Large family car - choices ...
20 September 2013, 09:23 AM
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Large family car - choices ...
Needing a new car and am gathering opinions on the likely ones.
Recent family car history :
Audi A4 : 1.9TDi, great car to drive but at around 90,000 miles, after we had it a year or so, it developed an issue that was traced to the injectors. Replacing these was a £2000+ job. Got rid. A shame - great car to drive and combined solidity with decent pace and was very fuel efficient.
Been a bit scared off the VW TDi's since then as I know that their injectors are an area of concern - not sure how common but they do go and it aren't cheap to fix.
Citroen Picasso - not a French car fan but we put probably over 40K miles on our 2.0TDi and it was a reliable beast, slow and dull but cheap to run.
Currently have a Mazda 5 Petrol 2.0 bought May 2012, now has 80k miles. Avoided the diesels for this purchase as I've been scared off modern diesels : some can give a great combination of fuel econmomy / performance but when we're doing towards 15k miles a year and are buying s/h starting at probably 30K+ miles then it seems that puts us right in line for hitting the expensive problems in our ownership period that they all are prone to :
VW : injectors
BMW : swirl flaps
Ford : DMF
All : DPF
We need a decent sized car as we've 2 kids plus large dog plus, ideally, I'd really like it to take a bike in the boot and also we take a ton of stuff when we go on holiday so we need the space !
The Picasso was ideal for this. a tall roof meant I could just remove the bike front wheel and it was in and there was space round it. The Mazda is more a of a struggle and I now resort to dropping or removing the seatpost to get the bike in the boot.
Need decent fuel economy due to our mileage. The Mazda touches 30Mpg (petrol) whilst the A4 we had was, IIRC, 45+, Picasso was high 30's I think. On balance diesel is the sensible choice for the fueling but reliability of these engines .... ?
We're in a semi-rural area and my wife uses the car for a 12 mile drive to work that has some smallish roads that can get tricky in the bad weather plus they are prone to braking up badly so need something that can cope with her crashing through potholes etc - I'm probably better at avoiding these but sometimes when it is dark and there's a truck coming the other way then you just have to drive through the pothole.
Want to avoid spending over £10,000
Want to start with not more than 40,000 miles - if we keep a car for 2 years then we'll have added 30,000 miles.
Considering a 4wd due to the need to cope with the occasions when there is snow/ice plus the ability to soak up the bumps a bit better : not all do this since some come with nice big alloys/low profile tyres which for us is not a positive.
Shortlist :
Bmw X3 : difficult to get one at our price.
Hyundia Accent : ok economy, not 100% on reliability. Interior a bit cheesy.
Suzuki Vitara 5dr : diesel engine is a Renault unit, not great reliability ? Available under our price limit.
Mitsubishi Outlander / Citroen C Crosser Peugot 4007 : built on the same platform with a common 2.2 diesel engine across the range. A 2.0 engine
is available on the Mitsu - this is comes from VW I believe. Not many around and we're struggling to see one at £10k with low'ish mileage. Will probably retain good residuals.
Nissan QashQai : most common is the 2wd version. Diesel is most often only a 1.5 but general rep is good, reports of 45Mpg, quite a lot around so a choice of cars to pick from.
Audis, were we to consider looking at these then the negative is that they hold their price ridiculously so an estate A4 would lilely be out of our price range given the mileage etc.
Current Mazda 5 is 7 years old so we also would like to have something that is at least 1 or 2 years newer. For the cheaper cars, Qashqai, Vitara, that is easily achievable, others not so.
The Mazda is heading for needing some money spent so we're looking to chop it asap.
Recent family car history :
Audi A4 : 1.9TDi, great car to drive but at around 90,000 miles, after we had it a year or so, it developed an issue that was traced to the injectors. Replacing these was a £2000+ job. Got rid. A shame - great car to drive and combined solidity with decent pace and was very fuel efficient.
Been a bit scared off the VW TDi's since then as I know that their injectors are an area of concern - not sure how common but they do go and it aren't cheap to fix.
