Growing family - SUV £30k budget

[MLS11]

Hi everyone,

My family is growing and expecting my first child in the next few months. We’ve also got a small dog and I’m in the market for a SUV that ticks the following - within £30k budget, fun, practical, safe, comfortable, fast enough and nothing too silly on MPG. I’ve shortlisted the following 17/18 plates or as new as budget will allow:

Jaguar F-Pace diesel v6 S - love the exterior look, concerned about reviews on reliability. Any feedback from people’s experience would be much appreciated
BMW X3 30d - I’ll be moving from a 4GC and would like a change from BMW
Mercedes GLC300 - had a fair few of Mercedes and just don’t like the stuck on iPad interior on this mark model
Porsche Macan 2015 - dont know if it’s big enough to ferry the dog in the boot along with all the baby stuff
Porsche Cayenne 2016 - haven’t had any experience with Porsche so any real world running costs, reliability experience would be helpful
Audi Q5 - great cars but just find them a little dull and not very special
Discovery Sport - same as the Q5

The F-Pace or Macan would be my pick but as I’ve never owned a Jaguar or Porsche before would like any ownership experience. I do hope to keep it for the next 3-4 years.

On another note keen to hear feedback on if it still worth buying diesel? We live out in the sticks so EV charging points are next to none and not ready to make that jump just yet. Is it worth buying petrol instead for resale value later down the line?

Thanks all!

[DiscoSINGH]

What type of driving will you do and how many miles will you cover? If you mostly potter around town and are a low mileage driver then consider a 2018 SQ5 petrol - I know you have shortlised a Q5 but consider the SQ5 if you want something a bit sporty (for an SUV) as well as practicality.

You'd have to up the budget to £33-£35k for an 17/67/18 plate SQ5 with something like 50k-60k on the clock though.

Have a 2018 SQ5 myself - owned it for 3.5 years and its been a great car.

Congrats on the forthcoming new addition to your family

[_Rodders_]

Cayenne from that list. It's the only one that's a full size SUV and if you're going to do it you might as well do it properly.

Conversely it's an odd one to include with the rest of the list.

[MLS11]

_Rodders_ said:

Cayenne from that list. It's the only one that's a full size SUV and if you're going to do it you might as well do it properly.

Conversely it's an odd one to include with the rest of the list.

Thanks, yes does seem like a wildcard within the other options but it’s within budget and prices pretty comparable to the Macan so wanted to add to the list

[cerb4.5lee]

We had a 2017 Merc GLC350d(3.0 V6 diesel) for 4.5 years(just over a 100k miles) and it was a lovely car I thought. It returned 40mpg which I didn't think was bad for the performance that it offered either.

They are quite a nice size and not too big and not too small I reckon. We currently have a Merc GLE400d and that is really big in comparison.

Edited by cerb4.5lee on Friday 27th January 17:44

[MLS11]

DiscoSINGH said:

What type of driving will you do and how many miles will you cover? If you mostly potter around town and are a low mileage driver then consider a 2018 SQ5 petrol - I know you have shortlised a Q5 but consider the SQ5 if you want something a bit sporty (for an SUV) as well as practicality.

You'd have to up the budget to £33-£35k for an 17/67/18 plate SQ5 with something like 50k-60k on the clock though.

Have a 2018 SQ5 myself - owned it for 3.5 years and its been a great car.

Congrats on the forthcoming new addition to your family

Thanks DiscoSINGH!

SQ5 I hadn’t added as they are just a tad over budget. I do like them a lot and I have no doubt will provide that special feeling over the standard Q5

It’s a real mix of town driving with a weekly blast up the motorway once a week. Probably do a maximum of 8-10k miles per year

[MLS11]

cerb4.5lee said:

We had a 2017 Merc GLC350d(3.0 V6 diesel) for 4.5 years(just over a 100k miles) and it was a lovely car I thought. It returned 40mpg which I didn't think was bad for the performance that it offered either.

They are quite a nice size and not too big and not too small I reckon. We currently have a Merc GLE400d and that is really big in comparison.

