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Looking at maybe changing the family car so may go for one of these for a change. Had a Zafira for a few years and its been great but we no longer need 7 seats just a big boot for shopping, bikes, buggies etc. Would prefer a diesel and something relatively cheap to run. Of the ones I have looked at so far on Autotrader and Ebay I like the Honda CRV, Toyota Rav4 and our favourite so far due to the value is the Suzuki Grand Vitara. Anyone had experience of these or can recommend something else? Cheers
Nissan x-trail seems the other obvious option, both it & the Honda seem well rated when I looked
I quite like the 07-08 Mitsubishi Outlander which would fit in your price range. I've been in the Citroen equivalent C-Crosser as a passenger and that seemed alright for the money.
[url= http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201602120976060?radius=55&make=mitsubishi&page=1&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&price-to=5000&model=outlander&price-from=4000&search-target=usedcars&sort=atcustom&postcode=gu125jf&quicksearch=true&logcode=p ]random autotrader example which [i]may[/i] have an oil leak...[/url]
ex-CRV owner - big comfortable, reliable. MoTs were never an issue, only let down was fuel costs and it was a thirsty bugger but probably no more than any thing else of the same type.
Surprisingly little boot space with rear seats up, but rear seats would never have anyone complaining about lack of space. Rear seats down, cavernous boot space.
Built in picnic table was a bonus
Nissan Quashquai or whatever its called
Forester.
Forester all day long.
However I wouldn't buy a diesel Forester and a 5k CRV will be leggy.
Youd be surprised how old/high mileage you'd need to go to for a diesel Rav4
Like the x trail although it's pig ugly! Also like the outlander but struggling to find one in my price range that hasn't been to the moon. I will have a look at foresters. Anyone tried the vitara?
Now that outlander is a beauty brigands, very nice. Is 112k miles on a car like this OK or is that a bit much? Also don't do many miles at all per year, 4000 maybe.
I'd run a car to 112k+ that I owned. I wonder buy into a car without providence at this mileage.
If you only do 4k a Year- petrol ALL day long.
Your mileage is too low for a diesel, CRV petrols have timing chain issues with higher mileages so I crossed them off my list when looking a few months ago.
Friend at work is into bangernomics and run an old vitara for years-pretty indestructible but rust killed the fuel tank and sump and hence the car. Replaced with a 52 plate Rav petrol and again has been bulletproof for him.
Both cars have been utterly abused beyond the call of duty on his major house build/groundworks.
For once I'm forced to agree with hora.
4k a year?
[s]Big petrol pump. [/s]
Walk
Is insurance costs not a lot more on petrol though? And at this price range would just not need one with much lower mileage?
At 4K per year I'd get a Mazda CX-7. Fuel consumption ain't good but otherwise they're great and £5K would get a decent one.
I spend £6K on one at the end of last year and it's a lovely bit of kit - roomy, well equipped, quick (260bhp helps) and handles surprisingly well for a big beast.
^ good shout. My brother in law has a cx-7 and it's lovely.
4k a year? Just get a V8 range rover. 😀
I'm sure there are low annual mileage insurance policies available if you look.
MY CX-7 wasn't expensive to insure, despite having my 24 year old daughter on the policy. With just me and my wife it'd have been £200 fully comp. We're old though!
Do the maths 4,000 at 40-45mpg (your not going to get amazing mpg in a big SUV/4x4) v 27-30mpg in a petrol similar...
Then factor in the extra price of the diesel and its probably higher mileage.
Can you get the Mazda at 5k?
+1 crv just so reliable
I think it' more like 30-40mpg at best for a small 4x4 diesel vs 15-25 for a petrol in the £5k price bracket. Still sod all in it at 4k a year and you will buy a cheaper car with less potential for trouble buying a petrol.
Can you get the Mazda at 5k?
Yes, no problem. There are several on Autotrader in that range.
I'm averaging around 20mpg with mine.
For example there is a 2007 CX-7 with 64K on the clock for £4,450. There are cheaper ones than that too, with higher mileage - including one with 87K miles for £3,820 (also a 2007).
55ish onward petrol(suzuki engines) Grand Vitaras are virtually bomb proof. Proper full time 4wd with low range and diff lock. Diesel ones- renault engine, can be harsh, dpf problems,dpf pressure sensor hoses break up & inlet throttle valve failures are not uncommon
A non turbo Forester will give you 30mpg+ even making progress on twisty roads.
A turbo will give you about 20.
As above. I had a non turbo Foreseter and got about 32mpg. Turbo diesel X-Trail is currently averaging 37mpg.
