I can only now fully appreciate the sheer space provided by Kia’s new mini MPV, the Venga, after watching it being driven away and me getting into our next test car (it’s a tough life). Lovely though the new one is, it felt rather dark and claustrophobic inside in comparison to the high ceiling of the Kia with its amazing panoramic roof and enough head room for a gorilla – or indeed my husband!

Watching Doctor Who with the kids, I saw the similarities to his faithful Tardis. Rather innocent but intriguing on the outside, and surprisingly spacious on the inside with delightful nooks and crannies, sliding seats, hidden compartments and space, space, space! Has the Tardis got sliding seats? Oh well…

It’s not a luxurious car like its also-recently-launched big brother the Sorento (video review coming soon), but has many redeeming features. One of the models (the diesel, the one on test here) proudly displays the Ecodynamics badge which it has earned through its low fuel consumption (over 62 mpg on a combine cycle) with CO2 emissions of only 117g/km. This model doesn’t come cheap however, but the gains over the course of its life would soon add up. This, together with the seven year warranty offered by Kia do make it a very attractive proposition.

But what I might be inclined to do is to wait a bit until a few second hand ones come on the market, so that I could take advantage of Kia’s used car programme. This tops the depleted warranty back up to seven years if the car is less that 18 months old or with less that 18,000 miles on the clock. Then a Kia Venga would really be excellent value. Or you could take the view that this makes buying a new one less of a risk because you wouldn’t have much trouble selling it after 18,000 miles?

Either way Kia seem hell-bent on taking the worry out of buying a new car, and with products coming along so much better than their predecessors they’re starting to appeal to our hearts as well.

It had spent most of its life in the garage, had very low milage, was always spotlessly clean both inside and out and was serviced with alarming regularity. It came at a great time, just when John’s car, which he used every day, came to a standstill.

Now the poor thing has to cope with all weathers, its mileage has doubled within a year, it’s filthy outside and the inside is a health hazard, but worst of all I have to drive it. The cars of today are just such a joy to drive (with the odd exception), whereas this is just awkward by comparison.

Even my mum commented that it must be a shock having to drive it. I protested with rather too much vigour – she saw right through my white lie. I always feel as if I’m driving with my bum inches from the ground and while I’m fighting with gravity and increasing my sessions at the gym I’m only just winning…

The seats are hard to adjust, the steering is heavy, it looks old-fashioned and I just don’t want to drive it any more, unlike Vauxhall’s latest Corsa which feels light-years away from ours. I had the chance to whizz around in a new Corsa 1.3 CDTI Ecoflex, a car my father would really appreciate for its incredible economy (85.6 mpg on an urban fuel cycle and CO2 emissions a mere 105g/km), let alone its looks. And as for the drive…nippy, powerful, responsive and so easy to manoeuvre – unlike the muscle-building qualities of my father’s pride and joy! How our expectations change!

We live in London in a resident’s parking area, and now we have to buy a parking permit for the old Corsa as John seems to be at home with alarming regularity and is using up all the guest passes (he’s previously worked up north and based the car there). Can’t blame him for wanting to feel that he and the car belong, rather than being a guest who occasionally comes to stay but it’s galling to have to spend money on the thing!

Change is good, but it does depend on what you’re changing…

What a day full of surprises. Firstly my childen actually behave despite my usual manic behaviour when a trip is imminent. Secondly, I actually arrive on time to the launch of Peugeot’s new 3008, which isn’t a MPV, SUV or a hatch, but seems to have all their good qualities, such as space without being a tank, rugged looks without being offensive and yet still drives like a Peugeot should. This, I’m reliably informed is a ‘crossover’, which I thought was something else entirely…

But the surprises didn’t end there. I was determined not to get carried away with this Peugeot, as I feel I’m too easily seduced by their gorgeous looks. But I needn’t have worried. At first I thought maybe the French had lost their ‘je ne sais quoi’, especially as the last Peugeot we drove was the elegant 308CC. But as every plain Jane knows, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

Stepping into their top level trim ‘Exclusive’ HDi 150 with an amazing panoramic sunroof, luxuriating in the feel of the leather and enjoying the power of the 2-litre diesel engine, I had to admit that this car was quite something. And over the course of the day, the exterior grew on me too. Bit of plain Jane bonding going on there.

