Low mileage premium petrol SUV ~£40k

[CorporalPike]

Hi, long time lurker and reader and have learnt so much here so thanks everyone.

I have a car selection issue. We are a single car household, 430i and are heading towards our first young one. Before all the PHs say they’ve had 7 kids in a clio 200 then thanks, but that’s not the idea here. I need to move from a semi fast nice coupe to something semi family friendly, as in rear doors you can get a baby seat in and out without breaking your back or the child.

The issue for us is that we live in London and do minimal mileage, <5k year so MPG doesn’t really matter. Equally, although this is PH I like semi fast card but I just cant use things like an M4 or C63 or that – I looked at a 440 and it was lovely but compared to 430 im just that in between person that wants something semi fast and nice and that’s just enough thanks. Personally my choice is a 2017+ 530i, as they are huge, comfy fast and spacious and a one year old depreciates like a stone, but the missus would like an SUV.

Which brings me to the post – what <3 years old petrol premium SUVs are there that I havent thought of? Has to be premium because of wife so BMW, Merc, Audi, Porche etc.

My ideas are Macan, but they hold value too much. Q5 Petrol, but already owned one before 4 series and don’t want another. X5 40e? Do you actually have to plug them in rather than drive and charge kind of hybrid?

Because of the whole diesel thing im looking at X3 M40i, GLC 43, etc but I don’t actually want that fast a car – just seems I don’t have a choice because of diesel.

Ive tried and love X6 40Ds. If I use one of those on the normal 2 mile school run kind of thing, but deliberately spank it motorway high revs once a month is that enough to keep it alive? Same for a 2016 RR Spot 3.0 SDV6 – can I keep that alive in same way with once or twice a month 60 mile motorway run?

If not then the SUV choices are seriously limited – I think they need to start bringing cars like the X4 35i to the UK because theres plenty of city types that would jump on them these days given the chance?

Thanks!

[Captain Smerc]

GLA 45 AMG ...

[sparkythecat]

Lexus Rx 350h or 450h?

Decent performance and low VED for its class.
Well equipped, good reliability, and good dealer support.
The downside? Marmite looks

[LarsG]

Downside to a 'premium SUV' will the the bills you get when things go wrong and they certainly will. Also put £1500 aside for a set of tyres. As to a petrol engine..... don't believe the mpg they tell you you'll get.

Be on good terms with your bank manager.

Good luck.

[kieranblenk]

Lexus is a good shout as previously posted by another contributor.

I'd look at the following

Alfa Stelvio
Range Rover Evoque Si4 (too small perhaps?)
Jaguar F Pace 2.0 i4 or 3.0 V6
LR Discovery Sport Si4
Volvo XC60/XC90 T5 or T8
Cupra Ateca as a niche option

Or if you're feeling very brave...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2018...

[JackReacher]

You can get a new tiguan with the 230bhp GTI engine for under £30k new from a broker, they look premium in higher spec SEL trim with a nice metallic and leather.

[akadk]

F-PACE S 380PS supercharged V6 out of the F-TYPE

Prob one of the best handling SUV’s on the market

[sparkythecat]

The F Pace has become so popular, that they'll soon have to rename it the Jaguar Clitoris

[ninjag]

akadk said:

F-PACE S 380PS supercharged V6 out of the F-TYPE

Prob one of the best handling SUV’s on the market

^ this is what I'd be looking at also

[CorporalPike]

Thanks guys. F Pace im thinking of trying the whole 'premium' thing but shes pretty hardcore on that - Stelvio was my backup otherwise but it was a big no.

RR Sport 3.0SC is basically what i want, but too dear too new and too scary as far as actually owing goes.

Are X5s 40e crap? Im even considering the 530e - what happens if you never charge them? i assumed they were semi pretend electric cars and the engine charged as you went?

[quinny100]

You can run a plug in hybrid without charging it. It doesn’t do the batteries much good though, but in London you should be able to manage a charge from a public charge point once every week or two without going to too much trouble.

All the PHEV’s I’ve looked at have a Save mode where it will run the engine enough to keep the battery topped up which tends to work better than running the battery down, but you want to cycle the batteries a bit.

If you do longer runs you can charge the battery up from the onboard generator run from the engine. Not terribly efficient, the MPG drops when charging but at this car cost and low mileage the cost won’t bother you.

I occasionally drive in London and a PHEV is great in stop-start traffic when there’s plenty of charge in the battery, but when it’s flat it gets a bit tiresome with the engine kicking in and out all the time. You can force the engine on but it negates the point of having one really.