Edited by cerb4.5lee on Friday 27th January 17:44

That looks like a really lovely spec GLC350. I think I will revisit these and it’s good to hear that it delivered 40mpg, performance wise I know SUVs are not the sportiest but was it enough fun factor for daily driving. I did have a similar year C250 premium plus and it was capable but not the most exciting. Obviously missing the v6

[ZX10R NIN]

MLS11 said:

Hi everyone,

My family is growing and expecting my first child in the next few months. We’ve also got a small dog and I’m in the market for a SUV that ticks the following - within £30k budget, fun, practical, safe, comfortable, fast enough and nothing too silly on MPG. I’ve shortlisted the following 17/18 plates or as new as budget will allow:

Jaguar F-Pace diesel v6 S - love the exterior look, concerned about reviews on reliability. Any feedback from people’s experience would be much appreciated
BMW X3 30d - I’ll be moving from a 4GC and would like a change from BMW
Mercedes GLC300 - had a fair few of Mercedes and just don’t like the stuck on iPad interior on this mark model
Porsche Macan 2015 - dont know if it’s big enough to ferry the dog in the boot along with all the baby stuff
Porsche Cayenne 2016 - haven’t had any experience with Porsche so any real world running costs, reliability experience would be helpful
Audi Q5 - great cars but just find them a little dull and not very special
Discovery Sport - same as the Q5

The F-Pace or Macan would be my pick but as I’ve never owned a Jaguar or Porsche before would like any ownership experience. I do hope to keep it for the next 3-4 years.

On another note keen to hear feedback on if it still worth buying diesel? We live out in the sticks so EV charging points are next to none and not ready to make that jump just yet. Is it worth buying petrol instead for resale value later down the line?

Thanks all!

From your list the Cayenne is the pick.

If you're considering the Macan you'll get a nice SQ5 Plus for similar money.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210150...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212242...

Some other alternatives worth considering are the Stelviio you'll get a nice one in budget that'll have the balance of it's 5-3-5 warranty/service package left:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210210...

The Maserati Levante:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301042...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212232...

Or Grand Chefokee that also have the balance of the 5-3-5 warranty too:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211151...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301253...

[MLS11]

Thanks, I’d ideally be looking for the newer shape SQ5. Interesting on the Maserati, hadn’t even considered them!

[justin220]

Also agree with the Cayenne

We had a discovery sport for 4 years and 80k miles, brilliant car but similar to you we fancied something different when we changed. All the bigger land rover stuff was to pop expensive.

Tried just about everything else from X5 to F Pace and ended up with the Cayenne.

Delighted with it. The only two downsides my wife has is, it doesn't have keyless entry/start or remote start. Can't say either bother me too much

[MLS11]

justin220 said:

Also agree with the Cayenne

We had a discovery sport for 4 years and 80k miles, brilliant car but similar to you we fancied something different when we changed. All the bigger land rover stuff was to pop expensive.

Tried just about everything else from X5 to F Pace and ended up with the Cayenne.

Delighted with it. The only two downsides my wife has is, it doesn't have keyless entry/start or remote start. Can't say either bother me too much

Awesome thanks for this. What model did you get and have you had any issues with it/anything to look out for? I’d probably be looking at the 3.0TD V6 2016.

[cerb4.5lee]

MLS11 said:

cerb4.5lee said:

We had a 2017 Merc GLC350d(3.0 V6 diesel) for 4.5 years(just over a 100k miles) and it was a lovely car I thought. It returned 40mpg which I didn't think was bad for the performance that it offered either.

They are quite a nice size and not too big and not too small I reckon. We currently have a Merc GLE400d and that is really big in comparison.

Edited by cerb4.5lee on Friday 27th January 17:44

That looks like a really lovely spec GLC350. I think I will revisit these and it’s good to hear that it delivered 40mpg, performance wise I know SUVs are not the sportiest but was it enough fun factor for daily driving. I did have a similar year C250 premium plus and it was capable but not the most exciting. Obviously missing the v6

Thanks.

Yes and as you say it wasn't the most exciting thing to drive, but it did do the comfort/relaxing thing very well though. I generally tend to take a more relaxed/laid back approach to driving SUVs anyway. The ones I've had have all had a reasonable turn of pace, but it isn't the going with SUVs...it is the stopping that becomes a problem because they tend to be pretty big/heavy I reckon.