While I didn’t get to experience the car’s impressive-sounding grip control, its pulling-power was very entertainingly demonstrated using the strength of the car to launch a glider. While you wouldn’t necessarily need this particular attribute in your day-to-day life, it just shows how great this car would be at towing a caravan or a trailer full of quad bikes.

But what really sold this car to me was the ‘grip control’ giving you a helping hand in snow, sand, mud or wet grass where the car has the ability to apply torque to a single wheel that needs the grip, and limit it to those that don’t. Here is a 2-wheel-drive that has the ability to get you out of difficulties that, lets face it, we only encounter once in a while and without the added cost, weight and fuel consumption of a 4×4. Love it!

And just when I’d grown accustomed to its glide-like ride, ease of drive, power and comfort I had to glide for real. No car sickness in the 3008 with its dynamic roll control, but my did I feel slightly green around the gills after being flung 2000 feet above the earth……until, I was enveloped by peace, calm and sheer joy at the spectacle of the landscape gently moving past and the most amazing views of the world below.

After feeling so calm and inspired by the gliding experience, I was quite unprepared for the final surprise of the day. A huge Scalextric set and a very serious organiser who had us competing against one another. Needless to say, I was as resourceful as ever and came second. And the prize? Sadly not a lovely new 3008 to drive home, but instead a Peugeot 908 HDi FAP Scalextric car! Now how do I get that past the kids without a fight breaking out?

While I do drive a rather large car, it’s too big and cumbersome to be looked upon as fashionable and chic. More like a white elephant that we will have to endure until it falls apart at the seams.

I could quite happily see myself in Peugeot’s rather magnificent 4007 which would make me feel rather at home with all the yummy mummys in their large, expensive vehicles. We have quite a few where we live which is a very pleasant, normal area. But come the weekend it becomes transformed into yummy parent land. The weekly farmers market seems to bring them out in droves.

Goodness knows where they actually live as you never see them wandering the streets during the week, or walking their little darlings to school. They’re all off in their enormous gas guzzling cars polluting the air and blocking the roads on their way to the private schools.

I feel our local school is a rather well kept secret. It might be a huge ugly Victorian building and normally receives a dreadful Ofsted report, but the kids love it as much as the parents that send them there. I was in our local Starbucks not long ago and overheard a conversation between the staff. Apparently they like to do things for our local school as they perceive it to be poor and deprived. Nearly choked on my latte. On the other hand let them think that – all the more resources for us, and I can do a good poor and deprived!

Anyway, after grabbing my coffee I jumped into the car to do some household shopping, only to be faced by a yummy daddy – obviously had the day off work or ‘in between’ jobs – blocking the exit to our road with his huge, black 4×4, door open, drinking his coffee and chatting on the phone.

He completely ignored me and carried on chatting. I had an irrisistable urge to peep my horn very loudly in the hope that he would jump and spill his coffee all down his nicely pressed Jermyn Street shirt. However, my mother brought me up to say ‘excuse me’ politely, which is what I did. It went unheard and I sat there patiently until he was ready to move on. I’ll never change, and by the looks of things nor will he.

Now maybe if I had been in a 4007 with its bold, delicious looks bejeweled with chrome he might have taken notice. But there again maybe it just doesn’t produce enough CO2 to compete….

Mondeo’s don’t have a good image in my mind. I can only think of hire cars, salesmen and middle-aged, overweight, smoking, businessmen who look generally disappointed with life. And also an old boyfriend who I would have done anything for until he revealed his lack of driving abilities – in a Mondeo. I never saw him in the same way again!

