£10k Family SUV

[battletron]

Hi guys,

I'm trying to get some inspiration from you all.

Me and my family are in the market for a large-ish SUV - I'd love an estate but the Mrs isn't keen. It's for shepherding kids about, town driving and a little bit of lugging stuff around for my business. Probably covering less than 100 miles per week (probably more like <50). MPG isn't an issue, Petrol over diesel, ideally cheap road tax.

I'm looking at Santa Fe / Kuga / Sportage / Toureg -- staying away from Audi/BMW/Land Rover as they're too expensive for what for the car needs to do (happy to have my mind changed though ??)

Budget can stretch to £10k, but happier in £8-9k range.

Any thoughts?

[SlowV6]

For full budget the Lexus RX450H would be my pick with that criteria unless you need to ferry full family + Loads of kit regularly. You could get a roof box for that scenario though. The reason I state this is because the boot is a little small due to the batteries under the floor.

For less than full budget the Ford Kuga 2.5T would be nice, but thirsty.

Also for less than full budget the earlier Lexus RX400H would be a candidate, but as with the RX450H the boot isn't stunning. You also need to consider catalyst theft with this model, as they are right up at the top of the league table of affected models.

[nickfrog]

Not sure if a Skoda Kodiaq is available at that budget?

[ChocolateFrog]

I'd probably head down the Lexus route too.

The Touareg is decent but no petrols unless you go older and V8.

Stuff like the Kuga isn't in the same league IMO.

[JQ]

Not exactly what you've asked for but a Volvo XC70 D5 SE Lux is a lovely place to be. D5 engine at 215bhp is more than perky enough, it has slightly raised ride height and has all the toys you could need. Plus it's incredibly practical. Pick a post 2012 model for updated media, which includes Bluetooth and DAB.

The other thing to consider is that previous owners tend to be fastidious about maintenance and they'll do mega miles. My first one had done 260,000 miles when I sold it - looked and drove like it had done 40,000.

[Brett748]

I was going to suggest a Rav4 but I had no idea they were so silly expensive in petrol form - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206227...

We got a diesel one for £2k for my misses which lasted 14 months and was a good family hack. Never worth £10k though for a 12 year old modest SUV.

[911sse]

Another vote for a Volvo XC70, great all round cars. Had mine as a run about, skip car for three years now - love it. 2008 XC70 2.4 D5 SE lux manual - cost £3k. If I were to change it, I'd spend £10k and get the newest model I could, in manual.

[ninjag]

Honda CRV 3rd Gen top EX spec. Good MOT history.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209049...

[P675]

We've got a 2015 Santa Fe, premium spec with light coloured leather interior, the usual spec dark interior ones look a lot less plush. 7 seats is really useful, tons of space with all the seats down, tows a trailer tent very well. Done long trips to Scotland and Cornwall in it, 3 kids in the back with no complaints. You can recline the back seats quite a bit (if nothing behind it) if you want a relaxing driving break. It has parking assist but I've never tried it, 4x4 lock but I don't go off road, hill speed control which just seems to send the ABS crazy. Issues I can think of are:

Cupholders are behind the gearstick so tall cups get in the way (I'd have an auto if I could change anything about it)
Speakers can't handle bass at all despite being the premium system apparently
Touchscreen system is not great but does the job, only bluetooth music/calls no apps
Cruise control controls are odd, when you set it, the speedometer stays still at the speed you have set, which means you don't know how fast the car is actually going. When you use the speed limiter, the limit you set appears on the dash screen, so why not for cruise? This can be a problem as downhill the car will go over the set limit quite easily and you have to brake anyway (long 40mph average speed camera road with long hills). Changing the speed with the up/down control is very slow and you only have the speedometer as an indicator, it's usually easier to just disengage and find the new speed with the pedal then set it on again.
Fuel economy of the 2.2 diesel is not great, looking at high 30s - 40 on a run, 25-30 around town.
Feedback from adult passengers is that the back end bounces around a lot which is not noticable in the front.
Headlights are incredibly bright and too high up, no adjustment, must be blinding anyone coming the other way.

[Silvanus]

Kia Sorrento would definitely go on my shortlist. Or you could save a fortune and get the best Mazda CX-7 2.3 you can save a bit for maintenance. Lovely drive, quick, nice interior and pretty solid if well maintained. Loved mine and was so much better than the CR-V 2.0 that replaced it. Another wildcard is the Subaru Tribeca, unusual styling, cracking car. Brilliant interior.

[GreatGranny]

XC60?

D4

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209019...

D5

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208229...

Yes it's showing it's age but they take the mileage well and, if maintained correctly, will last for years.

