Motorway comfort SUV - budget of £5K

Pugster

My wife has a new sales job, that will involve a lot of motorway driving.

She is convinced that she needs a SUV. She wants to be high-up when driving long distances on motorway.

We have a budget of up to £5,000 (may be able to squeeze another £1k if it gets a lot more for the money)

Wife's priority:
* Comfortable driving on motorway
* Cruise control
* A sunroof
* Nothing too boxy looking.

My priority:
* Cheap to run and reliable

Nothing has really jumped out at us at the moment. Any suggestions very welcome.

Thanks very much,

JayCartwright

Have a look here.

http://www.topgear.com/car-news/list/top-gears-favourite-sensible-suvs

See if any take your fancy and see how old you need to go to get one from five grand.

Marktheshark

Has she done the sums if she has to buy the car for the employer to run their business from ?

Pugster

Hi Marktheshark.

I'm not sure I follow? She doesn't get a company car.
She gets a car allowance, but it's just a salary payment that's taxed.

Are we missing a trick?

gilbert_and_sullivan

SUV's and cheap to run don't really go hand in hand.

We assume high mileages are going to be covered, if so given the budget i might be inclined to have a look at Kia Magentis or similar unfashionable (therefore bargainous) Diesel saloons, you will get a lot more bang for your buck than with a soft roader.

If she insists on an SUV then i'd look at Rav 4 and CRV, possibly Hyundai and Kia equivalents, not sure how any of these are going to fare as mileage increases though, all have their faults.

forgotmyname

Worst place for a taller vehicle is the motorway, they get affected by crosswinds and goods vehicles more than a lower standard family sized car.

Strider590

Buying an SUV for motorway use is not big and not clever. At the end of the day she wants an SUV because they're sort of fashionable at the moment.

For high speed motorway travel, something long and low will be far more comfortable, safe and stable at high speeds.

SUV have a high centre of gravity, much like a 4x4, making them prone to rolling over in situations where a sudden change of direction is required. You may say "but i'm a sensible driver", but from what I can make out, jumping into the seat of a SUV has a tendency to inspire over confidence, if not turning them into raving lunatics.

Iceweasel

The last thing you need for 'a lot of motorway driving' is an SUV.

I'd want to put safety, comfort and economy first.

I suggest that your wife does a rethink / assessment of why she wants an SUV.

bigjl

If she wants to sit a little higher but not have the higher running costs of an SUV then a Zafira or C Max might be worth consideration.

I wouldn't have thought the lack of high speed stability with an SUV would be the best thing for somebody doing a sales job and lots of motorway miles.

The other problem with SUVs is that they are popular which pushes up prices.

Meaning you get less for your money

However £6k gets you into a 3yr old Zafira.

A £5/6k CR-V could easily be an old nail, same goes for a RAV4, Kuga, Freelander etc.

If by SUV she means something larger like an X5 or ML then they are just going to be all sorts of pain when they get old, and likely have been neglected by the last few owners.

motorguy

Nissan Qashqai 1.5 DCi

bigjl

motorguy wrote: »

Nissan Qashqai 1.5 DCi

Coincidently my sister had a Qashqai, was an 09 with the 1.5dci.

She sold it for a Zafira (mk2 not new Tourer) 63 plate but was nearly new at time of purchase, with the 1.7cdti lump.

She much prefers the Zafira. You can get three child seats in the back she reckons and the boot is huge.

Being in fairly congestion free part of Scotland DPF problems are likely to be less of an issue than in a congested City.

She never really gelled with the Qashqui, it was a minter with low miles, never gave her a single problem by the 1.5dci lump is a nice little engine, was one of the things I liked about our mk3 Clio.