Family SUV suggestions
Discussion
Hi,
Looking for a family SUV, budget circa £55k and after some ideas! We’re thinking GLE / X5 size but are concerned about what fuel type to go for. An average day of school runs etc is about 20 miles and then every other week we’re seeing family at about 220 mile round trip. We’re thinking a MHEV (no faffing to plug in) - anyone have one of these? The other thing we’re concerned about is the market constantly changing and potentially losing too much money by buying something that will be outdated very quickly!
Looking for a family SUV, budget circa £55k and after some ideas! We’re thinking GLE / X5 size but are concerned about what fuel type to go for. An average day of school runs etc is about 20 miles and then every other week we’re seeing family at about 220 mile round trip. We’re thinking a MHEV (no faffing to plug in) - anyone have one of these? The other thing we’re concerned about is the market constantly changing and potentially losing too much money by buying something that will be outdated very quickly!
danfitzjohn said:
Hi,
Looking for a family SUV, budget circa £55k and after some ideas! We’re thinking GLE / X5 size but are concerned about what fuel type to go for. An average day of school runs etc is about 20 miles and then every other week we’re seeing family at about 220 mile round trip. We’re thinking a MHEV (no faffing to plug in) - anyone have one of these? The other thing we’re concerned about is the market constantly changing and potentially losing too much money by buying something that will be outdated very quickly!
To be honest your driving pattern indicates a PHEV. Electric for all your urban stuff then petrol for long journeys.Looking for a family SUV, budget circa £55k and after some ideas! We’re thinking GLE / X5 size but are concerned about what fuel type to go for. An average day of school runs etc is about 20 miles and then every other week we’re seeing family at about 220 mile round trip. We’re thinking a MHEV (no faffing to plug in) - anyone have one of these? The other thing we’re concerned about is the market constantly changing and potentially losing too much money by buying something that will be outdated very quickly!
If you could stretch your budget a little e.g around £65k you are into territory for a Cayenne Turbo S E-hybrid (670 bhp) which looks awesome. There are less powerful PHEVs
If you don't care about mpg then it all depends on your attitude for risk (wrt JLR products) but a Cayenne Turbo is an option for a true PH'er!
A bit left field but if I was spending that on an SUV I'd get a Levante V8 Trofeo.
Most people would opt for a RRS or FFRR SVR and a decent warranty.
What your attitude to performance vs mpg vs practicality are all factors.
For me your usage suits two GLE models.
53:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403227...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403097...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310163...
GLE400d:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202404048...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401225...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311164...
With a budget stretch you could get GLE580h:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401125...
53:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403227...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403097...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310163...
GLE400d:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202404048...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401225...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311164...
With a budget stretch you could get GLE580h:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401125...
Mild hybrids have always struck me as pretty pointless, as the electric motor is really just there for trickling along in traffic at best.
A proper hybrid might prove to be a little cheaper to run than pure ICE, will probably get by with a smaller (and more economical) ICE engine, and be able to actually drive on the battery.
A plug-in hybrid takes it a stage further, with the ability to charge the battery at home for less than 4p a mile, and drive for 20+ miles without starting the engine at all.
I went for a used XC40 T5 plug-in. Most of my driving is on the battery. Once the battery is low, it will still do over 40mpg.
I reset the trip computer when I last filled the tank. It's now showing that I've driven just over 880 miles, and still have over a third of the 52 litre tank remaining - 190 miles of pure petrol driving left.
A proper hybrid might prove to be a little cheaper to run than pure ICE, will probably get by with a smaller (and more economical) ICE engine, and be able to actually drive on the battery.
A plug-in hybrid takes it a stage further, with the ability to charge the battery at home for less than 4p a mile, and drive for 20+ miles without starting the engine at all.
I went for a used XC40 T5 plug-in. Most of my driving is on the battery. Once the battery is low, it will still do over 40mpg.
I reset the trip computer when I last filled the tank. It's now showing that I've driven just over 880 miles, and still have over a third of the 52 litre tank remaining - 190 miles of pure petrol driving left.
clockworks said:
Mild hybrids have always struck me as pretty pointless, as the electric motor is really just there for trickling along in traffic at best.
A proper hybrid might prove to be a little cheaper to run than pure ICE, will probably get by with a smaller (and more economical) ICE engine, and be able to actually drive on the battery.
A plug-in hybrid takes it a stage further, with the ability to charge the battery at home for less than 4p a mile, and drive for 20+ miles without starting the engine at all.
I went for a used XC40 T5 plug-in. Most of my driving is on the battery. Once the battery is low, it will still do over 40mpg.
I reset the trip computer when I last filled the tank. It's now showing that I've driven just over 880 miles, and still have over a third of the 52 litre tank remaining - 190 miles of pure petrol driving left.
