Wife wants a 4x4......advice please?
Discussion
Hello all, the wife wants (needs due to a bad back)a higher vehicle and is looking at 4x4s.
We do not want to spend more than about £15K (as I want to spend some money on either a Noble, 996TT or even a 360!). The 4x4 will be used for long commutes (approx 20000 mpa). Anyway, she is considering the following and any comments welcomed:
1. Honda CRV (Latest shape).
2. VW Toureg.
3. BMW X5 (my personal choice).
The car would be the wife's so my opinion does not count for much (a familiar theme!).
Many thanks
Lee
We do not want to spend more than about £15K (as I want to spend some money on either a Noble, 996TT or even a 360!). The 4x4 will be used for long commutes (approx 20000 mpa). Anyway, she is considering the following and any comments welcomed:
1. Honda CRV (Latest shape).
2. VW Toureg.
3. BMW X5 (my personal choice).
The car would be the wife's so my opinion does not count for much (a familiar theme!).
Many thanks
Lee
Would have to be the CRV for me. Cracking soft roader if not strictly a 4x4.
It's very car like to drive and will be bomb proof. The diesel unit is also first class and due to the smaller size of car will give you much better mpg than either the X5 and VW (they're both verging on Land Rover size and fuel consumption). Servicing will also be reasonable, which is a plus if you're doing 20k miles pa.
If not the CRV then the X5 would be my next preference but am not sure what you'd get for 15k.
Last of all would be the VW. Visually it looks well screwed together but they're by far the worst of the bunch in terms of reliability (remember it's a VAG)
It's very car like to drive and will be bomb proof. The diesel unit is also first class and due to the smaller size of car will give you much better mpg than either the X5 and VW (they're both verging on Land Rover size and fuel consumption). Servicing will also be reasonable, which is a plus if you're doing 20k miles pa.
If not the CRV then the X5 would be my next preference but am not sure what you'd get for 15k.
Last of all would be the VW. Visually it looks well screwed together but they're by far the worst of the bunch in terms of reliability (remember it's a VAG)
I owned a Touareg for 5 years and although it's an excellent car, the one thing I didn't like were the seats, too flat and no support. My choice would be Volvo XC90 extra flexibility of 7 seats too and is reliable from what I hear. X5 and rangie have great seats but from what I hear from friends neither are reliable at all and x5 has a pathetic boot for such a big car.
Go for the XC90, probably best to make arrangements to drive them all one sat morning, that's what I did
Mike
Go for the XC90, probably best to make arrangements to drive them all one sat morning, that's what I did
Mike
Depends how deep your pockets are for running costs.
If you want play the safe bet then a CR-V would be excellent. My friends recently bought a 2004 one for a very good price in Executive spec with Leather seats and SatNav etc. It's got a good driving position, a fairly frugal engine and 'drive n forget' mechanicals. Good car.
My brother had a Kuga for a year (didn't all owners buy them on 'that' scheme?) and that's a fine looking car. Boot is a bit diddy compared to the overall size of the car but I really liked it. Good 'urban' vehicle.
XC90 / Rangie etc are more my bag but you are buying a whole heap more car and come one, a bad back alone can't justify something that big.
You'll buy one of those if nothing else satisfies the need but don't expect it to cost family hatchback money to run.
If you want play the safe bet then a CR-V would be excellent. My friends recently bought a 2004 one for a very good price in Executive spec with Leather seats and SatNav etc. It's got a good driving position, a fairly frugal engine and 'drive n forget' mechanicals. Good car.
My brother had a Kuga for a year (didn't all owners buy them on 'that' scheme?) and that's a fine looking car. Boot is a bit diddy compared to the overall size of the car but I really liked it. Good 'urban' vehicle.
XC90 / Rangie etc are more my bag but you are buying a whole heap more car and come one, a bad back alone can't justify something that big.
You'll buy one of those if nothing else satisfies the need but don't expect it to cost family hatchback money to run.
How's your on-going budget? An X5 is expensive to maintain. Obviously, with that kind of mileage I'd get a diesel. We had a 4.4 Sport and we never managed much more that 18mpg average from a tank. Most recently, that meant a £120 tank returned approx. 400 miles.
Tyres etc. are expensive especially as we had the 19" wheels. Service intervals were good though. However, when things go wrong, they tend to cost a packet as you'd typically want BMW parts when thinking of resale.
Talking of that, expect to lose a packet on resale if you get a petrol.
Aside from the above. I loved my X5. By far the best car I've driven. Loads of toys. The brakes were OK at best but as long as you drive with this in mind, it was a great car to drive.
Tyres etc. are expensive especially as we had the 19" wheels. Service intervals were good though. However, when things go wrong, they tend to cost a packet as you'd typically want BMW parts when thinking of resale.
Talking of that, expect to lose a packet on resale if you get a petrol.
Aside from the above. I loved my X5. By far the best car I've driven. Loads of toys. The brakes were OK at best but as long as you drive with this in mind, it was a great car to drive.
Your choice of 2003/2004 Range Rover Vogues is VERY limited at that price, they will likely be high mileage and the 20,000 mpa will depreciate the vehicle quickly. I think the CRV is a good bet, nice looking, easy to drive, great reliability reputation too. Its a good size vehicle without being too overpowering.
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