F-Pace vs X3 vs alternatives?

[J1990]

The other half has taken a shining to the facelifted F-Pace and given that she's let me have whatever cars I've wanted over the years I'm wanting to return the favor and let her pick our main family car. We're going to take a look at the X3 as well, unfortunately the monthlies on the X5 aren't stacking up otherwise that would've been my pick - Car allowance dictates new car every 4 years so for that reasoning we really only care about the monthlies currently.

Anyway, she's asked me to find some alternative options so she can compare the F-Pace test drive this upcoming weekend against some other cars and make a decision, her family have always had FFRR's and BMWs so that's where the X3/5 came from on the list.

Criteria is:

• Petrol or hybrid preferred - Could potentially go diesel but she's got it engrained that diesel is bad, regardless of Euro 6 standard on modern diesels and it's not a debate I care for.
• Premium feeling interior - Spend quite a lot of hours driving so good comfort for 5+ hr trips
• Want to keep for 3 years so really only open to cars which are new or up to 1 year old
• Large boot - Labrador + medium size cross breed with whatever TransK9 double cage fits the car we choose.
• Child free so no real requirements when it comes to the back seats

Desirable features/options:

• Adaptive Cruise
• 30+ MPG on a run
• Panoramic roof
• Heated seats and steering wheel
• Park Assist of some sort - Whilst I do the majority of driving, she's not so confident with parking larger cars so surround camera would be great, parallel park assist would be wonderful.
• Bonus for Air Con in the boot (Is this only really avialable on 7 seaters? struggling to find options)

Budget is roughly £5k down and £500/month or around £40k cash, though would prefer to keep cash at hand rather than dump in the car.

Cars I've currently written off:
Volvo of all derivatives - Love the look and the comfort, just can't get behind everything locked in to the central touch screen. Could be convinced otherwise given that everything else about the V/XC 60/90 is great.
Enyaq - Really like what Skoda have done and much prefer it to the ID4 but the lead times keep being extended without publishing a reason, I assume it's due to chip shortage.
Q5 - Bland interior that, regardless of build quality, I just despise.


Thanks in advance for any insight you PH'ers can offer.

[Jazzer77]

Lexus tickle your fancy?

Bit boring but will do the job.

NX300h
RX450H

[LeoSayer]

The heavily facelifted (in 2019?) Discovery Sport seems to tick all your boxes.

[arfur]

So I currently have an F25 X3 30d with a remap (310/550) and have been looking recently at a replacement.

I came up with the F-Pace or the XC60 Hybrid as the only viable options (I didn't really want any bigger or I would have been at the X5/Cayenne level)

Main reasons :

Size - Both comparable to the X3 for interior space and load carrying
Performance - the P350 and the DualEngine both are somewhat quick - not as "sporty" as my existing X3 though in day to day running however
Fuel - The XC60 is way ahead here but the F Pace seems to tick the "average low 30s" box (the X3 sits average at 32) so that's fine with me
Luxury - F Pace looks the business, XC60 looks Ikea, but nothing wrong with it. My X3 is the cream interior and fully loaded M-Sport - comparable to the F-Pace
Running Costs - All about the same really, I'd suspect reasonable service intervals/costs and just bad luck if something goes bang expensively

So in your case, drive an X3M (the newer style 40i petrol) against maybe the P350 and take your pick.

Personally, I just put the idea back in the box and kept the X3 as I really was finding it hard to justify changing as what I have was pretty much bang on already

hth

Arf

[J1990]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Lexus - The NX seems to have a small boot but could definitely check them out, the RX is definitely in consideration for a well refined car, just at the top end of the budget given the requirement for a <1yr old car.

Discovery Sport - Yeah I need to consider them and may check them our whilst at JLR at the weekend, I just don't find them particularly nice looking cars.

Arfur - The F-Pace has just been facelifted and feels head and shoulders above the imminent minor facelift on the XC60. The X3 M40i is definitely one of my favourite picks IF the other half decides at the weekend that the X3 is beating the F-Pace. Unfortunately the P400e PHEV F-Pace is out of budget at £60k before options due to the new facelift, it's head and shoulders above the pre-facelift in regards to interior and I don't think I'd want the downgrade.
The XC60 for me falls down just because I can't get along with the centre screen controlling everything and being somewhat laggy.

[jrock78]

I drive the Alfa Stelvio 280 petrol Milano edition - looks and drives superbly. For an SUV its pretty nimble and feels like it justifies the term "Sport" Utility Vehicle. Space is pretty decent and the interior might not be as plush as some but its very liveable and you forget about all that once you put your foot on the peddle and start turning the wheel - did I mention what a great drive it is?

Anyway worth a look IMHO and not as boring/ubiquitous as all the rest.

[FunkyNige]

J1990 said:

• Large boot - Labrador + medium size cross breed with whatever TransK9 double cage fits the car we choose.