While I’m quite a bossy mare and know what I want, I do sometimes like my men to take control, especially at the wheel. Knowing where they’re going, driving with purpose and certainty (not that women aren’t just as capable!). Either way I don’t expect to have to give a mini driving lesson to help them get their confidence back. All was lost that day, never to be regained. Funny how a small incident can alter your perception of people and things, with respect being very easy to loose but very hard to regain…

However, while it’s never been the same with said boyfriend and cars (now husband and cars), today’s image of the Mondeo has won me over after all these years.

Perhaps it’s the great drive, the space and the great look of this car that’s done it? The fact that it has an all-new optimised engine giving great mileage and low emissions is icing on the cake.

In my eyes the 2009 Mondeo ECOnetic has a near-ideal blend of looks, performance and driveability. We had the delights of an estate to sample and while sleek and gorgeous on the outside, the interior revealed a boot I could happily move into, and comfort levels far exceeding my sitting room. It was quiet too, unlike my sitting room.

It felt elegant, looked gorgeous and I could happily have driven away in it. To me this is a great family car, being able to accommodate adults, kids and oodles of baggage. A great one for turning up at the school gates (were I that sort of parent who sent their kids to a school where it mattered).

It wouldn’t be out of place in any setting, town or country. And as for husband being allowed to use it for his work car – well, from thinking it would be far too good for him, I’ve realised that’s the whole point: if you’re driving day in, day out and need to carry loads of kit, there can’t be many better places to be.

Big Bold and Beautiful

I do love Land Rover Discoverys – big and powerful, exuding style and money. We followed closely behind one after going to the dump – a favourite pastime of mine, not just because I love the fact it’s so organised and clean, but just that feeling of getting rid of stuff which will be used again, albeit in a different form…

I had several bags of garden rubbish, most of which were grass cuttings. Still didn’t seem a great deal to show for four hours of hard work and a lot of swearing.

Now a Discovery would be an ideal vehicle to transport such messy bags if it weren’t for the fact that if I owned one I wouldn’t want it to get dirty – hardly the point I know. My Peugeot 807, however, did the job admirably and it’s hard to notice any additional grime!

But the Discovery’s purpose in life is not just to look pretty and a friend’s smelly green one of indeterminate age reminded me of that.

They bought it to replace their city car as they exchanged their life in the big smoke for one in the big mist, in the middle of nowhere. Trees replaced tower blocks, wellies replaced high heels and leather-soled city shoes and suddenly they seemed to have animals in the corner of every room. What a transformation in such a short period of time. I think they felt that if they were going to leave London, they should do it thoroughly, leaving little room for return.

Their Discovery has now been replaced with something more compact, but the wellies and the zoo remain, as do they in the depths of the country, content and rather civilised. Not sure what happened to the old Discovery – perhaps it passed on to some other couple, helping them with their rural immersion therapy?

But the Discoverys of today, at least the ones that seem to dominate our city roads, must surely be more for show as they and their occupants lord it over the little people in their green, city cars?

However I still lust after one but might be tempted by the Freelander 2 with its less intimidating size and fabulous stop/start mechanism (the world’s first SUV with this system) making it Land Rover’s most fuel-efficient vehicle so far. Perhaps I wouldn’t feel so guilty driving off in one if I do ever manage to move to the country.

Sadly at my stage in life with kids still very much in tow, an MPV is the best car for the job, i.e. transporting the little darlings and their friends about and filling the car up with far too much luggage and essential toys for those painful holidays. Frankly I’d much rather stay at home.

So for now I feel stuck with this mode of transport, never having considered what a burden it would become. I wonder whether those yummy mummies and their lovely 4×4 yummy mummy cars get sick of their chosen vehicle. I doubt it, possibly because they change it every year.

