Monday riddle... car choice help needed
Discussion
TL;DR Looking for suggestions for a £6k motorway mile-eater that won't get banned by Edinburgh's potential forthcoming LEZ.
Greetings lads and lasses. I could use some suggestions on my next car as I'm tearing my hair out and going round in circles. It strikes me as a bit of an unsolveable riddle but I'll turn it over to you and see what y'all think.
Situation is as follows. My partner and I are moving soon, from suburban London to central Edinburgh. Our PCP car is going back to the finance company and since we'll only have permit-controlled on-street parking in Edinburgh, my strong feeling is that buying a cheaper, older car is smarter than leasing a new one and then panicking about every scratch and scrape.
The car needs to be comfortable, spacious and quiet. A motorway-eater. Squashy chairs, bit of luxury. We do a lot of holidays and weekend trips to Lancashire, Wales and Devon, plus runs on the A-roads up to Perthshire, the Highlands, and across to the western coast of Scotland.
Neither of us commute for work, so mileage will be maybe 8k a year max. More like 5k. So fuel economy isn't a massive issue -- up to a point.
We don't have them yet, but there'll be dogs. Definitely one, possibly two (eventually). Greyhounds, in all likelihood.
I reckon I'll have max £6,000 to spend. Given the above, I've been thinking large SUV or estate, in or around the 2006 - 2009 vintage.
Now, the gnarly bit. For those who don't know, Edinburgh parking permits are charged based on CO2 emissions, in bands a bit like VED. There's also talk of a proposed LEZ which, by the looks of it, may well penalise -- if not outright ban -- any pre-2014/Euro6 diesel and 2005/Euro4 petrol engines.
I initially thought the ideal would be a Subaru B9 Tribeca -- I can handle the looks; current general SUV styling tropes have somehow made it look less barking to my eye -- but a parking permit for it in central Edinburgh would cost £500, on top of £550 VED. Over a grand on tax just so I can drive a flat-six armchair to Devon feels steep. Other thoughts were W211 E-Class estate or R-Class, Mazda CX-7, Saab 9-5 estate, Volvo V70. But regardless, the rub is this: any big-engined petrol is going to trigger high tax and parking permit costs, but a diesel is more likely to get banned. I could go for, say, a standard 2.0 Avensis or Mazda 6 but it feels like the worst of all worlds; it'd be cheaper to tax and park, sure, but still not cheap. And not as comfy or pleasant to be in as something larger and squashier.
So: should I just take the hit and get the Subaru, given that it'd be fine to drive, reliable and suits our needs? Should I suck it up and get a 1.8 Mondeo-esque thing? Or is there a secret option I haven't thought of?
Heeeeeelp
Greetings lads and lasses. I could use some suggestions on my next car as I'm tearing my hair out and going round in circles. It strikes me as a bit of an unsolveable riddle but I'll turn it over to you and see what y'all think.
Situation is as follows. My partner and I are moving soon, from suburban London to central Edinburgh. Our PCP car is going back to the finance company and since we'll only have permit-controlled on-street parking in Edinburgh, my strong feeling is that buying a cheaper, older car is smarter than leasing a new one and then panicking about every scratch and scrape.
The car needs to be comfortable, spacious and quiet. A motorway-eater. Squashy chairs, bit of luxury. We do a lot of holidays and weekend trips to Lancashire, Wales and Devon, plus runs on the A-roads up to Perthshire, the Highlands, and across to the western coast of Scotland.
Neither of us commute for work, so mileage will be maybe 8k a year max. More like 5k. So fuel economy isn't a massive issue -- up to a point.
We don't have them yet, but there'll be dogs. Definitely one, possibly two (eventually). Greyhounds, in all likelihood.
I reckon I'll have max £6,000 to spend. Given the above, I've been thinking large SUV or estate, in or around the 2006 - 2009 vintage.
Now, the gnarly bit. For those who don't know, Edinburgh parking permits are charged based on CO2 emissions, in bands a bit like VED. There's also talk of a proposed LEZ which, by the looks of it, may well penalise -- if not outright ban -- any pre-2014/Euro6 diesel and 2005/Euro4 petrol engines.