Citroen Picasso - not a French car fan but we put probably over 40K miles on our 2.0TDi and it was a reliable beast, slow and dull but cheap to run.
Currently have a Mazda 5 Petrol 2.0 bought May 2012, now has 80k miles. Avoided the diesels for this purchase as I've been scared off modern diesels : some can give a great combination of fuel econmomy / performance but when we're doing towards 15k miles a year and are buying s/h starting at probably 30K+ miles then it seems that puts us right in line for hitting the expensive problems in our ownership period that they all are prone to :
VW : injectors
BMW : swirl flaps
Ford : DMF
All : DPF
We need a decent sized car as we've 2 kids plus large dog plus, ideally, I'd really like it to take a bike in the boot and also we take a ton of stuff when we go on holiday so we need the space !
The Picasso was ideal for this. a tall roof meant I could just remove the bike front wheel and it was in and there was space round it. The Mazda is more a of a struggle and I now resort to dropping or removing the seatpost to get the bike in the boot.
Need decent fuel economy due to our mileage. The Mazda touches 30Mpg (petrol) whilst the A4 we had was, IIRC, 45+, Picasso was high 30's I think. On balance diesel is the sensible choice for the fueling but reliability of these engines .... ?
We're in a semi-rural area and my wife uses the car for a 12 mile drive to work that has some smallish roads that can get tricky in the bad weather plus they are prone to braking up badly so need something that can cope with her crashing through potholes etc - I'm probably better at avoiding these but sometimes when it is dark and there's a truck coming the other way then you just have to drive through the pothole.
Want to avoid spending over £10,000
Want to start with not more than 40,000 miles - if we keep a car for 2 years then we'll have added 30,000 miles.
Considering a 4wd due to the need to cope with the occasions when there is snow/ice plus the ability to soak up the bumps a bit better : not all do this since some come with nice big alloys/low profile tyres which for us is not a positive.
Shortlist :
Bmw X3 : difficult to get one at our price.
Hyundia Accent : ok economy, not 100% on reliability. Interior a bit cheesy.
Suzuki Vitara 5dr : diesel engine is a Renault unit, not great reliability ? Available under our price limit.
Mitsubishi Outlander / Citroen C Crosser Peugot 4007 : built on the same platform with a common 2.2 diesel engine across the range. A 2.0 engine
is available on the Mitsu - this is comes from VW I believe. Not many around and we're struggling to see one at £10k with low'ish mileage. Will probably retain good residuals.
Nissan QashQai : most common is the 2wd version. Diesel is most often only a 1.5 but general rep is good, reports of 45Mpg, quite a lot around so a choice of cars to pick from.
Audis, were we to consider looking at these then the negative is that they hold their price ridiculously so an estate A4 would lilely be out of our price range given the mileage etc.
Current Mazda 5 is 7 years old so we also would like to have something that is at least 1 or 2 years newer. For the cheaper cars, Qashqai, Vitara, that is easily achievable, others not so.
The Mazda is heading for needing some money spent so we're looking to chop it asap.
20 September 2013, 11:28 AM
#5
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subaru-Leg...-/231050772637
at under half your budget, that makes up for a shed load of miles at 25mpg instead of 40mpg! .... plus youll be smiling a shed load more than if you were in some euro****box diesel.
:-)
at under half your budget, that makes up for a shed load of miles at 25mpg instead of 40mpg! .... plus youll be smiling a shed load more than if you were in some euro****box diesel.
:-)
20 September 2013, 12:46 PM
#6
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I do like the looks of the big Leggy estates but at present it feels like we're filling up the tank once a week so one of theose is, unfortunately, off in the wrong direction with sub-30 Mpg likely.
I've seen 1 or 2 JDM Forrester Sti estates and they did look nice but also, not really the sensible choice !
I've seen 1 or 2 JDM Forrester Sti estates and they did look nice but also, not really the sensible choice !
