Which 4WD (or 2WD) For My Wife For £15-18,500?
Discussion
Hi guys,
The Mrs has decided she wants a 4WD and wants to spend closer to £15,000 but would go higher for the right car. A 4WD would be great but would also consider a 2WD version is it was still a great car. Basically she wants a car that is high up, room in the back for the dog, prams etc and she HATES Estates and MPV's. Also only wants a manual with leather and a diesel to help with running costs. Also wants it to be modern with good spec and be reliable. We want to keep for 5 years minimum.
I just thought I would check here to see if anyone has any good or bad experiences with the following cars.
I was thinking:
BMW X3 2.0d Sport - Great car but still fairly pricey and old in this price range. 05-06 models have 60,000 miles on them. Are getting pretty out of date now maybe?
Ford Kuga - Ford build quality anything to worry about? Maybe I can only get the base spec for this money?
Toyota Rav 4 - Great build and reliability with good 4wd ability but boring?
VW Tiguan? Maybe a bit small in the back? Might still be too new to get the spec we want.
CRV? Strong contender but maybe the nice spec is still at the top or above out price range?
Qasquai - Maybe? Might be a bit small?
Maybe:
Chev Captiva? - Not sure about the badge though? Too average?
Hyundai ix35 - Looks quite good but still a Hyundai. They do look like they have come a long way though. Any good?
Mazda CX7 - Love it! Great looks and heaps of extras for about £12-14,000 BUT 2.3t petrol uses wayyyy too much fuel and is £400 per year to tax. Shame.
Out:
Land Rover Freelander - Too agricultural and boxy looking and she hate it.
What do you all think?
The Mrs has decided she wants a 4WD and wants to spend closer to £15,000 but would go higher for the right car. A 4WD would be great but would also consider a 2WD version is it was still a great car. Basically she wants a car that is high up, room in the back for the dog, prams etc and she HATES Estates and MPV's. Also only wants a manual with leather and a diesel to help with running costs. Also wants it to be modern with good spec and be reliable. We want to keep for 5 years minimum.
I just thought I would check here to see if anyone has any good or bad experiences with the following cars.
I was thinking:
BMW X3 2.0d Sport - Great car but still fairly pricey and old in this price range. 05-06 models have 60,000 miles on them. Are getting pretty out of date now maybe?
Ford Kuga - Ford build quality anything to worry about? Maybe I can only get the base spec for this money?
Toyota Rav 4 - Great build and reliability with good 4wd ability but boring?
VW Tiguan? Maybe a bit small in the back? Might still be too new to get the spec we want.
CRV? Strong contender but maybe the nice spec is still at the top or above out price range?
Qasquai - Maybe? Might be a bit small?
Maybe:
Chev Captiva? - Not sure about the badge though? Too average?
Hyundai ix35 - Looks quite good but still a Hyundai. They do look like they have come a long way though. Any good?
Mazda CX7 - Love it! Great looks and heaps of extras for about £12-14,000 BUT 2.3t petrol uses wayyyy too much fuel and is £400 per year to tax. Shame.
Out:
Land Rover Freelander - Too agricultural and boxy looking and she hate it.
What do you all think?
VW Touareg? We got an immaculate 56 plate 3.0V6 D Altitude for my wife at Christmas time (I think we paid £17k for it). Plenty of room for stuff in the boot (massive with the rear seats folded flat) & has all the toys you could wish for. Generally, it is an excellent car. Returns around 27 - 29mpg & is actually quite a good drive for the size of car it is.
Some recent topics that might help because they have similar needs:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Not that it matters, she'll want the one in the nicest colour but with a prestigious badge.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Not that it matters, she'll want the one in the nicest colour but with a prestigious badge.
I'm currently in a similar position and we've been looking at Disco 3s or a FFRR, both of which I don't think will lose a fortune in the coming years, just the running costs to get my head around the moment.