I initially thought the ideal would be a Subaru B9 Tribeca -- I can handle the looks; current general SUV styling tropes have somehow made it look less barking to my eye -- but a parking permit for it in central Edinburgh would cost £500, on top of £550 VED. Over a grand on tax just so I can drive a flat-six armchair to Devon feels steep. Other thoughts were W211 E-Class estate or R-Class, Mazda CX-7, Saab 9-5 estate, Volvo V70. But regardless, the rub is this: any big-engined petrol is going to trigger high tax and parking permit costs, but a diesel is more likely to get banned. I could go for, say, a standard 2.0 Avensis or Mazda 6 but it feels like the worst of all worlds; it'd be cheaper to tax and park, sure, but still not cheap. And not as comfy or pleasant to be in as something larger and squashier.
So: should I just take the hit and get the Subaru, given that it'd be fine to drive, reliable and suits our needs? Should I suck it up and get a 1.8 Mondeo-esque thing? Or is there a secret option I haven't thought of?
Heeeeeelp
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Lexus RX400h?
I keep looking at them and really want one..
Lexus RX400h?
I keep looking at them and really want one..
My two suggestions are the:
Mondeo Titanium X Sport they're swift comfortable & will eat up motorway miles as well as commute work.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Or the 2.5 Mazda6 Sport £290 tax
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
SUV wise the only answer is the Lexus RX400h:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Mondeo Titanium X Sport they're swift comfortable & will eat up motorway miles as well as commute work.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Or the 2.5 Mazda6 Sport £290 tax
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
SUV wise the only answer is the Lexus RX400h:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Thanks folks, some interesting suggestions.
I'd considered the Lexus, and like them a lot, but my dad has one which rules it out, really. I'm not at that stage in my life yet where I can drive the same car as my 70-year-old father.
That 2.5 engine that's in several Fords sounds pretty good. I'm guessing it's the same/related engine in the Mazda, given their associations at the time. A decent 6 or Mondeo could work, I think. And an S-Max is actually a great shout, I hadn't considered it but they are comfy and I don't hate how they look at all.
One of my brothers-in-law is our family's BMW man and I tend to discount them on that basis but a 320 or 325 might be another sweet spot compromise.
Isn't there a 2.5 petrol lump in some Subarus? Legacies and Outbacks? I might check the figures on those, too.
I'd considered the Lexus, and like them a lot, but my dad has one which rules it out, really. I'm not at that stage in my life yet where I can drive the same car as my 70-year-old father.
That 2.5 engine that's in several Fords sounds pretty good. I'm guessing it's the same/related engine in the Mazda, given their associations at the time. A decent 6 or Mondeo could work, I think. And an S-Max is actually a great shout, I hadn't considered it but they are comfy and I don't hate how they look at all.
One of my brothers-in-law is our family's BMW man and I tend to discount them on that basis but a 320 or 325 might be another sweet spot compromise.
Isn't there a 2.5 petrol lump in some Subarus? Legacies and Outbacks? I might check the figures on those, too.
KomodoWagon said:
Thanks folks, some interesting suggestions.
I'd considered the Lexus, and like them a lot, but my dad has one which rules it out, really. I'm not at that stage in my life yet where I can drive the same car as my 70-year-old father.
That 2.5 engine that's in several Fords sounds pretty good. I'm guessing it's the same/related engine in the Mazda, given their associations at the time. A decent 6 or Mondeo could work, I think. And an S-Max is actually a great shout, I hadn't considered it but they are comfy and I don't hate how they look at all.
One of my brothers-in-law is our family's BMW man and I tend to discount them on that basis but a 320 or 325 might be another sweet spot compromise.
Isn't there a 2.5 petrol lump in some Subarus? Legacies and Outbacks? I might check the figures on those, too.
The Mazda6 engine is completely different the Ford is a 5 cylinder turbo unit, the Mazda is a four cylinder N/A engine.I'd considered the Lexus, and like them a lot, but my dad has one which rules it out, really. I'm not at that stage in my life yet where I can drive the same car as my 70-year-old father.
That 2.5 engine that's in several Fords sounds pretty good. I'm guessing it's the same/related engine in the Mazda, given their associations at the time. A decent 6 or Mondeo could work, I think. And an S-Max is actually a great shout, I hadn't considered it but they are comfy and I don't hate how they look at all.
One of my brothers-in-law is our family's BMW man and I tend to discount them on that basis but a 320 or 325 might be another sweet spot compromise.
Isn't there a 2.5 petrol lump in some Subarus? Legacies and Outbacks? I might check the figures on those, too.
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