Appropriate vehicle for Devon House refurb - live in London

[nichio3478]

Evening all,

A plea to the more experienced among you. I'm embarking on a renovation of a big house in Devon. I live and work in London and have a 7 month baby.

I anticipate that it will be pretty hands on. Any project such as this needs a project vehicle. Requirements include

No more than £6k
Can carry a lot inc small family plus building materials
Decent tow car
Will be doing London to Devon most weekends so needs to be comfortable
Needs to be quick
Needs to be fairly efficient

Current steer is a cayenne s which is now worth bugger all.

Appreciate your thoughts and wisdom!

[Tuvra]

I'd go for a double cab pickup to be honest.

[bristolracer]

Mercedes Vito dualiner

[Joe5y]

A LCI 2004 - 2006 BMW X5 would fit the bill ideally here.

[bearman68]

<sigh> A 2002 plate picasso. £300 sorted. Throw away when finished.

[nichio3478]

Thanks for the responses! This is my problem, so many ways to go.

I would naturally lean towards a big posh 4x4 like an old range or x5 but the Porsche has not been the poster boy for reliability.

Not sure I could spent 8 hours a week in Picasso and trust it to deliver family 250 miles and be comfortable at "cough" 85.

Can't put a sofa in a pickup. What are old discos like at motorway work?

[Welshbeef]

Volvo XC90
Saab 95 Dame Edna - Aero if you are lucky.
Volvo V70 T5
Passat Estate 1.9 TDI
E Class

[BigBen]

£6k will get you a decent S211 E-class estate. Loads of space, very comfortable and if you get a post facelift car, which you will for £6k no known major faults.

On the other hand keep your Cayenne and use that.

[jkh112]

BigBen said:

On the other hand keep your Cayenne and use that.

Your cayenne does seem to meet your requirements.

[DAMCHIEF]

Renault Grand Espace 2.0Dci.
Will carry a sofa, transport your family in safety and is a great towcar.
I'm on my second (11 plate) and they are superb, best MPV period.

[dibblecorse]

Lexus RX 300 worth a look, or Toyota Landcruiser

[Funky Panda]

A 2005 Passat estate diesel Highline, big, comfortable leather seats, fast enough, go for miles, everything goes in the back of my dad's. I think Chris Harris had one at some point as a utility car.

[aspirated]

BMW 530d Auto Estate

[Deerfoot]

Ford Galaxy would be my choice.

Huge inside, decent enough for the weekly trips to the west country and your budget will get you a sub 100,000 miler easily.

[anonymous-user]

dibblecorse said:

Lexus RX 300 worth a look, or Toyota Landcruiser

Preparing to sell my RX, the boot is actually quite small!

German estate or a Swedish 4x4

- Merc e
5 series
A6
A6 allroad C6
Volvo V70
Volvo XC70
Volvo XC90
LR Disco
FFRR


On the other hand..
Zafira Tourer
Sharan (sliding doors)
Touran
Espace
CR-V
Mazda5


-

Viano

[Colonial]

Subaru Outback.

[rxe]

2 car strategy. Keep the Cayenne for long distance and towing. Get something big and valueless for hauling and tip runs, leave this in Devon. Rather than paying for a car that can do long distance, and then getting all worried about trashing it.

2 car approach also works for when the family wants to stay there in the summer and sends you back to London to pay for it all.

[oldcynic]

I've never actually driven one, but probably a S-Max would do what you need. Get a properly fitted boot liner to make cleaning up easier.

Alternatively a V70 D5 - excellent motorway cruiser and mine's been handy through a couple of building projects, but the excellent rear legroom compromises the boot space, as does the low roof height.

What do you want to tow? My V70 was great with luggage trailer and trailer tent but struggled with a twin axle caravan so we bought an XC90 to keep it company.

[battered]

Mondeo estate, with roof rack. Pay 35p for it, use it as a motorised skip, throw it away when done. WRT comfort, I'm doing 500 miles a week in my Mondeo, 200 miles on Sun and Fri. Comfy as 2 year old slippers. And best of all it costs nothing.

[bearman68]

Love this thread.
OP wants reliability and easy cruising - Navara is suggested. (Or an X5 or a Disco,
Huge boot, so a leather Passat is suggested.

OP, you're planning on loading it with bricks. Something huge at £500 off Ebay with a towbar and a big trailer. You're only going to trash the fk out of it.

Buy a LWB Frontera and leave it in Dorset (leaving it in Dorset's a good idea). or a G Cherokee, or a Sharan, or a Galaxy, or a Mondeo, or a C8, you get the idea.

Or, hang on, a MX5 is the normal PH answer, let's go for that - remapped of course......