I don’t do many miles but my mondeo is sadly looking like it’s time to retire so I’ve been scoring autotrader looking for is replacement.

I’m looking for a large used car that I can fit various loads for diy projects in or on as well as take mountain bikes on the roof. I’d also like it to have some minimal off road capabilities for accessing more remote parts when mountain biking. If the mondeo was a few inches higher and an estate then that would have been perfect.

I’m thinking petrol is the way to go as I’ll probably not do more than 6-7k a year. I’m also looking at Japanese cats as they seem to get very good reports for reliability. Possibly 5 or 6 years old with 50 – 60k on the clock.

Of the few that I’ve seen the Nissan x trail would suit perfectly in terms of its box like shape but the petrol versions of the age in looking at all seem to be automatic.

Other options are the suzuki grand vitara (looks good value), rav 4 and CRV (expensive) but I’m not sure they look to be quite as practical. I’m not keen on the side swing rear doors.

Does anyone have any real works experience of these or ideas for alternatives? Cheers

I’m looking for a large used car that I can fit various loads for diy projects in or on as well as take mountain bikes on the roof. I’d also like it to have some minimal off road capabilities for accessing more remote parts when mountain biking. If the mondeo was a few inches higher and an estate then that would have been perfect.

Check out the actual interior size, big on the outside ? big on the inside normally. Also bikes on the roof can be a pain unless your tall – i know a few people who have a little step… which remote locations can’t you get the mondeo to?

Xtrails the biggest but non of them are very big due to having a rear axle diff and drive shaft under the rear floor .

Estates generally have more room.

MIL has had an x trail for about 6 years, it has 189k on it, and feels pretty solid, so much so, shes bought another to replace it.
Having driven it/ been passenger a few times id buy one.

Not looking to do anything too extreme off road, just a few forest and farm tracks as well as being able to park in a verge with it fear of getting grounded.

Probably a fair few downsides for very little up – as trail_rat says big estates have way more room inside.

Just bought A mk2 04 crv for the same reasons and am frankly unimpressed fuel economy bah, comfort bah, interior load space bah think a berlingo would have been better.

I had a subaru legacy estate, it never got stuck anywhere, decent ones can be had for a few thousand pounds.

As martymac said Subaru estate is what you want, either Legacy Outback or a Forester.

“As martymac said Subaru estate is what you want, either Legacy Outback or a Forester.”

Which are even smaller than the OPs suggestion.

im with wicki …..

Anything with a 4wd system takes space out the back, add in more clearance and it doesn’t generally get added back in the roof.I found the old Octavia had more usable room than the similar aged forrester. Compared to some of the cavernous estates they seem tiny.

If you want to put bikes on the roof, I would have though something like an X-Trail would be a pain.

Have you considered something like a Subaru Forester?
Or there’s a few 4WD estates out there that might fit the bill like the Octavia Scout, A4/A6 Allroad, Volvo something XC….

but the petrol versions of the age in looking at all seem to be automatic.

I don’t see a problem with auto as they are far less likely to have been thrashed. They are also easier to drive especially in stop start traffic.
They’re the future! 🙂

traditional auto sound sh1t though – I can’t stand them.

auto petrol import Land Cruiser. Might as well do it properly.

Fuel costs on 6000 miles will be offset by the flat depreciation if you look after it.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201601200246485/usedcars?logcode=visc

This is the x-trail I’d been considering but I’m put off by the fact that the garage isn’t local and I’m not sure about it being an automatic.

The Nissan auto boxes are rubbish old CVT jobbies, even on the really new ones which is a shame and would put me off despite me being a fan of autos.

Would a passat all track be within budget or an Octavia scout?

Had thought of an Octavia Scout but there don’t seem to be that many around and certainly not in a petrol version from what I can see.

2011 xtrail owner. Petrol. Cvt. Huge inside. Put 140k on it in 3 years. Faultless.

Not impervious to my wife reversing and into cars or bollards but the engine has been utterly perfect.