One 35kg Labrador and a Golden Doodle (her dad was a big Poodle so she's not one of the little doodle dogs) in the back of a Discovery Sport:



The lip of the boot is quite high so they need a ramp to get in as they're getting on a bit (11 and 12), the back seats slide forward if you need more boot space but we have ours right back to get the dog guard to line up with the top of the seats.

Mine ticks all of your criteria apart from a heated wheel, adaptive cruise and aircon in the boot, it's a middle of the range spec so I don't know how high up the trim levels you need to get those bits.
It's not as refined to drive as the XC60 or the Q5 so I'm guessing it's not as refined as the X5 either, but the cabin is a nice place to be and the ride is soft as anything.

[J1990]

jrock78 said:

I drive the Alfa Stelvio 280 petrol Milano edition - looks and drives superbly. For an SUV its pretty nimble and feels like it justifies the term "Sport" Utility Vehicle. Space is pretty decent and the interior might not be as plush as some but its very liveable and you forget about all that once you put your foot on the peddle and start turning the wheel - did I mention what a great drive it is?

Anyway worth a look IMHO and not as boring/ubiquitous as all the rest.

Thanks for the suggestion - What's the boost space like on the Stelvio? Anything you'd compare it to? Photos suggest it's nice and square with a lot of usable space.
It hadn't made it on to the radar purely because there's no dealers within an hour of me. I do like the fact that they're not the most common sight and you seem rather enthusiastic about the driving experience which is obviously a good sign.

[arfur]

J1990 said:

jrock78 said:

I drive the Alfa Stelvio 280 petrol Milano edition - looks and drives superbly. For an SUV its pretty nimble and feels like it justifies the term "Sport" Utility Vehicle. Space is pretty decent and the interior might not be as plush as some but its very liveable and you forget about all that once you put your foot on the peddle and start turning the wheel - did I mention what a great drive it is?

Anyway worth a look IMHO and not as boring/ubiquitous as all the rest.

Thanks for the suggestion - What's the boost space like on the Stelvio? Anything you'd compare it to? Photos suggest it's nice and square with a lot of usable space.
It hadn't made it on to the radar purely because there's no dealers within an hour of me. I do like the fact that they're not the most common sight and you seem rather enthusiastic about the driving experience which is obviously a good sign.

That's a good shout actually ... I'd missed that one when I was looking around !

Dammit ... I'm back on Auto Trader !!!

[jrock78]

J1990 said:

jrock78 said:

I drive the Alfa Stelvio 280 petrol Milano edition - looks and drives superbly. For an SUV its pretty nimble and feels like it justifies the term "Sport" Utility Vehicle. Space is pretty decent and the interior might not be as plush as some but its very liveable and you forget about all that once you put your foot on the peddle and start turning the wheel - did I mention what a great drive it is?

Anyway worth a look IMHO and not as boring/ubiquitous as all the rest.

Thanks for the suggestion - What's the boost space like on the Stelvio? Anything you'd compare it to? Photos suggest it's nice and square with a lot of usable space.
It hadn't made it on to the radar purely because there's no dealers within an hour of me. I do like the fact that they're not the most common sight and you seem rather enthusiastic about the driving experience which is obviously a good sign.

The boots a good size. Im a footy coach and it manages to fit in all my gear and 2 packs of 12Xsize 4 footballs. Also the seats fold flat at the back and so I have managed to do a few good size tip runs in it. From what I remember the size of the boot was similar to my Bro in Laws Q5.

[Objective Alpha]

J1990 said:

Thanks for the suggestion - What's the boost space like on the Stelvio? Anything you'd compare it to? Photos suggest it's nice and square with a lot of usable space.
It hadn't made it on to the radar purely because there's no dealers within an hour of me. I do like the fact that they're not the most common sight and you seem rather enthusiastic about the driving experience which is obviously a good sign.

another vote for the stelvio! look amazing and heard is drives well too and plus its quite a head turner too!

[arfur]

Objective Alpha said:

J1990 said:

Thanks for the suggestion - What's the boost space like on the Stelvio? Anything you'd compare it to? Photos suggest it's nice and square with a lot of usable space.
It hadn't made it on to the radar purely because there's no dealers within an hour of me. I do like the fact that they're not the most common sight and you seem rather enthusiastic about the driving experience which is obviously a good sign.

another vote for the stelvio! look amazing and heard is drives well too and plus its quite a head turner too!

Nice to see that they depreciate in true Alfa style as well !!! Probably does not matter too much if you plan to keep it for a good few years

[ZX10R NIN]

I'm going to offer up a few alternates, some are around the £550 per month but haggling will get you close to the £500 mark, others are well under.

Stelvio Milano 280

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202001226...

XC60 Momentum Nav B5 250

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102018...

T5 Insription 250

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103099...

T5 R Design 250

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103099...

Seat Tarraco Xcellence Lux 190

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202006049...

FR Sport 200

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012317...

Kodiak Sportline 190

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103140...

DS7 Ultra Prestige 225 a bit mainstream but a well appointed SUV

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104091...

Ultra Prestige 300h

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103290...

This is the car that for me suits your brief best (some would call it leftfield but for me it's the drivetrain that makes the most sense when it comes to SUV's & it's the diesel hybrid X3 it gives you the best of both worlds, as well as giving you actual good fuel economy when the electric runs out.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012157...

[Lozw86]

Are Merc GLC/GLE’s any good?

[quintonside]

We’ve gone for a Volvo XC60 but we working to a small budget than you’ve listed out. I liked the X3 but just couldn’t get the price near the Volvo. F Pace was miles off price wise so didn’t really look at them. I just think they are very expensive for what they are.

My other half liked the interior of the Volvo’s but obviously we haven’t actually used it, I see where your coming from that’s it’s all in that screen, but to be honest I’m sure we/she’ll get used to it.

Interior is why we ruled out a RAV4, so dated!

With your budget, If you were still anti Volvo’s (which would save u £££) I’d be jumping in a GLE If price allowed! If not a Touareg or an X3. Appreciate if you don’t like VAG interior then Touareg maybe not for you.

[FamousPheasant]

Stelvio was going to be my suggestion. Currently some good deals to be had on the petrol veloce.

Beechdale are doing 5,800 down and 399 per month on 0% APR.

[cerb4.5lee]

I can recommend the GLC350d(3.0 V6 diesel). Covered over 80k miles in it and had it 4 years in august from new. It has a 360 degree parking camera on it which is really good(I never use it(I'm old school and I just use the mirrors) but my Mrs loves it). You can get a couple of petrol models in the GLC if you didn't want a diesel as well.

[J1990]

Some great responses here, appreciate them all.

Funkynige - Really appreciate the photo of the dogs, really helps compared with just looking at measurements and trying to picture it all. Since I'll be at JLR I reckon it's worth taking a look at the Discovery Sports and the Velars whilst there, though the latter is hard to justify with prices vs the F-Pace for a sister car. With regards to refinement the last few cars were i30N, M4, S63 and the longer distance car has been an Ioniq... Amazing car for the money and surprisingly spacious but god is it dull and ugly, not too worried about the refinement but based on your comments if a Disco ends up being considered we'll test drive to see.

There's too many positive comments on the Stelvio for me to look passed it, may have to get in touch with Alfa Swindon since that's my nearest dealership and see if we can arrange a test drive.

ZX - Thanks for the list, as always. A good few in there for the Mrs to take a look at, really she only cares for the appearance and the boot size so she's easily pleased. The X3 you suggested is well within budget as well which is nice, hoping to test drive the 20i to see if it's a bit asthmatic pulling the weight of the X3, if so and everything else is fine then the 20d or 30d would be a no brainer. That is unless man maths makes the M40i's too tempting, given how cheap they are now.

If we run out of options then we'll give the Volvo another looking as we do love everything aside from that central screen, it's just laggy and a bit of a pain really but perhaps not enough of a reason to rule the car out entirely.

GLC/GLE is a no, I can't stand the interior on the ones that are within budget, though the new GLB has the new interior and is meant to be a bit of an oddball in regards to the size of it not really fitting in with the 'B' designation it received so may be a contender at ~£33k.

[cerb4.5lee]

J1990 said:

GLC/GLE is a no, I can't stand the interior on the ones that are within budget, though the new GLB has the new interior and is meant to be a bit of an oddball in regards to the size of it not really fitting in with the 'B' designation it received so may be a contender at ~£33k.

The interior in the GLC does seem very marmite for many for sure, it is one of my favourite things about it though. I've recently got a 2018 BMW F82 M4(granted a previous generation car now) but the interior is laughably basic in that in comparison to the Mercedes(the steering wheel isn't even electric in the M4 for example). I do love the way that a BMW drives for definite, but for me they can't do interiors for toffee though.

[J1990]

cerb4.5lee said:

The interior in the GLC does seem very marmite for many for sure, it is one of my favourite things about it though. I've recently got a 2018 BMW F82 M4(granted a previous generation car now) but the interior is laughably basic in that in comparison to the Mercedes(the steering wheel isn't even electric in the M4 for example). I do love the way that a BMW drives for definite, but for me they can't do interiors for toffee though.

Interiors are so subjective and so I appreciate that it works for you, as pedantic as it is I just cannot get over that tablet they stuck on, given the good value of the GLC and GLE I would snap them up in a heartbeat if it wasn't for that one feature. The 2022 model seems to fix this but if waiting until next year I think I'd find myself in a Model Y. If it was something on the outside that I wasn't a big fan of I could overlook it, but given that the interior is what you see the majority of the time I have to write them off.

I'll agree that the M4 had a fairly basic interior but that was my fun car and the interior didn't have much of a factoring on my purchase, unlike a family cruiser for road trips and a lot of business mileage.