20 September 2013, 05:05 PM
#7
I think you need to look at the overall cost of ownership as opposed to the day to day cost of fuel.
So many people make the mistake of thinking a diesel is the better option just because they get 500 miles to a tank of fuel, but get hit for a DMF @ circa a grand and it takes a hell of a lot of miles to be back at break even point.
Which by the way was 100k about 10 years ago ( before all the recent well documented diesels problems) with mondeo's as the test cars, diesel vs petrol.
15k miles a year is nothing really and even at £5/6k for a lower mile example you'll still come out a couple of grand ahead over 3yrs which equals free motoring if you get my drift.
I love bangernomics most recent shed has cost £1600 over 3yrs and 50k + miles including tyres and does 38/45 mpg.
The MIGHTY Rover 25.
So many people make the mistake of thinking a diesel is the better option just because they get 500 miles to a tank of fuel, but get hit for a DMF @ circa a grand and it takes a hell of a lot of miles to be back at break even point.
Which by the way was 100k about 10 years ago ( before all the recent well documented diesels problems) with mondeo's as the test cars, diesel vs petrol.
15k miles a year is nothing really and even at £5/6k for a lower mile example you'll still come out a couple of grand ahead over 3yrs which equals free motoring if you get my drift.
I love bangernomics most recent shed has cost £1600 over 3yrs and 50k + miles including tyres and does 38/45 mpg.
The MIGHTY Rover 25.
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20 September 2013, 09:25 PM
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Bangernomics for me as well, i have a MK4 golf gt tdi for my daily hack, spare set of dunlop winters £55 each on 15's, better than my STI on summers in the snow, service it myself £70 odd quid a time for fluids etc, had to replace the rear wiper motor £ 28 on ebay, done 40k in less than 2 years its on just shy of 120k now
Need to get a family estate to replace our old Xsara work horse, thinking Passat old shape 03 reg ish ? with the same PD engine/ running gear as my golf 'should' be bomb proof, £5k would get a 'minter' with all the options ?
Need to get a family estate to replace our old Xsara work horse, thinking Passat old shape 03 reg ish ? with the same PD engine/ running gear as my golf 'should' be bomb proof, £5k would get a 'minter' with all the options ?
Last edited by fattb; 20 September 2013 at 09:26 PM.
20 September 2013, 09:32 PM
#12
Passats like to leak through the filter via the front drain reservoir. Also door leaks are common. I traded mine in in the end because of water ingress. After researching post trade in these MY Passats are notorious for footwell puddles and other ingress. 
Would never buy another.
Would never buy another.
21 September 2013, 08:51 AM
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Passats like to leak through the filter via the front drain reservoir. Also door leaks are common. I traded mine in in the end because of water ingress. After researching post trade in these MY Passats are notorious for footwell puddles and other ingress. Would never buy another.
Would never buy another.
21 September 2013, 10:00 AM
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Have you looked at the likes of a Hyundai Terracan? From what I have read they are basically a Shogun Chassis coupled with a Merc diesel lump. Pretty cheap to pick up, 4wd, plenty of room inside think they give 30+ mpg which isn't bad for the engine size.
23 September 2013, 08:44 AM
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Thanks for all the inputs here : after starting to head in the wrong direction (doing a p/x at a dealer and looking at cars > £12k - this was my wife's doing !) we chanced upon an Outlander on Gumtree for 1/2 the price that a dealer would want. Whilst that particular car will likely sell before we'd have a chance to see it (it's halfway down the country) it reset our thoughts and we're now far more likely to go private. It's now a case of deciding what cars suit our needs which is :
large not huge 4x4 that returns a decent Mpg and has < 50k miles to start with.
Also one that isn't going to have a major engine-related issue in a year or 2 time.
Not sure if that last requirement means essentially the modern higher power / higher fuel economy engines are too risky, don't want to spend £4, 5, 6 k on the car then be faced with £2k repair when it hits 70k miles.
