looking for something like an XTrail (or even an actual XTrail!)
Bit of clearance/go offroad but not crazy stuff/pull a caravan/reasonably economical when driven sensibly by me not the wife/roomy/dog & picnic friendly.
We go to Scotland a fair bit & the Passat’s a bit limited sometimes.
What else should I look at?
Budget about 8-10K

PS, we don’t yet have a caravan.

Subaru Forester Diesel. I have seen private sale 2.0diesel for about 10k. Dealers are usually 11.5k.

Freelander 2?

Suzuki grand vitara

Toyota Rav4, Mitsubishi Outlander, Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe.
There’s a lot of choice, I guess it comes down to test driving a few models to see which drives the best then go look at honest Johns website to see if there are any problems with them.

my MIL has an x trail, not a terrible car by any means, nice place to sit, 2.2dci has enough power.
but hasnt been very reliable, luckily fixed under warranty.
i would prefer a forester tbh.

The Foresters are a lovely car but they only tow 1500kg which could be a bit limiting when choosing a caravan.

We’ve just bought a Ford Kuga, great car, really pleased with it, 4×4 as well, tows 2100kg so great for caravans(pull mine great). Was a bit more than 10k but some available for less.

The Foresters are a lovely car but they only tow 1500kg which could be a bit limiting when choosing a caravan

Good point.

We’ve just bought a Ford Kuga, great car, really pleased with it, 4×4 as well, tows 2100kg so great for caravans(pull mine great).

I read some horror stories on here about the Kuga’s handling, (although I wouldn’t expect any vehicle like these to handle like a Lotus 7) Maybe the earlier ones were bad?

I got a 2010 Grand Vitara ,its great ,deceptively roomy inside great for trips away , had a full size fridge freezer in it last week no problems .

I had a 2005 x-trail ex-Mobility one with 21k (in 2005) for about 8k. 2 weeks in, it lunched the (renault) turbo – a well known issues with the 2.2 DCi. Nissan grudgingly paid half for the repairs, but after that it was great. Used to go through brakes pads/discs pretty quick as it was a heavy car, but brilliant for towing (trailer didn’t have a caravan), getting in and out of muddy fields, swallowing fully built bikes and kit, family hols including large dog, etc.

Added 50km in three years before trading it for our Yeti. Never missed a beat after the turbo issue and was great in the snow (we live in a pretty rural area). I looked at the new model but it was stupid (30k) money. The very latest ones are better value but obviously not 10k!

Defo worth a look. It was significantly more agricultural (less car like) than the Yeti but way bigger and more expensive to run.

If you get a newish model be aware it comes with a Renault engine.

Which is complete crap like all french engines.

The only bit of my old one which was Renault made was the Turbo intercooler bit. That was the bit which exploded. The rest of the old Datsun stuff was bullet proof.

Newer ones use a complete renault engine.

Agree on the older ones, they are very very reliable.

Honda CRV?

Good shout Hoff.
Can’t believe I didn’t mention that myself, my dad’s had one for years. It’s been very reliable and he tows a caravan with it.

We’ve had two versions of the Santa Fe, both 7 seat automatic diesels. Plasticky inside, but very practical. It’s like an MPV in that the rear seats fold into the boot floor.

The 2007 version was pretty good at towing, especially with the self-levelling suspension on 7 seat versions. However the 2012 model we now have is in a different league. 194bhp and 436Nm of torque make it effortless.

Overall pretty reliable. What minor things broke were fixed promptly under warranty. Have used them off road and in the snow, and it’s been fine, no drama. Full size alloy spare wheel is also a big plus.

EDIT: Fuel consumption is a bit rubbish at 35-40mpg.

Sorrento for caravan towing duties and 7 seats for the grand kids 😆
Wife loves to drive it. As above fuel consumption isn’t great but it is something we accepted to give us the towing capacity we wanted.

35 to 40! That’s brilliant for a big car like that.

I had a cavernous passat estate 2003 and 2004, now an xtrail and the boot is ridiculously sizable, full bike in with wheels with less faff than the passat.

Mines an 2005 with 100k, never had a turbo issue *touch wood* goes pretty well for a 4×4, far quicker than my previous freelander. Has a 2wd / 4wd selector switch, so can easily return 420 miles a tank leaving in 2wd. Tank only holds 48 litres so its around 39/40 mpg I guess?

Try and get an SVE edition, which gives full leather, heated seats, 6 cd changer in dash, powerfold heated mirrors etc

Only issues i’ve had is alternator pulley which cost £95 to replace as was noisy when cold, and one of the bonnet hinges needed replacing.

I’ll echo the bits as dispensed by Alex ^^^^

Except for the blowing up turbo bit. Ive had an 07 one for the last 18months, with now 94k miles, having driven it 32k miles since buying it and overall I’m really pleased. Towing a twin axle plant type trailer is easy, in fact, the extra weight makes it feel more settled. Boggy, snowy surfaces/fields are dealt with happily. Function over form in terms of interior feel, but for me thats fine as it hauls my tools and materials around with me on a daily basis, so utilitarian and hard wearing does me fine.

Its reliable, relatively cheap to service, it does indeed like front brakes, and the 2.2dci doesn’t return as much fuel economy as I was hoping, having said that, its about 35 – 38mpg average at a guess – it is what it is. Drove it down to the South of France last year and it was fine, happily sit at 70 – 80mph all day and some of the night.

