Help with choosing a family car

[SoulGlo]

Hi guys, I need opinions on a family car.


The brief:

Family of 4 (one 9 year old and nearly 5 year old) we both a have an elderly parent who we would like to take on an occasional day trip or holiday through out the year. I’ve been looking at SUV with a 6-7 seater option. I wouldn’t want a full on people carrier or a mini van/van. Mileage would probably be 10000-15000 a year approx.


The budget is 20k max but would prefer to spend a couple of k less to be honest though. Looking at higher mileage used cars so they have depreciated a tad.

Wants:

Automatic transmission
6 or 7 seats but not permanent (I feel I would end up regretting only have a 5 seater)
An efficient petrol hybrid or plugin hybrid (though would maybe consider a full EV)
Some toys (heated seats, cruise control, apple car play)
Long term ownership (we are not ones for getting a new shiny car every 3 years)


My shortlist options so far are:

RAV4 / Across ( reliable and efficient and would be perfect if 6 or 7 seater)
Peugeot 5008 7 seater (practical but question marks on dashboard and engine (wet belt?)
Kia Sorento 7 seater (nice looking, big and practical , not as efficient as others)
Tesla Model X (risky second hand buy, it would have to be an old one so could be a future money pit)

If Toyota made a 6 or 7 seater RAV4 this would have been the easy choice. My mum has had a Yaris for over decade and it’s been very reliable and dependable.

What else should I consider?

Thanks in advance.

[Rusty Old-Banger]

Sorento is a great car. Not sure if you can get the latest model (2020 onwards?) hybrid for your budget, but if you can it's a superb thing, feels like it's worth 3 times the money. Beats the German stuff on interiors/dash/controls, IMO.

Friend has just bought a 3 year old 5008 hybrid and has had nothing but problems with it, a lot of electrical gremlins related to the battery, but most recently the thermostat housing broke, apparently a common thing but still a £600 bill.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Not sure how high is too high in mileage terms for you but have you considered a Volvo XC90 or Lexus RX. Here's are a couple of examples:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202509186...

The interior is a tad challenging:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202508275...

[Pickle_Rick]

Dacia Jogger hybrid

Eg

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025091162...


Rear 2 seats can be removed easily when not needed, making boot huge. Hybrid, so auto. Has heated seats, cruise control, car play / android auto, camera, climate control. Clever built in roof bars, pic nic tables, cheap to run, even cheaper to service

Best of all is 7 year warranty. Dacia score in top 8 for brand reliability. I have the 1.0l, can't recommend it enough, been 100% reliable other than a dashboard rattle sorted under warranty.

I get the appeal of a tesla, I had a model Y and it's the best car I've ever had, but the MX is a bit rough and if it fails, it'll fail expensively.

[ZX10R NIN]

What's your usage as you're annual mileage means a diesel may work for you.

2.2d Hyundai Santa Fe Premium SE:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202510076...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507214...

The 5008 in 1.6T form doesn't have a wet belt GT spec is the pick:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202509056...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507284...

2.0T Kodiaq:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202509066...

Tarraco First Edition Plus:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507154...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202508195...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202509046...

[Matt_T]

There are a small number of Honda CRVs that came in 7-seater flavour. I think they were all 1.5 petrol and badged Turbo SR.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/19114922

[SoulGlo]

Everyday usage will be local town commuting 10-15 miles a day. I have my own work horse car that's a diesel so want avoid another one.


Forgot about the Jogger and never knew the some CRVs came with 7 seats.


Thank you ZX10R NIN, Matt_T, Pickle_Rick. Some nice selections there to have a look at.

[Xera]

The other option is the slightly bigger brother of the rav4 - the Toyota highlander. Not sure if there are any within budget (ive been looking at 2023 models but that's £40k)

[Robertb]

Land Rover Discovery Sport. They are very versatile and well packaged, available very fully specced as HSE.
Go for a petrol one, or early 2.2 if ULEZ isn’t an issue.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

A lot of people suggesting non-hybrids here. OP, you originally said you want an efficient petrol hybrid or plugin hybrid, but now seem to be open to a non-hybrid petrol. Is that correct?

[SoulGlo]

RedWhiteMonkey said:

A lot of people suggesting non-hybrids here. OP, you originally said you want an efficient petrol hybrid or plugin hybrid, but now seem to be open to a non-hybrid petrol. Is that correct?

I do want some sort of hybrid petrol. A petrol only would increase the fuel cost. Though I do like the look of that CRV posted.

The Highlander is cool but huge. The car will be doing school runs and local shopping trips mostly. It's outside of budget anyway.

[ZX10R NIN]

SoulGlo said:

I do want some sort of hybrid petrol. A petrol only would increase the fuel cost. Though I do like the look of that CRV posted.

The Highlander is cool but huge. The car will be doing school runs and local shopping trips mostly. It's outside of budget anyway.

The problem is that you want a non MPV 7 seater finding a hybrid with a decent size engine is tricky, your fuel saving may not be as big as you think.

[OutInTheShed]

A mate had a petrol CRV hybrid that was IMHO, very good on fuel. I guess it was new around 6 years ago, so would it be in budget?

A friend has a Skoda Kodiaq, 7 seats, pleasant thing to be driven around in. Not too bad on fuel for what it is.

End of the day an SUV size of thing is pushing a lot of air out of the way as it goes along, it will use more fuel than an estate, more so as you think about long trips rather than the suburbs.

If you are spending £20k though, an extra £1k a year on fuel can be justified by paying a few £k less for the car?

[RAB2000]

I think you'd need to drive a very long way to save £1k pa. on fuel between an SUV and estate car with the same engine.

[Matt_T]

Note that the RX-L mentioned above is the 7-seater version which has a longer wheelbase than the regular RX. I think this is the same platform as the Highlander.

Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento are the same car underneath and share drivetrains, however the Santa Fes are a bit cheaper. They undercut the Highlanders significantly on price.

Nissan X Trails are also 7 seaters and quite cheap... but they do feel like a budget car compared to the CR-V.
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/18792274

Edited by Matt_T on Thursday 16th October 08:38

[AmaSco12]

I am in this exact position, except I need a diesel. I’ve opted for an XC90, cavernous space when back seats are folded and will be able to take me, kids, grandpa and great uncle to the airport with all our luggage.

The X-Trail is nice but we run them through work and the back seats are tiny, it’s a struggle to fit teenagers in them