Problem with the 4x4 requirement is that petrol engined models often struggle to pass 30Mpg.
Tuscon ? RAV 4 ?
If we ignored the 4x4 requirement I'd love to try for an Audi A4 but they, and to a slightly lesser extent, hold their value ridiculously so we'd pay way over the odds compared to others - I think the Skoda varient would be most affordable if we did head down that route.
large not huge 4x4 that returns a decent Mpg and has < 50k miles to start with.
Also one that isn't going to have a major engine-related issue in a year or 2 time.
Not sure if that last requirement means essentially the modern higher power / higher fuel economy engines are too risky, don't want to spend £4, 5, 6 k on the car then be faced with £2k repair when it hits 70k miles.
Problem with the 4x4 requirement is that petrol engined models often struggle to pass 30Mpg.
Tuscon ? RAV 4 ?
If we ignored the 4x4 requirement I'd love to try for an Audi A4 but they, and to a slightly lesser extent, hold their value ridiculously so we'd pay way over the odds compared to others - I think the Skoda varient would be most affordable if we did head down that route.
23 September 2013, 09:35 AM
#18
I still think your getting a little hung up on milage and cost of fuel.
A slightly higher milage car will of had many of the service items/ known weaknesses changed, eg, wheel bearings and bushes, clutch, cam belt, the list goes on and on, and will in fact be in a better condition than a car that has 20k less miles, especially with your target number of 50k miles as generally for most cars major service / end of warranty is 60k.
I'd be inclined to go for something that has a comprehensive service history and has made it past 60k has had any potential issues sorted and is pretty much going to make it to 90k with very few issues, another benefit is they tend to be a few quid cheaper too.
With my back of a *** packet calculations a 10mpg saving only equates to a couple of tanks full of fuel over 15000 miles, so we're talking £100/120, so lets push the boat out and say it may cost an extra £300 in fuel over a YEAR.
Like I said people get caught up on the wrong things when looking to change car, is there anything wrong with your current vehicle? other than the milage is a little higher than you would like as in this bracket of car it can sometimes be a case of "better the devil you know".
Main points to take into account IMO.
Cost to change.
Likely costs of current vehicle over the next 15/30,000 miles
Total cost of ownership of current vehicle.
Likely TOTAL cost of ownership of any replacement.
And of course if finances are of no concern and you just fancy a change then diss-regard all of the above and fill your boots.
A slightly higher milage car will of had many of the service items/ known weaknesses changed, eg, wheel bearings and bushes, clutch, cam belt, the list goes on and on, and will in fact be in a better condition than a car that has 20k less miles, especially with your target number of 50k miles as generally for most cars major service / end of warranty is 60k.
I'd be inclined to go for something that has a comprehensive service history and has made it past 60k has had any potential issues sorted and is pretty much going to make it to 90k with very few issues, another benefit is they tend to be a few quid cheaper too.
With my back of a *** packet calculations a 10mpg saving only equates to a couple of tanks full of fuel over 15000 miles, so we're talking £100/120, so lets push the boat out and say it may cost an extra £300 in fuel over a YEAR.
Like I said people get caught up on the wrong things when looking to change car, is there anything wrong with your current vehicle? other than the milage is a little higher than you would like as in this bracket of car it can sometimes be a case of "better the devil you know".
Main points to take into account IMO.
Cost to change.
Likely costs of current vehicle over the next 15/30,000 miles
Total cost of ownership of current vehicle.
Likely TOTAL cost of ownership of any replacement.
And of course if finances are of no concern and you just fancy a change then diss-regard all of the above and fill your boots.
23 September 2013, 10:30 AM
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Some more sensible advice there !
I supposed it's not desparate that we change now but the Mazda 5 we'd got has a good few bills looming that, so if we ARE going to change soon'ish, it would be wise for us to sell now and not incurr those costs. Bodywork is my main concern : the arches lips on 1 side (the side that gets the rain blown against it when parked) are bubbling - going to need metal cut out here - nasty and not what we hoped for on a car that's just 7 year old.