Good luck with your search whichever one you choose.

[justin220]

MLS11 said:

Awesome thanks for this. What model did you get and have you had any issues with it/anything to look out for? I’d probably be looking at the 3.0TD V6 2016.

That's the one we've got albeit a 2017 platinum edition. Had it almost two years now and only had 1 EML come up which was an exhaust temp sensor, covered under warranty

[Easternlight]

Only on PH could the arrival of a small baby require the purchase of a honking great primium badge SUV



Seriously though have you considederd things like Skoda Karoq/Kodiac or Hyundai Tuscon?
You would be looking at nearly new and a lot cheaper to run.

[MLS11]

cerb4.5lee said:

Thanks.

Yes and as you say it wasn't the most exciting thing to drive, but it did do the comfort/relaxing thing very well though. I generally tend to take a more relaxed/laid back approach to driving SUVs anyway. The ones I've had have all had a reasonable turn of pace, but it isn't the going with SUVs...it is the stopping that becomes a problem because they tend to be pretty big/heavy I reckon.

Good luck with your search whichever one you choose.

Nice one thanks for this. I have been looking at the GLC350d on Autotrader (premium plus) and I think I’ll be looking into these more as I only really saw the 300 originally. There is also the GLC43 but I think that’s just over budget unfortunately.

[Yomamaisasnowblower]

ZX10R NIN said:

From your list the Cayenne is the pick.

If you're considering the Macan you'll get a nice SQ5 Plus for similar money.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210150...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212242...

Some other alternatives worth considering are the Stelviio you'll get a nice one in budget that'll have the balance of it's 5-3-5 warranty/service package left:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210210...

The Maserati Levante:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301042...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212232...

Or Grand Chefokee that also have the balance of the 5-3-5 warranty too:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211151...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301253...

Interested in this opinion. Isn't the Cayenne a bit of a bh to run cost/reliability wise? I'd only consider a newish one with warranty backing would therefore rule out with a 30k budget.

[FamousPheasant]

Firstly congratulations on the soon to be new arrival!

An Alfa Stelvio or Volvo XC60 could be considerations not on your list for a premium SUV.

I would also consider waiting for the arrival. I did the same as you and went to a Volvo v90 before my firs arrived, assuming I would need a massive car. The fact is we really didn't. Fast forward and the second has now arrived and we've sized down to a 4GC and it's been fine, even on big 2 week UK holidays.

[MLS11]

FamousPheasant said:

Firstly congratulations on the soon to be new arrival!

An Alfa Stelvio or Volvo XC60 could be considerations not on your list for a premium SUV.

I would also consider waiting for the arrival. I did the same as you and went to a Volvo v90 before my firs arrived, assuming I would need a massive car. The fact is we really didn't. Fast forward and the second has now arrived and we've sized down to a 4GC and it's been fine, even on big 2 week UK holidays.

Thank you! One of the main reasons looking to upsize is because we don’t want to have the dog and new born on the back seat together. I’ve currently got a 4GC and love it but I can’t put the dog in the boot now as it is due to the type of car. I will be waiting until just before as the wife is currently procuring all the baby stuff now so can access how much space will be needed!

Volvo XC60 could be a great option for me to look at as I really like their styling

[Mark83]

We have our first due in seven weeks and had a similar budget. Looked at similar SUVs; X3s and Macans but they weren't for me right now so opted for an estate which had the same
interior space. We don't do too many miles so went left field with a C63 estate.

Good luck with your arrival and hunt for the perfect small person transporter!

[ZX10R NIN]

Yomamaisasnowblower said:

Interested in this opinion. Isn't the Cayenne a bit of a bh to run cost/reliability wise? I'd only consider a newish one with warranty backing would therefore rule out with a 30k budget.

In a word no, especially if you use a VAG specialist (remember the drivetrain is the same as the Q7/Touareg) the 4.2d is a bit more expensive to run but not overly so, both the VW/Audi/Porsche can suffer (this was more of a thing on the earlier models) propshaft issues.

Overall if you're looking to buy a full size SUV then they're not going to be cheap to run in comparison to a Mondeo.

What would you consider to be a reasonable cost for running a full size SUV (doing 12k in that year) for a year.