The problem with cars like the Ford Kuga and Hyundai etc is that they're likely to lose a fortune in depreciation. I know the D word is frowned upon around here, but at this end of the market I think it has to be considered.
The problem with cars like the Ford Kuga and Hyundai etc is that they're likely to lose a fortune in depreciation. I know the D word is frowned upon around here, but at this end of the market I think it has to be considered.
Freelander 2. Park the prejudice, it's a totally different car to the old model and easily the best option. It feels like it's from a class above the rest and is great to drive as well. You should be able to get a TD4 HSE for your budget on an 07 plate with leather, nav and lots of other nice bits as well.
Big Tav said:
Mazda CX7 - Love it! Great looks and heaps of extras for about £12-14,000 BUT 2.3t petrol uses wayyyy too much fuel and is £400 per year to tax. Shame.
You can get a used CX7 with the new 2.2d on a 59 plate from £20k now with about 15k miles on it. Maximum spec with leather satnav etc all included - manual only and reasonably low tax and decent MPG. Got to be worth finding the extra £1500 for a quiet life! 
schmalex said:
VW Touareg? We got an immaculate 56 plate 3.0V6 D Altitude for my wife at Christmas time (I think we paid £17k for it). Plenty of room for stuff in the boot (massive with the rear seats folded flat) & has all the toys you could wish for. Generally, it is an excellent car. Returns around 27 - 29mpg & is actually quite a good drive for the size of car it is.
Didn't think of that! I thought they would be still too expensive. Do you think they are better than the X3 by much? The older X5 is ok but is a bit old fashioned now for the wife but she still likes the look of the X3. Go figure!jamiebae said:
Freelander 2. Park the prejudice, it's a totally different car to the old model and easily the best option. It feels like it's from a class above the rest and is great to drive as well. You should be able to get a TD4 HSE for your budget on an 07 plate with leather, nav and lots of other nice bits as well.
I like them. She just thinks they look like they belong on a farm for her. I will try again to show her them when we do the rounds though as I know they are great.Caulkhead said:
You can get a used CX7 with the new 2.2d on a 59 plate from £20k now with about 15k miles on it. Maximum spec with leather satnav etc all included - manual only and reasonably low tax and decent MPG. Got to be worth finding the extra £1500 for a quiet life!
Maybe. We both really like them too. What ever we spend over £15,000 though comes out of our house budget (and also my car and bike budget too!) so it has to be worth it.Im in the same boat so to speak. Comming from a 530d m sport and now Need something 4wd, reliable and as young as possible with a few toys
Ive driven the crv , a 2009 ex and to be honest i wasnt as impressed as i thought i was going to be
a brand new ix35, petrol model, drove alot better than the crv though it was very floatly over large bumps and felt like the i was going to hit my head of the roof, maybe i was driving too fast for country roads
great spec on the car for the money, really light steering in slow traffic and great turning circle
still on my radar, though would like with the 1.7d engine and the stop / go system and also drove a 2008 freelander, which was very nice indeed, only drawback would be the upkeep with fuel/servicing as people seem to be in the high 20's/low 30's mpg, and im trying to get closer to the 45-50 range if possible, though fro 4wd that seems almost impossible.
Id love a xc60 but they are out of the price range
Ive driven the crv , a 2009 ex and to be honest i wasnt as impressed as i thought i was going to be
a brand new ix35, petrol model, drove alot better than the crv though it was very floatly over large bumps and felt like the i was going to hit my head of the roof, maybe i was driving too fast for country roads
great spec on the car for the money, really light steering in slow traffic and great turning circle
still on my radar, though would like with the 1.7d engine and the stop / go system and also drove a 2008 freelander, which was very nice indeed, only drawback would be the upkeep with fuel/servicing as people seem to be in the high 20's/low 30's mpg, and im trying to get closer to the 45-50 range if possible, though fro 4wd that seems almost impossible.
Id love a xc60 but they are out of the price range
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