I’ve just been though this and ended up with a Q5. I wanted a nice C class estate or similar, but Mrsbits put her foot down and as she drives it 95% if the time, my tastes didn’t come into it!
Looked at the range over, but the reliability put us off. Some nice mercs, the glc would have been fine but in the end, the pcp in a Q5 coupled to the fact it was white won the day!

Just for balance, I’ve got a riding pal who’s had two faultless Evokes and now has a Velar which hasn’t broken yet. I had a Freelander 2 which did 135,000 miles and never missed a beat. Having said that though, I’d be a bit nervous if a JLR car was out of warranty, all these negative comments are bound to have an effect.

Mazda CX-5 Sport Nav?

Throwing in a curve ball, what about a Hyundai Tuscon?

May not have the british/german/swedish poshness.

Macan would be nice

F-pace lovely but JLR reliability

Medium sized Merc SUV should be a very nice car but slight image problem tbh (and thats coming from a merc estate driver)

I like the E-class off road but I do think the V90 version is much nicer. The estates are more practical but I admit if you don’t need the ultimate load space one of the medium sized SUVs can be quite nice with the high up position and not being quite so long as an E class or V90 (which are longer than most spaces).

I wanted a nice C class estate or similar, but Mrsbits put her foot down and as she drives it 95% if the time, my tastes didn’t come into it!

Had a C220 diesel rental, was staggered by how efficient it was. Dirty diesel though.

Mazda CX-5 Sport Nav?

We’ve got one of last of the old model (registered March 2017). The new version is basically the same car with slightly better styling and an improved infotainment system.

I think ours is a great car, it handles so much better than it should for its size. It has bags of space front and back and we can comfortable fit a weeks luggage for 2 adults and 2 kids in the boot.

Spec is good with electric memory leather interior, LED headlights and BOSE sound. They appear quite expensive, but if you spec a VW Tiguan up with the equivalent kit, they look better value.

Mazda is far from a posh brand but the cabin feels premium. The big caveat is that nearly 2 years in to ownership and a few annoying rattles have started to creep in, clearly the quality of materials is not up to the standards of German premium marques. Maybe the new version has rectified this?

If money were no object, I’d probably for a Q5 or XC60 though.

Stelvio?

Also, Merc aren’t giving any guaranteed future values out on PCP’s on the GLA/GLE diesel SUV’s..

I’d start checking other manufacturers PCP/GFV quotes on diesels..

Stelvio?

Good shout – a beautiful car.

Yep Stelvio would be my choice – quite small looking externally I thought, in comparison to X3 sized ones.

How about a seat? I’ve just ordered an Arona.

Interior is really nice and it’s surprising how much kit you get as standard.

They’re also doing 0% pcp for 4 years at the moment.

Volvo XC40 prob as big inside as Evoque.

I’d have an XC40 over 60.

Mazda CX-5 lots of toys and nice but still not the same as a premium car.

I like BMW’s but not there X series

I understand when people spend a lot of money on a car because it has a genuine functional benefit for them – a camper maybe or a 4×4 if you live somewhere it’ll make sense even – but I’m baffled as to why you’d want to throw £30K at something because it’s ‘posh’ or ‘nice’.

Because you’d prefer to spend the next X years of your life driving in a car that offers comfort, significantly enhanced functionality compared to a £10K car, also enhances the driving experience and most likely is safer, faster and handles better.

Also maybe you’d like a warranty for 5 years… and not to have to worry about it having been in a crash, that didn’t write-off the car therefore doesn’t show on an HPI check, that has been repaired (perhaps badly)… etc etc.

Also, because you can?

As above, you need to work on your shortlist a bit before going shopping. An XC90 is a very different proposition to an Evoque – I think running costs could be almost double. Few mates and family members have ran X5s, RRs, etc. for years and some of the costs are eye-watering, especially tyres!

I’ll come clean and say I’m very much in the anti-SUV camp.. especially the medium-small sized ones and especially especially the 2WD ones! For all those extra running costs what do you actually get? Smaller boot than a ‘posher’ estate, more body roll, poorer performance..

But, each to their own – my uncle got a new XC60 last year and it is a very nice place to be, it’s still a big motor, bigger than Quashqai/Evoque/Q3 etc. but not as massive as a proper RR or XC90.

