Expert answer

I did like the original BMW X5, although it was probably always a little over-priced for what is was. As they have aged and the new model has arrived the first generation has come down quite a lot in price. You say that you aren't concerned about the running costs as such, which is just as well, as they can be quite high. The repairs and spare parts can be expensive too. I think in buying one of this age and at this price you will certainly not see it depreciate that hard in the next year or so, but once it creeps over 100,000 miles it will drop in value again.

We haven't reviewed this car on the site because it has been quite a few years since it was on the market (and CompleteCar.ie is very new), but we have driven it in the past. It is very agile for an SUV and was always one of the best handling SUVs around.

You did mention to us by e-mail that the car you were looking at is €23,000 with 88,000 miles on the clock. Well we found this one on beepbeep.ie from a SIMI dealer with just 45,000 miles for €19,750, so perhaps this would make a better buy?

Hope that helps

Expert answer

Hi Frank,

You are likely to get up to €6,000 for your Grand Punto as a trade-in. Having spoken to you via e-mail we know that you have a budget of around €8,000 - €10,000 on top of this.

A car like the Mazda3 saloon with an automatic transmission would make a great choice, as it would be more than suitable for the small mileage your wife does and even though it is a petrol engine it won't cost a lot to run. Here is an example that should be well within budget.

If you wanted something that is a little bigger and more comfortable, then you could have a 2008 Volkswagen Passat automatic within budget. Here is a 2008 one on sale in Naas.

Another good choice would be a Honda Civic saloon automatic, which would be ultra reliable. This model would be well suited to your wife's needs.

I know that you didn't mention an SUV, but if your wife suffers from mobility problems, it can be a lot easier to get in and out of a higher vehicle and this Suzuki Vitara could be great, as it comes with an automatic transmission and has plenty of space for the grandkids too.

Out of all these, my hunch is that the Mazda3 would make the best buy for your needs. I hope this helps. Feel free to come back to us if we haven't quite hit the mark!

Expert answer

Hi Eamon,

That's quite a wide selection! Let's go through each model first of all:

Toyota RAV4:

Going by your shortlist you obviously need four-wheel drive and an automatic transmission. There's only a single Toyota RAV4 on sale fitting that, the RAV4 Sol in 4wd powered by the 'D-Cat 150 (2.2)' engine. That's a 2.2-litre turbodiesel. Choice stats:

• Price: €39,465
• CO₂ emissions: 189g/km
• Tax band: E
• Annual road tax: €630
• Combined cycle fuel consumption: 7.2 litres per 100 kilometres
• Maximum power: 150hp
• Maximum torque: 340Nm
• Towing ability: Up to 1,800kg

BMW X1:

The cheaper xDrive18d model doesn't seem to have an automatic option so you'd have to go for the xDrive20d SE at least. The stats:

• Price: €43,091
• CO₂ emissions: 155g/km
• Tax band: C
• Annual road tax: €302
• Combined cycle fuel consumption: 5.9 litres per 100 kilometres
• Maximum power: 180hp
• Maximum torque: 350Nm
• Towing ability: Up to 1,800kg

Hyundai ix35:

This is one of the newest SUVs on the market, but it's more of a crossover than an SUV really. That's emphasised by Hyundai only listing the two-wheel drive model with a manual gearbox on its website. It does say that "Automatic subject to availability. Please contact your local Hyundai Dealer", but we're not sure there is an automatic option available for this car as yet. We've asked Hyundai for clarification.

Kia Sportage:

There's an all-new Sportage launching later this year, so we assume you're thinking about that. Full details have yet to be released, though Kia tells us that, along with a new 1.7-litre turbodiesel engine a 2.0-litre turbodiesel 4x4 model will be offered on special order with an automatic gearbox. Tax will be band D, costing €447 per year. I'm afraid that's all we know at this stage. We're driving it next month for the first time.

Nissan Qashqai:

Nissan gave the Qashqai a facelift this year and it looks better than ever. For some reason the new look has not been applied to the seven-seat '+2' version on Nissan Ireland's website. However, the figures below refer to the regular five-seat version. The cheapest available with a diesel engine, four-wheel drive and an automatic gearbox is the Qashqai 2.0d A/T 4x4 SV. The stats:

• Price: €37,995
• CO₂ emissions: 191g/km
• Tax band: F
• Annual road tax: €1,050
• Combined cycle fuel consumption: 7.2 litres per 100 kilometres
• Maximum power: 150hp
• Maximum torque: 320Nm
• Towing ability: Up to 1,400kg

Summary:

So, let's leave the Kia and Hyundai out of the equation for the moment, as we don't have enough information to make an informed decision.

