SUV buyer advice needed

[schmalex]

I saw a fair few RHD Escalades in Sydney...

Not much help when you live in London, granted. However, a RHD conversion can't be that hard...

[The Moose]

jdwright590 said:

The Moose said:

What about a Cayenne? With a Porsche warranty?

I have briefly considered the Porsche but the fuel consumption scares me! I know my annual mileage isn't that high but my car tends to be the family car vs my mum's Honda Jazz...so 20mpg on a run doesn't appeal too much :/ Anything with a warranty would be appealing though...

Porsche's warranty is rather good. None of those cars are going to give you a good MPG. If that's of consideration, I'd consider something other than a luxury SUV such as the ones in your OP!

[jdwright590]

schmalex said:

Having owned a few modern 4x4's, the fuel bill is the least of your worries to be honest. When they're working (which is 99% of the time), they are outstanding places to be. However, when they stop working, the remedial work will, more often than not, throw up some eye watering bills.

That's what really puts me off buying the RRS/FFRR/Disco...I know that it's impossible to gauge how reliable a car will be even if it is maintained correctly (though I know this is a massive help), but LR products have a reputation for going wrong more than the others, or so my research suggests. That said would something like a Q7 be less expensive to maintain?

[LooneyTunes]

V8RX7 said:

Personally I'd look at a V8 Grand Cherokee - they are RHD and frequently available on LPG

Have you been in one? We had one as a courtesy car when someone drove into the wife's 4x4.

Truly awful. Sent it back after two days.

[Bill]

rallycross said:

Why at 23 would you want a Chelsea tractor?

This. A thousand fold.

FFRR is the one to get, but if you really must do it I'd suggest a classic RR as its timeless, far cooler and will hold its value.

[schmalex]

Don't be fooled into thinking the German marques are bullet proof

A Q7 (along with a Touareg and Cayenne) will, most likely, suffer from propshaft centre bearing failure at around 60k miles. You'll spend weeks thinking a wheel bearing has let go, getting your mechanic to drive around with stethoscopes strapped to the car and eventually end up taking it to VW / Audi / Porsche, who will ask for £2,200 for a complete replacement propshaft. You'll then jump on google and find that they can be refurbished and uprated for about £300.

4x4's are damned complex and main dealers like to throw big numbers around for repairs.

[jdwright590]

The Moose said:

jdwright590 said:

The Moose said:

What about a Cayenne? With a Porsche warranty?

I have briefly considered the Porsche but the fuel consumption scares me! I know my annual mileage isn't that high but my car tends to be the family car vs my mum's Honda Jazz...so 20mpg on a run doesn't appeal too much :/ Anything with a warranty would be appealing though...

Porsche's warranty is rather good. None of those cars are going to give you a good MPG. If that's of consideration, I'd consider something other than a luxury SUV such as the ones in your OP!

Just had a look at Porsche's pre approved site and didn't see any Cayennes in budget, but did see that their warranty can be purchased for cars up to 9 years old (subject to t&c)? Re the mpg issue I would just be reluctant to purchase a Cayenne that gets 20mpg vs an ML that gets 30, silly I know but just how my head works...won't deny that the Porsche and it's V8 have a certain appeal though

[The Moose]

jdwright590 said:

The Moose said:

jdwright590 said:

The Moose said:

What about a Cayenne? With a Porsche warranty?

I have briefly considered the Porsche but the fuel consumption scares me! I know my annual mileage isn't that high but my car tends to be the family car vs my mum's Honda Jazz...so 20mpg on a run doesn't appeal too much :/ Anything with a warranty would be appealing though...

Porsche's warranty is rather good. None of those cars are going to give you a good MPG. If that's of consideration, I'd consider something other than a luxury SUV such as the ones in your OP!

Just had a look at Porsche's pre approved site and didn't see any Cayennes in budget, but did see that their warranty can be purchased for cars up to 9 years old (subject to t&c)? Re the mpg issue I would just be reluctant to purchase a Cayenne that gets 20mpg vs an ML that gets 30, silly I know but just how my head works...won't deny that the Porsche and it's V8 have a certain appeal though

You'd have to buy outside their main dealer network, have the 111 point check and warranty put on the car but no big deal.

Do you really think you'll see 30 in the ML? My aunt had one for a while and she said it was worse than her Cayennes (S and turbo).

[jonah35]

jdwright590 said:

The Moose said:

jdwright590 said:

The Moose said:

What about a Cayenne? With a Porsche warranty?

I have briefly considered the Porsche but the fuel consumption scares me! I know my annual mileage isn't that high but my car tends to be the family car vs my mum's Honda Jazz...so 20mpg on a run doesn't appeal too much :/ Anything with a warranty would be appealing though...

Porsche's warranty is rather good. None of those cars are going to give you a good MPG. If that's of consideration, I'd consider something other than a luxury SUV such as the ones in your OP!

Just had a look at Porsche's pre approved site and didn't see any Cayennes in budget, but did see that their warranty can be purchased for cars up to 9 years old (subject to t&c)? Re the mpg issue I would just be reluctant to purchase a Cayenne that gets 20mpg vs an ML that gets 30, silly I know but just how my head works...won't deny that the Porsche and it's V8 have a certain appeal though

Residuals on a cayenne should be ok

[schmalex]

An L322 4.4 V8 on gas would be quite an appealing prospect. You'd see a monetary equivalent of c. Mid 30's mpg, the engine is very unstressed and they hustle along pretty well for a big car.