Just done an insurance quote on that there Mazda and it was surprisingly cheap. Barely different to my Zafira. Just can't get my head around getting a car with an engine like that when I set out to get a boring frugal diesel. It's 250 bph!
Do you need 4x4? Going on criteria in the OP i'd be looking at an estate.
Not really but the Mrs likes the elevated driving position and to be honest it's a change from the boring mpv we've had for years.
Fair enough, I still miss our old Passat estate, really comfy and swallowed bikes, Mrs hated driving it though, found it was too big.
We now have a 2008 CMax, and i'd recommend that, (just not diesel) Petrol, Manual, Rear seats fold forward or come out completely to make a van almost for my occasional bike trips,(although they weigh a bit!) it's been reliable and is really quite nice to drive too, with higher up seating position that you're looking for, Mrs wants to replace it with another when the mileage gets nearer 150k.
I'm with Andyl, 4k a year = V8 Range Rover
Foresters aren't that big really if you are after a large boot, I looked at a few, but they seemed smaller than the V50 I had.
V6 Vitara would be good option if a Range Rover would be too big.
Would consider a c max, are they roomy enough in the back for 3 kids? Is the boot big with seats up?
Subaru Outback 3.0 or 2.5 petrol or 2.0 diesel. A bit higher up than an normal estate without the clown car looks do something like a quashqai.
Subaru Outback 3.0 or 2.5 petrol or 2.0 diesel. A bit higher up than an normal estate without the clown car looks do something like a quashqai.
The Forester is the better car, if not quite so big. Much more sprightly and a far nicer to drive. I have a 3 litre Outback at the moment but would swap it for another Foester (I've had two) in a heartbeat.
The flat 6 does sound better though...
Oh, avoid Subaru diesels pre 2011; they have a tendency to snap crankshafts.
BMW X3?
Just got our daughter a really nice condition one for 5.5k.
Another vote for a Honda CR-V, I had one last year for a few months as a temporary runabout, nice to drive, notrhing went wrong with it and great on the crap roads around where I live. Loads of space with seats down. Mine was a 2 litre petrol, pretty thirsty though.
Gone from crv to outlander... Needed the extra seats... Very similar cars Both do a good job... Crv is more refined but slower and as the turning circle of an oil tanker
Repairs on Subarus can be expensive though, can't they ?
But big plus for the crv is the adaptive cruise control used it alot and miss it
"Youd be surprised how old/high mileage you'd need to go to for a diesel Rav4"
also I was surprised by how much more a clutch cost for the diesel over a petrol - wiped out any fuel cost savings
I liked the look of the CX7 till I clocked the tax on them- £490 a year!
2x CRV owner here. For 4K a year i'd choose a petrol. Our diesels have been thirsty, but oh so practical and oh so reliable.
Two road bikes in the back with both wheels on. Two mountain bikes with front wheels off.
Look and see how many R and S reg mk1 CRVS you see on the roads still.
And I miss the picnic table in the mk3. Used ours many times.
We've currently got a 54 plate 1.8 petrol c-max and a 52 plate 2.0 petrol crv. I'm getting a new yeti soon and we're part-exing the c-max. This has only 68k miles, full dealership service history, and has been the worst car we've ever owned.
We struggle to get above 30mpg, it costs about £800 per year to get it through the mot, And compared to the older crv feels crude and cheap. Don't get me wrong, this isn't to say the crv is refined, but should be seen as an indicator of how crap the ford is. Don't touch one.
The crv has been a pleasure to own; it gets 40+mpg on a long run and swallows our camping kit. The elevated seating position is nice and always sails through the mot. It's relatively low mileage at 80k and we've run out of pages in the service book. The vtec engine is ok, but not really designed for going quick. It drinks fuel if you Rev it but it's got decent enough torque so you don't need to. Servicing has been on par with ford, tons cheaper than my last car - Volvo 850 estate. We'll keep this until it dies. That said, it need a clutch soon and at £700 (dealer price), I'm not looking forward to that. Very robust car.
I had a Forester, loved it... but pricey when bits fell off (which they did quite often). The Suzuki Grand Vitara 1.9DDIS was really quite a nice place to be that came along some time later - my only issue with it was the rate at which it ate a full set of tyres! There was an Outlander (previous version) which was absolutely lovely - Company Car Tax saw it off in the end though.
Had a couple of pickups - but don't go there!
For your mileage I would be tempted by the Grand Vitara I think. 4k a year should see a set of tyres do a few years (I was running through a full set a year)
Petrol CRV would be my choice with your low mileage. My dad is on his 2nd now, his last was a Y reg which cost him nothing but servicing and tyres, his 'new' one he bought last year is an 06 with 45k on it, lovely car which does 30mpg running around on short journeys. Honda petrol cars do seem very reliable.