Exhaust is heading for replacement.
Suspension is knocking away : drop links were done few weeks back but the suspension arms / bushes are also getting worn.
Car is about to hit 80k miles and I think soon will need cambelt done.
We could just keep it but unless the arches are attended to, and done properly, the work in that area will be even more extensive - crappy Mazda rustproofing ! - so with winter approaching our thoughts of chopping the car in before circa £1k bills hit us we'd also go the 4wd option too. We do have some cash to put in this time but after I baulked badly at spending £10k + our trade-in on a dull family car I'm trying to head in the more sensible direction.
Just like everyone's family car it must be reliable and for us needs to put up with a daily 25 mile round trip on some poor roads in all weathers and have accomodation for 2 kids + large dog etc.
Maybe something like a mondeo or vectra estate with winter tyres - petrol to avoid the DMF issues and also likely to gain us a better car since most people are attracted by the supposed lesser costs of the diesel version.
I supposed it's not desparate that we change now but the Mazda 5 we'd got has a good few bills looming that, so if we ARE going to change soon'ish, it would be wise for us to sell now and not incurr those costs. Bodywork is my main concern : the arches lips on 1 side (the side that gets the rain blown against it when parked) are bubbling - going to need metal cut out here - nasty and not what we hoped for on a car that's just 7 year old.
Exhaust is heading for replacement.
Suspension is knocking away : drop links were done few weeks back but the suspension arms / bushes are also getting worn.
Car is about to hit 80k miles and I think soon will need cambelt done.
We could just keep it but unless the arches are attended to, and done properly, the work in that area will be even more extensive - crappy Mazda rustproofing ! - so with winter approaching our thoughts of chopping the car in before circa £1k bills hit us we'd also go the 4wd option too. We do have some cash to put in this time but after I baulked badly at spending £10k + our trade-in on a dull family car I'm trying to head in the more sensible direction.
Just like everyone's family car it must be reliable and for us needs to put up with a daily 25 mile round trip on some poor roads in all weathers and have accomodation for 2 kids + large dog etc.
Maybe something like a mondeo or vectra estate with winter tyres - petrol to avoid the DMF issues and also likely to gain us a better car since most people are attracted by the supposed lesser costs of the diesel version.
23 September 2013, 01:54 PM
#20
Well judging by the sounds of the mazda it's time to either jump ship or settle in for the long haul, which ultimately is a decision you'll have to make, my neighbour had one which was great bar the rust and went for peanuts as a trade in.
I have an Isuzu trooper that's got the 3.1D engine and returns about 28/30mpg, it's a bit old for your requirements but the Denver max pick up may be of some use to you, very car like to drive, and was top in it's class for quite a few years running in the age bracket your looking at, mine has been faultless over 7/8yrs of ownership and has led a pretty hard life too.
Honda CRV or a Nissan X Trail are also good vehicles that can be had for reasonable money, the petrol Toyota's especially the Rav4 is known to like a bit of a drink but then again the reliability factor makes up for it.
I've not researched any of the above but they are some of the vehicles I perouse from time to time, so maybe have a look see if there are any common faults to look out for before you buy.
Personally i'd avoid mitsubishi, mostly because of silly electrical gremlins which a trusted friend informed me of, but I have no personal experience of this, again Google is your friend.
I have an Isuzu trooper that's got the 3.1D engine and returns about 28/30mpg, it's a bit old for your requirements but the Denver max pick up may be of some use to you, very car like to drive, and was top in it's class for quite a few years running in the age bracket your looking at, mine has been faultless over 7/8yrs of ownership and has led a pretty hard life too.
Honda CRV or a Nissan X Trail are also good vehicles that can be had for reasonable money, the petrol Toyota's especially the Rav4 is known to like a bit of a drink but then again the reliability factor makes up for it.
I've not researched any of the above but they are some of the vehicles I perouse from time to time, so maybe have a look see if there are any common faults to look out for before you buy.