[Silvanus]

ninjag said:

Honda CRV 3rd Gen top EX spec. Good MOT history.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209049...

I had one, was pretty reliable and quite practical, but about as interesting as a beige heating aid and mine was top spec. Mazda CX-7 I had prior was much better.

[QJumper]

Another vote for the Lexus 450h.

I picked one up for £10k just before prices started to go up and am very happy with it. Road tax is £160 and I get just over 30 mpg on short runs and up to 40 ish on motorways. I've driven across France to Germany and Switzerland in it and it's very quiet and comfortable on long runs. For peace of mind you can also extend the warranty to 15yrs/150k miles, although they're pretty reliable.

[ninjag]

Silvanus said:

had one, was pretty reliable and quite practical, but about as interesting as a beige heating aid and mine was top spec. Mazda CX-7 I had prior was much better.

Aye it's a pretty functional car but compared to a Kia Sorento of the same year it's at least a generation ahead. Speaking of which, I also had a Kia Sorento that left me stranded in the middle of nowhere due to the common and very expensive AWD failure. The Kia sound system was insanely bad lol

I've never driven the CX-7 but I do know that engine because I had an MPS6. Great DISI engine and quite tuneable, although the HPFP internals need to be upgraded first.

[ChevronB19]

Personally (because I had one, and loved it) a last model year (64?) of the Freelander 2 in HSE spec. They did a big facelift, to the interior in particular, and it really did feel like driving a mini Range Rover.

[ZX10R NIN]

1.5T Ford Kuga Titanium X:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208098...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207137...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207087...

[Silvanus]

ZX10R NIN said:

1.5T Ford Kuga Titanium X:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208098...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207137...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207087...

I've personally never been a fan of the Kuga, just didn't like it when I tested one. On paper they are very good though and a good option with that engine.

[Silvanus]

ninjag said:

Silvanus said:

had one, was pretty reliable and quite practical, but about as interesting as a beige heating aid and mine was top spec. Mazda CX-7 I had prior was much better.

Aye it's a pretty functional car but compared to a Kia Sorento of the same year it's at least a generation ahead. Speaking of which, I also had a Kia Sorento that left me stranded in the middle of nowhere due to the common and very expensive AWD failure. The Kia sound system was insanely bad lol

I've never driven the CX-7 but I do know that engine because I had an MPS6. Great DISI engine and quite tuneable, although the HPFP internals need to be upgraded first.

Good mate of mine has a Sorento for work duties and it been bomb proof, although I guess all cars can have there issues. He got it to replace a Hyundai Terracing ( his Cherokee exploded). The Kia however is a size up from the Honda so could prove useful

[ninjag]

Silvanus said:

I've personally never been a fan of the Kuga, just didn't like it when I tested one. On paper they are very good though and a good option with that engine.

I had a Kuga as a courtesy car and I couldn't wait to get out of it. Was crazy cheap inside and horrible to drive. It was a base model but really took me by surprise as I was expecting better.

[ninjag]

Silvanus said:

ninjag said:

Silvanus said:

had one, was pretty reliable and quite practical, but about as interesting as a beige heating aid and mine was top spec. Mazda CX-7 I had prior was much better.

Aye it's a pretty functional car but compared to a Kia Sorento of the same year it's at least a generation ahead. Speaking of which, I also had a Kia Sorento that left me stranded in the middle of nowhere due to the common and very expensive AWD failure. The Kia sound system was insanely bad lol

I've never driven the CX-7 but I do know that engine because I had an MPS6. Great DISI engine and quite tuneable, although the HPFP internals need to be upgraded first.

Good mate of mine has a Sorento for work duties and it been bomb proof, although I guess all cars can have there issues. He got it to replace a Hyundai Terracing ( his Cherokee exploded). The Kia however is a size up from the Honda so could prove useful

I think it was the coupler that was the main issue, can't remember exactly but it caused the AWD to fail and there's tons of stuff on it and a big known issue at the main dealer with them ordering replacement parts every week apparently. The transfer case and front diff were apparently also common failures and expensive to sort. Sounds like your mate got lucky!

Despite the "previous gen" interior and horrific sound system I did like the car. It had a nice rugged look about it, strong diesel engine and tons of space. The 7 seats and AWD was my primary motive, alas the latter failed on me when I tried a 3-point turn on a narrow farm road where I had to plant the front tyres in the snow/mud field expecting the rears (still on the tarmac) to pull me out in reverse - but there was no drive to them as the coupler was goosed! lol I think the Santa Fe also suffered this problem as it was near enough the same car underneath? But again, I can't remember as it was so long ago.