I always feel that I reflect the type of car I’m driving – internally at least – and I feel I become what I drive…

That’s to say, harassed mother, constantly shopping in order to keep the fridge full of food for hungry teenagers (a losing battle) sensible clothes and shoes so that I’m comfortable when I’m driving as well as being able to transport said shopping without breaking a leg.

Always in a rush as I’ve never learnt to time-manage despite husband giving me lessons. I just don’t think he gets what home life and childcare is all about and tries to deal with me as he would an annoying, slightly useless colleague. I told him a little tale the other day I thought quite amusing, but all he did was repeat it back to me in a more succinct way so that next time I wouldn’t drivel on and waste his precious time!

I like to think I’m part of a group of mums in the same boat, but when I look around, I feel somewhat isolated:

From the earth mother who is so patient with her kids, always looks smart and floats along, to my friend down the road who gets out of her very sensible car and then sashays down the road looking gorgeous and unflustered. She was a model in her former life and my does it show.

Another bounces along despite what life has thrown at her and of course then there’s the rock chick who always looks as if she’s just got out of bed, but still manages to exude femininity and style despite shoving her kids in her MPV before whisking them off to some private school in a posh part of London.

The moral of this tale? If you have to drive an MPV, choose one that’s practical but more importantly stylish. The Citroen C3 Picasso fits the bill perfectly I think. Then you can drive your vehicle with your head held high, exuding confidence and calm, knowing you look good on the outside even if on the inside you’re a total mess.

I had a very draining experience down on Brighton’s seafront at a Mini gathering.

Why I allowed my family to be battered all day by wind and rain I’m not sure, but it was sold to me as a great day out. And I suppose it was, helped tremendously by bacon butties, copious amounts of coffee and biscuits, burgers and chips, all topped off with a stick of rock. Felt disgusting by the end of this feast and then had to contend with very active kids on the way home.There’s always a price. However, my daughter did me proud as I used her as a prop once more to bolster my confidence. It’s normally with the in-laws, but it just shows how versatile they can be. I had to hand out leaflets, one for a mini product and the other for my own project of which I am so obsessed I fear that soon all my family and friends will leave me. My daughter is cute (what six year old isn’t?) and so greatly helped the cause…

There were many sights to behold once the rain had stopped – and not just the cars! I do love Minis and think back with great affection to a hand-painted yellow one, jointly owned with distant boyfriend. He got custody when we inevitably went our separate ways.

Then there was the lovely metallic blue one owned with husband, pre-marriage, pre-children, when all we had to worry about was our lovely black cat Polly, sadly deceased, who refused to travel in her basket and would sit draped around my shoulders whenever we travelled. She was spoilt and vicious.

I learnt a lot from her and vowed never to spoil my kids – however they’re vicious too, so something’s gone wrong. I still want a Mini and husband constantly promises, but it’s all wearing rather thin these days along with my looks. I know the Mini has benefitted from many facelifts, redesigns, upgrades, improved technology and indeed a complete transplant a few years ago, but the essential looks and character remain: It just seems to get better with ag

When I’m 50 (not too many years to go sadly) I’ll need so much plastic surgery to look good that I’d be unrecognisable, whereas the Mini still looks like a Mini. I’ve always consoled myself that with age would come more money with which I could make the most of myself with fabulous clothes and weekly facials. I hadn’t factored in the sheer cost of raising three kid

While I do manage to give my legs a shave now and then, I still shop at Gap and M&S and find designer stores intimidating. Unlike me, the Mini is celebrating its five decades looking better than ever. For me, elegance with age is a distant dream, rather like my hopes of a Mini. I shall have to content myself with being extremely wise instead…

The day had started badly.

I lay in bed on the Sunday before Christmas and casually checked my diary only to see “job – Dunsfold” written in red. You’ve never seen me move so fast. As it turned out, I had enough time to get from London to Surrey. But it was unsettling that the pre-Christmas wind-down had gripped me so firmly that I’d completely forgotten about the commission. Either that or it’s old age.

