultra high end luxury SUV that is the Touareg has pretty much nothing in common with the Golf based Touran.
And that's before we even get in to what went wrong and why, what's the bet the Touareg wan't maintained properly or was abused, as most are in this country? Let alone what their expectations were or who looked after it. All this from a suspiciously brand new poster. That and it was a sample of one, not 12 or more vehicles on the same platform as we have had.
These threads are all the same, as soon as someone mentions buying something not Asian every and all horror story people can think of gets dragged out of the woodwork.
This is a big part of why I am not so often bothered with this place anymore. By all means disagree, but have a sensible factually based argument.
The utter stupidity of this place is beyond comprehension. I shouldn't even have to rebut such an absurd argument as this, people should have the brains to think through at least the most basic of concepts on their own without letting pre conceived biases run away with them.
I would absolutely hate to be someone not car savy trying to ask for advice on here.
msigg,
Apr 20, 6:42am
Yes some of what jazz is saying is correct, I might add that the line where he said "pre conceived biases run away with them" is not far from the truth, to this certain poster anyway.
meow_mix,
Mar 4, 4:58pm
Now that touched a nerve, didn't it Jazz? I remember Bigfatmat1 was saying something similar a few months ago, like $2,000 to fix the Touareg's electric windows, and other expensive problems. Now the Touran may be a world apart from the Touareg except for the name of course, but I personally couldn't recommend either especially at 10 years old.
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