What's The Alternatives?

[anchorman]

High time this topic was pinned.

[redlew]

I now need at least a 2000kg tow capacity and occasional 7 seat capacity so ruling out the Audi Q7, BMW X5 , Mercedes GL on cost grounds and the Citroen C Crosser, Peugeot 4007 and current Outlander as (per Honest John) they have a DMF problem exacerbated by towing , the Nissan Pathfinder and Mitsubishi Shogun and Volvo XC90 as they are aging models, I seem to be left with the Chevrolet Captiva, Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento (all of which cold be bought new or nearly new) with wild cards of the previous version of the Land Cruiser and the Disco 3 . The Disco 3 is too much of a repair worry. Any thoughts on the short list of four, please?

[firemac]

I had a 57-reg Series 120 LC4 and put 30K+ miles on it from new. No issues whatsoever. Serviced every 10K miles, which never cost more than £250. Averaged about 28mpg in mixed commuting & family runs; 30-33 mpg was fairly easy on long motorway runs depending upon load (& urgency!). Never used any oil between services. 8 seats were a big advantage on more occasions than I ever imagined when we bought it. Only downside was that I had Sureguard applied when new which proved to be a massive mistake with the Astral Black met paint - it was impossible to keep it clean. No question it is the best 4x4 you can buy, certainly eons ahead of the Disco as a realistic ownership proposition.

Only sold it owing to my work arrangements at that time, i.e. I was commuting by train to London very regularly & then working from home so the car was parked on the drive for weeks on end. Many, many times, I find myself wishing I'd held on to it. Absolutely brilliant car that I would put at the top of your list.

We had a Santa Fe hire car during our hols in Mass in October. It was the US version with V6 engine. It was a car that I had contemplated buying in the past based on road tests, HJ, etc. but having lived with it for a couple of weeks, I wouldn't have one. Nice enough car but I noticed the difference in build quality & solidity when I got back into our 4.2 at Heathrow.

Test drove a Sorento but really didn't like it: plasticky, relatively unrefined & felt generally unsubstantial, if you get my drift.

Can't comment on the Chevy but seem to recall that HJ gave it a fairly good report.

Good luck whatever you choose.

[silly sausage]

I wouldn't hesitate and find a nice LC4 or even an LC5, I know some of the motoring press are singing the praises of the new Santa Fe but a Landcruiser will serve you much better in the long run, you will find a nice 3 year old 150 series for the cost of a new Hyundai etc, it will have suffered the worst of its depreciation so will lose less through your ownership and as we well know they're practically bomb proof.

[dave.m]

New Nissan Qashqai 360 unveiled

Nissan phases out n-tec+ trim level of big-selling crossover and replaces it with a new, higher-specification 360 variant

New Nissan Qashqai 360 is already on sale, priced from £19,945

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by Matt Burt

7 January 2013 9:02am

The new Nissan Qashqai 360, unveiled today, will become the UK's best-selling version in the smash-hit crossover's range, according to the Japanese manufacturer.

As the first-generation Nissan Qashqai enters the final stretch of its production cycle before a new version arrives in 2014, the new Qashqai 360 variant replaces the outgoing n-tec+ model and sits between the mid-spec Acenta and top-level Tekna trims.

The n-tec+ trim level accounted for about 60 per cent of all Qashqai sales in the UK last year, and Nissan expects the new variant to carry on that trend, because it offers a higher specification for the same £19,945 starting price.

Like the n-tec+, the Qashqai 360 features Nissan's Connect with 360-degree monitor system, which integrates satnav with bluetooth and smartphone connectivity along with four cameras to offer a 'helicopter view' when parking. Standard equipment also includes 18in alloys, rear privacy glass and a panoramic roof.

On top of that is a range of style-led additions including part-leather trim, a gloss black gearlever surround, gloss black doorhandles and a leather armrest. The exterior gets gloss black roof rails, door mirrors and '360' badging.

A new pearlescent paint, called Storm White, has been added to the colour range and is available for the same price as metallic paint as a £500 option.

