As above
Looking for a new (secondhand) car for the wife
Aiming around £10/11k ish max, 3/4 years old, ideally cheaper
She wants a high driving position
Was looking at a Nissan Qashqai but seen a few Mitsubishi ASX’s that also look good value (£9k, less than 20k mileage in basic petrol ‘2’ spec ) and reading up it seems quite economical (another important consideration)
Boot space is important (she carts a fair bit of stuff around for her (kids swim teaching) business but anything will be bigger than her current Citreon C3 so it’s not a deal breaker, she won’t entertain an estate car (and saloons are out as cant get the dog in the boot!)
Most of her driving is local but It would also be used on longer motorway journeys
Toys are nice but spec again not a deal breaker, (when she got her last car she was over the moon it had a CD player!)

Any experiences with the ASX?

I’ve got a Fiat Panda, is she any good at ironing?

Kia sportage. With seven year warranty from New you’ll be happy for a long time. Loads of kit and and nice interior. If you ever drove or saw an old Kia you’ll be amazed how different they are.

If economy is a deal breaker then I’d go with a 1.5 diesel Qashqai. Mine does about 57mpg on a 75% motorway commute.

I’ve got a dacia duster. For the money it simply is amazing.

Withersea
I drive a Hyundai i30 so very familiar with Korean quality
The sportage is too expensive even secondhand though
For the ‘new’ shape start around £16k for an example comparable to £10-£11k Qashqui or Mitsubishi

Iolo
Looking £14k for a duster with a spec similar to other cars the basic spec is laughable, given both my wife and I will drive it an adjustable steering wheel and a radio would be nice!
…and poor NCAP scores, another consideration with a 3 year old in the back
I’d rather go secondhand and get better spec for less with someone else having taken the hit on most of the depreciation

I bought a 2 year old 4×4 Ambience and paid 8500 euros.
It’s in Austria and has no problem in snow.
It has a radio. I have no idea if the steering adjusts as its fine for me.

Blimey that much. We had one of the first qashqais and loved it and hated it at the same time. Numerous faults, poor dealership support, poor replacement parts (no fuel pumps held I’m the UK when mine failed) and then the internal door handles failed (very common fault) just outside warranty. So it was a thank you and goodbye. Can put some of it down to it being one of the first from the production line I suppose.

How about a dahaitsu terious?

No experience with the ASX, so can’t help you there.

I can submit another couple of choices though 😉

The more utilitarian nissan x-trail, or Subaru Forester in diesel form.

I had the same dealer, parts problem with my aventura navarra. Engine went pop 1000 over warranty despite being serviced religiously by main dealer.
They couldn’t get an engine as all navarras went pop at the same time. So common fault you would have thought? No according to nissan so I paid in full after eventually getting it back 5 months later.
Good luck if you get nissan.

Rav4 or CRV. We had a second gen Rav4 (2000) and it a great car, compact enough to park in town, good for kids and that model the rear seats came out and it was van like load carrier. Downside is they hold their value well so I doubt you’ll get a 3yr old one for your budget. Ours was 2l auto so not economical but I think the diesels are ok