£15k Dilemma
Author
Discussion

AceKid

Original Poster:

300 posts

76 months

At a bit of a loss on what to look for, the collective help of the gurus on here is needed please

- £15k top budget
- family/dog/mountain bike suitable (not all at the same time)
- only do 6k a year, mostly short sub 15 mile journeys
- auto (dodgy knee)
- not too low or harsh ride due to the terrible roads in the New Forest
- fairly economical
- reliable, but a bit interesting/fun would be nice

For reference, I currently own a 2009 Nissan Elgrand 3.5, so anything will probably be more economical, and i really dont need to be carting around so much fresh air anymore.





TrevorHill

499 posts

12 months

AceKid

Original Poster:

300 posts

76 months

TrevorHill said:
Oh, good choice, definitely one i hadn't considered.

Matt_T

1,061 posts

95 months

A good approach is to choose a car you like and then buy some smaller wheels / tyres with high sidewalls. Most big cars like Mondeos, XFs, Insignias etc ride really well on 16 inch wheels with winter tyres.

maccas99

1,785 posts

209 months

I've actually got my eye on this car as well, it ticks a lot of boxes for me being an MTB'r as well.
Anyone got any ownership insights or is there a owners thread?

Joe5y

1,619 posts

204 months

Discovery 4

fooman

969 posts

85 months

Matt_T said:
A good approach is to choose a car you like and then buy some smaller wheels / tyres with high sidewalls. Most big cars like Mondeos, XFs, Insignias etc ride really well on 16 inch wheels with winter tyres.
I specifically went for a Mercedes with 16in wheels instead of 18/19in AMG beasts because the ride quality was sooooo much nicer

ZX10R NIN

29,844 posts

146 months

AceKid said:
TrevorHill said:
Oh, good choice, definitely one i hadn't considered.
That's a great pick.

paul_c123

1,551 posts

14 months

ZX10R NIN said:
That's a great pick.
Really?

That thing has an Ingenium engine in it. It is a terrible suggestion.

TrevorHill

499 posts

12 months

paul_c123 said:
Really?

That thing has an Ingenium engine in it. It is a terrible suggestion.
Is the Ingenium not a diesel? I thought the JLR petrol engines were safe eek

ND_19

327 posts

199 months

I'd go for a 3litre diesel variant of either the 5 series estate, CLS shooting Brake or the Audi A6 Avant.

All will do 40 plus mpg average, all will be a lovely place to sit and all should be pretty reliable.

Having had the CLS and A6 (albeit differing trim levels) the Merc was lovely but a bit old fashioned and the Audi is extremely well built and a bit more modern.

Edit : if you're only doing 6k miles a year you can add the 530i to the list and just seen there's a couple CLS63 AMG in budget (won't be cheap to run though)

Edited by ND_19 on Tuesday 13th January 20:11

ZX10R NIN

29,844 posts

146 months

paul_c123 said:
ZX10R NIN said:
That's a great pick.
Really?

That thing has an Ingenium engine in it. It is a terrible suggestion.
Yes really the 2.0t Petrol Ingenium is proving reliable.

Billy_Whizzzz

2,482 posts

164 months

Surely pretty much anything like a:
Tiguan
Touran
X3
Q3/5
XC70
Kodiaq
Allroad
V70
all would do the job fine

Vsix and Vtec

1,263 posts

39 months

TrevorHill said:
Is the Ingenium not a diesel? I thought the JLR petrol engines were safe eek
They're like anything really, maintain it correctly and it's fine. The diesel is the one that's got the reputation.

I'd be looking at a CRV i think, well made comfortable things.

paul_c123

1,551 posts

14 months

ZX10R NIN said:
Yes really the 2.0t Petrol Ingenium is proving reliable.
Apologies, assumed it was the diesel.

Obviously not as stunning a reputation for self-destructing as the diesel, but its still a JLR product so either have a decent warranty or expect a few big bills along the way!

ZX10R NIN

29,844 posts

146 months

paul_c123 said:
Apologies, assumed it was the diesel.

Obviously not as stunning a reputation for self-destructing as the diesel, but its still a JLR product so either have a decent warranty or expect a few big bills along the way!
No they're actually pretty robust it'll cost no more to run than a 2.0t xdrive 5 series.