Personally i'd avoid mitsubishi, mostly because of silly electrical gremlins which a trusted friend informed me of, but I have no personal experience of this, again Google is your friend.
23 September 2013, 03:42 PM
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Appreciate your very sensible input here !
Yeah, it is a situation where 1 person may hold-off whilst another may get rid of - I think TBH we're in the latter category but everyone has their own conflicting criteria : how much are you willing to pay for what you hope is assured reliability and low running-cost.
Without the fair requirement of a 4wd (not an absolute must but certainly a sensible feature given our circumstances) then the choice is wider and not so restrictive but as that is what our situation is then we'll take a refreshed look at what there is for us.
Cheers.
Yeah, it is a situation where 1 person may hold-off whilst another may get rid of - I think TBH we're in the latter category but everyone has their own conflicting criteria : how much are you willing to pay for what you hope is assured reliability and low running-cost.
Without the fair requirement of a 4wd (not an absolute must but certainly a sensible feature given our circumstances) then the choice is wider and not so restrictive but as that is what our situation is then we'll take a refreshed look at what there is for us.
Cheers.
23 September 2013, 08:01 PM
#23
I told you before, legacy outback = 4wd, über reliable, estate with plenty of room and ok on fuel.
You don't need a jeep, trust me, I got one and the running costs and general wear and tear like tyres, brakes etc is not cheap and I have a dog so. Unles you like to show off it's just not worth it for family life IMO.
an estate met my requirements better, can fit everything in nicely so no need for anything bigger and I have a big dog, kid and pram to go in. Pram fits in boot with still plenty room for dog.(more car like so drives better and normal wear and tear costs compared to jeep)
You don't need a jeep, trust me, I got one and the running costs and general wear and tear like tyres, brakes etc is not cheap and I have a dog so. Unles you like to show off it's just not worth it for family life IMO.
an estate met my requirements better, can fit everything in nicely so no need for anything bigger and I have a big dog, kid and pram to go in. Pram fits in boot with still plenty room for dog.(more car like so drives better and normal wear and tear costs compared to jeep)
24 September 2013, 11:56 AM
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I've now been encouraging, as far as I can, my wife to look at cheaper cars - both privately and trade - that mean we aren't going to be chucking such a silly large amount of money on top of any P/X deal we might get.
Unfortunately although the Leggacy / Outback esttes to me appear a good deal she doesn't seem to fancy them at all. Seems they can be a bit thirsty - longer runs they're better but I coudl see my wife getting sub 30Mpg most of the time. But a pretty capable well-equipped estate for the money.
We've seen a couple of apparent bargain cars but they're distant from us - low mileage BMW X3 2.0d for £4k and sn Outlander for £5k, BMW is an autobox which I'd rather not have but £4k seems (too ?) cheap. There is also a CR-V on the Autotrader website for £5k with really low miles - has to be wrong/scam but I've emailed them testing them out, there's a yahoo email address in their pic and it is ringing alarm bells but I'll await their response.
Wife does not fancy the pick-up varients - bit too utilitarian for her I think, also that bit bigger so manoevering, parking etc would be more of an issue, I'd go for one if I found the right one..
Unfortunately although the Leggacy / Outback esttes to me appear a good deal she doesn't seem to fancy them at all. Seems they can be a bit thirsty - longer runs they're better but I coudl see my wife getting sub 30Mpg most of the time. But a pretty capable well-equipped estate for the money.
We've seen a couple of apparent bargain cars but they're distant from us - low mileage BMW X3 2.0d for £4k and sn Outlander for £5k, BMW is an autobox which I'd rather not have but £4k seems (too ?) cheap. There is also a CR-V on the Autotrader website for £5k with really low miles - has to be wrong/scam but I've emailed them testing them out, there's a yahoo email address in their pic and it is ringing alarm bells but I'll await their response.
Wife does not fancy the pick-up varients - bit too utilitarian for her I think, also that bit bigger so manoevering, parking etc would be more of an issue, I'd go for one if I found the right one..
