What car do you drive and do you recommend it?

[Dinoswearunderpants]

Hi all

I'm considering changing from my BWM 2 series active tourer to a bigger car. There's only the three of us plus the dog usually but I'd like a bigger boot for camping trips.

What car do you drive and do you recommend it?

My Dad was always the one I'd ask for car advice but he recently passed away so thought I'd ask here sorry.

I'm a big fan of Merc! I drive one.

Another vote for a Mazda CX5, a diesel one. We bought a 2019 one at the beginning of this year for about 18K and I love it

Sorry about your Dad
I have a Tesla Y and love it - I wanted a Tesla 3 but need room for a large dog.
I didn't want electric but DH persuaded me to lease one for a bit to try and and i LOVE it!!
Electric doesn't suit everyones lifestyle but I am a convert - I have saved money on fuel and its lovely to drive.

A new Audi A1, S line - absolutely would not recommend. It’s basically just a polo with a different badge. Cheap quality and 1l engine feels very laggy to drive. Only reason I have it (downgraded from a much bigger car, sadly!) is to keep costs down and share with new driver teen DD. Will be getting rid in the next year or two..

Currently a Volvo xc40... But would recommend a qashqai....
Used for camping for years....100k + miles
Volvo swankier inside but think the qahqai drove better and more practical.... Although part of that is possibly change from manual to automatic....
Theres a reason there's millions of qashqai's and your more likely to find in your budget..

Found vw not as good to drive.. apart from smaller ones

Other suggestion bmw 3 estate great to drive ... Or 5 if you need bigger..

Friend has honda crv hates it but loved hrv
Recently bought mine so have tried a fair few recently! My requirements dog +camping + infrequent 4 adults as dc rarely come with us ..but are all 6ft+
Would recommend going to a car supermarket and checking the various models out.... Then narrow down..

I drive a Hyundai and it's never let me down mechanically. Drives well, cheap to insure and tax too.

It's not massive (I have an i10) but they're a fantastic brand and would thoroughly recommend them.

Another vote for the Volvo xc60 - nice and spacious with a good sized boot, drives lovely and very comfortable. I’m sure the XC90 is equally fab if you need even more space!

Skoda Karoq.
I have had it since September and I love it. It has a big boot and a good driving position. There is lots of legroom in the back.

Since getting rid of my mummy truck when we no longer needed buggies etc. I’ve driven a Mini Cooper. It’s been such a fun car to drive, and I love the design, it feels like a little friend. Sadly, she no longer has space for teens, their golf clubs, bassoons and two Labradors.

Alas, tomorrow she is being traded in for a new mummy truck (XC40 Volvo), it’s nice to hear good reviews on here because all I can think about is how I’ll miss Minnie the Mini.

We also have an Outlander which is an absolute workhorse and has been really reliable but is about as glamorous as my Dad’s old socks.

I've a Discovery Sport

It's a beautiful drive, roomy and lovely to look at

DP has a ssongyang Musso double cab pick up. It's gorgeous, love it.

My husband is a Volvo mechanic. He would absolutely recommend a Volvo lol!
We recently had 69 plate quasqai (sp?) on hire whilst i waited for my Kia picanto (yes yes I know world's apart 😂)
It drove really well, it was huge but felt really connected to the road, had the 1.3 turbo and quite nippy.

Another vote for discovery sport here

I'm on my second Ford C-Max, a small people carrier with a cavernous boot. They aren't built any more but ours was an ex-Motability car and had 5000 miles on the clock at two and a half.

Xc 40 is AMAZING 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

Peugeot 3008 - love it.

I can imagine the switch back from the Quashqai to the Picanto afterwards.

I'm a sucker for big cars, so I'd have probably been like:
Me: gets in car, taps the dashboard "Good little go-kart."

I'm such a snob, sorry.

It really is a lovely car. Hopefully I'll have a need for an XC90 one day.

Audi A3. First Audi I have had - bought it new last year and bloody love it.

Another for Volvo 🙌🏻

I have a Corsa, and honestly, I don't love it.

The handling is... temperamental at best. I've lost count of the number of times I've been making a very average turn, and had to re-adjust quite suddenly at the last moment, because the car just hasn't responded as I thought. At first I put it down to "me still getting to know it, and every car is different". But I've had it 3 years now and it still happens.
It's also not a very smooth ride. I had a tiny Ford KA before the Corsa, and despite the size, that was a much smoother and enjoyable drive.

I learnt to drive in one of the old style Corsas, and it was a great little car. But once this car dies, I don't think I'll be going back to Vauxhall.

It's actually quite good this little Kia, granted it's a GT line. Couldnt be doing be with a base model... I'm not a peasant 😏

I have a new Kia Sportage and whilst it's a great, spacious and funky car, all Kia's have a function that does my bloody head in! Every time you cross the centre lines, it beeps and turns the steering wheel back slightly!!!! Obviously sometimes you HAVE to cross the centre lines if there's parked cars or a certain type of junction etc. So bloody dangerous and the kicker is that you have to turn it off at the beginning of every journey! Even if you turn it off via the settings, when you next get in, it's back on again!! I went back to dealership and they said "If I had a penny for every customer complaining about that, I could retire!" Apparently they've no plans to remove it or to enable drivers to switch it off permanently

Also have a KIA Sportage and was genuinely surprised how much I like it as previously had Discovery Sport, Mini Cooper Countryman and BMW/Audi cars.

Great space, loads of gadgets nice to drive and lots of extras for your money. Worth a look. Really!

I got a Kia Niro recently and I really like it. It’s very roomy inside and nice to drive but the boot isn’t big enough for camping equipment. Dh has an Octavia estate which I would definitely recommend.