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.

XC60. I really like it, it’s spacious and comfortable, has a big boot, still feels relatively nippy and, of course, is very safe. It’s a bit heavy on fuel but for me, it’s still an improvement on my last ‘family car’… a Toyota hilux.

I'm thinking of getting one to tow a horse trailer. What age/mileage is yours?

Just swapped from LR Discovery to Volvo XC90 partly as everyone I know with a Volvo raves about them.

I’m a convert, I love it. Also wish I’d swapped years ago.

I have created a monster in buying DD a first car (we share it) with heated seats 🙈 Now neither of us can cope without!!

A Dodge 4x4. It works for me but the fuel consumption is terrible and it drives like a small lorry. So, no, I probably wouldn’t recommend it.

I have a top of the range Nissan Qashqai with every bell and whistle you can think of. For fun and to treat myself I have a Jaguar F-type. I love cars and don’t have to consider children or dogs.

currently have a Skoda superb you ain’t getting much bigger boot on anything else about to take delivery of my new Hyundai Inoniq 5. Can’t wait. 3 weeks and counting

Here to join the XC60 fan club

Another Volvo recent fan. We had a diesel A3 for 10 years which was great. I wanted something higher for visibility but also economic on fuel as I mainly just do the 3 mile round trip school run twice a day. Got the plug in hybrid XC40 before Christmas and I love it. The 360 camera is an absolute game changer for parking (it also self parks but you have to drive slowly to find a space and there's invariably someone right up my bumper on the school run so haven't had much chance to use it). 2 adults, 2 kids, 1 small dog. Have managed airport trips with two big cases and two spare high back booster seats in the boot so it's roomy enough.

Currently drive a VW Golf and wouldn't change from a VW. Looking at upgrading to a VW Allspace

I recently test drove a qashksi, Mazda cx5, Kia sportage and Skoda karoq and bought the karoq. The boot space is fantastic and roomy, the car is super comfy, lots of room in the back. It’s not as high tech as the others but the mazda in particular has a ridiculously small shallow boot for the size of the car. As much as I liked the luxury and how nice the mazda is to drive I just couldn’t put up with it.

the karoq has a useful feature called varioflex where you can fold the seats up to sit vertically behind the front seats or you can take them out altogether. I love mine and it was under 20k

Between us we have:

Range Rover - comfy and practical but it’s too big really imo. I like driving it on the motorways, it’s relaxing, but not really in town centres.

Porsche 911 - I don’t choose to drive it much, it’s very pretty to look at but it’s quite noisy and honestly just sounds angry all the time lol.

VW Golf GTI - I use this most days I need a car. Perfect size for me, 5 door hatchback, just does everything I need, quite nippy and seems good on petrol I think.

An old Mercedes classic car from the 70s or 80s I think. Only use it in the summer, it’s good fun as the roof goes down. Always seems to smell a bit of oil or petrol though, I guess it’s just old. But he likes it and seems to occupy himself in the winter evenings doing little jobs on it in the garage.

A small electric car at our other place, but I honestly can’t remember what make it is. It seems fine for making short trips around the city though.

I have (had) an Audi A3 estate. Great for camping or hosteling weekends with my Cub Pack - tent for me, loads of bits and pieces of gear and games etc, spare blankets etc...

Dd is now using it - ass a hockey goalie, she has a BIG bag of gear that fits
In the boot.

And i can a fill the boot with self catering bits and bobs, put ddog and her bed on back seat and still have lots of space...

(I'm overseas hence ...had... as DD currently has custody of my beautiful car...😭

Went from BMWX1 to Mazda CX30 as kids are older now and I use it mostly to get to work and short trips.

I really like it and it's nice and smooth. Might be a bit cramped for a family of 5 with smaller kids and booster seats but it does me well. It's a small SUV.

Oh timely thread, I am finally getting rid of my 7 seater (over the years I’ve had 3) we are going to test drive a few cars over the next few weeks starting with an Evoque

i think I’ll need to put a Volvo XC60 on the list now

I really like the xc60 but was put off by rumours repairs are expensive and couldn’t find the spec we wanted so opted for the VW Tiguan high spec. We’ve only had it 2 weeks but I love it. We were downsizing from a 7 seater but still needed a good boot. It’s lovely to drive and all the tech is really intuitive. The panoramic roof opening has been a hit for the dc (teens).

we were looking at kugas but I’ve concluded our local Ford garage is a front to something else as they certainly aren’t interested in selling cars.

Firstly my condolences regarding your dad. I lost my mind 2 years ago and the grief is still raw. I hope you're ok.

I have a golf estate. It's the smoothest car I've ever driven. It was second hand and we are lucky that the previous owner had lots of add ons which it parks itself (amazing when trying to get into tricky spots), and advanced auto controls. The boot space is really handy. I loved it so much we also bought a Tiguan but i don't like it as much as the golf. Only downside to the golf is that he feels really low but not sure if that because I also have the 4x4. Get test driving OP. Xx

Mum not mind * can't help finding my typo amusing though 🙈

I bought a new Jaguar F-Pace when my DS was born. Absolutely fantastic car with plenty of boot space for a pram.

It is now 3 years old and the only maintenance I’ve had to do was to replace a wiper blade. It has been faultless.

Another vote for Volvo.
I have an xc40, I love it.
DH has the xc60, which has a massive boot.

I’m a Mercedes wanker but the only car that could tempt me away from merc is the Volvo!

I have an e class estate and a gla amd and they’re so lovely to drive. But if I had the option of a xc90 I would be tempted!

Couldn't agree more, look into if electric works for you.

Volvo XC40 r design pro 2l automatic. A lovely car, highly recommend the car but it isnt great on fuel. My son has a Tesla and loves it if you're looking at electric.

Skoda yeti

It's wonderful

Big enough to fit all 4 of us if needed (DC1 does not live at home anymore though), we are all over 6ft. Two big dogs can fit easily in the boot

It's big and comfy but has a tiny 1 litre engine so a full tank gets you far

Some people say it's ugly but hell does it do the job. At Top Gear they famously landed a helicopter on it to show it's hard to destroy 😁

Kept its value pretty well (for a car) as very popular

It's the opposite of a status vehicle though 😁