What car?: small to medium family 'estate' 4wd

[briSk]

Aloha!
Right then. I have been jibbering around for ages but I think i'd like to re-profile the fleet a bit.

For 'the wife' I'd like to get a vaguely focussed sized car that's moderately economical with 4wd.
As per usual the car manufacturers haven't done a wildly good job at satisfying this need due to selling 'lifestyle' and nonsense like that on the never never.

So my choices seem to be:
octavia scout (few around)
yeti (bit dear and too many pointless fwd ones)
qashqai (probably a '+2'?) (too many fwd ones)

or go yet more softroadery and go
kuga (bit chintzy)
tiguan (nicely dull but the load compartment looks small to me - certainly smaller than the kuga - is it?)

go even more softroadery (which i don't want to) and look at:
rav4
outlander/4000007/cross-dresser
or the vorxorl antara thingy - dull as dull can be - but also cheap for what they are.

go bigger:
i'd love a legacy but they're too dear
passat 4motion - hardly any around. the idea of the v6 ones appeals to me but would be wasteful.
superb (love these in non-safrane-esque estate) but again still a bit dear.

[b]basically i'd like something with 30-40k miles
for £10-15k
that's <=3 years old[/b]

I am kidding myself that this car exists aren;t I!?

The seat exeo estate would have been perfect. but they don't come in 4wd!

[briSk]

My mates thought this was boring too!

[Matt UK]

Bit taller, but the Forester footprint is not as long as the Legacy.

[Matt UK]

oh oh oh, Dacia Duster!!!!!!!

Get a new one for your budget

[Matt UK]

Looking for a wife car and we have similar needs to this, so far from a boring thread chap.

[Dr Interceptor]

Not on your list are:

Legacy... http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
Gaylander... http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
Huunday... http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
Bimmer.. http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
Vee Dub... http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

[briSk]

Matt UK said:

oh oh oh, Dacia Duster!!!!!!!

Get a new one for your budget

i saw one of those the other day! it was quite reasonable looking!
so - not getting 'normal' car magazines anymore.. are they any good?
just how 'renault' is it? we currently have a Migraine diseasel and i don;t really want to repeat the experience (even if it was, in relative terms, dirt cheap!).

[briSk]

Dr Interceptor said:

Not on your list are:

Legacy... http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
Gaylander... http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
Huunday... http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
Bimmer.. http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
Vee Dub... http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

the tiguan and legacy are on my (badly formatted!) list.

those santa fe things are quite reasonable to look at (odd rear plate aside) . and the caravaners seem to have them. not sure about a 2.7 v6 one though!

oh and the bimmer is a bit old and generally make me fearful of bills..!

[bertie]

briSk said:

the tiguan and legacy are on my (badly formatted!) list.

those santa fe things are quite reasonable to look at (odd rear plate aside) . and the caravaners seem to have them. not sure about a 2.7 v6 one though!

oh and the bimmer is a bit old and generally make me fearful of bills..!

As a contrary, the biggest bill you'll face with any car is depreciation, and that will be massive on anything new and / or far eastern compared to the BMW.

[briSk]

'the internet says' the duster is fwd(..?)
and how big is it? is the boot (seats up and down) as big as the focus/megane estate?

now i look at it again it looks more like something like a fabia estate sized bodyshell..?

[briSk]

bertie said:

As a contrary, the biggest bill you'll face with any car is depreciation, and that will be massive on anything new and / or far eastern compared to the BMW.

sure i am with you.
i guess a 2.0i one might be ok. but they have the cleverclogs cylinder head don;t they. so that will brake.
really gutted the exeo isn;t 4wd - that would have been great (for what i am trying to achieve here - obviously it's no elise!)

[Matt UK]

briSk said:

Matt UK said:

oh oh oh, Dacia Duster!!!!!!!

Get a new one for your budget

i saw one of those the other day! it was quite reasonable looking!
so - not getting 'normal' car magazines anymore.. are they any good?
just how 'renault' is it? we currently have a Migraine diseasel and i don;t really want to repeat the experience (even if it was, in relative terms, dirt cheap!).

No idea chap, just know what I've read about them on PH.
Bloody loads of them in France and Italy.
If it's a Renault with less kit them I'm OK with it - we had a Scenic diesel and the mechanicals or 1.9dci never gave me any bother, issues were all with keyless go, digital dash, elec window regulators etc - stripping off all that crap is a good thing in my book.

[deeen]

At risk of stating the obvious, Audi A4 quattro?

[JM]

Freelander?

or

Impreza?

[Matt UK]

briSk said:

'the internet says' the duster is fwd(..?)
and how big is it? is the boot (seats up and down) as big as the focus/megane estate?

now i look at it again it looks more like something like a fabia estate sized bodyshell..?

Nope, 4x4 an option. I reckon they look plenty big enough to match a Focus/megane.

http://www.dacia.co.uk/duster/general-presentation...

Looks alright off road and as to be expected on it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvLQNdB3-Kw

Edited by Matt UK on Thursday 16th August 14:33

[jamiebae]

Duster uses a lot of Renault bits but is less technically and electrically complex so far less to go wrong. The engine is a Renault 1.5 dCi lump and most of the underpinnings are from various Renaults and Nissans.

If you want aircon you have to go for the top spec which is £15k with 4WD and a diesel engine, 3 year warranty too. France is absolutely crawling with them, and reviews have been pretty good. It's not as refined and classy feeling as a Qashqai but you're getting a new car for the same as you'd pay for a 3 year old one of the same spec.

Otherwise though, I loved my old Forester and would have another one like a shot, petrol ones should be getting cheaper now that they have a diesel available too.

[Matt UK]

Very tempted to get a Duster. Steelies

[briSk]

deeen said:

At risk of stating the obvious, Audi A4 quattro?

it's a fair point as i didn;t say why it wasn;t on the list.. they just seem a bit dear for the age:mileage combo i'd like.

one thing i forgot to post was that the intention is to run this thing for 5-7 years hence why i'd rather something newer/why i can handle a bit of depreciation.

(every time i post on this i get more annoyed by the ingolstadt mafia who probably stopped an exeo 'quadro' being produced!)

[briSk]

JM said:

Freelander?

or

Impreza?

1) freeloader - it will break and i don;t mich like them
2) impreza - like them but too small.
3) forester i like but would need to be a 2.0d. and they're dear.

which alfa 159s came with 4wd? the v6s no doubt.
a bit big but tres stylish.

the x0type would have been worth a go as a car supermarket effort but you have to have petrol v6 with 4wd so not ideal.

[briSk]

Matt UK said:

Very tempted to get a Duster. Steelies

there is something quite nice about them. i wonder if they're a bit too basic for a long run..?