What about the Merc GLA45 AMG – should get a good one in your price range, banzai performance from the 360bhp four banger turbo, excellent brakes, autobox and it’s a bit taller than the A45 and almost looks like an SUV if you squint a bit.. it’s also quite posh in my view.

GLA is not a bad shout (bar the residuals) if you just want the load space of one of these smaller SUVs or a conventional hatch which suits most people.

Comment above about the residuals I think especially applies to the GLE and my comments above about them not holding their value. But that does make used merc 4x4s good buys. Except for the G wagon which holds its value. Mercs have the best engines in my opinion but I am biased.

ctually it might be worth looking at the smaller GLC or GLC Coupe. The latter has the completely pointless SUV body but I do kind of like them and the BMW X6-M..which I hate to admit but they look fun without the bulk of a big estate back which I have on all my cars. Sometimes i think it would be nice to have a car where I can’t carry all that crap in it and they look like a toy car.

From out of nowhere…..

We’ve had a Kuga for ages – nice car, obviously not “luxury”.

Bloke over the road has a Ford Edge – which is actually quite nice, if a bit big-looking.

All of the Fords come in a “Vignale” version which does bring up the luxury level a bit more but I think the Edge is over £40k, Kuga probably £35k

Evoque (note its not evoke) is actually quite a small suv, and the cheap ones are all 2wd and very slow – you can’t buy something that looks like a rufty tufty off roader but only has 2wd-surely?

I liked the look of the f pace, but questionable reliability puts me off, same as land rover/range rover in that respect.

we bought an suv, but I’m definitely on the page of an estate car or even a large hatchback doing almost everything an suv can do but better, cheaper etc. It is quite nice being sat up high, but that’s about the only benefit of an suv for driving on the road. I tried to convince her that an estate or hatch would be a better choice, but she wasn’t having it, she wanted an suv and that was that.

She blames it on my roof mounted bike racks, she says they ruin the look of a hatch or estate, but they look OK on an suv,hence the rule was were having an suv or you never put the racks on my car again.

you can’t buy something that looks like a rufty tufty off roader but only has 2wd-surely?

But some people buy them for the driving position, not to go all ‘Club Off-Road Gripped’. In fact we got one just for that – my wife prefers the higher position. We did, though, go for the 4WD variant and it’s proved invaluable over the last few winters (both in the current XC60 and our previous A6 Avant Quattro). The 2wd A6 we had before was abysmal in snow/ice.

with the only negative I could find and that was the auto box was f**kin awful ..I’m not sure if that has been improved any on the new model but it was enough to put me off ..

I had a V60 with the 6-speed Geartronic box, and you are right, it wasn’t great. I now have a new-shape V60 with the 8-speed auto and it’s a lot better. The new interior is also a step up from the old Ford era design, and build quality seems better too.

The problems with ‘roof racks’ and a SUV is the ruddy height. That’s why I still have a saloon, I can put a FS bike on the roof without needs for a step ladder.

Our CRV has running boards for the four thule bike racks on the roof. Made life a lot easier. Even easier is the fact that road bikes and my recumbent and upright trikes will go inside the car when off to the races.

What about the Hyundai Tucson?

A lot of SUV for the money. I know the H hasn’t gained the gravitas of BMW etc. but so what.

The problems with ‘roof racks’ and a SUV is the ruddy height. That’s why I still have a saloon, I can put a FS bike on the roof without needs for a step ladder.

yep thats true, I bought one of these folding steps from b&Q for £6, it does the job well, and fold down flat , so takes up little space.

https://www.diy.com/departments/1-tread-plastic-step-stool-0-22m/1345854_BQ.prd?utm_source=google_cpc&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=PX_GSC_Tools_And_Hardware_+_Generic&ppc_type=shopping&ds_kids=92700029894063079&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-PjLu7OJ4AIVCZ3tCh3UyAdvEAQYASABEgL5J_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Mazda CX-5 Sport Nav?

Do you need something that big?
We’ve just got a CX-3 Sport Nav.
Super car in every respect. Had 11 miles on clock so not new. Didn’t worry me. Got it for less than £19k.
Arguably the best car I’ve ever had.

