£3k SUV

[Burgerbob]

Hi, my daughter's car, an Astra, is on its last legs, and we have a £3k budget give or take, to replace it.

She would like an SUV style car with 5 doors.

I know very little about SUVs in this price range and would be grateful for thoughts.

It must appeal to a 30 year old and needs to be as reliable as possible for the price. It's used mainly round town so petrol and it doesn't need to be powerful.

Any thoughts? The Juke seems to pop up on auto trader. But is this a good buy and is one with 100k miles a risk?

Edited by Burgerbob on Wednesday 16th April 21:29

[kiethton]

I'd be looking at a quashqai - generally pretty robust/plenty of choice at that budget

[Back2theFuji]

Honestly, most cars at £3k are going to be a risk due to age.

What about something like a Suzuki SX4? I'd suggest a Kia Soul or Hyundai IX35 but they are GDI engines so prone to carbon buildup and high oil consumption.

[Horsey McHorseface]

Mk3 RAV4. MK2 CR-V. Dacia Duster.

Edited by Horsey McHorseface on Thursday 17th April 00:03

[Matt_T]

Suzuki Vitara?

[Jamescrs]

I don’t know how important interior space is to her but Jukes are very small inside, their bulbous outer shape makes them look much bigger than they are

[7 5 7]

Horsey McHorseface said:

Mk3 RAV4. MK2 CR-V. Dacia Duster.

Literally typing the same list, and these are somewhat 'proper' SUV's, albeit I know the brief was a 'Fake look-likely SUV'

Nissan Jukes are very cramped inside I found.

[Kinky]

Honda Joy Machine, aka HR-V, from '99 to '05

[pb8g09]

Toyota Rav 4.

[anonymous-user]

I would probably consider a Ford Kuga. Practical, nice to drive and they still look quite smart for their age.

[OutInTheShed]

A lot of £3k estates and SUVs are pretty squalid.
People tend to hang on to them until they start to give trouble.
You want to buy a good individual car, not a poor example of a model that's generally reliable.

Best to be open minded about makes and models, buy the best example you can find that ticks the essential boxes.

I think prices have fallen in this part of the market in the last 18 months, but when I was looking, I was seeing a lot of cars for this kind of money which didn't have many years left in them. That makes them poor value compared to something newer for a bit more money.

[Morry10]

Daihatsu Terios? OP said as reliable as possible and I believe these are pretty bombproof. Just check to make sure they are not too crusty.

2 examples (I appreciate they are a smidge out of budget)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502139...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504141...

[Burgerbob]

Thanks all, some good ideas here

[BenS94]

Vauxhall Mokka, if she likes her current car? Tech Line or SE would be my pick. 1.6 petrol or 1.7 diesel preferably, the 1.4 Turbo petrol isn't too bad, but the other two are tried and tested units that have been around for years.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Back2theFuji said:

What about something like a Suzuki SX4?

I ran an SX4 Grip for a few years. It was a great little car.

[OldGermanHeaps]

X trail is nice. Pretty reliable too.

[ZX10R NIN]

Kuga:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504171...

Mokka:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502068...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504151...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504091...

Trax:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503170...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410305...

[BenS94]

ZX10R NIN said:

Kuga:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504171...

Mokka:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502068...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504151...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504091...

Trax:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503170...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410305...

Forgot about the Chevrolet version of the Mokka!