I’ve just been through the very same conundrum – and ended up buying the wrong thing!

Basically, we live up a track on Dartmoor – so need something with 4X4 and more than normal ground clearance – a soft roader would easily cope though.

There’s a lot behind it, but essentially I convinced myself that a Grand Vitara was the thing I needed – searched out a decent manual 2.0L petrol LWB version (do not go for the diesel if you’re only doing short hops – the DPF on them is well know for clogging quickly – not an issue if you’re regularly getting it hot and clearing it though) – also is a timing chain engine and well known for being the best off road machine out of the 3 you mention. So went and got rid of the golf and picked up a the GV. One trip on the mway and I knew I’d done the wrong thing.

But – as it happened the missus had an Octavia Scout that was starting to get tired – but had been perfect for her whilst she was commuting everyday off the moor, but since taking over the pub, she was going about 3 miles a day! She loved the GV, so problem solved – she had that and I took the Scout for a bit as I was doing the couple of hundred miles to and from Heathrow every week or so.

But – Octavia getting tired. Needed to trade in. Really, really, really wanted a later model 2.5L Turbo Forrester – but very tricky to find the right one. Gave up when I found a lush A6 Allroad.

Where am I going with this…. basically the GV is an awesome proper off roader on a budget, diff locks and the whole thing. Very usable square interior – though the tumbling seats take up a lot of room (have considered just taking them out permanently as there’s just the two of us) – but pretty damned tedious for anything over a 50 mile trip. Looking back, the X-Trail & Rav4 would have been a significantly more intelligent choice – but very un-characterful cars.

The A6 Allroad is incredible – super comfy, damned quick and better economy than I thought I’d get from the 3L, and plenty capable of getting to our place. BUT it’s pretty awkward with bikes – interior is long, but pretty low. I cope – but if we’re both going riding, we’ll take the GV.

The Octavia Scout – really miss this – hands down the best bike car I’ve had – it’s like a damned Tardis inside – previously had an A4, which is in theory a bigger car, but the Octavia swallows gear – 4 bikes (including 2 DH bikes) out to France plus loads of gear with no problem. Basically it’s tall inside, so you can really get things stacked in there. The 4×4 system is plenty for tracks and fields and being 80/20 most of the time, isn’t a pain on the open road, ground clearance good too. Solid engine and box, decent build quality. Even the autos are nice.

I’m basically saying, get a Scout…..

Boot shape has a big impact on how much use able space you actually have. A car can have a lot of litres of storage on paper but if it’s an awkward shape or awkward access then it’s a bit moot.

OP older Rav4’s are very practical as the rear seats are removable to create a van like space. The cars hold their value very well but I see many still in very goodmcondition and am considering getting another (we has a 2000-ish model for 6 relatively trouble free years). IMHO Nissan’s don’t match Toyota for reliability

The idea of a petrol octavia scout seems like a good one. I like the look of the boot space and they seem good value. The only problem would be finding one relatively nearby.

Not sure where ‘near’ is, but this one looks good in Manchester-ish:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201604042607512?search-target=usedcars&aggregatedTrim=Scout&fuel-type=petrol&model=octavia&make=skoda&searchcontext=default&page=1&sort=default&radius=1500&postcode=EX6%207LB&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&logcode=p

Petrol are like hen’s teeth though – loads more diesels around… £2k more than this would half the mileage too.

Yes I’ve seen that one and it looks great but I’m near St Andrews over 200 miles away. I previously drove up to Nairn to view a car which the dealer described as being in ‘excellent’ condition only to find when I got there that the bonnet looked like it had been pebble dashed there were so many chips in it. I swore to never do that again.

I see your point!

Dacia Duster is superb. It uses the previous generation X-trail 4wd system, so its capable off-road.
Not the biggest, but available as a commercial with 2 front seats if that suits at all.

