Hi all, It's time to trade in the VW Golf for a family car. After lots of thought we've settled on an SUV/Crossover of 06-08 vintage with $25,000 to spend. The SUV is not needed for off-roading (we live in the city) but for the higher ground clearance (we're both tall and vulnerable to back problems so leaning down to unclip lift out small children is a pain).
I'm tossing up between the Honda CR-V, the Hyundai Santa Fe, the Mitsubishi Outlander and the Holden Captiva. We'd consider a Euro car too, a BMW X3 or Volvo equivilent, but in that budget they're a little too old for our liking.
Here's our criteria. We'd love your experience/advice before we take the plunge. - Must work for a tall driver and tall passenger (we're 6"1 and 6"4 respectively) - Reliable - Reasonable servicing and parts costs - Good fuel economy - Not cheap feeling interior/dash - Leather seats
We'd consider diesel, and would be happy with manual or auto.
At this stage we're leaning towards the CR-V. We like the size, we fit in it and it has a nice leather option. The one we drove felt a little tacky though. The Dog and Lemon guide doesn't love it but they don't hate it either. The Dog's favourite, the Santa Fe, was a little on the big side for us, not great for tall drivers and its hard to find any with under 100,000kms.
Thanks in advance!~
phillip.weston,
Mar 8, 10:38am
Outlander over the CR-V for sure.
franc123,
Mar 8, 10:46am
First of all, put the D&L book down, if you read too much of that you will end up being a gibbering confused wreck with no fingernails left drenched in sweat at the thought of all the expensive things that can go wrong with modern cars, and will blow your cash on the nearest Toyota Corolla.Given you state that economy is important I'd say that the CRV is probably the best bet of those you've shortlisted.Remember SUV and economy don't go in the same sentence, all of these vehicles are going to be more expensive to keep in fuel than the Golf, the petrol versions at least.
clark20,
Mar 8, 11:18am
I like the CRV, good honest vehicle, and great engineering from Honda. Less cost to run and maintain. The Santa Fe are nice new, but getting up on the ks might be more expensive when things go wrong.
ezekiel67,
Mar 8, 7:32pm
Another vote for the Outlander.
joanjett76,
Mar 8, 7:53pm
Thanks for the comments so far. Phillip.weston & Ezekiel67, it would be great to know what you love about the Outlander over the others. It sure looks nice, good size etc. Lots of leg room! Do they do leather! Cheers
ric7,
Mar 8, 8:37pm
why not a highlander limited! very much an on road SUV and very quiet, easy to drive and high quality all around
phillip.weston,
Mar 8, 8:55pm
Good luck finding a same year Highlander for $25k! You get MUCH better value going with a Outlander, CR-V or Santa Fe. Plus you have something which doesn't look like a bloated Camry.
rovercitroen,
Mar 8, 9:21pm
We chose the Outlander after comparing RAV4, Honda CRV and Santa Fe. All have their pros and cons. The Outlander is a good package, possibly nicer with the V6 engine, but we chose the 2.4 MiVec 4 cylinder XLS model as we can see that fuel economy is going to become more important. If I had to pick a couple of negative points of the Outlander tyre noise on coarse seal would be one of them, although it is better on its new Falken tyres. Other negative is that at certain revs the engine can be a bit "boomy", especially under harder acceleration. But overall we like the CVT in the Outlander better than the transmissions in the other cars. The Outlander actually drives and handles quite nicely with reasonable ride and steering and excellent interior packaging. All of the above choices are good really so it comes down to personal preference. Peugeot use and basically rebadge the Outlander as the 4007 - with a great diesel engine option too. Best of luck.
delboy71,
Mar 8, 10:13pm
I had a Santa Fe for 3 years, I'm 6 foot 4 tall and it was easily roomy enough for me - and more.Diesel is the one to get, great engine, no worries in all the time I had it and am seriously considering a new one later this year if I can get the $$$ together :-) You won't go wrong with one.
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 8, 11:08pm
Hi joanjett, Why not have a close look at a VW Touran. They have the high seats for getting kids in and out and also an extra row of seats that fold completely into the floorso you have the choice of 5 people + Loads of gear or 7 people and less gear. Great for school trips and when your kids have friends over.
They are a fantastic car and because they have VW's amazing DSG gearbox they are amazingly economical too, in fact I think you will find in practice nothing else comes close on economy yet they still have plenty of go. Not sure off hand what the head clearance is like so you will need to try one and see.
There is also the VW Touran Cross which is higher off the ground again and the later models are more luxurious and even have features like "auto park" which means it will parallel park by itself.
The thing with the Touran is its designed for exactly what you want to do as opposed to something that is designed for some offroad ability which causes compromises in terms of economy, handling etc.
vtecintegra,
Mar 8, 11:10pm
Neither the CRV or Outlander are designed with any offroad ability in mind either, they're just a higher Civic and Lancer respectively.
craig04,
Mar 8, 11:13pm
10 points for the use of the word amazing (or a derivative of) twice in the same sentence.
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 8, 11:17pm
Fair enough, but they still suffer the "crossover" vehicle drawbacks in terms of how they utilise space and suspension. The Touran (non cross version) gives you the seat height and child loading advantage without jacking the whole care up unnecessarily and losing valuable space and visibility to a big bonnet and sticky out bits.