The 360 trim level is available across all engine and transmission variants and can be specified on both the five-seat Qashqai and the seven-seat Qashqai+2.

The Qashqai 360 is on sale now and prices start at £19,945 for the two-wheel-drive, 116bhp 1.6-litre petrol version.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/new-nissan-qashqai-360-unveiled

[dave.m]

Peugeot 2008 SUV to rival Nissan Juke

The Peugeot 2008, a new 208-based SUV aims to muscle in on the growing compact crossover sector

The Peugeot 2008 will be officially unveiled at the Geneva motor show in March

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by Mark Tisshaw

7 January 2013 7:37am

The new Peugeot 2008 marks the French firm's entrance into the booming compact crossover market with a new Nissan Juke rival.

The 208-based supermini-SUV will reach the UK in September after an official unveiling at the Geneva motor show in March. As well as fighting the established Juke and Mini Countryman, the 2008 will do battle with a whole new wave of entries into the segment, including the Vauxhall Mokka, Ford Ecosport and Renault Captur.

Few specific details on the 2008 were revealed alongside these first official pictures, but the French firm has confirmed the length of the car is 4160mm. This makes the 25mm longer than the Juke.

The look of the 2008 leans heavily on the 208, sporting a front grille and front and rear headlight design borrowed from the supermini. The ride height and driving position have been raised, and a rugged bodykit including black bumpers and sills and roof rails. The 2008 pictured here is also equipped with 17in alloys with ‘Mud&Snow’ tyres.

The 2008 will be front-wheel drive only, but some off-road ability will be offered through a clever ‘Grip Control’ traction system similar to that used on the larger 3008.

Engines will mostly be borrowed from the 208. The line-up will include a new version of the turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol unit, alongside 1.4 and 1.6 e-HDI diesels. In its most efficient form, the 2008 will produce 99g/km of CO2.

The 2008 is the first Peugeot to be designed and developed across several of its global markets. It will also be produced globally as well, in France, China and Brazil.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/geneva-motor-show-2013/peugeot-2008-suv-rival-nissan-juke

[silly sausage]

Another pretender, it will make a useful skip @ 3 years old, maybe sooner .....does that seem harsh ? Ok, a good looking skip.

Edit, ignore the good looking bit, I've just looked at the front profile.

[dave.m]

Another pretender, it will make a useful skip @ 3 years old, maybe sooner .....does that seem harsh ? Ok, a good looking skip.

Edit, ignore the good looking bit, I've just looked at the front profile.

The Nissan, the Peugeot or both ???????????? :laughing:

[silly sausage]

The Peugeot, I'm not a fan, my Mother had a brain storm about three years ago, thought she was 21 again and bought a 207 cc without me knowing. When ever she goes anywhere a man with a dust pan and brush follows her picking up the bits that fall off the horrible thing, the diesel engine engine seems ok @ 9k miles but the rest is a disaster.

[DjRav]

The Nissan made me yawn, but the Peugeot doesn't actually look that bad!

Not exactly off road looking, but then neither is the Rav4.4!?

Dave

PS I had a 206 for a couple of years. Great car- nippy, constant 60+ mpg, quite reliable, BUT very cheaply put together! Things prob have changed now though?!

[anchorman]

The Peugeot, I'm not a fan, my Mother had a brain storm about three years ago, thought she was 21 again and bought a 207 cc without me knowing. When ever she goes anywhere a man with a dust pan and brush follows her picking up the bits that fall off the horrible thing, the diesel engine engine seems ok @ 9k miles but the rest is a disaster.

This made me chuckle. I simply do not like French cars. Some look OK and they choose quite good colours but they are badly made tat.........and that worries me when I'm crossing the Atlantic in an Airbus because they are tacked together by the same folk. Shoulder shrugging and arm waving are not much comfort to me when I'm clinging to an iceberg.

[silly sausage]

.

[firemac]

The Peugeot, I'm not a fan, my Mother had a brain storm about three years ago, thought she was 21 again and bought a 207 cc without me knowing. When ever she goes anywhere a man with a dust pan and brush follows her picking up the bits that fall off the horrible thing, the diesel engine engine seems ok @ 9k miles but the rest is a disaster.