And gloat at my lack of manliness. Happy wife and all that 😎

I’m guessing that’s a no to my offer then? 😉

Meanwhile, to whoever it was who thought I was being judgemental, I mostly just picked up on the OP’s own slight bafflement that he was considering spending that much money. Now that I’ve been rejected, I don’t really care what he does. However, I would definitely rather spend the dosh on a 911 or similar 🙂

If you have a posh car itch that needs scratched have you considered just hiring one for the odd weekend here and there? You might quickly find that they are nice and all that but after a few days just another car then back to the £10k ideas board with £30k saved.

we have a sportage, like it a lot, but its not posh. Also finding its boot is quite small. family of 4 camping means roof box, the 8man inflatable tent pretty much fills the whole boot.

friend has a range rover sport. It been in for repairs 4 times in a year. We’ve had a low tyre pressure warning light come on, once in 2 years, pumping the tyre up sorted it.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MERCEDES-ML-AMG-6×6-PICKUP-MONSTER-TRUCK-ONE-OFF-CUSTOM-MADE-OFF-ROAD-LPG/283333424773?hash=item41f7fcf685:g:xCIAAOSwALpcNkmH:rk:1:pf:1

One off
Makes you wonder why they never made another one.

Some of the bigger SUVs are huge. The Q7 is the same size as my Renault Trafic – and a big chunk of that seems to be bonnet.

next X years of your life driving in a car that offers comfort, significantly enhanced functionality compared to a £10K car, also enhances the driving experience and most likely is safer, faster and handles better.

Because of course my £8.5k V70 isn’t comfy, fast, 5* crash rated or one of the finest estates money can buy…

Tell us more about this V70 of yours Matt, you so rarely mention it…

😎

We had 2 of the old XC90s, and now have an XC40 on PCP with all the toys. Space for 2 dogs in the back and roomy inside. If she likes the Evoque, then she will love the XC40, without attracting the hate.

The new XC60 is quite nice. Huge car but the auto box isn’t the best. Saying that, the more powerful engines versions make that a lot less of an issue. Q5s have hee haw space in the back. Better drive but that’s a deal breaker for me in such a big car. I can’t get over my BMW prejudice to even think about an X5. Mercs put stuff in weird places and that freaks me out; why can’t they put their controls in the same place as everyone else? Finally, the F Pace. What a disappointing car. It drives like a 40 year old tractor. The interface is also 10 years out of date compared to it’s competitors. Nice stitching on the leather but that’s not enough to save it.

All in all, momentum spec XC60 for the win (the seats are more comfy than the r design or inscription spec models).

Just buy an RS6 and spend the same amount as your rental payments on monthly insurance and petrol. Should be able to source one with the 5ltr V10 easily enough

How about ePower? Kia e-Niro will be in budget new and will enable you to drive around within a huge cloud of smug superiority.

Same could be said for many things in life but the OP wants to do it so it isn’t for others to judge

What kind of anti Stw devilry is this!

At our age, wafting and comfort is where it’s at. I had cause to be around a new XC60 today and cor blimey it looked nice. One of things the top marques are very good at is providing a satisfying ambience with low effort travelling (auto box, obvs). The only one I’ve not enjoyed was an Audi sq5 – it felt small an uncomfortable for what it was.

I would be very very very very wary about buying any JLR product at the moment with my own hard earned dollars. PCP/Lease deals are going to reflect the resale value. Parting with your own cash could result in taking a big hit come resale time. Rumours abound regarding their future so if you are considering a dependable and solid warranty I might think again.

Given your preference and with the cash you have available I would be looking new Porsche Macan’s or Volvo’s. Both hold their value well and PCP/Lease type deals will reflect this. Both company’s are probably looking to shift units too. Next on my list would be X5/X3,Q3,Q7 type things but can you really ignore the Korean manufacturers when its your own dollars you’re spending?

Did I forget to mention to stay clear of JLR?

Infiniti FX/ qx70, loads of kit as standard, esp in s premium spec. Old diesels are a bit pricey on ved, better post 2013. Comfiest seats I’ve ever had in a car, not many around and you can get a real bargain second hand. Bose sound system is good 21 inch wheels look great. Proper quick with the 5.0 V8!