Really pleased with mine. Drives well, nice enough inside and enough mod-cons to keep me happy. The 2014 update made the inside a much nicer place to be. It is still no luxury car though, so depends where your priorities are.

Can’t go wrong for the money and they do seem to be holding their value well too.

I think the Dacia Duster is probably slightly more basic than I’d like but I will check them out. I hadn’t realised there was a 4WD version and to be honest the fact that it’s basic might be a good thing considering the state that the Mondeo is in now.

Skoda Yeti? If you’re looking for something with a little more ground clearance than the Mondeo rather than proper off road capability, a 2wd Yeti might be worth a look. Bikes travel upright with the front wheel off in the back of my 2l diesel.

Didn’t realise that they do a 4wd version of the yeti but it looks quite good. Looks like it might not be as long as an octavia though?

Probably not big enough but a Sandero Stepway looks like it would make a great country hatchback without the fuel economy hit of a duster or 4wd.

Fantastic value.

My dad has had a fair few grand vitaras, I would say the boot space is pretty poor on them – worth trying one for size for bikes etc.

09 plate Mitsubishi Shogun?

Happy mix of on and off road ability…

I wouldn’t say the Dacia is basic, as standard the model I have has air-con, bluetooth and cruise control.
But its basically a Renault inside and the plastics are not as nice as something like a VW.

It has a certain charm about it and it handles surprisingly well too.
I get 43mpg pretty much all the time, but I don’t drive it in an economical way.

The 4WD version has a different gearbox to the 2WD version with a very short 1st gear instead of a low range gearbox.

I test drove a Stepway and was less impressed, but then it is several thousand less.

The Nissan auto boxes are rubbish old CVT jobbies, even on the really new ones which is a shame and would put me off despite me being a fan of autos

Hired a brand new X-Trail in Costa Rica last month, I can confirm the CVT box feels shit. I’d definitely buy a Yeti or similar over an X-Trail myself.

Now that I’ve been looking at Octavias I’ve been tempted by their massive rear 🙂

What’s worse though is the lack of octavia scouts nearby has led me to look at another petrol option – http://www4.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201604152983132/usedcars?logcode=visc

A typical STW diversion from my original requirements but perhaps it’s worth considering or am I kidding myself?

Didn’t realise that they do a 4wd version of the yeti…

Hadn’t realised 4wd was a requirement – going on an earlier comment that…

If the mondeo was a few inches higher and an estate then that would have been perfect.

…I thought you were just after a bit more ground clearance than a Mondeo rather than something with proper offroad capability. Anyway, moving on.

…but it looks quite good. Looks like it might not be as long as an octavia though?

Can confirm that a Yeti it’s not as long in the load area as an Octavia, but that’s true of most things this side of a van. However, a Yeti is considerably taller in the back, meaning bikes can travel upright with the front wheel off. No need to whip the seatpost out, I don’t even need to drop the saddle on mine. Possibly worth noting that getting a flat floor in a current model Octavia is a bit more involved as you need to either remove seats or sacrifice a bit more height by fitting a false floor in the boot area (there is a Skoda accessory for this). Of course, this may not be something that matters to you.

We have a CRV, which is generally great, big boot, lots of space. Motorway economy is fairly acceptable if you’re not annually doing starship mileage and you can cope with sub 70mph travel. Is it perfect? No (I wanted a Legacy) but mrsmonkfinger drives it the most so she got to choose (and to be fair, the extra height makes lifting kids in and out very easy and doesn’t stress her back out like a lower estate did).

TBH unless you want the a thing that looks like an off roader, or you have a genuine need for towing sheep out of muddy fields in midwinter, I’d stick with the “capable estate”.

Yes having seen a friend’s Freelander I now see that the actual boot space in 4×4 SUVs is not what I had expected. I’m going to look at an octavia this weekend so will see how that goes. Having looked at a few reviews of the last model of octavias they seem to have a lot in common with my mondeo in the sense that they seem fairly functional and not overly complicated which is definitely something that I’d be looking for.