There were five generations of a very important family (important to me at least, being one of my clients) expecting to see me, so I was immensely relieved to be on the road. The weather was beautiful; clear blue skies and sub-zero temperatures. There was a sharp frost in London which gave way to snow covered fields.

The previous couple of days had been carnage on the roads due to the weather, but today it was clear. Nearly there. I came off the A3 into Godalming, only to hear a modest little rattle from the engine, which I could also feel through the steering wheel. I turned down the radio for a better listen. I could only hear it between 1,500 and 2,000 rpm so I confidently concluded that part of the exhaust had come loose. I knew there were some bits rattling around in the catalytic converter anyway, and assumed it had finally given up the ghost. Nothing that would stop me in my last three miles anyway.

Then a lovely French lady started talking to me. It’s a French car after all. “Warning, oil level low” she explained. That had happened before I remembered. Diesels can burn a bit of oil, and I hadn’t checked for a while. Then she piped up again: “warning, oil pressure low, stop immediately”. Mmm. This was altogether more serious, and the picture quickly snapped into focus. I was loosing oil.

The noise had been the first clue, the oil level warning the second and the pressure warning the third. My only consolation was that my French lady friend had taken her time explaining all this. I figured if the oil had come out in one explosive discharge she would have been nagging me earlie

Fully aware that engines don’t last long without oil (minutes normally) but also aware that I just had to get to my job, I coasted as far as I could. I was prepared to sacrifice the car, but in fact just managed to get to the venue in one piece. So there I was, in the middle of the Surrey countryside at the end of a completely frozen single-track road on the busiest breakdown weekend of the year.

I called the AA with trepidation. The last time I called the AA my car had exploded. They sent a man in a van to have a look first (three hours) and the Relay truck which I knew I needed all along took a further two hours. Exasperating to say the least. So I explained patiently to the surprisingly calm lady on the phone at AA Central Reservations that I had no oil and the car wouldn’t run and we were all doomed. She assured me there would be someone with me within three hours and to stay near my phone. I expected the worse. But no. Less than two hours after my call I received a text telling me the Relay truck was five minutes away. I still didn’t believe it, but sure enough, like the cavalry arriving in the nick of time, Geoff arrived with his brand new yellow Renault flatbe

It took five minutes to load the Laguna and off we went. “It’s tricky when there’s ice like this”, Geoff said as he gingerly navigated through the lethal, un-gritted lanes, “once she starts sliding she tends to keep on going”. Righty-o then. I kept quiet, thinking that Geoff might not appreciate interruptions. M25? Empty. North Circular? Empty. We dropped my unlubricated Laguna at the Garage and Geoff then dropped me back to my door with a smile. He was genuinely reluctant to take a few quid from me, although I insisted. It was Christmas after all, and he’d just restored my faith in pretty much everything. Especially the rescue services – it all just worked, and the whole system must have been under some stress that weekend.

Never again will I complain about the cost of membership, which now looks like the best Christmas present you could have.

This review first published September 2008

The Look

I’ve been told (by Paul mainly) that this is a beautiful car because of its proportions, beautiful lines and flowing curves. I can’t see it myself. It does look smart and the look has grown on me especially since I enjoyed driving it so much, but when I first saw one of these cars I thought they were just plain ugly.

The Grand Espace is larger that your average Espace in the boot area which is great when one is incapable of judging just how much stuff is really needed for a weekend away. I chose to remove one of the back seats to allow for the luggage for me, three kids and two cats. This was amazingly easy to do even when being photographed by a man who was quite clearly not going to offer to help even when he had finished snapping.

The seats in our Peugeot 807 are impossible for me to budge and even my giant of a husband struggles. Perhaps that is why the photographer didn’t offer to help – afraid of being ridiculed. But this was an important aspect of the car for me, actually being able to swap things around for myself rather than having to rely upon someone stronger, and often having to make do.

