Relocating to Norwich from London - car advice

[JollyTeaScroller]

Thinking of relocating to Norwich from London and we are about to buy a new car, we have been looking at second hand automatic qashqai
Do you think that would be okay for that part of the country if we want to regularly drive to the beach?
Any other suggestions?
many thanks

Not really sure I understand your question - but of course a qashai will be fine to drive from London to the beach - assuming you are travelling on roads like everyone else and not planning some cross country off road adventure!

Get something that's big enough for your needs, so I've recently got a new car, we have a medium sized dog, 2 adult sized teens so I've gone for a Volvo estate because it's comfy and quick but has all the room kids and dog needs too.
Unless you're buying a house in the countryside and have dodgy roads, you probably won't need anything 4x4 etc ... we do have roads outside of London 😝 (I say that as a Londoner who lives in the midlands now lol )

Sorry I am just learning to drive so I am a bit clueless with cars. I was just wondering whether there is a car that would be okay if you occasionally want to go off road, but mainly stick to the 'normal' roads.

We have seen the Volvos and they seem very reliable but expensive!
Is there any particular model you would recommend? I would love us to get a dog though :)

'Off road', can you expand on what you mean so you can get more targeted advise?

They may not be motorways but they have roads in East Anglia, you will be fine with any standard car.

Do you mean 'off road' though, or do you mean a gravelled road or track, rather than tarmac?

I grew up in Norwich and lived there for 18 years - we had a normal family car and I don't think I ever went off-road.

I am not really sure, maybe small dirt roads?

We lived in London for many years, we didn’t have a car. You don’t need one. When we did ‘travel’ within the uk, we used a hire car. Or one of those you can just pick up from near by.

Same here, but we are relocating to Norwich

Oh sorry misread! Yes then in that case relocated from London needed a car. Got a 10yr old Lexus rx, was excellent in every way!

In which case any car will be fine.

I think maybe living in a city has given you a false impression of what is required outside of it. Unless you are planning proper off road driving which means no actual road at all or severe rocky tracks for example a normal family car will be fine. Not sure why you would be going off road to be honest, maybe spend some time in the area you are considering and have a look at what others drive excluding those who needs jeeps etc for work. Have you properly considered the difference between country and city life because the standard of vehicle required is a very small part of the huge differences city and country dwellers have. I've seen city people move to the country with a distinct idea of what life will be like and after a year or so they can't wait to move back to city life.

I live in a teeny village in Suffolk and regularly drive to the coast. Any car is fine.

The only thing you might want to consider is winter time. If you're in the heart of Norwich then gritting will be good, but when you're in a village, gritting can be an afterthought.

I wouldn’t buy an automatic Qashqai under any circumstances. Not only are they crap in general since Renault’s involvement, the auto boxes are notoriously shit.

Why would you be driving off road? They do have proper roads in Norfolk

another friend who knows about cars said something similar. But then some other people said the Qashqai is really reliable

Would you recommend a car of similar budget that I can get as an automatic? As I am learning to drive but on automatic!

I wouldn't touch a Nissan with a bargepole. MIL learned to drive in a Micra in the late 80s so she worships Nissans. We have acquired a couple of her Nissans and they really were awful; the back seatbelts jammed round a child car seat so we had to get a garage to unbolt and reinstate the seat belt so that we could transport our children.