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 8, 11:18pm
Sensational!
yogibearz,
Mar 8, 11:37pm
outlander for me
dagwood1,
Mar 9, 12:02am
In a similar spot - looking to replace a '97 Diesel Surf. Only difference is I do a bit of towing including launching and retrieving on beaches - heaviest would be probably around 1200kg. Highlander looks good to me - not worried about being a few years older to get the $$ into budget. I understand CVT gearboxes are pretty much allergic to towbars!
joanjett76,
Mar 9, 6:19am
Wow thanks all! Ric7, I checked out the Highlander - bit too pricey for my budget and maybe a bit on the big side for us. It's bigger than the outlander/CRV, right!
RoverCitroen, I hear what you're saying about the Outlander. I'm definitely tempted but am concerned about the CVT. I've heard lots of people warning it has a tendency to play up.
Delboy71, was your Santa Fe the pre-2006 model! We're looking at the 2007 and my partner sits so high its hard for him to see out the windscreen. I like it in other ways though, and would seriously consider the diesel (though it did sound a little like a truck). Other problem is I can't find anything in my budget with less than 125,000ks. It seems crazy to fork out so much for a new vehicle that's got 150ks+ on the clock, don't you think!
Jazzpianoma, thanks again for your super helpful comments (you helped me a while back when I was considering just upgrading the golf). I'm not keen on the look of the Touran (to me it's got that real 'people mover' look I'm not into!). Is there anything else European in the 25k price range and Outlander size you could recommend! How about the Toaurag! Or is that just like a Golf on stilts! It would be good to have a bit more space.
joanjett76,
Mar 9, 6:47am
I forgot to mention, I've added the Volvo XC90 to my ever-growing list but am yet to drive it. Quite like the look of this one: Listing #: 359652961. Any comments on this model!
(I also like the look of the BMW X3 but have decided to cross it off the list after hearing too many reports of unreliability).
stevo2,
Mar 9, 6:54am
What about a Nissan Murano! Cheers Stevo
rovercitroen,
Mar 9, 7:23am
joanjett, My research on the Outlander suggested that the CVT has been very reliable. I think most CVTs are OK as long as they are serviced on time, which can be expensive, and as long as they are not overloaded. Time will tell I guess. I wanted my wife to look at a VW Touran but she hated the "people mover" look of it. I have heard of reliability issues with VW DSG gearboxes but so far none on Mitsi Outlander CVTs. VW DSG is no doubt a better drive though.
ezekiel67,
Mar 9, 7:25am
Yep - the VRX models have leather. I read somewhere that its the number one selling SUV in the country and not because they're flogging them off to rental companies. Haven't heard about any issues the Mitsubishi CVT units - Phillip might be able to elaborate on this.
rovercitroen,
Mar 9, 7:27am
As mentioned earlier the Outlander does have a bit of a blind spot from the front (A) pillars especially when turning tight right, say around a tight corner. But I don't drive it much so not really used to it yet. Fitted a 7.5 kg washing machine in the back this avo with alot of room to spare. Very practical vehicle for all round use IMO.
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 9, 7:29am
Hi again, actually I remember you and your Golf now! Just a wee note from what I remember about our conversations regarding the Golf. I remember you being concerned about the cost of servicing it etc.
If you are still being fairly economically minded just a word of caution on price range, age and type of vehicle you are looking at. The depreciation over the next few years on most 25K vehicles is going to be fairly eye watering. So perhaps something to be aware of.
In terms of what else might suit I will give it some thought over the next few days. I do quite like the XC90 as an option, those Volvo's are lovely and a LOT of vehicle for the money. The engines they use are also excellent and are an evolution of a very well thought out and proven design. The only catch with the Volvo is there is a shortage of 3rd party parts providers and the Kiwi Volvo agents really take the mickey on pricing because of it.
That said, you should very rarely need parts for something like that, the extra cost of parts is also going to be minimal in the scheme of things. I would suggest if you like it go ahead and when the time comes for a major service come back for some advice on where to go for parts at a good price.
Pity the XC70 dosn't appeal as you could have one of those in lovely condition for under half the price of the XC90 and they will have minimal depreciation, yet still be ahead of some of the other vehicles you are considering.
You asked about the Toureg, they are a phenomenal vehicle. simply in a class of their own light years ahead of the Honda, Santa Fe etc. However I would suggest if considering one that you go and have a good chat to the people at Qualitat about what they cost to service etc.
I have not had one myself yet so can't comment on the service/parts cost, I have heard the odd story of people paying huge money for bits but thats not unusual with any of those luxury 4x4's if people take them to the wrong place for servicing. If the agents also service Ferrari's then of course you are going to pay big money!
Qualitat are excellent with their prices both on servicing and parts so an opinion from them should be a good guide. Perhaps ask them to put it into perspective against the Honda, Santa Fe, Volvo etc.
If there is only a smallish premium I personally would be very tempted, especially if you could get the fabulous diesel one in budget. The car loving part of me really wants to throw the economist out when it comes to those!
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 9, 7:36am
BTW, have you seen a newer shape Touran! Might be worth a look just in case it appeals as the Touran is going to be so much cheaper to own over all and potentially be more useful for your purpose.
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