Some non plug-in tech sounds quite cool like the motor in an E53 which fills in the turbo lag giving a better throttle response.A proper hybrid might prove to be a little cheaper to run than pure ICE, will probably get by with a smaller (and more economical) ICE engine, and be able to actually drive on the battery.
A plug-in hybrid takes it a stage further, with the ability to charge the battery at home for less than 4p a mile, and drive for 20+ miles without starting the engine at all.
I went for a used XC40 T5 plug-in. Most of my driving is on the battery. Once the battery is low, it will still do over 40mpg.
I reset the trip computer when I last filled the tank. It's now showing that I've driven just over 880 miles, and still have over a third of the 52 litre tank remaining - 190 miles of pure petrol driving left.
fflump said:
danfitzjohn said:
Hi,
Looking for a family SUV, budget circa £55k and after some ideas! We’re thinking GLE / X5 size but are concerned about what fuel type to go for. An average day of school runs etc is about 20 miles and then every other week we’re seeing family at about 220 mile round trip. We’re thinking a MHEV (no faffing to plug in) - anyone have one of these? The other thing we’re concerned about is the market constantly changing and potentially losing too much money by buying something that will be outdated very quickly!
To be honest your driving pattern indicates a PHEV. Electric for all your urban stuff then petrol for long journeys.Looking for a family SUV, budget circa £55k and after some ideas! We’re thinking GLE / X5 size but are concerned about what fuel type to go for. An average day of school runs etc is about 20 miles and then every other week we’re seeing family at about 220 mile round trip. We’re thinking a MHEV (no faffing to plug in) - anyone have one of these? The other thing we’re concerned about is the market constantly changing and potentially losing too much money by buying something that will be outdated very quickly!
If you could stretch your budget a little e.g around £65k you are into territory for a Cayenne Turbo S E-hybrid (670 bhp) which looks awesome. There are less powerful PHEVs
If you don't care about mpg then it all depends on your attitude for risk (wrt JLR products) but a Cayenne Turbo is an option for a true PH'er!
A bit left field but if I was spending that on an SUV I'd get a Levante V8 Trofeo.
Most people would opt for a RRS or FFRR SVR and a decent warranty.
What your attitude to performance vs mpg vs practicality are all factors.
We have an RX450h. Nice car to drive, not sporty at all but comfortable and quiet. Very well built and have a track record of being one of the most reliable vehicles you can buy. We get around 33-35mpg economy on petrol which imo is excellent for a 2+ tonne car. You can get Toyota/Lexus relax warranty up to 10years/100k miles.
Negatives are that the boot is quite small for this class of vehicle. Also theft is rife as they have a flaw in which thieves can steal the car via the wiring to the headlights - there is an official fix for this now but you may still find insurance expensive.
Also the car is front wheel drive most of the time and has a low powered electric motor on the rear axle to help when required - obvs not going to be as good as any Land Rover.
Negatives are that the boot is quite small for this class of vehicle. Also theft is rife as they have a flaw in which thieves can steal the car via the wiring to the headlights - there is an official fix for this now but you may still find insurance expensive.
Also the car is front wheel drive most of the time and has a low powered electric motor on the rear axle to help when required - obvs not going to be as good as any Land Rover.
turbomoggie said:
We have an RX450h. Nice car to drive, not sporty at all but comfortable and quiet. Very well built and have a track record of being one of the most reliable vehicles you can buy. We get around 33-35mpg economy on petrol which imo is excellent for a 2+ tonne car. You can get Toyota/Lexus relax warranty up to 10years/100k miles.
Negatives are that the boot is quite small for this class of vehicle. Also theft is rife as they have a flaw in which thieves can steal the car via the wiring to the headlights - there is an official fix for this now but you may still find insurance expensive.
Also the car is front wheel drive most of the time and has a low powered electric motor on the rear axle to help when required - obvs not going to be as good as any Land Rover.
Thanks, we looked at one of these but the Mrs didn't like the looks of it so it was a non starter! I agree though, it ticks most of the boxes...Negatives are that the boot is quite small for this class of vehicle. Also theft is rife as they have a flaw in which thieves can steal the car via the wiring to the headlights - there is an official fix for this now but you may still find insurance expensive.
Also the car is front wheel drive most of the time and has a low powered electric motor on the rear axle to help when required - obvs not going to be as good as any Land Rover.
Ebo100 said:
We're in a similar situation with a diesel Merc GLC that I am certain my wife is slowly killing with her short urban commute and shopping journeys. Top of our list so far is the Volvo XC90 after looking at Lexus, Skoda, Mazda and Mercedes.
we've got a GLE 250 diesel so yes very similar situation! We had a look through the window of the latest XC 90 but the interior / dash just didn't do it for us!Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff