A growing family car - with some caveats and a small budget!

[mike30clark]

Afternoon!

I've spent many a years lurking through PH forums and class fields, but have always managed to come to a conclusion on what to buy, other than for this purchase!

We're currently rocking a MK4 Golf, but with another sprog on the way, we will need something bigger. The car will need to swallow two ISOFIX seats, a teenager and preferably have some space for a pushchair or two and some luggage/shopping. I don't mind getting a roof rack for holiday trips if necessary.

Myself and my wife both dislike MPVs, and would prefer an SUV with some creature comforts such as parking sensors, xenon headlights, Bluetooth (either factory or retrofit) and heated leather seats would be a bonus too!

With a rough budget of £5k, I've narrowed it down to a Discovery 3, XC90 or potentially a Q7. My preferred favourite at the moment is a Discovery, but with the dreaded JLR reliability, I'm back to the drawing board. Not that Volvo or Audi escape on this front either.

The discovery seems to do it all, and could if needed fit adults in the third row. I believe the grumpy teenager could fit in the middle seat in the second row, freeing up the massive boot which they may not fit in the XC90 or Q7.

But the XC90 and Q7 both have bigger boots with the third row up. I'm hoping that having just one of the third row seats up provides enough space for luggage etc.

A concern for me is reliability with these. Now I know they're old cars at the bargain end of the scale, but with our annual mileage at 4-6K per year, I fear the diesel engines will end up knackered, especially if fitted with the dreaded DPF. Petrol versions seem to be very rare, and for some reason I've found them to be far more expensive.

Question is, which would you go for, or am I missing other vehicles that would fit the bill that bit better!

[samoht]

Reliable, budget, three rows, not an MPV is hard to find.


The concern I'd have with the cars mentioned is even routine maintanence could be costly (tyres, brakes, suspension components) even before anything actually breaks. They sound a bit like brave pills to me.

I'd suggest trying to be as flexible as possible with the constraints and at least considering / checking out some other options.

Have a look at the Merc R-Class https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202273... , it's kinda an MPV but kinda an SUV, with a substantial longitudinally mounted engine and E-Class underpinnings.

You could also consider a Toyota Alphard or Nissan Elgrand, although they may be vannier than you want.

BMW 2-series Gran Tourer? A bit small but perhaps if one younger child was in the back?

Pug 5008? https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305137...

If you can get away with two rows, the Lexus RX400h is fairly highly rated for comfort and reliability I think.


Fundamentally the answer to 'what is an affordable capacious family car' is an MPV, so you're always going to be compromising somewhat on one of your criteria I think, mostly a question of which one(s) you give up.

[anonymous-user]

Ironically the MPV is much better suited to being a family car than an SUV as they tend to have much more interior space. Trouble is people only seem to want an SUV now, I really don't understand why.

I would say that your £5K Range Rover, XC90 or Q7 is going to be a nightmare money pit of epic proportions.

Look at Auto Alex on YouTube, he recently bought a cheap Discovery 3 which a specialist said "was a good one". He still managed to find £3K of work that needed doing for simple things like a timing belt, wheel bearing and a few bushes.

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 9th June 16:37

[Countdown]

I would be surprised if you could find a reliable SUV that hadn't done mega mileage for £5k.

To be honest, if i was in your position, I get one of these these and save up the pennies whilst you run this into the ground.

I fully admit it's not a PH-worthy type of car but if you've got a young family you need something that can take a beating and yet start every time.

Actually ignore me, you need a Porsche Cayenne

[Terzo123]

If you ignore the 3rd row aspect, youd get a half decent Jeep Grande Cherokee for your budget.

[dmsims]

We used a V70 for 150K miles in an identical situation except it was 3 adults and 2 kids

[speedster986]

172K miles on our Discovery 3. Look at the mileages of the cars advertised and you realise they keep going. They fail but in ways they don’t stop you proceeding. A great family car. The Porsche Cayenne was good too although that did fail with plastic coolant pipes. Most should have had those replaced by now.

[A500leroy]

Smax seems to be the choice round here

[SlowV6]

Without meaning to appear rude, £5k is not a big budget in the current market and it suggests running costs must also be a factor. An ancient, complex SUV doesn't make sense.

I also vote for a SMax. £5k would get into a nice 2.5T petrol, although it will be thirsty.

I agree an Elgrand or Previa or maybe one of the other JDM day vans would be worth a look, but will be thirsty (Elgrand is a 3.5V6 auto petrol...l

[Silvanus]

Kia Sorrento

[Glosphil]

With that budget better off with an estate car. Bigger boot than a SUV & more choice for your budget.

[SydneyBridge]

Mazda 5

[ZX10R NIN]

The thing is with your budget the running costs of what you're considering could easily end up at half your budget again, when you consider that what you're looking at some high mileage options suspension components will start to add up.

Personally I'd either go for the nicest Ford Galaxy Titanium X you can find, they'll have everything on your wish list with some nice things that weren't on the list too:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303095...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207027...

SUV wise I'd be looking at the Grand Cherokee:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306048...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305127...

A halfway house is the long wheelbase 7 seater R Class but it's not a looker, R350cdi:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305317...