Qashqai SUV replacment £15-20k

[Jw Vw]

Hi All

We are looking to replace our 2018 Qashqai, as it seems to drink oil at a rate of knots (0.5l per 2k miles) and because it is about as well built as a piece of A4 paper (rattles, squeaks, random electrical faults, battery dying without warning, erratic auto hold etc).

We would ideally trade it in and buy something of a similar size, petrol, with a budget between £15-£20k.

We have been considering the Seat Ateca, Skoda Karoq, and BMW X1, but welcome any opinions. The car will cover approx 6k miles per year, and is comfortable and ideally has the usual mod cons (sat-nav, cruise, apple car play).

any ideas welcome!

[wyson]

The Volvo XC40 was the best car of this ilk I tried. I tried a couple of Whatcars 5 star cars in this category.

Far preferred the XC40 over the Kia Sportage, although I could see where they were coming from giving overall class honours to that car. More mod cons, cheaper, decent dynamics.

XC40 was just more comfortable and felt ‘righter’ to me. The chassis sophistication and NVH were a notch higher. The tech and equipment levels were a notch lower, but weren’t shamefully bad. Overall, considering materials, and especially seat comfort, it just felt like a nicer thing to have.

Honestly wouldn’t touch a VAG group car because of their infotainment / electronic woes. BMW’s I’ve tried had too much sporting bias for my tastes.

Edited by wyson on Friday 18th October 13:48

[66HFM]

wyson said:

The Volvo XC40 was the best car of this ilk I tried.

Or its slightly bigger brother the XC60

[valiant]

Left field choice but maybe a DS7 could be in with a shout?

[Sheepshanks]

wyson said:

Honestly wouldn’t touch a VAG group car because of their infotainment / electronic woes.

We have both Ateca and Karoq in the family, and wife recently got rid of her Tiguan after 8 yrs, and I’m not aware of any infotainment / electronic woes. The sat nav is apparently a bit random but we always use Waze which works perfectly through wireless CarPlay.

Volvo are legendary for software issues - we looked at XC40 EV and the Volvo guy said don’t worry about lack of buttons, it works by voice, only for the car to completely ignore him.

Might not suit everyone, but I think VW Groups “All In” roadside, service, MOT and warranty package works well and can often be bought 20% off. Time it right and it’ll cover the car until it’s 8yrs old,

[Jw Vw]

wyson said:

The Volvo XC40 was the best car of this ilk I tried. I tried a couple of Whatcars 5 star cars in this category.

Far preferred the XC40 over the Kia Sportage, although I could see where they were coming from giving overall class honours to that car. More mod cons, cheaper, decent dynamics.

XC40 was just more comfortable and felt ‘righter’ to me. The chassis sophistication and NVH were a notch higher. The tech and equipment levels were a notch lower, but weren’t shamefully bad. Overall, considering materials, and especially seat comfort, it just felt like a nicer thing to have.

Honestly wouldn’t touch a VAG group car because of their infotainment / electronic woes. BMW’s I’ve tried had too much sporting bias for my tastes.

Edited by wyson on Friday 18th October 13:48

Thank you for the suggestion - added to the list. Just had a read of the whatcar used car SUV review and the XC40 places high in terms of reliability and rating.

[Jw Vw]

Sheepshanks said:

wyson said:

Honestly wouldn’t touch a VAG group car because of their infotainment / electronic woes.

We have both Ateca and Karoq in the family, and wife recently got rid of her Tiguan after 8 yrs, and I’m not aware of any infotainment / electronic woes. The sat nav is apparently a bit random but we always use Waze which works perfectly through wireless CarPlay.

Volvo are legendary for software issues - we looked at XC40 EV and the Volvo guy said don’t worry about lack of buttons, it works by voice, only for the car to completely ignore him.

Might not suit everyone, but I think VW Groups “All In” roadside, service, MOT and warranty package works well and can often be bought 20% off. Time it right and it’ll cover the car until it’s 8yrs old,

Thank you - also seen that VAG group offer up to a 2 year warranty period on used cars also. Given the pretty abject levels of reliability of our Qashqai pretty much as soon as bought, this could be invaluable.

[wyson]

Good point @Sheepshanks. Should have caveated that by saying VAG Group cars based on the Mk8 Golf’s electrical architecture. So anything between 2020 and 2024 as a rough rule of thumb. Some VAG cars like the Tiago, never went on that system, so they should be fine too.

Whatcar reliability surveys show Audi, Seat, Skoda, VW cars from that era all struggling.

Apparently the Mk8.5 Golf’s system is much better now. They use the same architecture across models.

An 8 year old Tiguan would be based on the Mk7, Mk7.5 Golf’s electronic architecture. That is reliable.

Newer XC40’s based on the Google infotainment are a lot better. I would avoid their full electric and PHEV’s too due to poor reliability.

Regarding the engine, the 2.0 4 pot is considered a mature engine now and better than the 1.5 3 pot if buying second hand. You can’t get a 3 pot new anymore.

Edited by wyson on Friday 18th October 14:57

[Shabaza]

Skoda Karoq in SEL trim is the sweet spot in the range.
Have had the 1.5tsi DSG for a while, it does everything relatively well with the standout exception being versatile interior, extremely well.

Edit to say, Tiguan of that era is also fantastic, a tad bigger, but the adaptive cruise control/massage seats etc on SEL trim is what sold it to me

[Jw Vw]

Shabaza said:

Skoda Karoq in SEL trim is the sweet spot in the range.
Have had the 1.5tsi DSG for a while, it does everything relatively well with the standout exception being versatile interior, extremely well.

Edit to say, Tiguan of that era is also fantastic, a tad bigger, but the adaptive cruise control/massage seats etc on SEL trim is what sold it to me

These look good - for our budget probably be aiming for a 2020 era car. have you had any of the 'kangaroo' issues reported online when taking off in 1st?

