Help with next car - ideally a SUV

[BIWI]

Currently drive a Ford Grand C-Max, which I love. It has less than 60,000 miles on the clock, but at 13 years old, there are signs that it may be giving up the ghost.

Ideally I'd have another one, but I don't think they make it any more, so what should I go for next?

I love the higher up position, and especially the fact that I can seat 7 passengers, with the back 2 seats folding into the floor.

I'm not bothered about moving to an electric car yet, as here in London we don't have sufficient infrastructure for me to be able to charge it. (No driveway/garage).

I don't mind buying something new, if there's a good 0% finance deal (notwithstanding that I know buying new isn't really a good deal), but if I buy a used car, I wouldn't want it to have too many miles on the clock. If I'm going to pay cash, I'd want to pay around £15-20K.

I want a petrol and manual car.

Any suggestions? TIA

Dacia Jogger.

MPV rather than SUV, but seven seats, slightly higher driving position, and available as a manual petrol. You could buy new for cash with your budget.

Why do you want an SUV for driving around London?

@runaway13 The type of SUV I'm talking about is the same 'footprint' as a Ford Focus - just a higher body. I'm not after a Chelsea tractor, which I think your post is implying.

BTW I don't drive much in London, because a) public transport near me is very good (and free as I'm over 60!) and b) congestion charge. I do, though, use it for local stuff, and also for driving away from London in journeys of 200 miles plus, to visit family. Is that acceptable to you?

If you don't want to help there's no need to bother with this thread

Thanks @InveterateWineDrinker - I'll check that out.

... and yes, I meant MPV not SUV!

@BIWI There are loads of SUVs that might suit you. I always check What Car for reviews. I’m assuming you don’t need 7 seats? So a Dacia Jogger is a bit pointless. In no particular order on price: What Car recommend Volvo XC40, Ford Puma, Kia Sportage, Peugeot 5008, Skoda Enyaq, VW TRoc. There are brilliant larger SUVs but not sure you really want one of these. Audi Q3s are very good.

Very few MPVs sold now. I’m assuming you don’t want 4x4 either. Most of the cars above are suitable for city and longer distance. They are easy to drive and comfortable.

Another vote for Dacia jogger. The rear two seats can be removed for more storage space if needed.

Thanks @TizerorFizz and @ChickenJeffrey - no I don't need a 4x4, nor did I really mean an SUV! I love my Ford Grand C-Max, because I have the flexibility of the extra couple of seats in the back, that fold into the floor.

I'll check those options out.

@BIWI Loads of SUVs have 7 seats. Do you need 7 seats? My Disco has 7 seats but I’m assuming you don’t want anything that size.

7 seaters: if you want decent 7 seats and some boot, you could look at Hyundai Santa Fe, Peugeot 5008, VW Touran, Skoda Kodiaq, Kia Sorento and Dacia Jogger. I’ve omitted the various Range Rover products like the Defender. Do you use 7 seats a lot? We hardly use ours!

No - I want the flexibility of having 7 seats, but won't need them day-to-day.

In that case you have a fairly limited range of vehicles unless you have a lot of money.

I wish!

Just curious why do you want a manual car when an automatic is so much easier to drive?

Because I prefer driving a manual car.

Unlike many 7 seat SUVs the third row seats in the Dacia Jogger really are suitable for adults, and access to them is better than in the SUVs we looked at such as the Skoda Kodiaq.

The third row seats are individual. Unfortunately they don't fold flat into the floor. You can fold the back down onto the squab, and then tilt the folded seat forward so that it rests up against the middle row. This is what we do when the seats are not in use.

You can also remove each of them completely - they only weigh about 10kg each so this is an option if the occasional use is predictable and you have somewhere to store them.

We've had our Jogger for about eight months now and it works perfectly for us. Our next door neighbours had a Grand C-Max, then a VW Touran, and will probably move to a Jogger next as well.

The old LR discovery has seats in the boot floor for the 3rd row. No car has great third row seats for adults. Teens just about ok in the Disco but not a 6ft adult. The Dacia is not bigger than a Disco. I’d check out the cars I mentioned as most will leave you with no boot space at all. There’s safety to consider in the seats too: headrests and air bags etc. My seats are never parked against the rear seats and I either have them in the boot or in use. They are separate seats and I would check out configurations that suit you.

I guess the Jogger is a MPV.

Oh dear! Jogger has 1 star NCAP rating for safety. Third row seats have no seatbelt reminder. Pedestrian safety is poor too. It’s cheap and cheerful really and you have to accept compromises in interior finish and seats not stored in floor.

If you want a 7 seater a Skoda Kodiaq or Seat Tarraco are really popular choices around this part of London and will be ULEZ compliant and cash budget friendly. A lot of people who have had more premium brand cars before getting a larger family car seem to drive these. These are both SUVs though, there seems to be fewer MPVs around these days.

How about a Peugeot 5008?

OP, read this before rushing to any judgement about the Jogger's safety rating. I picked Car Magazine because it was the first article which came up in my search, but there are plenty of similar musings out there from informed motoring journalists.

https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/features/opinion/tom-wiltshire/dacia-jogger-euro-ncap/

After you've read it, go and read about the GSR2 regulations which came into force in July last year. Essentially, Dacia has now been forced to fit all the advanced driver aids which EuroNCAP previously penalised the Jogger for not having, which is largely what drove the one star rating. So any Jogger ordered after 4th April 2024 has the extra safety equipment that most people switch off, but still has the one star rating and is still structurally sound in a crash.

If you buy a new Jogger it will have the ADAS equipment. If looking at used, look out for the camera in the rear-view mirror mount and whether it has a speed limit indicator on the dash.

Depends if OP is buying new or used though. Hard plastics inside and general looks of it put me off and the lack of seats folding out of sight. However, it’s cheap. I’d much rather have a better car that’s used.

In reality it will probably have to be a used car.

Thanks for all the suggestions on this thread. It's given me exactly the help I needed.

@BIWI Used will give you some choice. I’d make a short list and check out the reviews to try and put them in some sort of order. With 7 seats, safety matters. I always wanted a good crash zone behind the 3rd row of seats