My 4x4 buying experience

[colonel c]

Willy Nilly said:

surveyor said:

Willy Nilly does not approve of modern SUV. He's firmly of an opinion that you need 4WD if you go proper off road, and then you should buy a tractor.

As others have said the Discovery Sport is the price point below. I'm surprised you've not included the new Discovery in your list (or even an outgoing D4).

I'm not a great fan of the X5 after driving one for 2 days last month. Mine was a poverty spec 2.0 hire car which did not help it much to be fair.

Surprised in the XC90 result. I've noticed that I am seeing a lot of these now. They seem to be selling well.

Noticed that Merc were missing in your list?

The OP is looking at cars for towing and mentions business use, then puts a load of tarts handbags on the list. If you want a tow car/vehicle for business towing, the first thing yo do is look at commercial vehicles that are suitable, so you can claim the VAT back, not cars are stilts. Discovery Sport , then if none of those will do a Land Cruiser or at a push a D4.

The cars on the list are just that, cars and not work horses.

Actually. It sounds like the lady is wanting a posh blingy 4x4 to impress or keep up with her sister and mates. If she likes an X5 so be it. The OP would have preferred to see her in an F Type. Probably for similar reasons and why not.
personally I glad there are people around buying expensive cars. The rapid depreciation of newer cars means there are some relative bargains around in the second hand market.

[Jim AK]

Looks to me like the towing bit is for a Horse box, Boat, PWC or similar.

Don't think that would need a Commercial 4x4 tbh.

Granted a 2wd would be fine in most of those situations, we launched & retrieved an 18' Cruiser with a variety of cars back in the day without drama.

But Hey! It's her money, company choice etc, so if she wants a 'Hairdresser car" So what?

I suspect a few manufacturers would be struggling somewhat without people like the OP & his girlfriend.

[Nickbrapp]

Willy Nilly said:

surveyor said:

Willy Nilly does not approve of modern SUV. He's firmly of an opinion that you need 4WD if you go proper off road, and then you should buy a tractor.

As others have said the Discovery Sport is the price point below. I'm surprised you've not included the new Discovery in your list (or even an outgoing D4).

I'm not a great fan of the X5 after driving one for 2 days last month. Mine was a poverty spec 2.0 hire car which did not help it much to be fair.

Surprised in the XC90 result. I've noticed that I am seeing a lot of these now. They seem to be selling well.

Noticed that Merc were missing in your list?

The OP is looking at cars for towing and mentions business use, then puts a load of tarts handbags on the list. If you want a tow car/vehicle for business towing, the first thing yo do is look at commercial vehicles that are suitable, so you can claim the VAT back, not cars are stilts. Discovery Sport , then if none of those will do a Land Cruiser or at a push a D4.

The cars on the list are just that, cars and not work horses.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a disco sport or a x3 suddenly explode because it's being used to tow. Unless you need a massive towing capisity why go for s commercial? I bet OP is towing a horse box or a small boat not 3 tonnes of slag

[jonah35]

Condi said:

eltax91 said:

Condi said:

jonah35 said:

ouch. sorry if I've offended. I'm sorry but I don't know what you mean by the Jaguar dealer being spot on?

I didn't buy the car, she/her business did and we aren't specifically worried about 25mpg but my concern is that if her fuel is low she will leave it for me to fill up unless of course she needs to fill up to get home and this may mean that I have to fill it up more often which is a hassle. Plus, of course the less fuel used the better as we don't like spending money for the sake of it - we are tight Northerners now!

Tight northerner buys 50k car which does 25mpg and yet says doesnt like spending money for the sake of it. Lad at work his Merc GLA 4x4 does upwards of 50mpg and didnt cost 50k to buy... Probably does the same job as the X5.


Also, what kind of relationship are you in where you have to buy the fuel for the gf's car?! You are more than a walking wallet.

Where did he say he buys it. Use your brain before you reply. He said its a 'blue job' in his house, which means she sends him to fill it up after a long days work, doesn't mean she doesn't give him the money or her card or whatever does it?!

Feel free to accuse him of being Pussy whipped though.

Sounds a bit whipped to me! If her fuel is low she can go and fill it herself, rather than 'leaving it to [him] to fill up'.

This seems to have caused a stir re fuel filling up lol. yes, she could and can fill up the car herself, of course she can and often does but, if she knows its low she will often ask me to use the car to go to gym or whatever and ask me to fill it up on way back. I gladly oblige. Cant see anything wrong with that?

