First SUV - which one up to £30k?

[Gavin_60]

Hello PistonHeads, I am looking to change my faithful BMW 330d estate for an SUV and I would like your advice on which one to go for, or anything I have overlooked. My core criteria are as follows:

• Up to around 5 or 6 years old, I tend to keep my cars for quite a while so don't want anything too old
• Up to say 50k miles
• Able to tow a large twin axle caravan comfortably
• Comfortable, and with a reasonable amount of poke. Not expecting 330d pace, but nothing too slow
• Sensible wheels that I will probably fit all season tyres to, I think large wheels look silly and tyres are very expensive
• Reliable
• Sub £30k
• A reasonable size, I think something like a Discovery or a Q7 would be far too big for what I need

I don't really know anything about which ones are good or which ones to avoid, having always driven a 3 series size estate car for the past 20 years or so. My initial thoughts are:

• Volvo XC60 - Most seem to be D4 engines, not sure if this is powerful enough to pull a caravan?
• BMW X3 - Obvious choice, are they good?
• Audi Q5 - Very few V6 diesels about, and the SQ5 seems very expensive
• Jaguar F Pace - I have concerns about the reliability of these, am I correct or is this unfounded?

Any and all suggestions welcome, along with any experiences you may have of any of the mentioned cars. As I say I don't really know anything about them so it is all a bit new to me.

[Phil Dicky]

One of these for me, best looking of your options..not sure the reliability is such an issue.

[Nickyboy]

My brother just got rid of his Q5, said it was the most disappointing car he's ever owned.

Bought it 6 months old on a whim, had nothing on it compared to others, essentially everything was an option. Not even a reversing camera (even my cousins Kia Picanto has one ) He said the dealerships were snobbish, when comparing the Q5 to a Ford Edge he looked at the salesman said "people go to Ford for a car, they come to us for an Audi"

[Gavin_60]

Phil Dicky said:

One of these for me, best looking of your options..not sure the reliability is such an issue.

It is a very good looking car isn't it - not something I am overly worried about (so long as it isn't terrible) but I think I need to take a closer look at these. Do you know how I would go about researching reliability?

Nickyboy said:

My brother just got rid of his Q5, said it was the most disappointing car he's ever owned.

Bought it 6 months old on a whim, had nothing on it compared to others, essentially everything was an option. Not even a reversing camera (even my cousins Kia Picanto has one ) He said the dealerships were snobbish, when comparing the Q5 to a Ford Edge he looked at the salesman said "people go to Ford for a car, they come to us for an Audi"

What was it about it that he did not like? I'm not too worried if it is a bit boring, after all it is an SUV and with 2x dogs in the car most of the time my days of spirited driving are pretty much over. What a terrible thing for the dealer to say, that would seriously put me off if I came up against that. Thank you for the pointer on spec, I will be sure to check that carefully on any potential purchase.

[cjstott]

we've got a 2016 discovery sport 2.0 diesel, we bought it on 20,000 and 15k and 2 years later it's been absolutely faultless so you might want to look at a discovery sport.

We're considering chopping ours in (as we've built a good bit of equity in it) to move to a petrol velar as our commutes have changed to just local miles.

You might also want to consider the Stelvio, if I cant make the numbers work on a velar the 280ps Stelvio is on my list of options and within your budget i believe.

[J1990]

Nickyboy said:

My brother just got rid of his Q5, said it was the most disappointing car he's ever owned.

Bought it 6 months old on a whim, had nothing on it compared to others, essentially everything was an option. Not even a reversing camera (even my cousins Kia Picanto has one ) He said the dealerships were snobbish, when comparing the Q5 to a Ford Edge he looked at the salesman said "people go to Ford for a car, they come to us for an Audi"

That salesman sounds like an utter c**k. Does he think Audi is suddenly Rolls Royce or Lamborghini? Agreed though, the Q5 spec is horrendous unless someone has kindly spec'd it up to add 50% on to the purchase price and then shopped it in early.

Another vote for the Jag F-Pace here. Beautiful car.

[craig_m67]

Stelvio….

[Martyn76]

Jeep GC? Lots of cars for under £30k.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104241...

[alorotom]

Personally I would opt for a Q7 over anything listed so far but I am biased and I loved mine. The Q5 has been a little neglected spec-wise.

I would also consider a Skoda Kodiak (same platform as the Q7) but dirt cheap brand new.

