Suv/family car upto 20k
Discussion
I always come to PH and look at the advise given to others and now I need a bit of help please:
I am looking for a car for the wife, she likes the high driving positions of a suv or crossover. The budget is £20k and I am trying to find something that is going to give safety and minimal issues.
We did look at the citroen c5 crossover and Peugeot 3008/5008 but they have issues with the 7mm belts and wet engines
Any suggestions on other cars and any things to look out for would be great.
Tha K you in advance
I am looking for a car for the wife, she likes the high driving positions of a suv or crossover. The budget is £20k and I am trying to find something that is going to give safety and minimal issues.
We did look at the citroen c5 crossover and Peugeot 3008/5008 but they have issues with the 7mm belts and wet engines
Any suggestions on other cars and any things to look out for would be great.
Tha K you in advance
vaud said:
XC40 or XC60, my wife also likes the high driving position plus 4wd (needed for some work stuff) and radar cruise control. Had one for 8 years.
Yes I do like the volvo, do you have a particular model. What year do you have? What is the rear seats like on the xc40? (space wise) Chelve said:
Yes I do like the volvo, do you have a particular model. What year do you have? What is the rear seats like on the xc40? (space wise)
We have a 2014 XC60 AWD diesel with a BLIS pack. Can't speak for the XC40 but rear is fine on the XC60, for adults and kids. It's been extremely reliable and surprisingly capable in the recent snow. Parts are reasonably priced and there are plenty of garages that specialise in Volvo, if you want to avoid dealers (though Volvo dealers are pretty good in my experience)Ray Chapman is a northern based dealer network and were good, no messing about with pricing and the dealer principal just came out with tea and biscuits and we negotiated a fair price. Very, erm, Yorkshire

Chelve said:
I always come to PH and look at the advise given to others and now I need a bit of help please:
I am looking for a car for the wife, she likes the high driving positions of a suv or crossover. The budget is £20k and I am trying to find something that is going to give safety and minimal issues.
We did look at the citroen c5 crossover and Peugeot 3008/5008 but they have issues with the 7mm belts and wet engines
Any suggestions on other cars and any things to look out for would be great.
Tha K you in advance
If you go for the 1.6T engine in the 5008/DS7 then you no longer have a wet belt engine.I am looking for a car for the wife, she likes the high driving positions of a suv or crossover. The budget is £20k and I am trying to find something that is going to give safety and minimal issues.
We did look at the citroen c5 crossover and Peugeot 3008/5008 but they have issues with the 7mm belts and wet engines
Any suggestions on other cars and any things to look out for would be great.
Tha K you in advance
DS7:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202408293...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409304...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410255...
CX-5 GT Sport Nav+
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501037...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501037...
Kadjar Signature Nav:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412127...
5008 GT Line Premium:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501188...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412067...
Tucson Premium SE:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409264...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501067...
If you have kids and want safety it’s a pretty easy decision really - Volvo.
Yes other brands will also get five stars in heavily regulated crash tests but Volvo really seem to go above and beyond when you start watching some of their extra curricular crash work.
And it really seems they are just built that bit stronger than other brands when you see some of those YouTube/Instagram algorithm recommended vids of truck underride tests:
(the Range Rover shearing a/b and c pillar that the Volvo just slides under without buckling, the X3 vs XC60 into container, the XC70 clattering headon into an opposing truck and not collapsing, the massive landslide onto the V60 etc etc etc!)
real world crashes etc.
Since having kids I’m not sure I’d buy anything else for the family wagon role. Dull, but easy and relaxing to live with.
Yes other brands will also get five stars in heavily regulated crash tests but Volvo really seem to go above and beyond when you start watching some of their extra curricular crash work.
And it really seems they are just built that bit stronger than other brands when you see some of those YouTube/Instagram algorithm recommended vids of truck underride tests:
(the Range Rover shearing a/b and c pillar that the Volvo just slides under without buckling, the X3 vs XC60 into container, the XC70 clattering headon into an opposing truck and not collapsing, the massive landslide onto the V60 etc etc etc!)
real world crashes etc.
Since having kids I’m not sure I’d buy anything else for the family wagon role. Dull, but easy and relaxing to live with.
Suzuki Across which is a RAV4 PHEV with different headlights and badges that goes for significantly less secondhand.
I bought a 21 plate from a main dealer a while back for £20k, 45k miles, warranty until 2028.
It's very well built, is refined, comfortable, well equipped. Interior has proper physical controls for commonly used features, nice heated F+R leather and loads of space. Radar cruise, usual active safety stuff that can easily be permanently disabled if need be.
It has over 300 bhp, will do 60 in 5.5s, will do 45+ miles as an EV and then do 50mpg with 500+ mile range as a hybrid.
I drove quite a few of the usual options at the same price point and the Toyota PHEV makes something like a 2.0 diesel or VAG Tsi with a jerky DSG feel pretty old fashioned and will be much more durable/low maintenance if you plan on keeping the car long term.
The only potential downsides that I can think of -
The graphics on the screen look a bit old fashioned on pre 22 cars, it works perfectly well with Carplay/AA etc so doesn't bother me.
It's not particularly sporty to drive - it's almost unnecessarily fast but the chassis is definitely set up for comfort which in my mind, makes sense for the type of car. Significantly more comfortable and refined than our Model Y.
I bought a 21 plate from a main dealer a while back for £20k, 45k miles, warranty until 2028.
It's very well built, is refined, comfortable, well equipped. Interior has proper physical controls for commonly used features, nice heated F+R leather and loads of space. Radar cruise, usual active safety stuff that can easily be permanently disabled if need be.
It has over 300 bhp, will do 60 in 5.5s, will do 45+ miles as an EV and then do 50mpg with 500+ mile range as a hybrid.
I drove quite a few of the usual options at the same price point and the Toyota PHEV makes something like a 2.0 diesel or VAG Tsi with a jerky DSG feel pretty old fashioned and will be much more durable/low maintenance if you plan on keeping the car long term.
The only potential downsides that I can think of -
The graphics on the screen look a bit old fashioned on pre 22 cars, it works perfectly well with Carplay/AA etc so doesn't bother me.
It's not particularly sporty to drive - it's almost unnecessarily fast but the chassis is definitely set up for comfort which in my mind, makes sense for the type of car. Significantly more comfortable and refined than our Model Y.
Edited by Snow and Rocks on Sunday 19th January 20:50
Chelve said:
Thanks for all the responses.
Looking more into the volvo's now.
1.which models should I be going for or avoiding. Ideally petrol and auto as we don't do many miles
2. Is there much difference in the rear seats between xc40 and xc60 in terms of space?
Sorry to ask so many questions
2. Don’t know. But your budget easily gets a 2018 onwards XC60, and when it comes to transporting kids and all the stuff they come with, bigger is easier for sure. Pram bassinet/chassis and dogs completely fill the boot of our wagon. Looking more into the volvo's now.
1.which models should I be going for or avoiding. Ideally petrol and auto as we don't do many miles
2. Is there much difference in the rear seats between xc40 and xc60 in terms of space?
Sorry to ask so many questions
I did quite like the XC60 I test drove but was rather put off when a friend reckoned his 2.0 petrol auto T5 was only doing mid 20s MPG in daily use. Might not be an issue if you're doing relatively few miles but I didn't think the performance/economy trade off was there.
The hybrids are quite well thought of but I think £20k will only get you something with a lot of miles and well out of warranty. Not sure modern Volvos are as reliable as they used to be either.
The hybrids are quite well thought of but I think £20k will only get you something with a lot of miles and well out of warranty. Not sure modern Volvos are as reliable as they used to be either.
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