You've just got watch out for:

Failing electric steering columns

Failing air suspension

Suspension bushes (not an insignificant job)

Gearbox (I was fortunate to have mine replaced by LR under warranty)

There are a few minor electrical gremlins, but aside from that, they really are outstanding trucks. Mine averaged about 21mpg over 40k miles, but I did drive it pretty hard both on and off road.

[Condi]

Mate picked up a RR TDV8 for £15k. God knows where from, was dirt cheap. 58 plate from memory and stacked with every option you could want. Lovely lovely motor.

[LayZ]

If you are worried about 20mpg in a Cayenne you are looking at the wrong sort of motor. In London none of the stuff you are looking at will do much better than that.

+1 for a petrol FFRR in a restrained colour. As previously mentioned, private plate and it easily outclasses the other rather crass metal considered.

[jdwright590]

The Moose said:

You'd have to buy outside their main dealer network, have the 111 point check and warranty put on the car but no big deal.

Do you really think you'll see 30 in the ML? My aunt had one for a while and she said it was worse than her Cayennes (S and turbo).

My friend has an R320L CDI and he gets 30mpg average...admittedly he does a lot of motorway miles but when the M25 isn't clogged he is doing 80mph+. I'm a more careful drive

[jdwright590]

Condi said:

Mate picked up a RR TDV8 for £15k. God knows where from, was dirt cheap. 58 plate from memory and stacked with every option you could want. Lovely lovely motor.

I've seen them advertised from about that amount...56/07 reg and very appealing!

[Haggleburyfinius]

Bill said:

rallycross said:

Why at 23 would you want a Chelsea tractor?

This. A thousand fold.

FFRR is the one to get, but if you really must do it I'd suggest a classic RR as its timeless, far cooler and will hold its value.

I had an ML at 18.

It had seven seats so could transport lots of people/stuff about in comfort.

It was a girl magnet and had loads of space in the back for various activities.

Under-rated and sports cars are harder to insure.

P.S. OP, get an Escalade

[Willy Nilly]

jdwright590 said:

I have briefly considered the Porsche but the fuel consumption scares me! I know my annual mileage isn't that high but my car tends to be the family car vs my mum's Honda Jazz...so 20mpg on a run doesn't appeal too much :/ Anything with a warranty would be appealing though...

If 20mpg doesn't appeal, then maybe SUV ownership is not for you.

[jdwright590]

Regarding all the comments about my dislike of a 20 mpg vehicle, I'm under the impression that 20 would be considered a decent extra-urban figure from a Cayenne S and 17/18 being more realistic combined figure. The figures I've read from X5/ML/XC90 drivers about their mpg tends to put them at about 30 real life with 35 possible on a good run...to me that's quite a difference (although happy to be corrected)

Although I technically live in London, Enfield is far more like a suburb than anywhere closer to central-I work just across the M25 in Hertfordshire so generally I'm on dual carriageways at 40 as opposed to stop/start traffic, though it does happen occasionally

[veevee]

jonah35 said:

jdwright590 said:

The Moose said:

jdwright590 said:

The Moose said:

What about a Cayenne? With a Porsche warranty?

I have briefly considered the Porsche but the fuel consumption scares me! I know my annual mileage isn't that high but my car tends to be the family car vs my mum's Honda Jazz...so 20mpg on a run doesn't appeal too much :/ Anything with a warranty would be appealing though...

Porsche's warranty is rather good. None of those cars are going to give you a good MPG. If that's of consideration, I'd consider something other than a luxury SUV such as the ones in your OP!

Just had a look at Porsche's pre approved site and didn't see any Cayennes in budget, but did see that their warranty can be purchased for cars up to 9 years old (subject to t&c)? Re the mpg issue I would just be reluctant to purchase a Cayenne that gets 20mpg vs an ML that gets 30, silly I know but just how my head works...won't deny that the Porsche and it's V8 have a certain appeal though

Residuals on a cayenne should be ok

Not sure if serious?

[veevee]

jdwright590 said:

Regarding all the comments about my dislike of a 20 mpg vehicle, I'm under the impression that 20 would be considered a decent extra-urban figure from a Cayenne S and 17/18 being more realistic combined figure. The figures I've read from X5/ML/XC90 drivers about their mpg tends to put them at about 30 real life with 35 possible on a good run...to me that's quite a difference (although happy to be corrected)

Although I technically live in London, Enfield is far more like a suburb than anywhere closer to central-I work just across the M25 in Hertfordshire so generally I'm on dual carriageways at 40 as opposed to stop/start traffic, though it does happen occasionally

Are you directly comparing petrol mpg with diesel mpg?!

[jdwright590]

veevee said:

jdwright590 said:

Regarding all the comments about my dislike of a 20 mpg vehicle, I'm under the impression that 20 would be considered a decent extra-urban figure from a Cayenne S and 17/18 being more realistic combined figure. The figures I've read from X5/ML/XC90 drivers about their mpg tends to put them at about 30 real life with 35 possible on a good run...to me that's quite a difference (although happy to be corrected)

Although I technically live in London, Enfield is far more like a suburb than anywhere closer to central-I work just across the M25 in Hertfordshire so generally I'm on dual carriageways at 40 as opposed to stop/start traffic, though it does happen occasionally

Are you directly comparing petrol mpg with diesel mpg?!

Is there much difference besides 6p/L?