[wyson]

Jw Vw said:

Thank you - also seen that VAG group offer up to a 2 year warranty period on used cars also. Given the pretty abject levels of reliability of our Qashqai pretty much as soon as bought, this could be invaluable.

I brought an approved used VW. They tried to shirk warranty claims as much as possible. It was exasperating. It had a whining fuel pump, the VW tech said that would drive him insane, but the service manager told me ‘they all do that’, when I knew full well having driven dozens of Golfs through Zipcar that they don’t. It took a threat to reject the car through their no fuss, any reason 30 day return scheme for the fuel pump to be replaced, but even then the sales dept had to pay for it.

Also many of the Golf Mk8 electrical architecture problems, were unfixable without new hardware. I’d be very wary of cars based in that architecture.

Edited by wyson on Friday 18th October 15:42

[Jw Vw]

wyson said:

Jw Vw said:

Thank you - also seen that VAG group offer up to a 2 year warranty period on used cars also. Given the pretty abject levels of reliability of our Qashqai pretty much as soon as bought, this could be invaluable.

I brought an approved used VW. They tried to shirk warranty claims as much as possible. It was exasperating. Like a whining fuel pump, the VW tech said that would drive him insane, but the service manager told me ‘they all do that’, when I knew full well having driven dozens of Golfs through Zipcar that they don’t. I took a threat to reject the car through their no fuss, any reason 30 day return scheme for the fuel pump to be replaced, but even then the sales dept had to pay for it.

Also the Golf Mk8 electrical architecture problems, were unfixable without new hardware. I’d be very wary of cars based in that architecture.

Thank you, that's really disappointing to hear. we had the same experience with a large car supermarket, even after they threw in a '2 year warranty' which wasn't worth the paper it was written on.

[Quickmoose]

We've gone for a MkV CRV.
Comfort being reason no.1
Ease of living with no.2
The worlds' best selling for a reason?

For me a light coloured interior and a pan roof were must haves... heated wheel, and current tech all present and correct.
The XC60 came close I must admit, the interior looking very premium..

[Sheepshanks]

Shabaza said:

Skoda Karoq in SEL trim is the sweet spot in the range.
Have had the 1.5tsi DSG for a while, it does everything relatively well with the standout exception being versatile interior, extremely well.

Edit to say, Tiguan of that era is also fantastic, a tad bigger, but the adaptive cruise control/massage seats etc on SEL trim is what sold it to me

Somewhat confused by that - are you saying Karoq SEL has adaptive cruise and massage seats? Wife’s 2022 car doesn’t, although maybe they were available as options, or on different model years.

[Jw Vw]

Quickmoose said:

We've gone for a MkV CRV.
Comfort being reason no.1
Ease of living with no.2
The worlds' best selling for a reason?

For me a light coloured interior and a pan roof were must haves... heated wheel, and current tech all present and correct.
The XC60 came close I must admit, the interior looking very premium..

CRV has been plugged by the father in law - can't find many without the wood trim though. definitely on the list (1.5 2019ish spec)

[covmutley]

66HFM said:

wyson said:

The Volvo XC40 was the best car of this ilk I tried.

Or its slightly bigger brother the XC60

XC60 is the nicer car, and you get more for your money as the XC40's hold their money better- I assume as they are not so large.

Trouble is, most are diesel, and that doesnt really make sense for 6k miles per year.

[CoreyDog]

Recently changed our S Max for a T Roc.

Spent what felt like an eternity going around car dealers test driving, viewing, discussing but end of it all a 2.0TSI 4motion T Roc worked out the best.

MG HS, nice car to drive, very comfortable and relaxing despite it not having the most torquey engine. However long term reliability and depreciation put us off. Chinese soooo you know.

BMW X1 and X2 2.0 Petrol. The one we started out actually wanting. Viewed about 5, mostly M Sports and was shocked with how little equipment they come with, literally even the basics missing. Our 13 year old S Max was better spec’d. Seats also incredibly uncomfortable. Drove nicely but that was about it.

Skoda Kamiq 1.5TSI Monte Carlo. Liked the looks and equipment but the engine was just slightly lacking for me. We drove this after the T Roc and the 2.0 just felt a lot more effortless.

DS7 220bhp. Marmite looks, liked the exterior but wife hated the interior. Said it felt like being sat in an Essex Girls bedroom after she married a footballer. Had to agree, abit too much going on.

T Roc did everything right and they threw in a 3 year warranty. Only gripe is the boot is a tad small but later realised this is because it’s a 4motion and the system eats up a chunk of boot space. Very well equipped though with ACC, CarPlay, heated seats, etc etc. Comfortable, nippy, fuel economy is good. Had it about 4 months now and no squeaks or rattles.

Edited to add, forgot one!

XC40. Had one for 24hrs and that was brilliant. B4 so the 2.0 Hybrid. Superbly comfortable, enough get up and go, extremely well equipped and loads of space. Only thing that put us off is the equivalent age and mileage T Roc was a lot cheaper. Volvos seem to hold their money extremely well, we would have had to get a car with 60k on instead of 20k.

Edited by CoreyDog on Friday 18th October 16:56

[macron]

Petrol and no one has mentioned the CX5 yet?

[Jw Vw]

macron said:

Petrol and no one has mentioned the CX5 yet?

Haven't heard too much about the CX5. What's your view on them?

[macron]

That the interior quality is far above the Nissan, although the trims do vary. The diesel engines had infrequent but significant issues, causing much online moaning, however the petrols are fine. And you said petrol.

If you sit in one (engine irrelevant) you'll find it a very nice place to be, you then just have to work your way through what version of what spec you want. They hold their money well, and owners appear to repeat purchases time after time.