We also had a great colour which did enhance the look. I didn’t really notice that this was a longer vehicle than the average Espace as it didn’t feel particularly large.

I see this car as big with style, being smooth and sleek. I would miss my sliding doors as I do feel they are a must with kids who are not yet sensible enough to open doors slowly and gently for fear of damaging other vehicles. I also felt that with the passenger doors, there wasn’t a great deal of room for the children to easily get in and out, especially when child seats take up so much room.

There is an enormous tow bar at the rear of the car. I found this got in my way as I tried to fill the boot with shopping etc. I also wonder how this interferes with the sensor system – presumable it takes the tow bar into account when you are trying to get into a tight space. Let’s hope so. I didn’t want to put it to the test.

Interior

While this is a special limited edition Espace, it is not a superior model and has cloth seats whereas I feel that leather is the only way to go especially with children around. However, the seats had a good look and were exceptionally comfortable. After a long and painful journey up the MI on a wet Friday night, my back and legs were not aching at all which was a first for me for a long time. The seats feel very supportive and were easy to adjust which is a must when couples are at extreme ends of the spectrum! I found the seats firm and at the right level of comfort so that I was relaxed as I drove but also alert.

The dashboard is very plain and sturdy. There is nothing flash about it but I loved the solid feel and the way the endless cubby holes opened and closed. The steering wheel has a great feel to it and I like the slight indentations which the thumbs find as the wheel is turned. The controls feel good and there is nothing tacky and cheap about them. I especially loved the remote control for the volume to the CD and radio. So effortless to turn up the volume to drown out the sounds of kids at the back. The climate control is easy to use without having to take your eyes off the road. The master one is in the door on the driver’s side, but the passenger also has there own independent control.

Special features

I was slightly unnerved by the apparently lack of need to apply the hand brake. It’s all automatic once the car has stopped and it automatically goes off when the car pulls away. ~I was very concerned about how I would tackle hill starts without a hand brake and even went to test it out on one of the hills Rolls Royce allegedly tested their cars on in Derbyshire. It just didn’t feel right and realised that I must have got my facts wrong. Sure enough the handbook revealed the hand brake to the right of the steering wheel which automatically goes off when you pull away. From then on, my hill starts were perfect apart from the fact that I continued to stall the car at the most inopportune moments. Not the fault of the car, as no one else had this trouble.

This car has a marvellous credit card style key that unlocks the car without leaving your pocket or handbag. It also disables the car once you walk away from it and the doors lock automatically. Fantastic. However, this knowledge was rather late in revealing itself to the point where we couldn’t understand why Renault had gone for this type of ‘key’. We were getting it out of our bags and pressing the open sign and then plugging it in to the little slot before pressing the lovely starter button. It just shows how important it is to read the manual! The fantastic thing about this method of opening the car is that its hands free and immediate. No fiddling about while trying to keep hold of a wriggling child or bags of shopping.

I do love these starter buttons. The engine didn’t roar into life as with the Honda Civic Type S, but it did gently purr to life. The engine is then switched off with a press of the same button. Lovely.

The headlights remain on for two minutes after you have left the vehicle so that you are not plunged into darkness. Another great feature.

This limited edition is called the Grand Espace Tech Run. It is basically an entertainment centre on wheels, with a DVD DivX  player with two 7” screens which are integrated into the headrests, CD, radio, as well as multi-functional TunePoint to enable you to plug in MP3 players such as iPods. But no usable coffee cup holder which I think is more essential.

The Drive

I really enjoyed my first experience of driving this car once I’d got used to the feel of a gear stick again. It was easy to adjust the arm rest so that my arm could relax and change gear effortlessly.

