What Car? Personal Shopper: spacious family car for £30,000
Want a new car but don't know where to start? Just send us your criteria and we'll give our new and used car choices, and tell you how much we can save you...
Buying new
- Our recommended choice: Skoda Superb Estate 1.5 TSI SE L Executive DSG
- List price: £29,555
- Target Price: £26,970
If you want a car that's spacious, comfortable and affordable to buy and run, step right up to the driver's door of the Skoda Superb Estate. This is our Estate Car of the Year for 2019 – a feat won thanks mainly to its tremendous space. When its rear seats aren't in use, it could almost double as a light aircraft hangar.
We give the Superb five stars for rear seat space, so both your parents can settle down comfortably back there, even when you're also carrying a child car seat. The turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol engine we recommend should prove to be both punchy and economical, while Skoda's dual-clutch automatic gearbox can take some of the stress out of stop-start traffic.
Normally, we recommend going for SE trim, but your budget allows you to step up to SE L, which piles on luxuries including an upgraded 8.0in infotainment touchscreen, heated leather seats and a powered tailgate.
This version of the Superb Estate would normally be close to your £30,000 budget, but What Car? New Car Buying can lower that price substantially, with our latest Target Price discounts taking it down to a more palatable £26,970.
Find a great Skoda Superb Estate deal or read our full review
- Also consider: Skoda Karoq 1.5 TSI SE DSG
- List price: £24,590
- Target Price: £23,640
Skoda's replacement for the Yeti combines superb practicality with a comfortable ride, plus it's available with luxurious features such as a digital instrument display and gesture control for the infotainment. The turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol engine you get here has enough power for long motorway journeys, even when the car is fully loaded, while SE trim is our recommended choice.
Find a great Skoda Karoq deal or read our full review
- Also consider: BMW 3 Series Touring 318i Sport Step auto
- List price: £31,190
- Target Price: £28,076
BMW's 3 Series Touring has been one of our favourite estates for many years and remains highly recommendable, even though it's about to be replaced. Its handling is particularly impressive and its iDrive infotainment system continues to set the standard in this class.
