Expert answer

Hi Dympna,

Really nice car, the Soul and one that's often overlooked as every other car maker rushes out its own compact crossover. The cabin can feel a little cheap in places and it's a bit noisy compared to the likes of the Peugeot 2008, but other than that, it's a canny buy. Not only do you get Kia's excellent seven-year warranty, but you also get a chassis that was tuned by sports car legends Lotus. A good buy.

Hope that helps

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Hi Sarah,

Tricky one this. It's very, very hard to find an MPV of any size that can take lots of people and their cargo at the same time. 

I think you might be best going for either a Fiat Multipla or a Honda FR-V. Their two-rows-of-three seating allows you to seat six (albeit the front centre passenger had better be someone small and/or young) and they still have usefully big boots behind.

Otherwise, you need to go up a size and maybe even think about a compact minibus. A Mercedes-Benz Viano or Volkswagen Caravelle perhaps. There's also the option of a Chrysler Grand Voyager, which has a bit more room than the standard model, but I'd suggest you try it with a full load of people and wheelchair before buying, just to make sure you'll all fit.

Hope that helps

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Hi Darlene,

Realistically, you're going to have to go down the MPV route to get three seats across the back. There are few, if any, conventional saloons and hatchbacks around now that can accommodate three full-size child safety seats next to each other. 

The obvious choices are the three French MPVs: the Citroen C4 Picasso, Peugeot 5008 and Renault Scenic, all of which have three individually adjustable rear seats and all of which will easily swallow three car seats in the back. The seven-seat versions of each (the 5008 comes only as a seven seater) will also give you some extra seating flexibility for when you need it. Ditto for the Volkswagen Touran, but not for the Ford C-Max or Mazda5, both of which use a narrow central-rear 'jump seat' layout, which isn't wide enough for what you need.

You could also, if you're looking for something a little more affordable, go the van-derived car route and the Renault Kangoo, Citroen Berlingo, Fiat Doblo and Volkswagen Caddy will all swallow three side-by-side car seats.

But actually, the best two tips of all are the Toyota Corolla Verso (or latterly, just plain old Verso) and the Honda FR-V. The Toyota is a car we keep coming back to for recommendations here, as it's massively spacious, massively reliable and actually pretty nice to drive. There are also plenty of them around. That's sadly not the case with the Honda, but it's worth seeking one out if you fancy something a little more left-field and the six seats (in two rows of three) give you lots of options for loading people and/or luggage. Like the Toyota, the FR-V is hugely reliable and it's a bit more engaging to drive than its Japanese rival.

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Hi Emilie,

Well, there are other Almeras around of that age and mileage for that kind of price, so perhaps we're jumping to conclusions here. It's also not unknown for a car to have multiple owners. Apparently there's a Honda Civic out there somewhere currently on its 40th owner! 

Nevertheless, if your antennae are twitching, it's always a good idea to follow up your suspicions. Check the service record. Does the car seem to have been back to the garage a lot? Can you contact any of the previous owners or a garage where the car has been looked after?

If you're still concerned, get the AA to inspect the car. They'll find out pretty quickly if there's anything wrong with it.

Expert answer

Hi Paul,

Easy: Toyota Verso. Or, if you're looking for something bigger, the SEAT Alhambra. A Honda FR-V would also be spectacularly long-lived, but it's now becoming hard to find a good one.

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Hi Anthony,

Right, I've had a long, hard think about this. You've not specified which type of car you're particularly looking for, so if you're after a seven-seat MPV or some kind of 4x4; sorry, I haven't even considered that. 

Oddly, I've also discounted diesel as, at that price level, and with the likely age range, you're looking at older tech engines that didn't have as clear a consumption advantage over their petrol brethren.

You've said cheapest and then specified a price, which suggests to me you mean cheapest to run, which really means reliable and with low tax.

So my best recommendation to you is to track down a 2000-2001 Honda Civic 1.4. Built like a bank vault, spacious and good to drive, economical and the 1.4 capacity means you won't get taken to the cleaners every time you need a new tax disc. Plenty around and most will be within your price range.

What do you think?

Expert answer

Hi Jo,

Nope, apparently not. It seems to be a typical Honda - as reliable and solid as the day is long. Two things to look for: watch for excessive engine wear and tear from owners thrashing it hard to compensate for relatively slow performance (any blue smoke from the exhaust is a worrying sign) and keep an eye on the cabin trim as some of it's a bit cheap and fragile.

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Hi Tony,

Er, not very I'm afraid. Yes, underneath it's essentially an old Honda Civic, so those bits are pretty solid but the build quality coming out of Rover's now dead-and-gone old Longbridge factory was never especially good, and you need to be very wary of electrical issues, rain seals, poor quality cabin trim and rust creeping in, especially underneath. Plus, if it's the 1.4-litre petrol, that K-Series engine was always a lovely little powerplant to drive, but it had a plastic inlet manifold that can warp and there's also the all-too-common head gasket failure. Tread carefully!

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Hi Dan,

We're assuming that you mean the 'new' Civic that was launched that year - the space-age looking one? If so then the answer is very reliable.

The steering system can give issues and some owners have reported a problem where the steering warning light comes on and all power assistance is lost. Handbrakes can also be a bit fiddly and watch for stone chips or paint damage as rust can get in where the bare metal is uncovered.

Other than that they're a safe buy

Expert answer

Hi Jack,

The Toledo is too new for us to have any angle on its reliability but you'd have to say the prospects are good. SEATs in general are exceptionally robust (we have family experience of four that have been near faultless) and the new one is based on the latest, highest Volkswagen Group components, so we'd be surprised if it's anything over than very reliable. The only concern, we suppose, is that there are a lot of high-tech electronics on even the base model so the potential for issues there is higher than once it was. The same can be said of any modern car really.

As for the Yeti, again, Skodas tend to be very reliable indeed, usually right up at the top of customer satisfaction surveys with the likes of Toyota, Honda, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz. We have heard some isolated stories of issues with fuel pumps and power steering, but they appear to be just that: isolated.