I found it a very responsive car and didn’t feel as if I was driving an extra long vehicle. Perhaps this is because I am used to a Peugeot 807. It is so much more responsive that my diesel automatic and performed really well on the motorway. We were both put through our paces within minutes of starting the engine as my lift to the Renault depot was late for his flying lesson. I had to follow at speed first through country roads and then a very busy M40 and M25. I couldn’t complain as it was my fault we were late, having demanded to stop for a sandwich. The least I could do was to keep up. I felt that both the car and I performed very well, cruising nicely in sixth and accelerating in fifth when needed. Needless to say, we did arrive in time.

In town I found it to be sprightly and manoeuvrable. The brakes are very responsive and being in an elevated position is always great.

The Road Trip

The M1 sends me twitching at the best of times, but never more so than on a wet Friday afternoon, thinking I’ve beaten the traffic only to find that I’m stuck in the middle of it. A two and a half hour journey turns into a five and a half hour journey and I’ve still got to do it all again in reverse on Sunday afternoon. Why do weekends away always seem like such a good idea? It started off well – it always does for the first few junctions and you are lulled into a false sense of security. I felt I was flying along, really enjoying going into sixth gear (haven’t dared use cruise control ever since my father asked what happens if it gets stuck!). I don’t mind having my foot on the accelerator – it’s the clutch I hate having to deal with, which on this particular journey happened to be a lot. This type of car should always be an automatic. Much as I love using gears, to me a car designed to carry so many passengers, who are likely to be children, the driver should not have to worry about changing gear. It’s one less thing to think about as you try to maintain order in the back and have a free hand to dole out treats when it all goes horribly wrong.

However, at the start of this journey I felt confident that all would be calm with the troops. This model comes equipped with two DVD screens and wireless head sets. Everyone was very impressed by this particular feature. Once set up by my eleven year old, we were all sitting comfortably and we were away.

All I could hear were the odd giggle from the boys and the odd mieow from the cats who had been banished to the large boot. There weren’t even demands for sweets after the normal 10 minutes. I put on my music and enjoyed upping the volume with the remote finger controls and thought I’d cracked it. Peace didn’t last long however. After 50 minutes, William felt sick and complained of a headache, shortly followed by Thomas complaining of the same symptoms. Hannah then joined in moaning that the music was making her want to wee her pants. All on board entertainment was switched off, and we then realised just how much the cats were complaining. Short lived answer to my travelling prayers.

Normality was soon restored after a loo stop and the customary demand for snacks, drinks and sweets. I didn’t have the will-power to say no. Good job I didn’t get a take a way coffee as there wouldn’t have been anywhere appropriate to put it.

The whole experience reminded me why I separate my children on any journey, long or short. Having the three of them in a row so that they could watch the DVD was fine when they could watch it, but when it was switched off, all hell broke loose.

What we did work out on the return journey, was to limit the DVD watching to half hour slots. William was banished to the rear seat to stop him from irritating Hannah. While that worked, safety was an issue as William was constantly half way out of his seat so that he could see the screen. You can’t win.

Safety

The Espace has been given the maximum five-star Euro NCAP rating. There is a feeling of safety being in such an elevated driving position which one would hope would allow the diver to be able to identify any potential risks on the road. There is also automatic activation of the window wipers due to the presence of rain sensors and light sensors which automatically turn on the headlamps in poor light.

There are standard features such as brake assist together with ABS, ESP (Electronic Stability Programme) and understeer programme. This enables the driver to maintain control in the event of hard braking and optimises the stopping distances.  In the event of an impact the Espace has a reinforced body structure which can distort to absorb the impact and there are eight airbags.

There are ISOFIX mounting points in the rear seats to enable the installation of  ISOFIX Child safety seats.

Green Issues

Not only does the 6-speed manual gearbox provide smoothness and fluidity which enhances the driving pleasure, it also reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions which compare favourably to the Voyager without compromising on power.

Cost

This particular model retails at £24,935 with the slightly smaller Espace coming in at £23,735. I definitely think it’s worth the extra £1,200 for the space you acquire.