Upgrade for £7k

[bobski1]

The Mrs' Mini is starting to show signs of age so want to get rid of it whilst its still worth something & upgrade to something a bit bigger, criteria is

Something which can do long motorway journeys in comfort
Good performance
Able to tow (although not got the car trailer yet)
Can seat 5 people
Ideally an SUV or estate but would consider a saloon
& from the mrs DAB & cup holders

Budget max at 7k

[mholt1995]

Mondeo Mk4 Diesel in Titanium X spec?

[Albigularis]

335i touring. Not sure how DAB would work into that one but it covers all your bases otherwise.

[MYOB]

bobski1 said:

Able to tow (although not got the car trailer yet)

Might be helpful for some if you can indicate your towing requirements.

[ninjag]

Seating five people comfortably on long motorway cruises I would think a medium to big SUV would be best such as:

£6,250 BMW X3 3.0 30d M Sport looks like it is prepared for a towbar and has strong performance.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

£5,995 BMW X5 3.0d Sport 5dr Auto leaving you a grand to fit a towbar.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

£3,995 Volvo XC90 2.4 D5 SE Geartronic AWD towbar fitted and save a wad of cash for any bills.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...


But if not regularly seating five people then I'd be looking at an estate.

[Summit_Detailing]

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

V70
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

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

E-class
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

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

cheers,

Chris

[ZX10R NIN]

E Class

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

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

Jeep Grand Cherokee

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

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

[ninjag]

bobski1 said:

& from the mrs DAB

How important is this as it does kinda limit options?

[skinny]

It costs what £500 to install a DAB head unit?

[ninjag]

skinny said:

It costs what £500 to install a DAB head unit?

No idea, I guess it depends on the car sometimes? I would normally think its just easier to get car which already has it, but in this case with budget and requirements perhaps a retro fit is the better solution?

[ZX10R NIN]

I retro fitted a Pioneer SPH DA230DAB unit into my CLK63 it cost £400 including the Surround & fitting:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pioneer-car-stereo-SPH-...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pioneer-SPH-DA230DAB-Ca...

With your budget retro fitting would be the way to go.

[bobski1]

Happy to retro fit a DAB if the car is under budget.

Towing requirements would be car trailer & cars nothing too large max at the moment would be a SWB defender in need of repair.

Would a diesel or petrol be better for towing?

Don't seat 5 people regularly so happy with an estate over an SUV especially if running costs are a bit lower.

[SteveR1979]

Albigularis said:

335i touring. Not sure how DAB would work into that one but it covers all your bases otherwise.

E9x??
can't fit a tow bar due to the exhaust, or so I was told when I had mine.

[bobski1]

Doing some searching on the E91 can have a tow bar fitted no problem.

Is it better to have a 4X4 to tow such weights like a car rather than an estate or do I just need something with strong power like a 3.0 diesel?

[NiceCupOfTea]

e91 335 Touring for £7k? Last time I looked that didn't seem likely. I suppose if you want auto/SE you have more chance but I think it will be quite leggy. Sadly BMW didn't offer the DCT on auto/saloon. If you're not worried by badge you will get much more for your money. Have you considered something like a Skoda Octavia estate?

[bobski1]

325s only in that budget.

Not fussed by the badge, capability, reliability & something with power.

I'm happy to try unusual selections

[ilikejam]

If you're not overly worried about looks you can buy a DAB adapter that converts DAB signals to FM for around £70.

Look something like this:

Edited by ilikejam on Monday 13th May 09:19

[bobski1]

So, DAB question sorted that it doesn't have to be factory fitted.

Is it worth, for towing to go estate or SUV?

[MYOB]

Towing - all depends on the intended weight you will be towing.

Ideally, you want to tow something that is up to 85% of the kerb weight of the car you will be driving. But never tow anything exceeding the kerb weight of your vehicle.

Did you say you will tow a SWB Land Rover? So you need the weight of that plus the weight of the trailer to reach your total weight and find a car that can legally tow that weight.

2wd is sufficient but depends on the kerb weight!

[bobski1]

MYOB said:

Towing - all depends on the intended weight you will be towing.

Ideally, you want to tow something that is up to 85% of the kerb weight of the car you will be driving. But never tow anything exceeding the kerb weight of your vehicle.

Did you say you will tow a SWB Land Rover? So you need the weight of that plus the weight of the trailer to reach your total weight and find a car that can legally tow that weight.

2wd is sufficient but depends on the kerb weight!

SWB landrover for now, do have a mk2 polo & a W124 to move also so the weight will vary.

My question of SUV or estate is becasue of the 85% weight rule so heavier it is the more I can tow