Opinions welcome from anyone who has experience of a variety of recent model cars & suv's, or owns something they are really impressed with. I am looking to replace the family car, there are a few pointers: 1) bonnet badge--really could not care less 1a) 0-60 times, as above 1b) fancy alloys, low profile wide tyres, nurburgring inspired handling, all completely unimportant as above. now the stuff that does matter, not in any order or preference. 2) must be able to seat 4/5 adults in comfort. 3) 'soft' suspension, able to cope with today's pot holed speed bumped roads. 4) good boot space. 5) quiet cabin, low road & engine noise 6) reasonably economical, at least 40 mpg, in reality, not manufacturers claims. 7) 4 door hatch, suv or estate, no real preference 8) if i think of anything else i will add it on !
Peugeot Expert Tepee WAV: 1) None of those 2) Seat 4 (many more if required) and a motorbike in comfort 3) Air suspension and lowering available for bike access with lowered floor too! 4) Yep 5) Don't know 6) 42 average, 50+ on a run with a possible approaching 60pmg when chipped (middle diesel engine. 7) Car, van, van, car 8) Motorcycle access vehicle (former wheel chair access vehicle. I'm saving for one now, buying second hand - ex Motability generally have 20 to 30K miles and full history Available as a Citroën, Toyota and Fiat also. 2009 59 PEUGEOT EXPERT TEPEE LEISURE 2.0 WHEELCHAIR WAV SCOOTER ACCESSIBLE | eBay
Can tell you my experiences with a few recent ones: Seat Exeo estate. Aka spanish barge. Ticks all your 1-1b 100%! But is actually pretty cramped. Stay away. I drive mine 350 miles a week, it's a good workhorse but I'd sooner have an older v70 or 530d touring but I didn't get to choose this one. VW Tiguan - boot isn't massive depth wise but it's tall, depends what you want to carry. Ours has the 4motion. Good mile munched, mpg not great, again felt pretty small. Range Rover Vogue SE. No. No no no. Leather lined tractor. No mpg. Good boot space. Shite drive. We hired a renault kangoo on holiday year or 2 ago. Apart from your road noise criteria this was the most practical thing I've been in for a while. If I was replacing the spanish barge tomorrow I'd be looking at a 530d or a skoda suburb estate.... Or a yeti but the boot is the same shape as the Tiguan so depends if you're after depth or height.
Try the new mondo mk5 . Seriously a good car. I have had the lst model since new and I love it. Massive boot space.
I have the new shape Mazda 3 sport nav hatch back, on the back roads back and forth to work in stop start traffic averaging 44mpg with some heavy acceleration, if I take it easy I avg 50ish mpg on the M6 steady 70 avg just under 60mpg 2.2 Turbo Diesel, comfy to drive handles the crappy bumpy back roads really well I find the boot space ample I have had 4 adults and a 9yr old child in the car all at once and they all seemed comfy enough mate Jason was in the back and he is close to 6ft tall.
Skoda is brilliant bang for buck. We have an Octavia 1.4tsi. Drives like a 2 litre but easily 40 to the gallon. Big boot, comfy and cheap to buy
I'd have an Alfa 159 - probably the Sports Wagon. Hardly surprising, seeing as I have had an Alfa 156 SW since 2000. It's a nice place to be - especially with a leather interior. This is the most important thing in a car - that you should be happy to be in it. This is where Alfa really deliver. The 1750 Turbo motor is magnificent. Failing that, there will be a diesel.
From your list of wanted features, I'd say that the Honda CRV (2007 on, diesel) may tick most of the boxes, although they are not that cheap. Probably not worth it unless you have some desire for 4WD. A lot of the smaller "SUVs" don't have 4WD, but also have tiny boots, whereas the Honda's boot is big, and rear seating fairy generous. The suspension is especially good, and Honest John ranks it in his top 10 for a smooth ride, although better to avoid the top spec ones with bling 18* wheels which ride harder. From experience, the 40 mpg average is about right and the reliability (my experience and other people I know) is excellent - I mean literally nothing failing in around 50K miles from 2nd hand purchase with 25K miles on clock originally.
I've got one, yes they are lovely but points 1,2 & 3 suggest it may not be top of Crazy Harry's list. That and the regular trips to the mender to keep it purring.
How about a Saab 9-3 Sport Wagon, extremely comfortable, genuine 40+ locally, nearer 55on a run, loads of boot space, seats 5 easily. We're on our second one, first one we had for 4 years, this one we've had nearly 2, it's an 08 and has now only got 57k on the clock and we reckon to keep for another 3 or 4 years.
VW Passat Estate. Decent size, comfortable, economical. Mine is a great work horse, takes us to see the wifes parents in france in comfort, been to the alps and back twice and returns high 40s mpg at 85ish every day on the motorway. Tis a bit dull in the twisties though but it is a work horse... I will be swapping it for an Octavia vrs diesel estate next year i think
Great car, we had one for two years, but don't carry adults in the back for any distance, the seats are basically an shapeless bench and we had the toP of the range. Front seats are fantastic. We now have a Mondeo estate, great mpg and very comfortable, soaks the miles up effortlessly.
1. get that. 2. Won't it seat at least 4 adults in comfort? 3. suspension on mine isn't especially hard. They do handle well, though. Mine has pretty much only had routine maintenance in its 15 years and 130'000 miles. But then I am nice to it (and perhaps lucky). It's never really gone wrong (touch wood).
Crikey this is going to be a diverse topic ask 10 people get 15 answers sort of thing. Well I'm on my 26th car and we've had our second Nissan Qashqai for nearly 18 months it's a 7 seat 4x4 tekna version so has lots of toys, it's just completed a 1500 mile tour of sketch and back then to Euro Disney fully loaded and returned 46mpg. It's got plenty of room in it for adults a large boot I really can't think of a better all rounder it's been great. I've had Audi's Vw's, Vauxhalls, even a 159 as above So I guess you'd figured it but I vote qashqai.
Exactly. It's not really a question you can get any answers for. You have to sort of feel at home in a car, in order to really love it, and that is hugely personal. For me, most of them are just machines of no interest. I had a Citroen Xara estate for a year. There was nothing wrong with it, but i always got the impression I was using a hire car. I had no affinity with it at all. It looked OK, it went OK. It was useful. But emotional attachment? None. I prefer something more personal, but that's just it. It's personal. You can't make a reasonable recommendation for someone else.
we bought a honda crv last year, does everything well, and has good residuals. but its a honda, so it wont set your pants on fire. i prefered my M3 V8 if im honest :Banghead:
Ok I meant 1 1a & 1b Yes it is comfortable, yes it handles well, yes at 6 years old it's still one of the best looking cars out there but....Much like Italian motorcycles I always feel a sense of achievement when it arrives at the end of another month without a mechanical drama, and there have been a few. I absolutely love mine but couldn't in all good conscience recommend one when the criteria are not based on style and pleasure of ownership but more on comfort and practicality.
