Hi, wanting to move on from the "people mover" Honda Odyssey. Looking for an SUV for a family of 4 (2 adults, 6yo & 4yo) looking at a budget of $20k. Want to have good bluetooth, reversing cam, under 100k's, good fuel economy have looked at and liked the Mazda CX5, Ford Kuga (liked all the extras in this) and was also looking at the outlander, at a bit of a loss of the good and bad points and extras etc, depending on years & models? Advice would be much appreciated, also open to recommendations of other models, have heard great things about Santa Fe, but think it may be out of our budget. Thanks
serf407,
Oct 24, 3:00am
The extra bits of driver info required? Do you require a 4wd suv to go skiing with, are the adult drivers over 2 metres tall (some SUVs suit taller drivers better than others), how many kilometres a year are likely to driven - town vs open road running, do you need to pull a boat or a caravan etc Look at used views or type in the vehicle name and model google - problems e.g http://www.drive.com.au/used-car-reviews/mazda-cx5-used-car-review-20151207-glhxe5.html
mals69,
Oct 24, 3:42am
Would check out what Toyota has to offer before any on your list. The kuga was catching fire overseas, Mazda and Mitzi still real average build quality.
Recently asked my Korean WOF guy/mechanic what were the best made cars from Asia, Toyota was the reply.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 24, 4:17am
VW Tiguan is the one to beat in my opinion. Drive one, compare the spec and see what you think.
kazbanz,
Oct 24, 4:27am
jabbawocky-There are a huge number of good Japanese SUV's that would seem to fit your needs. For example the 2.4l Toyota RAV4 I did pick up on one point you are making though. You want Bluetooth,reversing cam etc and fair enough too. But keep in mind any unit in a car is as old as the car. Maybe if you adjust your budget for the actual car by $1000 then you could have a brand new unit installed. That may well open up your range of vehicles.
CX-5- Best build quality and reliability out of the lot. However, you really need the 2.5 as the 2L is pretty gutless for open road driving. Downside is the small boot on these and the fact that a low kn 2.5 will be over your budget
Outlander- The model is getting old and is fairly basic but pretty reliable. The new shape is quite a lot larger and has a bigger boot plus an additional 2 seats making it a 7 seater so handy for when your kids have friends over. I think its the most value for money SUV out there. The only downside is the CVT transmission mated to the 2.4 is a bit slow
Toyota Vanguard- a longer wheel based Rav4 with some coming in 7 seater versions. These are pretty specced up vs a NZ new Rav 4 with half leather, reversing cameras, bluetooth etc. Nice large boot and benefit of Toyota reliability
Hyundai IX35/Kia Sportage- A good alternative to the CX5 and you can get an Elite one with a high level of spec in your price range
The other car to consider would be a Subaru Outback. More of a high station wagon than a SUV but you get really good handling and much larger bootspace and rear passenger space than a medium sized SUV
saxman99,
Oct 24, 5:50am
BMW X3 or X5
jabbawocky1,
Oct 25, 3:39am
Thanks so so much for all the advice have looked into all the suggestions and have gone with a mazda cx5 2012 diesel. Thanks again
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