I have an 07 CRV had it a year been a great car, its diesel I do 12k a year and have averaged around 42mpg in that time, it swallows bikes rear seats slide forward and back its very practical and no dpf. Driving pisition is brill and its sooooo comfortable, got great kit sat nav, leather, adaptive cuise, auto light and wipers blah blah blah the list goes on. 4k a year though I would go for petrol.
Repairs on Subarus can be expensive though, can't they ?
Every Subaru I've had has needed a rear driver side wheel bearing at £170 a pop. Nothing else, other than the present one needing a new exhaust centre pipe and silencers. 😯 Nothing has "dropped off" my five, and nothing has given up the will to live, even on the 17 year old workhorse Forester. Everything still worked as it did when it left the factory.
They're actually very simple cars and euro car parts sell all the consumables.
They're no more expensive to maintain than any other car.
Repairs on Subarus can be expensive though, can't they ?
Depends- the Legacy I had was due to a air/fuel sensor and a new cat-back exhaust.
The Foresters- No. The first one I should have known it'd have issues. The seller, a Cop from Rochdale drove up two kerbs on the nearside front on our testdrive. A few months later that driveshaft and CV boot needed replacing. A breakers/indie Subaru place in Calderdale sorted that very cheapily. Apart from that? Nothing on either Subaru and both weren't treated kindly by me at all. Through the two harsh winters 5yrs ago one was out daily in all conditions out in the sticks. In the second I helped rescue stuck people over the tops of Delph/Saddleworth last winter. I took the second one I owned from Manchester-France-Germany-Bruge over Xmas/NY too. Utterly fantastic cars with soul.
Would consider a c max, are they roomy enough in the back for 3 kids?
That's where that recommendation falls over! Middle seat in the back isn't as wide as the other two so its a squeeze for three.
As you're not ruling out small mpv's have you considered a Honda fr-v? After 10 years mine is still going strong (2.0 petrol and I get low 30's to the gallon). Massively practical vehicle with 3 full size seats in the front and back. If they were still making it I'd probably just buy another once this one dies as it's been amazingly reliable.
Utterly fantastic cars with soul.
You either "get" them or you don't.
If I'd bought a leggy/outback as my first Subaru it would have been my only Subaru. They're OK cars but nowt special. I've yet to own a Leggy/ob for more than a year, but the two Foresters we had for 8 and 10 years. They did everything that was needed, and they're a lot of fun
I don't know why I'm bigging them up. I'm looking for another and they're hard enough to find as it is.
Not sure where older Dacia Dusters are on price, but I love mine.
Great to drive on road, capable enough off-road.
Been all over the internet and found that theres not many CRVs that have done under 100000 miles for this money. Shame as really love these. I have also found that i should be able to get something for £4000 ish if I am going for petrol so that could save a good chunk. The Grand Vitara is still the current favourite and I am now considering petrol after reading comments on here - very helpful cheers. I really loved the look of the Mazda but as someone mentioned the yearly tax is a bit much at nearly £500. Still looking at Ford C-Max as they get good write ups and they seem just about big enough. They are a bit dull though but a seem like the sensible option if I want something cheap to run so I would still consider an MPV so any suggestions welcome. Thanks for the advice so far.
Subaru [s]Outback[/s] Legacy 3.0 or 2.5 petrol or 2.0 diesel.
That's where I would be looking. 🙂
Another vote for CRV - been pretty happy with ours. Don't get the 'small boot' or 'massive turning circle' comments, the boot is the size of a big estate and the turning circle is pretty good. You'll never get 40mpg out the petrol though. Reliable lumps so the slightly higher fuel cost isn't that much of an issue IMO.
Wrong time of year to get a bargain one though petrol for £4k there will be a few around. FWIW ours is an '03 Exec bought last summer for £3.5k on 65k miles.
We've currently got a 54 plate 1.8 petrol c-max and a 52 plate 2.0 petrol crv. I'm getting a new yeti soon and we're part-exing the c-max. This has only 68k miles, full dealership service history, and has been the worst car we've ever owned.We struggle to get above 30mpg, it costs about £800 per year to get it through the mot, And compared to the older crv feels crude and cheap. Don't get me wrong, this isn't to say the crv is refined, but should be seen as an indicator of how crap the ford is. Don't touch one.
Weird.
The 06 Focus estate - which the cmax is based on - I had was one of the best cars I've owned. Cost about £0 per year in the mot, got 50mpg and compared to the older crv felt nicely refined. Plus it had a bundle of electric toys and precisely one thing went wrong (alternator, known weak spot on the diesel) over the course of six years.
