Which car should I get?

GDB2222

I’m just trying to understand what car we should get. To put this in perspective, I’m thinking about a Volvo XC40 light hybrid, but I noticed that Which? have other cars rated higher.

Our priorities are 
4/5 doors saloon or estate 
Very safe
Maybe 2-3 years old 
We’re happy to pay £30k but the budget is flexible, and would consider a lease.

We’re in our 70s, and we have had our present car 16 years, so it is quite possible that this is the last time we will buy a car!

One odd thing we want is a powered driver seat, so that the car will automatically adjust to whichever of us is driving.

fatbelly

I'd take Which? reports with a pinch of salt

Honest John thinks they're good

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/volvo/xc40/

leosayer

Nothing wrong with an XC40 however your criteria encompasses so many cars.

As you are considering that this may be the last car you buy, I think that ease of access should be an important consideration in case you lose mobility in the future. My own mother struggled to get in an out of an BMW X5 (too high) and an Audi A3 (too low).

I'm tall but still find the XC40 (an SUV) is a bit high for easy access. 

I don't have any recommendations other than get yourself to as many car showrooms as possible to try each car out for access and comfort.

Ectophile

Buy the car you like.  Because then you will be driving around in the car you like, rather than something you don't like, but someone else told you to get it.

Mildly_Miffed

Go and try an XC40. See if you like it. See if it's comfy for you, see if you enjoy driving it.

Try a few of the competition. There's no shortage of £30k hybrid SUVs, and you'd be struggling to find something that isn't 5 star EuroNCAP - although most of those stars now are on the binglies and flashies and nags, rather than whether you'll be jam at parking speed.

But with any used car - yes, even a 2-3yo one - buy THAT PRECISE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF YOU, not just a make and model.

And remember that most finance packages are better on new-new cars, because the manufacturer wants to shift new-new metal. They care less about used, even in the franchise chain. And, with any few-year-old car, if it's outside the franchise chain, ask why they wouldn't retail that precise car as an approved-used...

daveyjp

As your current vehicle is 16 years old go and drive what you are interested in.  Many vehicles are now so advanced and have so many unecessary bells and whistles it can be very offputting to be sat in one and think 'how do I even start it'.

I speak from experience of having a father who is slightly older who got it into his head a few weeks ago that he wanted a new car, probably his last.  He test drove the car he really wanted.   It was a hybrid, it was an auto, it had every safety system known to man which he didn't know about, it binged when he went near white lines, it steered away from white lines, not knowing about these things he thought the car had a steering fault.

  He hated it and as a result decided to keep what he has.

facade

daveyjp said:

As your current vehicle is 16 years old go and drive what you are interested in.  Many vehicles are now so advanced and have so many unecessary bells and whistles it can be very offputting to be sat in one and think 'how do I even start it'.

I speak from experience of having a father who is slightly older who got it into his head a few weeks ago that he wanted a new car, probably his last.  He test drove the car he really wanted.   It was a hybrid, it was an auto, it had every safety system known to man which he didn't know about, it binged when he went near white lines, it steered away from white lines, not knowing about these things he thought the car had a steering fault.

  He hated it and as a result decided to keep what he has.

The first time I drove my brand new car in 2019 I thought a wheel was coming off as the steering started shaking.

Turned out it was a "safety" feature to remind me that I was crossing what it thought was a white line.

I had a ride in a relatives "new" XC40 a few weeks back.

Nice car, but a lot of the controls are through the huge touch screen in the centre console.

I was gobsmacked when he spoke to it and ordered it to set the heating to 22 degrees - and it did it! (Every attempt I've ever had at voice control in a car has failed with "calling doctors" and me frantically trying to cancel the telephone call)

Tbh, I didn't like the leather seats, which I thought were too firm and slippy, but no-one makes leather seats like the ones in the old P5 Rover.....

However last time we spoke he was glumly waiting for Volvo to get back to him with an appointment to supply & code two new remote keys due to a known fault that rendered his useless...

Most definitely take it for a long testdrive, and try doing things like operating the aircon, using the wipers, parking it etc. and see how you get on with the "safety features" (like the steering feeling like a wheel is coming off half the time)

Make sure that it at least has the reversing camera, the 360 camera option is the one to go for, the XC40 is a huge car by 16 year old standards! (You won't be able to open the doors in a standard Tesco parking space)

 

Herzlos

I had an XC40 rental a while back and it was certainly nice though I'm not sure I'd ever get used to the handwriting recognition for the GPS. 

As mentioned, cars have advanced hugely in the last few years so everything will be quite different to your 16 year old car. I'd go and sit in as many as you can, see what they are like to get in and out of. 

What kind of mileage do you do? If it's really low and you've got a driveway, then you may find a full EV is going to be easier to maintain than a hybrid. 

GDB2222

Herzlos said:

I had an XC40 rental a while back and it was certainly nice though I'm not sure I'd ever get used to the handwriting recognition for the GPS. 

As mentioned, cars have advanced hugely in the last few years so everything will be quite different to your 16 year old car. I'd go and sit in as many as you can, see what they are like to get in and out of. 

What kind of mileage do you do? If it's really low and you've got a driveway, then you may find a full EV is going to be easier to maintain than a hybrid. 

We do about 3000 miles a year, and an electric car would be fine for now. However, we are thinking of downsizing, and I don’t know whether the house we move to will have a driveway.  I won’t want an electric car if we can’t charge it at home.

Bigphil1474

Don't forget the luxury car tax supplement on any car that was over £40k when new - an extra £425 a year from years 2 to 6.  

GDB2222

Bigphil1474 said:

Don't forget the luxury car tax supplement on any car that was over £40k when new - an extra £425 a year from years 2 to 6.  

Unfortunately, that’s most of the obvious ones that I am considering.