I was also considering either the Subaru Forester or Outback diesel’s and whilst they are very nice, they were more money for similar mileage and more car-ish inside, i.e. I wouldn’t have been so keen to put tools and machinery and materials into them and I wanted something that could act as a works van and family motor at the same time and the XTrail does this with ease, also swallows bikes, camping kit and furniture with aplomb. Bit like my old 2.4 10v 850 estate, but more versatile 😀

Got a 2011 2.5l cvt. Been great. Bought at 35000k and just gone over 110k with no dramas. Quite capable off road, been on dunes and beaches. CVT is pretty torquey and you dont get a pause in acceleration going through the gears as, well, there’s only one! Wife loves driving it too. Quite nippy.

With all the seats folded and the rear tray removed it’s HUGE. Bikes, no problem.

Nice ones fellas! The CRV is also on the list, (a freelander isn’t as I’ve seen far too many on the back of recovery trucks.)
Shogun?

Another v.happy X-trail owner here. 57 Columbia model with no turbo issues (name something Alex hasn’t broken?). Really comfortable car to drive and easy to chuck a bike in the back without any dismantling. Main issues for us are the tyres go quickly and are quite expensive as well as discs as others have mentioned. I’ve got 80k on the clock having bought with 14k.

Oi Dave I resemble that remark. I’d only had the blooming thing for three days before the french bit raised the white flag. I even quite liked the instruments being in the middle. Made driving any other car a bit strange tho in a ‘where’s the speedo’ kind of way 😉

We had a Rav4 (2000-ish model) loved the car. Great as that model the rear seats come out totally so it’s like a van, comfortable, quite compact so easy to park. Ours was auto petrol and quite sluggish, would definitely say manual and probably diesel if we buy again. Not sure I’d recommend one for towing.

CRV, looked at these hard to get excited by it and would favour the more compact Rav4 (familiarity and may well buy another)

Also over the years had 2 LWB Shoguns – 200,000 miles in the pair, very reliable. Good for 7 seats. Not so good as a luggage carrier. We found not so good in the snow/ice (Audi Quattro better).

Other suggestions would be Audi A4 or A6 AWD, bit more road clearance, great engines (esp 3 TDI, we had a very good 2.7 also)

what did your Rav get MPG wise with an auto jambalya ?

we had a V registered 1999 plate 5 door for 2 weeks. 24 MPG from a 2 litre manual – driven by my mrs who drives like miss daisy!

also it was tiny – did they do a facelift between 99 and 2000 ?

I’ve a 55 plate Honda CRV (the earlier boxy shape) 2.2 CDTi. Bought with 10K on the clock and still have it with 170K on the clock. Get 40 to 45mpg. Tows a trailer without noticing. Carries bikes inside, on top and on back. Clearance and soft 4WD a boon in bad weather. Great vehicle.

@trail_rat – not good is what I remember maybe high 20’s. Yes I think around 2000 was when they face lifted them to be more square. I would have another (manual diesel ideally although we don’t do huge mileage any longer)

the Passat’s a bit limited sometimes

In what sense?

I’m thinking about opting back into the company car scheme at work so might be selling my CRV, drop me an email if you’re interested…

We’ve put 40000 miles on a 57 Rav4. The 2.2 Turbo Diesel. Been very reliable and not missed a beat. Good loading space in the back with the seats down. Pulls very strongly and still does 48mpg.

Not sure we’d have another, but that’s only because it’s a little uninspiring. Very practical though.

The Foresters are a lovely car but they only tow 1500kg which could be a bit limiting when choosing a caravan.

POSTED

That’s crap. The old ones would do more than that.
What will the Outback haul?

Ive a 2005 X-Trail 2.5l petrol book says it should do 30mpg but those things are never close to reality. Great car for a family or anyone who loves doing stuff outdoors. My one has 90k on the clock now and so far has given me little trouble (crank shaft sensor being the only thing of note £90) oil needs keeping a close eye on mindyou. Great wee vehicles for driving in snow etc. Not sure what i’d replace mine with if i had the choice at the moment!

Love my 2.2 diesel CRV, cracking towcar but MPG not fantastic. Drives like a car and has one of the biggest boots in it’s class, way more usable than many 4×4’s.Interior plastics are easily marked but that is my only gripe. 61 plate so not the latest model.

Can you find a Freelander 2 for that price? Mine’s ace, fast-ish (190bhp auto)very quiet and comfortable, handles well for a tall girl, plenty of room. Not missed a beat yet (only 36,000 though). Fuel consumption err, not too bad…..about 35-40 driven gently, 30-34 towing a 1 tonne trailer.

Shoguns are great I’m on my 3rd but you won’t like the mpg one bit.
Diesel you’re looking at 26mpg average.
Petrol 20.
That’s my experience.
Look at the Outlander. I think I’d go for one if I didn’t need such a big truck.

We use Shoguns at work. Ok, but not much room inside considering the size of the vehicle. Ours are all lwb diesel autos and drink fuel too. We have run them since 2007 and have two 14 plate ones. The last one died of gearbox failure.

the Passat’s a bit limited sometimes
In what sense?

In the ground clearance sense. Like when I’d love to explore the sand dunes & stuff.

An auto Freelander would be last on my list after a fuel guzzling trip to Torridon in my mates.

+1 on the Outlander. Good boot and should be reliable.

We went with a FL as we wanted something that would double up for collecting the sheep from the fields and was cheaper at the time but for your needs I would look at the Outlander. Should be more than enough in terms of off-road ability.