Which mid-size SUV for €20,000?
What would you recommend in terms of a mid-size 4X4/SUV? Diesel is the preferred option with a sensible tax band a major consideration as well as decent fuel economy. I have circa €20,000 to spend on straight cash deal.
Maurice Hannon (Galway)
Dec 2010 Filed under: choosing used car
Expert answer
Hi Maurice,
If I were spending my own money on something like this I would probably narrow my search down to a few key models. I would also look at something that was pre-July 2008 as the road tax is a little easier to stomach. You didn't specify whether you need it to be a 4x4, because this does tend to make them a little harder on fuel.
The Toyota RAV4 isn't massive but it is seriously well put together and you could have a 2.2-litre 2007 model with low mileage for €17,950.
Here's an example on beepbeep.ie.
Road tax at €860 is still a lot though, so that might rule this out.
If you don't need 4x4, then a Nissan Qashqai is quite an obvious choice. You could have a 2009 model, with low mileage and road tax of a just €156 per year, for €20,495. These are popular for a reason, but forget about it if you need to go off-road.
Here's an example on beepbeep.ie.
Again, no four-wheel drive options for your budget, but you could have a Skoda Yeti, which is a great SUV with a decent 2.0-litre TDI engine for €22,750 - although I'd be pushing for closer to €20,000 in a cash deal.
You could have a Nissan X-Trail too, although they can be a little hard to find. They are really good value. Most are two-wheel drive but there are four-wheel drive ones about. This one is a two-wheel drive version, but at €18,500 for a 2008 model it is great value.
Finally, the latest Land Rover Freelander is much better than the model that went before it. You can have it with a 2.2-litre diesel engine and four-wheel drive and that would be in and around the right money.
Out of this lot, I'd be inclined to go for the Nissan X-Trail.
Hope that helps. Let us know what you end up going for.
I want to change my Rav4 for a seven-seater, just not a boring one!
Hi, congrats on new website, hope it works well. I'm looking to change an '05 Toyota Rav 4 for a 7 seater, but don't want a boring looking rectangle type car! Any ideas for a decent 7 seater that looks good as well, maybe '07/'08, max spend €15k. Thanks.
Emer Kennedy (Dublin)May 2010 Filed under: choosing used car
Expert answer
Hi Emer
As you know Toyota don't offer the Rav4 with seven seats in Ireland (but they do in the USA) so that is off the list.
We have spoken since and I now know you have a 2005 Toyota Rav4, petrol with 40,000 km on the clock, which is very low mileage. I would hope you would get about €6,500 - €7,000 for your Rav (perhaps even a bit more) as a trade-in against a new model and with the €15,000 on top of that to play with you have quite a few options.
The most obvious option for me, is the Nissan Qashqai+2. The Qashqai has been immensely popular and the +2 model adds extra seats to make it a seven seater. That only came on the market in 2009, so it might just not make your budget, but then again this depends on what you are offered for your Rav4. The cheapest of these is likely to cost around €25,000, so this might not be an option.
Never fear though, there are other good options. The Chevrolet Captiva was a lesser-known SUV that sold in small numbers but really was quite good and crucially, for you, came with seven seats. You should expect to pay about €17,000 for a 2007 one and you might even sneak into a 2008 for about €23,000.
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Chevrolet/Captiva/LT-VCDI-/201019198001210/advert?channel=CARS
Another good option would be the Mitsubishi Outlander. You could have a 7-seater one of those, with a 2.0-litre 140hp diesel engine and a 2007 one would cost you about €19,000, and a 2008 one would cost about €23,000.
This could be quite a nice solution actually
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mitsubishi/Outlander/2.0-DI-D/201013197400203/advert?channel=CARS
The other thing you could do, is totally lord it up and get a Land Rover Discovery which has one of the most generous rear row of seats around. This 2006 model is under €20,000. Yes it will cost you an arm and a leg to run and service, but at least we are giving you your options.
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Land-Rover/Discovery/3-TDV6-S/201015197653184/advert?channel=CARS
I do hate to use the 'S' word, but if you did think of something more sensible, then you couldn't really pass the Ford S-Max. Of the MPVs of that type, this is the best of them and it looks good too. Here is a 2007 diesel with low mileage for €19,300, leaving you plenty of change.
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Ford/S-Max/1.8TDCI-/200928194542104/advert?channel=CARS
Anyway, I hope some of this helps, but feel free to come back to us with your thoughts.