Sold my 2006 Toyota Highlander (owned since new) at 300,000km last week. What to get next? Brand new, prefer not to have to wait 4-6 months for "delivery". Must be able to tow - so 750kg / 1800kg. NOT Diesel (personal preference) Less than the 3300cc it replaces but above 2000cc. Around 8L/100km. AWD, yes I do use AWD often here in the central plateau. Budget = $50,000 max.
PS: I have a shortlist of 3, interested to hear other (serious) opinions.
tamarillo,
Apr 18, 1:38am
Skoda Kodiaq STYLE TSI 132kW 4x4 Comes in under 50.
nightboss,
Apr 18, 1:57am
Sorry - Not a contender as it does not meet two of my criteria. Engine cc rating and price.
s_nz,
Apr 18, 2:02am
A lot of it comes down to how big you want.
CX-5 AWD 2.5l Petrol GSX? $47k list price (but you can get about $5k of mazdas by phoning a few dealers). 7.4L/100km, 140kW, 1800kg towing (85kg max towbar downforce).
Subaru Outback? $49,990 RRP for base trim. 7.3L/100km, 138kw, 2000kg towing (200kg towbar downforce)
If you could drop your towing needs to 1500kg (and were willing to wait 6months) you could consider the rav4 hybrid or Rav4 adventurer. Outlander PHEV is anouther with a 1500kg tow rating.
New highlander looks pritty nice, but well out of your budget. $61k for base v6, and $64k for base hybrid (toyota NZ has gone back on their word only selling this model as a hybrid). 2000kg towing on all models. 5.6L/100km from the 179kW hybrid, and 8.8L/100km from the v6.
Personally the outback would be the first one I would look to test drive.
At the bigger end of the spectrum, the 4th gen highlander is the obvious pick. 179kW, AWD, 750 / 2000kg tow rating, 6.6L/100km.
s_nz,
Apr 18, 2:10am
Don't pay too much attention to engine displacement these days. We live in an era of Direct injection, turbocharging, hybrid systems etc. Best to look at peak system power.
But year, that car has a list price of $60,990. To get under 50k, you would be looking at a 2019 with 40,000km.
nightboss,
Apr 18, 2:13am
Why buy a two year old car at 40,000km that came with a three year/60,000km warranty when most are now standardly offering 5 years/unlimited km? (EG: Ford & Mazda)
s_nz,
Apr 18, 2:54am
You could also throw the less common brands into the mix.
LDV D90: $41,990+ORC 165kW petrol, 3100kg towing, 10.2L/100km of 95RON.
nightboss,
Apr 18, 3:13am
Kia Sportage GT-Line AWD 2.4L petrol is another I have test driven this last week. Very nice but 4 months wait & $51K list but on the lot for $46K.
nightboss,
Apr 18, 3:14am
"Throw" is almost the correct term for those.
vtecintegra,
Apr 18, 3:54am
I don't think the high trims of the Sportage are worth it - it's a dated design which is good value at the low end but not for $46k
cjohnw,
Apr 18, 4:11am
Latest model Subaru Outback (base) fills pretty much all your requirements?
nightboss,
Apr 18, 4:35am
It does, and is on my top 3
tamarillo,
Apr 18, 5:23am
2 litres but you’re right, it’s 60 not 50 Modern turbo engines produce more torque than much bigger engines of old .
bwg11,
Apr 18, 6:30am
Rav4 hybrid. 50kg light on tow capacity, but otherwise no contest.
gusthe1,
Apr 18, 6:47am
What about a Jeep Compass Trailhawk
cjohnw,
Apr 18, 6:54am
Not available within the next 6 months in NZ. Likely to be close to 12 months wait.
s_nz,
Apr 18, 6:56am
A family member went through this exercise about a year ago. Requirements were 1800kg towing (boat weighs that on trailer with a full tank of fuel), Tight turning circle (best possible, but ideally around 11m kerb to kerb), AED, Not diesel, not 6 cylinder, ideally fairly compact footprint, not super expensive.
At the time the CX-5 was the only thing on the market that ticked all those boxes. Need to be mindfull of the euro style low max ball down-force (85kg). Wasn't an issue in this case as the boat trailer manufacture had set the trailer up for around that anyway, and winch-post was on U bolts so noseweight could be adjusted if required.
At that stage, the 4 cylinder outback was rated for something like 1500kg, but the recent increase to 2000kg could have added another option to consider.
A lot of it will come down to how big of a car you want. The outback is quite a bigger than the likes of a CX5, which should mean more passenger & cargo space.
They miss the 1800kg tow rating requirement. Quite a few options open up if you are happy with a 1500kg tow rating.
I have never been in one, but I think they were the class leaders for a while. And you can get a high spec one well inside budget, unlike the likes of the new outback.
Sadly, despite making less power than the CX5 & outback (135kW), it is rated to use substantially more fuel (8.5L/100km)
1L/100km less fuel consumption (if rating translates to the real world) is worth $6000 over the 300,000km life of a vehicle at $2/L petrol. Good chance petrol price will spike a lot when the aviation industry ramps back up.
s_nz,
Apr 18, 7:00am
its rated for 1500kg, so 300kg light. And as somebody else said, Toyota are advertising a 6 month wait at the moment.
But yes, Other than that, it blows away its direct competitors with both power and economy.
s_nz,
Apr 18, 7:02am
1000kg tow rating (OP is targeting 1800kg)
On the plus side gets low range 4x4 unlike all the Japanese SUV's mentioned so far.
nightboss,
Apr 18, 9:49pm
LOL - They have almost the same tow rating as these at nearly twice the price.
I have seriously considered looking for a lower milage of the same model.
s_nz,
Apr 19, 3:14am
Kinda hard to un-sell a car.
Anyway a 2006 highlander is rated at 12.3L/100km.
Given that the likes of the outback is on OP's shortlist, they don't require a 7 seater or 6 cylinder engine. Outback is rated at 7.3L/100km.
OP has done 20,000km a year over their highlander ownership. If they continue to do this mileage, and get rated mileages on $2/L fuel, the fuel savings alone from the upgrade are worth $2000 a year.
If OP is going to keep There new car for 15 years assuming linear depreciation, it effectively costs them $3,300 a year for the new car. After fuel savings it means they are only paying $1,300 a year to be in a 16 year more modern car, have having the benefit of modern safety features, Warranty & CGA protection etc.
I have a 2006 Lexus RX400h at 205,000km that shares many components with the highlander. I really like it, partially the smootheness, power, seat comfort, and suspension comfort. But there is no getting around that it is a older and fairly heavy car when it comes to maintenance. I have owned for roughly 3 years, and in that time it has needed on top of regular oil changes: Rear break pads & disks, spark plugs, engine flush, Cam belt, water pump, Front suspension bushings (replaced whole arms), New Radiator, set of tires. Haven't added it up, but think it is around the $2000 a year mark to just do maintenance stuff.
Even though OP's highlander would likely keep running past 450,000 if they kept maintain it, given they have the budget, there is something nice about a brand new car, with brand new consumable's (Tires, wipers etc). Means other than scheduled services OP should need to spend any $$ on maintenance or repairs in the next couple of years at least.
kazbanz,
Apr 19, 6:49am
l honestly reckon that’s not a silly idea
redhead18,
Apr 19, 11:38am
skoda ? touareg? Another highlander?
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