What 4wd SUV for the future wife.

[TiminYorkshire]

We are currently rationalising the fleet, at one stage it was a Mk1 MX5, a VW T4, a TD5 Landrover Discovery, a Corsa 1.2 and a TEF20 Fergie.

The Mazda and Fergie have gone. The van will go. The Disco and Corsa will be the final set of departures.

The next step of rationalisation will be moving to two vehicles. Given our current arrangement the minimum I want to get away with is a 2+2, mutt can sit on the back seats, happy to get a cover for them. So I'll be looking at some form of coupe/convertible, as the thing I miss most about the old Mazda is the roof down (it also made me drive like a tw@t as it was pretty raw having had all sorts of mods by previous owners, I'm now too old to drive like a tw@t, and the dog only went in it once and the future Mrs In Yorkshire wasn't best enamored by having 25kgs of hound laying on her). So some form of CLK/6 series is whetting the appetite for me.Wafting should stop me being a tw@t. But still be good for summer continental holidays.

So if I have a 2+2 of some sorts the future Mrs in Yorkshire will also want something. Having enjoyed the space and height of the van and the Disco future Mrs Yorkshire wants height (we'll leave length out of this thread). Given our geographic location we can get some decent snow, so something that is good in snow so I can get to work (she'll stay and work from home...) with some form of good 4wd/awd system for those conditions would be great, it would get winter tyres. To be fair the Disco TD5 is great in snow, happily getting through the smaller drifts and will also drive through the river Esk with a bit of flow on, but this needn't be quite so focused, but needs to get through and up some standing snow cover. I also want it to be good for long haul stuff, driving to the Alps, longer trips with the dog (there is only so far you can go with the hound slobbering in your ear if in a a 2+2!). So that means a bit of power and comfort, enough for the odd overtake. And some form of economy (unlike the Discovery), she drives 60 miles a day, venturing north out of Yorkshire.

Budget. That old nugget. Depending on what gets the job done. £5-10k (because Yorkshire), given the annual mileage (15-20k) something that can be run for another 4 years without borking big style.

My best though to date is a Volvo XC60 of the 200 bhp+ variety and manual box. She likes them too, and should be comfy. Reasonably high, but not too heavy in an old style 4x4 kind of way. I've mentioned Allroads (she doesn't like the look of the A6, plus apparently "not high enough"). Outbacks are similarly out (plus the diesels seem to be a timebomb). Dacias are way too slow! Tiguans looks underpowered vs the Volvo, she doesn't seem keen on X3s, but am I missing something? What else is out there?

Please leave your musings below!

Edited by TiminYorkshire on Sunday 15th December 20:00

[Pericoloso]

The one in the colour she likes......

[talksthetorque]

Wafty sounds ideal for the SUV, not the 2+2. Go wafty, Diesel and auto on that.
Then continue driving like an idiot when you're on your own when you feel like it in something still fun, but just a bit more pracical than the MX5 -
RX8? 3 series coupe? hot hatch?

Edited by talksthetorque on Sunday 15th December 20:03

[TiminYorkshire]

Pericoloso said:

The one in the colour she likes......

Nail and head!

[TiminYorkshire]

talksthetorque said:

Wafty sounds ideal for the SUV, not the 2+2. Go wafty and auto on that

Good point, although at one stage I ran an XJR which I enjoyed the waftiness of. And most of the daily drive to work and back is waft with some hills.

[Countdown]

Honda CR-V/RAV4/Q5?

[Pica-Pica]

Dunno..but kudos for spelling whet correctly.

[smileymikey]

Just doing the same exercise today. 10k seems to buy a nice lower miles Kia Sportage or Hyundai Tuscon with a chunk of manufacturers warranty left. Look pretty good within their class good mpg comfy and reliable.

[ZX10R NIN]

Now the best two picks at this price point are these:

Infiniti EX these are underrated but when the future Mrs Yorkshire sits in it you'll be buying (as long as she likes the looks) in Premium form they come with everything but the kitchen sink.

Premium

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Standard

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or the bigger FX GT (people find the looks of the bigger car challenging)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

The other is the Grand Cherokee Limited, you'll have to stretch the budget to get a facelift model but these are very robust & reliable:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Older Gen Limited:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Overland

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

XC60 D5 R Design

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

SE Lux

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

X5 40d M Sport

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[ZX10R NIN]

TiminYorkshire said:

Good point, although at one stage I ran an XJR which I enjoyed the waftiness of. And most of the daily drive to work and back is waft with some hills.

I can recommend the CLK's (I have had a fair few of them & still own one) they're a good car but they can also play ball when you don't want to waft.

CLK500

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

CLK280

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

CLK55

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-03-MERCEDES-BENZ-C...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

CLK63 probably out of budget but they're a fantastic car in my very biased opinion.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Leftfield:

Nissan Skyline GT350

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nissan-Skyline-350-GT-3...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nissan-Skyline-GT-350-u...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

G37 GT

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Peter911]

Without pics, age, breast size etc this is difficult to give a definitive answer, but generally follow the well known golden rules....

Before marriage, Porsche Cayenne

Then

Kia Sportage

[ZX10R NIN]

That why the OH has never been interested in getting hitched & the reason she has a D3 lol.

[oilrag1]

Peter911 said:

Without pics, age, breast size etc this is difficult to give a definitive answer, but generally follow the well known golden rules....

Before marriage, Porsche Cayenne

Then

Kia Sportage

My offspring..................

Before R32 DSG

After Prius/CHR thing

[troika]

Forester.

You are right, the early Subaru diesel engine had a problem, which was sorted around 2013. The one I sold recently was 2014 and didn’t miss a beat over 70K miles. You can get a petrol in any case. Brilliant car.

[A500leroy]

Countryman cooper s?

[Challo]

What size dog have you got? I have 2 spaniels and recently picked up a small 3dr hatchback and already regretting the lack of rear doors. He wont jump in behind the seats, and jumping out means he scratches all the plastics on the door sill.

[TiminYorkshire]

The dog is a Hungarian Wire Haired Vizsla, so a good size but not massive.

As for the Infiniti and Jeep ideas, they may be a bit thirsty but I'll flag them up.

[sinbaddio]

Hyundai Santa Fe's and Tucson's are worth a look. Mrs S had 2 x Santa Fe's and loved them. Premium SE's have everything, pano roof, heated and cooled seats, auto etc etc. In fact we drove twice to the South of France and once to Poland, 7 up with a roof box and they were exceptionally comfortable.

[anonymous-user]

I'd buy a Jaguar XK 4.2 (coupe or convertible) and (as you've said) a Volvo XC60.