Nissan Qashqai? Skoda Yeti? Something else?

BeenThroughItAll

PaperDoll wrote: »

Thanks all for your comments and info. I'm taking it all on board.

However, a new option has entered the mix...the Fiat 500X.

I admit that I am a huge fan of the 500 and am completely smitten by its looks and have no idea of its practicality and I'd buy it tomorrow if left to my own devices. Luckily my OH is more practical and will insist on a test drive and proper comparison with other contenders before we decide. The spoilsport :rotfl:

Don't waste your money on buying a 500X. Make your own.

+

PaperDoll

We have a final shortlist at last:

Nissan Qashqai
Skoda Yeti
Honda CRV

Test drives set up for this week although haven't quite resolved the petrol v diesel dilemma.

Thanks again to everyone who commented and offered advice/opinion.

facade

Having poo-poo'd the Dacia Duster earlier in this thread, I had a look at one, and moved it to top of my list.

The spec sheet for the poverty spec. model is a dream, proper 16" steel wheels with bouncy tyres not stupid alloy cotton reels, no auto this that & the other to break down.

Under £12,000 for the 1.6 petrol 4x4 with tow pack, mudflaps & rubber mats fitted.

Only negatives are they don't have aircon and the petrol 4x4 is hard to get as everyone buys the diesel.

I'll get a brand new one when the Suzuki gives up :cool:

GwylimT

My wife has a honda crv, when our son visits he fits between the two car seats, he is six foot and fairly broad. We can also fit my wifes electric wheelchair in the boot and shopping etc. Rear visibility when parking is also very good, this is often a bit of a let down in higher cars.

Oli.s

I've had a new j11 Qashqai in the 1.2 petrol dig-t for the last 12 months and just sold it. In general it was nice looking and had a decent spec (largely because it was ex demo). Practically it took two car seats and had decent economy.

The boot design was poor, it appeared well sized with a removable boot floor for extra storage BUT the boot floor sat on a little shelf. Few inches deep which eat into the boot floor space with the tray removed, I was disappointed when I went to put two suitcases in it (average sized cases nothing overly large) to find the shelf meant they would Kay flat on the floor, cue a game of suitcase and pushchair Tetris to try and fit it in.

The 1.2 petrol was economical but sloooooooww. Trying to overtake on the motorway on a slight hill was painful.

The car also developed a number of gremlins in the electrics, as well as squeaks and rattles. The parking sensors activiating randomly and the stereo failing were common as well as door seals coming loose all the time because there held on with stupid little plastic type rivets which aren't up to the job. They fell off so often the deadlier gave me a bag of 20 in the end so I didn't have to keep going back every few weeks!

My friend has a Dacia duster that he bought new around the same time as I bought the qashqai. It cost him significantly less and whilst it has a bit of a cheaper look and feel he is extremely happy with it. I sold the qashqai a few weeks ago as it just was just a bit of a let down.

I've heard nothing but positive things about the yeti too.

GJ_WRX

When you are test driving the Yeti I would also have a look at the Octavia Scout. Although the Yeti is a great car the boot on the Octavia is a bigger which from experience is a big plus with 2 kids!

System

I've had a 2008 CRV (and a 2006 in the previous shape) and currently a 2012 Qashqai. The CRV is a lot more spacious. TBH your shortlist is a bit skewed as the CRV is a different size class to the other two and is an X-Trail rival rather than Qashqai.

I have had to carry two buggies plus everything else in both the CRV and Qashqai and the Qashqai was more than adequate although the CRV always had space left over. I personally would never go back to a compact SUV as I think crossovers are so much more convenient.

I personally didn't consider a Yeti as I don't like how it looks but if I could get past that I would have chosen the Yeti as I know a couple of people that have one and the 1.2 petrol engine is very good.

AndyBSG

If it's any help i'm in the same situation as the OP and have been looking at similar cars.

So far i've test driven a couple of Kia Sportages's and a Ford Kuga but not happy with either of them.

Both Sportage's drove like absolute pigs, terrible suspension on them.

The Kuga was nice but it feels cramped in the back as it has a very low roof and the boot was surprisingly small.

I'm now looking at the Hyundai IX35 and Mazda CX-7 instead but haven't test driven either yet.

PaperDoll

AndyBSG wrote: »

If it's any help i'm in the same situation as the OP and have been looking at similar cars.

So far i've test driven a couple of Kia Sportages's and a Ford Kuga but not happy with either of them.

Both Sportage's drove like absolute pigs, terrible suspension on them.

The Kuga was nice but it feels cramped in the back as it has a very low roof and the boot was surprisingly small.

I'm now looking at the Hyundai IX35 and Mazda CX-5 instead but haven't test driven either yet.

Friends of ours with 2 young kids have just changed to a Hyundai IX35 and they love it. They changed from an elderly Honda CRV which was starting to be unreliable. I would have considered it were it not for the fact that my 75 year old father in law drives one (and also loves it). I just couldn't bring myself to drive the same car.

The Dacia...looked at it briefly and ruled it out simply because I've driven an ugly, cheap, utilitarian car for the last 10 years. I almost feel bad speaking about it like that as it has served us well but we now have the abilty to spend a few moere £££ and drive something that we like and meets our needs rather than something just gets us from A to B.

I wanted to love the Fiat 500X but it felt cheap and a bit plastiky. Also reminded me of the Nissan Juke to look at and I have an irrational hatred of the Juke's aesthetics.

TBH your shortlist is a bit skewed as the CRV is a different size class to the other two and is an X-Trail rival rather than Qashqai

I know! And we ruled out the X-Trail for being too big. Makes no sense at all. We did consider the Honda HRV but it fell short on a few things (lack of a proper handbrake being one of them).

beachlou

I'll be following this thread with interest. Like the OP, we are looking to change our old scenic as its starting to cost us a lot of money. Our first thought was the Qashqai but after looking I'm not convinced they're big enough for us. We have 2 bulky car seats to think about and want a decent sized boot. We have sat in a Kuga and liked the size, the same with the Mazda CRV but I think the latter might be out if price range (around 10/11k). The car tax on the CX 5 is off putting and again, might be out of price range. We also looked at the Kia sportage which could be a contender.

We haven't looked at the yeti or the Hyundai ix35 so will add those to the list.