The Toyota and Nissan compare well to each other. Like the Qashqai, the RAV4 was given a makeover for 2010 so it's fresher than ever. In diesel, automatic, four-wheel drive guise, the Toyota appears to win that battle, as the Qashqai is very expensive to tax. The Toyota is the better tow car too.

It looks like the Toyota probably wins outright on paper. The BMW X1 xDrive 20d is more powerful, significantly better on fuel and a newer design than the RAV4, but it's also a lot more to buy to begin with. Even paying less tax and fuel costs, it'd take a long time to claw that price difference back. Pity the xDrive18d doesn't come with an automatic transmission, as that could be a better choice, but in this list, the Toyota wins the logical argument.

Make sure you test drive examples of both before you decide and please do let us know in the comment box below what you end up doing.

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.

Expert answer

Hi Neil, 

We'd love to help, but we need a little more information first. Do you want a saloon, hatchback or SUV? How old are you prepared to go and what kind of driving do you do? You can answer by adding a comment below. I have several cars in mind but let us have more detail and we can really help you out then.

Expert answer

Family drivers have this instinct to cocoon them in as much metal as possible for fear of being in an accident so I understand where you are coming from.

The NCAP rating you mention is the European New Car Assessment Programme where the safety of cars is tested by crashing them into walls and pillars and all sorts under strict repeatable conditions. It's been a while since the Range Rover has been crash tested by the organisation, eight years in fact, so it was the first generation of the current Range Rover model and it managed four stars in the test. In summary, the model was good at protecting those in the car, but not those outside it. NCAP said in their report at the time:

"The Range Rover has an immensely strong body that provides for its occupants safe, well balanced protection in severe frontal and lateral impacts. Each of its doors could be opened normally after the tests and the amount of intrusion was slight. However, the driver experienced fairly high impact forces on his chest and, in a real crash, these pose a risk of injury. The child restraints worked well generally. But, unfortunately, the level of protection given to pedestrians proved to be dire."

The 2010 model is quite different from the 2002 version and is loaded with safety kit. Four-wheel, anti-lock disc brakes are standard, as is all-terrain traction control. Additionally, an adaptive cruise control system with Brake Assist will alert the driver if the car in front of the Range Rover starts to decelerate. When the system detects a crash is imminent, it primes the brakes so less force is required from the driver to apply full braking power. If no action is taken by the driver, the system will lightly apply the brakes to lessen the severity of the impact.

When it comes to airbags, the 2010 Range Rover is practically stuffed with them. In the front row there are front, side and side curtain airbags, plus a driver's knee airbag. In the second row, side-curtain airbags are standard.

Hope that all helps put your mind at ease.

Expert answer

The crew cab did enjoy a golden period in the early part of the last decade when there was a considerable tax break, with minimum VRT being charged on them. As a result, sales boomed for a period until this loophole was closed. Sales of the crew cab models aren't as strong as they used to be, especially since the building trade has been so badly affected by the economic downturn.

However, for someone like you they might still make an awful lot of sense because they offer the best of both worlds. They are useful as work vehicles with generous load bays and strong diesel engines that are capable both of high mileage and also towing duties. As everyday passenger vehicles they aren't as comfortable as a regular car and in some cases they aren't even as comfortable as a normal SUV, as most have a pretty basic chassis.

The main choices are between the Mitsubishi L200, the Toyota Hilux and the Nissan Navara. The L200 Double Cab €26,995 new - that includes a significant price reduction recently. It has a 2.5-litre diesel engine that puts out 136bhp. CO₂ emissions of 228g/km mean that it will cost you €2,050 per annum to tax, which is pretty high.

The Navara has a 2.5-litre diesel engine with 171bhp and that is quite a bit more power than the Mitsubishi and it too has emissions of Band G, at 264g/km. Prices start at €34,135 for the Navara Double Cab.

The Hilux comes with a choice of 2.5- or 3.0-litre diesel engines, with 120- and 170bhp respectively. The Hilux has emissions that are in Band E, so you at least save yourself €1,000 in road tax. Prices start at €29,575 for the 2.5-litre Double Cab model.

Having said all that, the best options are likely to be used where there are huge savings.

A 2007 Navara will cost you €16,500 from an approved SIMI dealer: http://bit.ly/d0uIC8 for example

Or a 2007 Toyota Hilux will cost you €19,000: http://bit.ly/bLloV5

Or a 2006 Mitsubishi L200 will cost you €14,950: http://bit.ly/97foEZ