SUV buyer advice needed

[jdwright590]

Hi,
First post here and an attempt to get some advice regarding my next car. I'm only 23 but have a serious weakness for luxury SUV's, so much so that I've decided to buy one with my hard earned dosh. I know there are going to be numerous arguments against me buying such a vehicle (fuel consumption, size, image etc) but there isn't going to be anything to dissuade me from the type of car I want

I've got a budget of around £15k at the very max...anything under is a strong bonus but the cars I've been looking at all seem to scratch that figure. Currently I've narrowed it down to a few options but happy to listen to suggestions/advice. These are my thoughts so far, in no particular order:

E53 X5: By far the cheapest to buy but design abit dated. Insurance is £1300 though which nearly rules it out (nearly twice the price of alot of my choices here).

E70 X5: The best all rounder but also the most expensive...the cars in my budget are sometimes lacking heated seats or navigation which I really want.

Q7: Has a strong appeal but again is at the top end of my budget. I know they have a reputation for munching tyres too (as well as other high running costs).

XC90: A nice car and great value, but abit too pedestrian in terms of image for a 23 yo (superficial but true).

ML280: Probably the most 'sensible' car in terms of budget and running costs. My friend has an R Class so I have sat in a similar car a few times, but again worried about it lacking that extra something like some of the other choices here.

GL320: I know it's almost identical to the ML but the styling and rarity gives it a healthy dose of appeal, although it is just out of budget.

RRS: The Sport has a strong appeal despite the numerous faults I have read about; I'd want a HSE model and the early (2005/6) cars come into my budget but I'd be pretty worried about reliability costs! Would have to be a TDV6 too.

Disco 3: As much as I appreciate that the Disco is a great car I'm not keen; sat in one once and it just seemed far too plasticky inside. Also my neighbour has a Disco 4 that I've seen towed far too many times!

FFRR: My dream car (bar a G Wagen), TD6s are easily within my budget but I could just stretch to a TDV8. Am just worried that it will destroy my wallet (well more than the others here will).

All of these cars will have relatively high mileages, ranging from mid 80's up to around 110k on the FFRR TDV8's. I'm aware this is abit more risky but modern cars are more than capable of doing double that. My own mileage is currently around 6k a year (a mix of town and A Roads mostly) so I won't be piling on the miles.

Anyway sorry for the mini essay, any feedback is much appreciated and I will endeavor to answer any questions/respond (although as a new member I'm not sure how many replies I can post to begin with)

Thanks in advance!

[jdwright590]

Well none actually...lol. I'm not overly worried about insurance-despite living in London I've been getting quotes of between £700 (RRS) and £1300 (E53 X5), in fact only the GL and both X5's are over £850 given that my current insurance for my 1.8 Astra is £500 I'm pretty pleased!

[jdwright590]

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...

[jdwright590]

V8RX7 said:

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

I have considered the Jeep in the past and could easily afford a low mileage diesel, but the interior and styling are a mega turn off. As for the LPG route my current car is actually a dual-fuel factory fit LPG Astra, but the system broke shortly after I bought it (from my Mum who owned it from new), so not a massive fan despite the potential benefits

[jdwright590]

rallycross said:

Why at 23 would you want a Chelsea tractor?

I know I don't really have a 'normal' taste in cars despite being young and a big car buff...but I've wanted an SUV for as long as I can remember-it's a good job I don't live in the US otherwise I'd want something as tasteless and huge as an Escalade

[jdwright590]

KTF said:

You can get them over here but they are a bit outside your budget Judging by the 'high quality' interior on the things that is not such a bad thing:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/cadil...

Is it bad that if they came in RHD then I'd be sorely tempted by one of the older ones? :O

[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?

[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

[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!

[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

[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?

[jdwright590]

FamilyDub said:

I know Americana is taking over our lives ever more, but am I the only one that cringes at Brits using the term 'SUV' seriously?

I guess that I could have used the term 4x4 or even 'jeep' *shudder*, but I've done a degree in American Studies so quite attached to Americana

[jdwright590]

V8RX7 said:

mab1 said:

Consider this for your 6000 miles

Petrol - 22mpg @ 137.60 ppl = £1706.02

Diesel - 27mpg (that's your best case average IMO) @ 142.50 ppl = £1439.60

Difference £266.42 per year. So two tanks of fuel over a year, or just over half a years VED.