This made me chuckle. I simply do not like French cars. Some look OK and they choose quite good colours but they are badly made tat.........and that worries me when I'm crossing the Atlantic in an Airbus because they are tacked together by the same folk. Shoulder shrugging and arm waving are not much comfort to me when I'm clinging to an iceberg.

The Peugeot, I'm not a fan, my Mother had a brain storm about three years ago, thought she was 21 again and bought a 207 cc without me knowing. When ever she goes anywhere a man with a dust pan and brush follows her picking up the bits that fall off the horrible thing, the diesel engine engine seems ok @ 9k miles but the rest is a disaster.

This made me chuckle. I simply do not like French cars. Some look OK and they choose quite good colours but they are badly made tat.........and that worries me when I'm crossing the Atlantic in an Airbus because they are tacked together by the same folk. Shoulder shrugging and arm waving are not much comfort to me when I'm clinging to an iceberg.

I ran a 406 Estate as a company car when we lived in Paris for a couple of years 2000-02. It was really good, totally reliable, economical, very comfy, seemed well built. Maybe they don't put the rhd cars together so well - revenge for Waterloo perhaps?

Having said that, I try to avoid flying on Airbus, not because of build but I'm not a fan of the avionics - I've got much more faith in Mr. Boeing's products.

[dave.m]

First drive review: Volvo V40 Cross Country D3 SE Nav

Never mind off-roading – top model apart, the V40 Cross Country only means rugged décor and raised suspension for Volvo's hatchback

Cross Country offers a comfortably pliant ride and tidy handling

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by Richard Bremner

8 January 2013 12:23pm

What is it?

What you need to know first about this, the Volvo V40 Cross Country, is that unless you order it as a top-of-the-range, £33,975 T5 petrol with a 247bhp petrol turbo engine, it comes only as a two-wheel-drive car, and is therefore no more able to cross a ploughed field than the standard V40. Unless its raised right height happens to prove advantageous.

Sill protectors and plastiminium skid plates you may get, but this is barely a mild off-roader, never mind something for venturing mud-wards when the asphalt runs out. However, there is a useful advantage to choosing the faux off-roader version of the Volvo V40, which we’ll come to.

The Cross Country package costs £1000 more for the two-wheel-drive car, for which you get a car that rides 40mm higher and looks a little tougher than the stock V40, what with its standard-fit roof rails, a rear bumper with in-built (plastic) skid plate, a front bumper flaunting a much more emphatic lower air intake, upright LED running lights and plastiminium sill extensions.

Inside, there’s attractive upholstery of rather more robust texture than usual, but little else to differentiate this Cross Country species. All of which looks rather slight compared with the reconfiguring of the bigger V70 Cross Country that established the genre back in 1997, that car providing standard all-wheel drive and a generally more thoughtfully provisioned specification.

Consider the Cross Country package as merely a dress-up kit for the V40 and you’ll be less disappointed.

What is it like?

The upside of the new suspension set-up is that it’s better suited to Britain’s neglected roads, with the V40’s low-speed ride proving exceptionally pliant. Oddly, it occasionally thumps at higher speeds, but for the most part this is a very comfortable car.

There’s little penalty to pay in terms of dynamic prowess, either. You soon get used to the body’s well controlled, settling tilt on turn-in, after which the Cross Country spears bends with satisfying accuracy, aided by a back axle that you can feel working with the front to beat understeer. And that’s a rare sensation in a Volvo. The steering is accurate and adequately feelsome too, even if its lock isn’t up to Volvo’s usual standards.

All of which makes this car quite an enjoyable drive – on asphalt, at least. And a decently brisk one in the case of the 148bhp diesel D3 sampled here, the 2.0-litre engine yielding a stout 258lb ft shot of torque from a fairly low 1500rpm to provide some pleasingly strong zest.