It depends upon what you mean by best...
for a laugh my mates (one an ex semi-pro off-roader) took a couple of £1K Jimny's to the Tuareg Rallye.
The vid of him toasting the £100K Porsche off-roader is classic 🙂
Look at this beauty! If only I was a bit nearer Somerset.
Look at this beauty! If only I was a bit nearer Somerset.POSTED 1 HOUR AGO # REPORT-POST
12 pics and not one of the interior...
^ that's really odd because I clicked that link not two hours ago and I'm sure there were a good half dozen images of the interior...
If the OP's brief included towing a caravan, how would these petrol models fair ?
Looking at whether to chop in my Galaxy. Needs a bit spending on it but it's such a practical old bus.
If the OP's brief included towing a caravan, how would these petrol models fair ?
The Forester was Practical Caravan's towcar of the year for 6 years on the trot!
IIRC the turbo has about 80% of max torque available everywhere between 1500 and 6000RPM. They are very torquey engines.
Funny that. You either get Subaru's or you dont. The interiors look poverty spec to most yet to me it looks japtastic. The frameless doors, the way it feels if you press the accelerator a certain way mid-end, the turbine-type noise/engine/transmission naked noise, the way a tracteur beam pulls it through/towards the exit on a roundabout..
There ARE faster cars, faster turbo diesels but in the right hands boy they shine 🙂
Saying that..
My Legacy was almost insipid to drive compared though. It was smooth, fussless, planted, quick but abit dull. I even managed to average 50mpg on the motorway once but boy it was meh.
If the OP's brief included towing a caravan, how would these petrol models fair ?
I don't think a CX-7 would struggle to tow a caravan.
If you are going the high (ish) mileage route on a petrol Crv - google timing chain issues, it is a fairly costly problem.
Saying that..
My Legacy was almost insipid to drive compared though. It was smooth, fussless, planted, quick but abit dull. I even managed to average 50mpg on the motorway once but boy it was meh.
You should have got a spec b then 🙂
I treat drove a diesel legacy yesterday and was quite impressed (a bit slow), but felt proper Subaru. When did they sort our the apparent breaking crankshafts, a potential 6k bill is a bit off-putting.
Re: towing a caravan I can only go with what I know, my Dad tows an Eldiss Avante 550 with his manual petrol CRV, he has had no problems. He also towed a Bailey for years with his old auto petrol CRV.
Tom200 without googing I think it was 08-10?/11 even diesels
What about the Hyundai Tucson/Kia Sport age?
Decent cars with good kit, reliable engines and priced lower than the Japanese cars.
I'd recommend a mk1 Santa Fe, but they are pretty ugly, but are an amazing value vehicle.
When did they sort our the apparent breaking crankshafts, a potential 6k bill is a bit off-putting.
Late 2010/ early 2011, I think...
Repairs on Subarus can be expensive though, can't they ?
They're actually very simple cars and euro car parts sell all the consumables.
They're no more expensive to maintain than any other car.
Consumables are ok - availability and lead times for anything damaged rather than 'consumed' less so. My sister in laws Legacy was broken in to quite clumsily - damage to the lock barrel and steering column. There weren't any spares in the uk and lead time was months and months for getting them during which time she couldn't drive it or secure it - she ended up having to scrap it.
Well finally got the new car. After looking at a lot of different options including rav 4 (no bargains about) Suzuki Vitara (only ones I could see were tatty) Mazda 6 estate (slightly too pricy) and very nearly getting an Alfa 159 sport wagon (too high miles in my price range, heart ruling head) went for the safe option. Honda CR-V with 74000 miles in 2.0 petrol (cheers for advice hora) for £3800 which I think is a bargain. It's in great condition and drives really well, much more solid than my Zafira and the alfas I've had in the past. Nice of the snow to arrive on the day I bought it to test it on the slippy roads in the Peak District on my drive home. Anyone else got any experiences of CR-Vs? Anything I should look out for?
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Seems like a very good price! Hope it's a good spec. A nice specced Jap car always seems so different from a peasant spec version (inside)
great stuff. has it got appropriate tyres on? 4x4 minimal benefit in snow unless all weather or winter tyres.
It's the sport se so climate control, electric sunroof, up graded alloys etc. Got everything we need but would have loved a Bluetooth stereo but we'll manage.
Tyres are brand new high spec ones apparently, giugaro something or other, feel very grippy
Vredestein tyres by the sound of it. Certainly not a budget option.
Vredestien were my first snow tyres lots of years ago. Bloody good tyres.