Daily/Dog/Tow - £5k budget

[F17SRF]

Want to replace my Volvo C30 D5 R design with either an estate or suv for no more than £5k, must be economical, reliable, have a manual gearbox and a decent spec (heated seats, climate control, leather etc).

The easy part, it will be used as my daily transport, dog transport (rough collie), continental road trips and on the odd occasion I'd like to get my road bike in the boot without having to remove the front wheel, so a decent sized boot is a must.

Now for the difficult part, it must be able to safely tow my ep3 track car to track days with spare fuel and spare wheels ideally on the trailer (plus tools etc in the boot). I don't know the actual weight of that lot though, my calculations are anywhere between 1600-2000kg depending on the weight of the ep3 with a full tank, the weight of the trailer and the rest of the stuff.

I know the obvious thing to do is weigh all of the above, slight problem with that is the ep3 is being restored and I've not bought a trailer yet!

So, working off the upper weight limit of 2000kg:

Estates wise on the radar all with 2100kg towing capacity:-
P3 Volvo XC70 2.4 D5
C6 Audi A6 Allroad
C6 Audi A6 Avant Quattro with the same 3.0TDI as the Allroad

SUV:-
T31 Nissan Xtrail Tekna 2.0TDI - 2200kg
Audi Q5 2.0TDI 170bhp engine (unsure of the towing capacity of these with the manual gearbox, some websites state 2000kg, others 2400kg
Mk2 Hyundai Santa Fe Premium 2.2CRDi - 2500kg

Currently the XC70 and the Xtrail are the favourites as I have some experience of both.

Any experiences of the above vehicles? Anything I've missed? Tiguan/Kuga/Freelander2 all have a rather small boot for their size.

[ZX10R NIN]

Why does it have to be a manual?

The reason I ask is because there are two cars in particular that fit your brief but both have autos.

Grand Cherokee

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

E320 Elegance

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

270

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

Hyundai Santa Fe's are a good pick as are the Kia Sorento they both share the same drivetrain & under pinning's.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

[F17SRF]

ZX10R NIN said:

Why does it have to be a manual?

The reason I ask is because there are two cars in particular that fit your brief but both have autos.

Grand Cherokee

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

E320 Elegance

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

270

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

Hyundai Santa Fe's are a good pick as are the Kia Sorento they both share the same drivetrain & under pinning's.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Just much prefer a manual gearbox, even if the car suits an auto which granted all of the ones in my list probably do, I couldn't live with it! It is really non negotiable! Didn't realise the Sorento was the same as a Santa Fe, will have a good research of them. Thanks ZX

[F17SRF]

Still haven't been able to go to view anything as its still lockdown in Wales but the list has shortened down to the Xtrail, Santa Fe or the new outside choice, an old 163bhp Volvo XC90.

[drmike37]

Never driven one, but I know a few people who are very happy lugging horses around on the back of Sorrentos.

Having said that, my dad had a Santa Fe a few years back and the power steering would die if he went through a deep puddle.... Don't know if that's a "thing" or just a fault his particular car had.

[gman88667733]

We had a MK1 Sorento for 2 years, the first year it had a few bills that weren't too bad, the second year it didn't cost us a penny.
Very comfy, does about 25-30mpg all the time. Very spacious.
Engine always felt like it'd go on forever, only sold ours as the 4wd stopped working, have regretting it slightly ever since.
Then again, next door neighbour bought a 'good' one in January and has been off the road for probably 3 months at least, theres is knackered. So I suppose it is more on prior maintenance than anything.

However, if my CRV were to peg it tomorrow, I'd get another Sorento (choose carefully though!!) Lots get scrapped due to rust (mine had almost none at 16 years old) and also the 4wd system is a weak point. Other than that, not much goes wrong.

Edit - just to add that it was a family members before we got it and they towed a heavy caravan for years and it was great. It did need the injectors doing just before we got it though.

[troika]

Subaru Legacy / Outback

[F17SRF]

Thought I'd update this thread. Finally have ended up with............a facelift Xtrail in the spec, colour, mileage that I wanted, with the inevitable budget creep 😂

Now need a towbar and a dog guard! Genuine Nissan rubber mats are already on order.

Will get down to my local Nissan dealer and ask if its had the detune map, if it has then I think a remap is in order!

[GreatGranny]

Good choice.

Why did you drop the XC70 and put the XC90 on the list?

However for what you wanted the car for I think you've chosen well.

[F17SRF]

GreatGranny said:

Good choice.

Why did you drop the XC70 and put the XC90 on the list?

However for what you wanted the car for I think you've chosen well.

I kept going back and forth, in the end I only searched for Xtrials and xc70s.

Thank you! Think either of those and most on the list would have suited, but I'm pretty chuffed to find this xtrail.

[ZX10R NIN]

Glad you got sorted OP.