Less impressive is the diesel’s subtle but perpetual clatter, and there’s enough commotion of motion at motorway speeds to have you stabbing the stereo’s volume control. It certainly isn’t noisy, but a Volkswagen Golf is distinctly more restful.

Still, the V40 is civil in other respects, not least its cabin furnishings, which are robustly finished and elegant in Volvo’s pleasingly spare Scandinavian style, the optional textured copper finish for the centre console (not present on the test car) particularly appealing.

A shame, though, that the rear seat is a little confined, especially for three, as it is in all V40s. But this is a likeable car despite the disappointingly lightweight Cross Country makeover.

Should I buy one?

Some may find the £1000 asked reasonable enough for the sturdier look, but if you’re mainly tempted by the ride upgrade it confers, that extra grand looks expensive, and an all-up ticket, with sat-nav, of over £25k looks pricey.

Volvo V40 D3 Cross Country SE Nav

Price £25,045; 0-60mph 9.1sec; Top speed 127mph; Economy 64.2mpg; CO2 117g/km; Kerb weight 1512kg; Engine 4 cyls, 1984cc, turbodiesel; Power 148bhp at 3500rpm; Torque 258lb ft at 1500-2750rpm; Gearbox 6-spd manual

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volvo/v40/first-drives/first-drive-review-volvo-v40-cross-country-d3-se-nav

[DjRav]

The Peugeot, I'm not a fan, my Mother had a brain storm about three years ago, thought she was 21 again and bought a 207 cc without me knowing. When ever she goes anywhere a man with a dust pan and brush follows her picking up the bits that fall off the horrible thing, the diesel engine engine seems ok @ 9k miles but the rest is a disaster.

This made me chuckle. I simply do not like French cars. Some look OK and they choose quite good colours but they are badly made tat.........and that worries me when I'm crossing the Atlantic in an Airbus because they are tacked together by the same folk. Shoulder shrugging and arm waving are not much comfort to me when I'm clinging to an iceberg.

The Peugeot, I'm not a fan, my Mother had a brain storm about three years ago, thought she was 21 again and bought a 207 cc without me knowing. When ever she goes anywhere a man with a dust pan and brush follows her picking up the bits that fall off the horrible thing, the diesel engine engine seems ok @ 9k miles but the rest is a disaster.

This made me chuckle. I simply do not like French cars. Some look OK and they choose quite good colours but they are badly made tat.........and that worries me when I'm crossing the Atlantic in an Airbus because they are tacked together by the same folk. Shoulder shrugging and arm waving are not much comfort to me when I'm clinging to an iceberg.

I ran a 406 Estate as a company car when we lived in Paris for a couple of years 2000-02. It was really good, totally reliable, economical, very comfy, seemed well built. Maybe they don't put the rhd cars together so well - revenge for Waterloo perhaps?

Having said that, I try to avoid flying on Airbus, not because of build but I'm not a fan of the avionics - I've got much more faith in Mr. Boeing's products.

I think the 405's and 406's were built better as they were aimed at the company car/taxi market!

206, 207 great little (v eco/£35 tax) run-arounds.

306, 307 etc, bit pointless?

Dave

[dave.m]

Toyota to revive small SUV-coupé concept

2001 Toyota Rugged Sports Coupé may be developed into Nissan Juke rival

The Rugged Sports Coupé is similar to the Juke

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by Hilton Holloway

10 January 2013 2:07pm

Toyota bosses are considering building a rival for the Nissan Juke, using a decade-old concept as inspiration. The Toyota RSC — Rugged Sports Coupé — was designed by Toyota’s California-based CALTY design studio and made its debut at the 2001 Chicago motor show.

Although nothing came of the RSC, Autocar understands that it has recently been reassessed, mainly because of the global success of the Nissan Juke, which is remarkably similar in concept to the RSC.

No decision has yet been made about giving the RSC a green light for production, but Toyota bosses would either use the Yaris platform, which would create a direct rival for the Nissan, or the new Auris platform, which would overcome the cramped rear cabin that hampers the Juke. Both of these platforms would also offer the option of a hybrid, which would be popular in the vital Californian market.