Anyway, was just sharing my experiences about the cars in case anyone else was in a similar situation

[jonah35]

colonel c said:

Willy Nilly said:

surveyor said:

Willy Nilly does not approve of modern SUV. He's firmly of an opinion that you need 4WD if you go proper off road, and then you should buy a tractor.

As others have said the Discovery Sport is the price point below. I'm surprised you've not included the new Discovery in your list (or even an outgoing D4).

I'm not a great fan of the X5 after driving one for 2 days last month. Mine was a poverty spec 2.0 hire car which did not help it much to be fair.

Surprised in the XC90 result. I've noticed that I am seeing a lot of these now. They seem to be selling well.

Noticed that Merc were missing in your list?

The OP is looking at cars for towing and mentions business use, then puts a load of tarts handbags on the list. If you want a tow car/vehicle for business towing, the first thing yo do is look at commercial vehicles that are suitable, so you can claim the VAT back, not cars are stilts. Discovery Sport , then if none of those will do a Land Cruiser or at a push a D4.

The cars on the list are just that, cars and not work horses.

Actually. It sounds like the lady is wanting a posh blingy 4x4 to impress or keep up with her sister and mates. If she likes an X5 so be it. The OP would have preferred to see her in an F Type. Probably for similar reasons and why not.
personally I glad there are people around buying expensive cars. The rapid depreciation of newer cars means there are some relative bargains around in the second hand market.

Willy nilly, are you suggesting any woman that wants a car should firstly consider a commercial vehicle? Somehow i doubt she would have wanted a transit tipper truck lol

[jonah35]

Nickbrapp said:

Did you think about the merc GLC?

Not surprised the disco sport felt cheaper, - all the other cars are in the price point above

Yeah we had a look at it before, i think its nice and a good suggestion, thanks. She has a merc that is going back so just wanted a change and different brand

[Willy Nilly]

jonah35 said:

Willy nilly, are you suggesting any woman that wants a car should firstly consider a commercial vehicle? Somehow i doubt she would have wanted a transit tipper truck lol

You said business. You said towing. Thus a vehicle bought for business and towing would sensibly be a commercial version for business reasons.

[Willy Nilly]

Nickbrapp said:

I'm not sure I've ever seen a disco sport or a x3 suddenly explode because it's being used to tow. Unless you need a massive towing capisity why go for s commercial? I bet OP is towing a horse box or a small boat not 3 tonnes of slag

Neither of those cars are going to be the first choice for someone wanting to do much towing. The OP had the Discovery Sport on the same short list as an XC90, not really the same size car are they? One is the size of a Focus estate, the other a big SUV.

I could do with a new pair of work boots, should I put a pair of sneakers on the shortlist?

[PositronicRay]

Willy Nilly said:

Nickbrapp said:

I'm not sure I've ever seen a disco sport or a x3 suddenly explode because it's being used to tow. Unless you need a massive towing capisity why go for s commercial? I bet OP is towing a horse box or a small boat not 3 tonnes of slag

Neither of those cars are going to be the first choice for someone wanting to do much towing. The OP had the Discovery Sport on the same short list as an XC90, not really the same size car are they? One is the size of a Focus estate, the other a big SUV.

I could do with a new pair of work boots, should I put a pair of sneakers on the shortlist?

Available with steel toe caps.

[AmitG]

jonah35 said:

The Lexus dealership was nice and we took out the NX for a spin and I wanted her to like this car as I think the idea of it is good but the technology seemed so outdated now and the interior looked old fashioned not to mention the car (the hybrid one) was slow and didn't seem to go any quicker when you put your foot down, it just made a little more noise and the CVT gearbox isn't to my liking. Also, these cars as standard don't come with leather or sat nav etc - I thought Lexus were supposed to load their cars full of toys but hey ho. This was dismissed as being too 'boring'.

OP - given the other cars on the list, why did you pick the NX? I would have thought that the RX would be the right competitor in terms of size and price...?

[jonah35]

Willy Nilly said:

jonah35 said:

Willy nilly, are you suggesting any woman that wants a car should firstly consider a commercial vehicle? Somehow i doubt she would have wanted a transit tipper truck lol

You said business. You said towing. Thus a vehicle bought for business and towing would sensibly be a commercial version for business reasons.

No its not purely for business and not purely for towing. Its a car for her to use all the time so doesnt need to be purelyna commercial decision.

To the other poster, good question. As daft as it sounds she doesnt need a big 4x4 hence thinking of the nx ifrom the lexus range. I know the other posts (and buying) an x5 goes against that but it was just leagues better than the x3. The rx is a good shout and one she didnt consider really. Its newer than the nx too so prob a better bet.