Factor in the couple of grand saving in buying the petrol in the first place = no brainer. Even if the difference was £500 per year it would still make sense, and if you can find one with LPG even better

A petrol RR could easily return 14mpg for urban / short trips

Yeah I was under the impression that a figure like 22mpg would only achievable on a motorway run. I know it depends on the car but the more efficient petrol engines seem to be out of my budget, or in the case of some cars they are comparably priced because of their relative youth/spec level (ie a 2007 X5 3.0d can be found for a similar price as an admittedly lower mileage and nicer looking 4.8i). The only petrol model that tempts me somewhat is the aforementioned Cayenne but insurance comes back into play there; £1100 is still cheaper than a diesel X5 (for some reason), but is a good £400 more than my quotes for a Range Rover Sport

[jdwright590]

Roo said:

Except a Jeep isn't even in your list of considered vehicles. ;-)

This is true! But I meant more how some people refer to every single 4x4/SUV as a Jeep :P (or at least they used to)

[jdwright590]

jonah35 said:

Yeah obviously not buying new but a second hand £15k old smoker or an old range sport wont lose lots of money because lots of people like this chap aspire to them.

That's very true from what I've seen...in fact Range Rover Sports tend to be priced a good £3k more than similarly aged/mileage FFRR!

[jdwright590]

CrouchingWayne said:

Have you thought about executive saloons like 7 series and A8's? They accomplish your aims of reliability, purchase price and running costs more than the SUV's you mention (IMO). They would give a similar impression of wealth/bling without as much exposure to ruinous costs I would expect.

A luxury saloon does tick some of my boxes but there is just something about an SUV that really does it for me (and has done since I was little)...tbh my most 'sensible' option is to buy an ML280 this time and then get a FFRR in the future, I can just see myself wishing I'd pushed for a Q7 or X5 :/

[jdwright590]

volturb40 said:

What about an XC60 R design, quite sporty looking, 205bhp getting 36 mpg average???

I did consider an XC60 but not a massive fan of the styling...fickle I know but also no R Design vehicles lie within my budget. In some ways I am tempted by an XC90 given that I could get a 2010 facelift model for about £13k, but anything with a decent spec is a heavy chunk more and the earlier models I feel look dated for the price

[jdwright590]

fathomfive said:

Lexus RX?

Definitely a sensible choice, but not one that really tugs at the heart strings :S

[jdwright590]

jonah35 said:

A.J.M said:

D3 HSE.

Has all the toys you will need, plenty you don't. Doesn't suffer the poor image other cars have so gets left alone in car parks etc.
Plenty of accessories to make it your own.
Same chassis, engine etc as the RRS. There are plenty of specialists and forums you can visit and search as every problem these cars can have, will already have happened and a how to fix it guide there to solve it.
You just have to use the search functions!



Mine, picture taken today after finishing a weekends off roading competition. I was ranked against plenty of kitted Defenders and placed very high compared to them. Not bad for stock car bar off road tyres and a sump guard.

Btw, i bought it when i turned 25, the same week i started college. I'm now 26.
Mine gets 23mpg average, due to the tyres and my short urban commute to work.
Hasn't been bad on the reliability side, it's 9 years old and has 112k, so has had a few bushes and ball joints from wear and tear but has never let me down. Plus it's a damn good off roader.
Ive had 4x4s since i was 21, i prefer driving them to normal cars as they are relaxing comfy places to sit and munch the miles away. Plus i have a kitcar for fast driving so best of both worlds.

For a 23 year old a discovery has a poor image and looks like his dads car. A black RRS is what he really wants.

A Disco would tick quite a few boxes and although the image isn't quite as 'youth' as a RRS I am sure I could deal with it...but sat in one a few months ago and I was pretty underwhelmed in terms of interior plastics and layout. Arguably a pre facelift RRS suffers from the same problem but I've yet to sit in one of them. I see lots of LR products near where I live/work but next door have a 59 plate Disco 4 and peversely that's another black mark against the Disco.

Sorry I know I'm coming across as a horrible little snob (especially for my age) but I'm really not...promise