The RSC’s mix of compact off-roader and sports car reflected a significant trend at the end of 1990s, which is still being explored. Under Brit Simon Cox, Isuzu’s UK-based concept studio came up with the VX-2 off-road coupé as far back as 1998, and in late 2011 Volkswagen showed the Golf-based Cross Coupé concept.

http://www.autocar.c...-coupé-concept

[dave.m]

New Renault Scenic to get SUV variant

2014 Scenic range will include an SUV with "genuine off-road capability"

Next-gen Scenic will spawn an SUV sister model

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by Mark Tisshaw

11 January 2013 11:10am

Renault has begun testing of its next-generation Scenic ahead of a planned introduction in 2014. The chassis mule gives little away about the styling of the new Scenic, but Renault previewed its intentions for the new family MPV with the R-Space concept at the 2011 Geneva motor show.

The new Scenic is set to be joined by a Nissan Qashqai-sized SUV as a sister car.

Renault marketing chief Steve Norman has previously confirmed that the firm needs something “a bit more sturdy with genuine off-road capability” in the Scenic range to sit between the Mégane and Laguna, in response to changing market trends.

http://www.autocar.c...get-suv-variant

[dave.m]

Detroit motor show: Honda Urban SUV

New pictures reveal the Honda Urban SUV ahead of its debut at the Detroit show

Leaked images show a small SUV to rival the Vauxhall Mokka and Nissan Juke

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by Jim Holder

13 January 2013 6:11pm

Honda will unveil its Urban SUV concept car at the Detroit motor show that will become a new baby SUV. Seen here in images leaked on the internet ahead of its premiere, the production version of the Urban SUV Concept is expected to go on sale within the next three years.

The new car, which is widely tipped to be based on the Honda Jazz, will rival the Nissan Juke and Vauxhall Mokka. It is likely to be spun off the new Honda Jazz platform, which is due in the next two years, and with which the firm is targeting sales of up to 400,000 units a year in America and Europe.

Unlike with previous generations of the car, Honda is giving its global regions freedom to develop the Jazz to suit local tastes. The European version is expected to be built at the firm's base in Swindon.

The baby SUV is a key part of Honda president Takanobu Ito's ambitious plans to double global sales to six million cars a year by 2017.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/detroit-motor-show-2013/detroit-motor-show-honda-urban-suv

[Big Kev]

Very smart apart from them Ben Hur wheels.......?

[Davrav]

Very smart apart from them Ben Hur wheels.......?

Thought you golfing types would like them...................

[Big Kev]

Very smart apart from them Ben Hur wheels.......?

Thought you golfing types would like them...................

Had to think there.......

[Plutus]

Good review. Lots of kit.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/ford/kuga/estate-2012/

[Pogle]

It has probably already been discussed (can't work out yes/no as I have spent the night in the pub) but had a sniff round a Mazda cx5 today. Looked spot on and very good reports.

[dave.m]

Geneva motor show: Toyota RAV4

Two new versions of the Toyota RAV4 have had their European debut at the Geneva motor show.

RAV4 Adventure features enhance muscular stance

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Two versions of the Toyota RAV4 have made their European debuts at the Geneva motor show.

The

RAV4 Premium has a new lighting package plus a chrome-finished spoiler

at the front while chrome inserts and brushed aluminium skid plates give

the back end a more up market feel.

Inside new leather, seating materials and stitching are also added.

Toyota says the RAV4 Premium has been designed to give the new model more sophistication.

Debuting

alongside the RAV4 Premium is the RAV4 Adventure, which Toyota says has

been designed to show off the off-road abilities of the car. Aesthetic

changes like extended wheel arches to accommodate the 20-inch alloy

wheels help to give the RAV4 a more muscular stance.

Both bumpers have been redesigned and finished with matt paint, while the front bumper also now integrates a new under-run.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/geneva-motor-show-2013/geneva-motor-show-toyota-rav4

[Davrav]

Now that looks a bit more purposeful, with some distinguishing features too.