[fflump]

I'd consider a Macan (or Cayenne if you want bigger).

[GreatGranny]

This should be powerful enough

T8

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104201...


Or the D5 with 232 bhp & 354 torques which will be plenty for a large van

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104010...

[ChocolateFrog]

I'd throw the Touareg into the mix too, £30k would get you a very nice example.

[anonymous-user]

Audi must have heard everyone complaining about the Q5, I took a poke around and a test drive in one this week and even in the lowest 'Sport' trim I was impressed by the spec, it has:

- 4wd (some expensive SUVs seem to be FWD as standard, looking at you and your XC60 Volvo)
- LED lights and interior ambient lighting package
- 3-zone climate
- heated leather seats
- virtual cockpit plus and separate touchscreen nav
- parking sensors plus + rear view camera
- keyless go and electric boot

It seems to have everything you might want/need now, with options being wants rather than needs/basics.

I appreciate that doesn't help the OP...

[cerb4.5lee]

I can recommend the Mercedes GLC350d(3.0 V6 diesel/0 to 60 in 6.2 seconds). Had it from new since August 2017 and covered over 80k miles in it now. They are available at your budget.

They aren't the most exciting thing to drive, but they do the comfort/relaxing thing really well though I reckon. It feels nice and torquey and the engine really suits it well for me.

[Andy665]

alorotom said:

Personally I would opt for a Q7 over anything listed so far but I am biased and I loved mine. The Q5 has been a little neglected spec-wise.

I would also consider a Skoda Kodiak (same platform as the Q7) but dirt cheap brand new.

Kodiaq is not on the same platform as the Q7, it uses the stretched version of the MQB platform that underpins the Golf, A3, Octavia, Leon etc, a lightly used VRs would certainly be in budget and is a great all rounder - depends if badge is important

[alorotom]

Andy665 said:

Kodiaq is not on the same platform as the Q7, it uses the stretched version of the MQB platform that underpins the Golf, A3, Octavia, Leon etc, a lightly used VRs would certainly be in budget and is a great all rounder - depends if badge is important

Ah ok, I stand corrected - it was the chap at the local Skoda dealer who said that to me ... live and learn

[Petetamora]

cerb4.5lee said:

I can recommend the Mercedes GLC350d(3.0 V6 diesel/0 to 60 in 6.2 seconds). Had it from new since August 2017 and covered over 80k miles in it now. They are available at your budget.

They aren't the most exciting thing to drive, but they do the comfort/relaxing thing really well though I reckon. It feels nice and torquey and the engine really suits it well for me.

I can second this thought, also have a GLC 350d and with the premium plus pack it’s a nice place to be and a very good all rounder.

[Gavin_60]

Thank you for all the replies folks, I won't multi quote everyone to save taking up lots of space but I shall respond in this post.

Discovery Sport - I like the look of them, and will need to have a look at one so that is added to the list.

Alfa Stelvio - Again a nice looking car, but they seem quite thin on the ground especially in diesel form (presume the petrol won't be suited to towing a 1500kg caravan)

Jeep GC - I hadn't considered one of those, it seems there aren't many around here in Scotland but I will look at one if one pops up reasonably locally.

Audi Q7 / Touareg - I don]t really want something that big, I've found my 3 series (2014 model) is a good size and don't want anything bigger than that.

Porsche - Another one I hadn't thought of, are they worth the extra over a Q5?

Mercedes GLC - Added to the list, are the 4cyl ones any good or should I try and find a good 6cyl in budget?

Skoda - I have never seen one of those before. Are they Q7 size, or closer to Q5? Seem to be hardly any VRS models around which might be a difficulty.

Plenty to think about, and it sounds like there aren't any real lemons out there?

[cerb4.5lee]

Gavin_60 said:

Mercedes GLC - Added to the list, are the 4cyl ones any good or should I try and find a good 6cyl in budget?

My personal preference is for the 6cyl because it is a relatively big/heavy car(pretty much 1900kg). However it isn't a car that really eggs you on that much to go quickly(it will if you want it to though), so I presume that the two 4cyl variants(220d/250d) will be fine performance wise. You do get a bit more refinement/quietness though from the 6cyl version.

[Andy665]

alorotom said:

Ah ok, I stand corrected - it was the chap at the local Skoda dealer who said that to me ... live and learn

You dared to believe what was said in a dealership - brave man :-)