Mundane what car - £12k petrol auto small SUV thing

[Quhet]

An incredibly dull what car I'm afraid.

The Mrs currently has a 5 door Mini Cooper which is used as our second car. It's been great for the last 6 years but it's now a bit small to accommodate our boys (3yrs and 10mths) and their kit if I'm away with our other car for work. She finds it hard to get them both in the back as it's a bit low and the boot isn't big enough.

We're looking to chop the car in and get (she's adamant that she wants) a small SUV. I've got a Superb wagon so we don't want anything too big as that base is covered, just something to whip about town in that's easy to get the kids in and out. Petrol and auto is a must, ideally with carplay, and it must be 'cool'. Max budget is £12k. I'd love to get a Yeti but this got veto'd as 'deeply tragic' and potentially a bit old now. I don't want a Juke or a Qashqai, or a Vauxhall. For some reason she loved the Pug 3008 we had as a courtesy car last year but I'd have some misgivings about reliability. I've got no idea about this bit of the market as it just doesn't interest me - what are the better options to go for? I'm aware of the perils of Ford/Peugeot wet belts - any other horror engines to avoid?

Mazda CX3 looks good to me.

Edited by Quhet on Thursday 12th March 11:26

[Skodillac]

Skoda Karoq. this is a bit over budget, but from a Skoda dealer. You can find cheaper.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202603050...

[kiethton]

Ones which spring to mind are:

Ford Puma
Honda HRV
Skoda Karoq/VW Tiguan
Hyundai Kona/Bayon
Kia Stonic
Mazda CX3
Volvo XC40 (at a budget creep)

[andy43]

CX3 or how about a Toyota CH-R? Bulletproof drivetrain, £20 tax on some of them, 10 year warranty and it sort of looks different. Not cool, just different.

[edc]

Countryman. Familiar but bigger.

[Pickle_Rick]

Might find a lexus UX hybrid for near that budget if reliability and build quality is a key criteria - you get potential 10 year warranty too, and being a lexus all it will need is it's yearly service and mot.

[pb8g09]

Lease an EV? £12k must go quite far for 5/6 years.

[Pickle_Rick]

pb8g09 said:

Lease an EV? £12k must go quite far for 5/6 years.

EV would be best but I doubt they have anywhere to charge. Plus they want boring, so will need to be petrol.

[ZX10R NIN]

Do not go for the 1.2 PSA engines or the Puma with it's wet belt, saying that the 1.6T is proving a very reliable (it's been refined over the years) & look for Allure/GT Line Premium spec:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202601209...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202603040...

2.0t QX30:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602109...

CX-3 Sport Nav+:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202510036...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602240...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202603100...

Kia Stonic Maxx:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602260...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602250...

GLA 250:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202603110...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202601219...

Arkana RS Line:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602069...

Q2 S Line:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202510217...

[Quhet]

Some good suggestions here, thanks chaps. Will take a look tomorrow at what's close by.

pb8g09 said:

Lease an EV? £12k must go quite far for 5/6 years.

Would love an EV and it would make a lot of sense but sadly we don't have a driveway.

[Matt_T]

Suzuki S-Cross is a nice car, feels slightly more solid than the Vitara which is also an option. Excellent reliability.

Honda HR-Vs are an option as are Mitubishi ASX or Eclipse Cross.