24 September 2013, 03:31 PM
#26
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Interestingly, and probably not a huge surprise to me or to others, the 2 cars that we'd picked up on Autotrader that appeared too good to be true have turned out to be so.
The £4000 low mileage X3 and the £5000 2012 CR-V that both were at well below market price got the near-exact same responses to my deliberately vague email queries I sent today - the seller has moved back to Spain and is willing to send me the car (which is supposedly located here in the UK) with a trusted middleman being used for the finance arrangements.
Adverts now been removed from Autotrader website.
Grr bloomin' scammers.
The £4000 low mileage X3 and the £5000 2012 CR-V that both were at well below market price got the near-exact same responses to my deliberately vague email queries I sent today - the seller has moved back to Spain and is willing to send me the car (which is supposedly located here in the UK) with a trusted middleman being used for the finance arrangements.
Adverts now been removed from Autotrader website.
Grr bloomin' scammers.
24 September 2013, 04:56 PM
#28
I bet your wife likes the audis though?
There's the all road too. But IMO the Audi are overpriced in the second hand market.
The wife's play a big part in cars tbh, I was going to get the legacy for a family car but she didn't like them so ended up with a e91.
There's the all road too. But IMO the Audi are overpriced in the second hand market.
The wife's play a big part in cars tbh, I was going to get the legacy for a family car but she didn't like them so ended up with a e91.
24 September 2013, 06:22 PM
#29
Far too many knicker wearing blokes on this site for my liking these days, kick your b!tches in the ***** and grow a set yourselves, trust me they will respect you for it. 
My mrs has no say what so ever in the car department, she drives what she gets or gets the bus.
Seriously though, what a car looks like should be last on the list when it comes to a daily hack.
Honda CRV and Nissan XTrail are both good decent mid sized 4x4 family cars and if I were in the market for such a vehicle my money would go on the best example of either I could find.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...1500?logcode=p
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...1500?logcode=p
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...1500?logcode=p
My mrs has no say what so ever in the car department, she drives what she gets or gets the bus.
Seriously though, what a car looks like should be last on the list when it comes to a daily hack.
Honda CRV and Nissan XTrail are both good decent mid sized 4x4 family cars and if I were in the market for such a vehicle my money would go on the best example of either I could find.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...1500?logcode=p
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...1500?logcode=p
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...1500?logcode=p
Last edited by ditchmyster; 24 September 2013 at 07:07 PM.
25 September 2013, 12:34 PM
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yeah, had looked at X-trails (and actually looked at them a few years back also - remember thinking they were a bit cheap inside) : had thought reliability of these was suspect, reading What Car the reviews of the 2.2Dci engine is not universally good, fuel pump and turbo's common.
CR-V's seem ok, QuashQai's also ok but rare to find a 4wd version, vast majority are 2WD.
I've looked at the various 4x4 pickups from the likes of Isuzu and Nissan but TBH I do think they're a little OTT for our needs although the space would no doubt be handy at times and they should be sturdy enough..
Wife is the one who will be driving the car to work almost every day so she needs to give the nod to what we go for but I've hopefully pushed us away from the £10k+ ones that we were heading towards - a daft amount to throw at a car in our circumstances IMHO.
If I can get us a decent 50'000'ish mile car for £5-7000 I'll be happy enough.
CR-V's seem ok, QuashQai's also ok but rare to find a 4wd version, vast majority are 2WD.
I've looked at the various 4x4 pickups from the likes of Isuzu and Nissan but TBH I do think they're a little OTT for our needs although the space would no doubt be handy at times and they should be sturdy enough..
Wife is the one who will be driving the car to work almost every day so she needs to give the nod to what we go for but I've hopefully pushed us away from the £10k+ ones that we were heading towards - a daft amount to throw at a car in our circumstances IMHO.
If I can get us a decent 50'000'ish mile car for £5-7000 I'll be happy enough.