Buying new car, discuss

[AUIIISR]

Hi, ill set the scene!

Since the arrival of my first son my wife and I have been looking at buying a new car and are banging heads about what we both want in a car. Currently we have a 2001 Lancer and ive got the 2002 AU3SR and plan to sell both and buy one car.

We are looking at Midsize SUV's, cringe if you may, but im sick of craming a pram/drumkit/car parts and all of other crap into my nice AU, and with renovations planned in the new year I need something thats going to tow often. We camp/fish/ski/boat in the summer and hit the country roads when we go home.

Her reasoning- baby, shopping, see over bonnet, easy to park
My reasoning- good styling, economy, bootspace, towing, go anywhere with it, fuel economy, will consider diesel

Misses choices
Honda CRV
Toyota Prado/Kluger/Rav4
Holden Captiva

My choices
Subaru Forester
VW Tiguan
Nissan Xtrail
Mitsubishi Outlander

Anybody whos had expierinces or wants to throw in thier 2cents go for it, I will undoubtedly drive each and every one of these but I have my biases, ive always owned Fords, and still have the XF in the shed to keep me blue, but Its time for a change.
Discuss

[Road_Warrior]

Forester. Impeccable Subaru build quality and reliability and a proper AWD system with a longitudinal mounted engine, not some poxy east west engine with AWD added as an afterthought. And it's not going to look and feel like a humongous SUV.

Good resale too.

[gmanches]

I'm new to the forum but would a Territory suit an Aussie familly with a blue vein, the size, safety, australian sourced service and parts sourcing something to concider?

[bluebloodxr8]

Interesting that there is no Territory on the list?
from the options you do have I would take the Prado hands down.
To me the forrester, xtrail, Rav and CRV are too small, but I am 6'5", so almost everything is too small.
I have driven most on the list, but I have lived with a Prado for 4 weeks and loved it.

[AUIIISR]

Originally Posted by gmanches

I'm new to the forum but would a Territory suit an Aussie familly with a blue vein, the size, safety, australian sourced service and parts sourcing something to concider?

Yeah I thought about one, but my wifes grandfather is a mechanic and said theres always one in his garage being fixed, and I have a few friends with them and had nothing but problems, my XF will be my suppliment, I wont be considering the economy for that

[Buzz Box]

Personal Opinion Only lol

Misses choices
Honda CRV - Ugly, not really my thing
Toyota Prado/Kluger/Rav4 - Prado OVERKILL, Kluger VERY Nice car but again OVERKILL, RAV4 Older model is very small, newer model is nice but huge for a "medium SUV"
Holden Captiva - Well it is a ford forum so can't say anything positive lol

My choices
Subaru Forester - I am 6ft and I personally find the Subaru's a bit squishy.
VW Tiguan - Theres also the Audi Q5 and BMW X3
Nissan Xtrail - Driven a few and theres lot sold for a reason I personally like them especially now they come in diesel however some people find there layout a bit basic.
Mitsubishi Outlander - Havn't driven one yet.

P.S. If your partners looking at Prado's and Klugers they aren't exactly medium or small

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by AUIIISR

Yeah I thought about one, but my wifes grandfather is a mechanic and said theres always one in his garage being fixed, and I have a few friends with them and had nothing but problems, my XF will be my suppliment, I wont be considering the economy for that

We have had 4 of them, and only 1 was a dud which Ford fixed...

None of your other choices even come close as far as towing, comfort, and room sorry.

[AUIIISR]

I personally like the Territory, my misses however does not, nor did she like the AU when i bought that because she thought that fords always had problems, AU has never missed a beat, shes had years of ear abuse from her family/friends over fords which we know is a big misconception

I really like subaru's, driven a few and just love the feel of AWD.
Im also really considering the turbo diesel route as well, I drive a fiat van at work and for a diesel it hauls *** and tows like nothing else

[mustang70]

Originally Posted by AUIIISR

Im also really considering the turbo diesel route as well, I drive a fiat van at work and for a diesel it hauls *** and tows like nothing else

I just bought a CRD Dodge Nitro, it's roomy but not too big, love it or hate it looks ,I like it obviously. Jeep chassis, very well reviewed engine /5speed auto trans. ( 460nm torque), and excellent economy for its size,rated at 9.4l/100km I'm going just above that. I believe territories get closer to 15l/100km city? The petrol Nitro is a aging design v6 engine with poor economy and a 4speed box.
I do alot of km so half decent economy in a larger car is important to me

regular servicing prices are reasonable HOWEVER there are limited aftermarket replacements for things like brake pads etc

No low range box though although I have given it a hard time in soft sand etc (even with the 20inch rims and tyres ) and not got stuck yet.

just over 40K drive away

[FPV+fteT3]

Can vouch for the subie reliability and driveability mine has 128,000 k's now and all it has cost is regular services at 12500km intervals as per book and the only expensive service is the 100k job with the timing belt replacement had mine done at 88k just to make sure as they do a lot of damage if they break.
They also tend to hold their resale value and the build quality is very good mine is still a good driver and no rattles.
Last week all 4 wheels disc pads replaced and front discs machined brake fluid replaced and system flushed $340 wish the FPV brake service cost that.

[AUIIISR]

Originally Posted by mustang70

I believe territories get closer to 15l/100km city?

My main reason for not buying a territory

[Smoke Pursuit]

Subarus are heavy on juice to. i have a client with a forester that averages 14.5 around brisbane...

[GK]

Originally Posted by AUIIISR

My main reason for not buying a territory

If the Subaru was the size of the Territory, I wonder how much fuel it would use?

Personally, I reckon a Subaru is simply too small. They are a funky car and all, but just not large enough for my liking.

Another question. How much fuel would a Prado or Kluger use?

GK

[MITCHAY]

Get a Forrester Turbo if you want a bit of punch and an all rounder. Fuel economy will be worse than the others but it also has more power and AWD.

It will kick the rest into touch for build quality (except maybe the VW) and performance. They haul **** for a shopping trolley!

[XRSIKS]

Can i ask, what is it with people's fascination with "SUV's" ..... City 4wd's . pointless! I've got 2 Falcons, perfect family cars

[ST]

Originally Posted by AUIIISR

Her reasoning- baby, shopping, see over bonnet, easy to park
My reasoning- good styling, economy, bootspace, towing, go anywhere with it, fuel economy, will consider diesel

One question; what's wrong with the SR?

[perthxr6t]

Well since you like fishing,camping etc i would go a 4WD turbo diesel and the Prado is the pick of the bunch on your list.

Best thing to do is get on the 4WD forums and see how the new Prados are performing and cost of servicing etc etc. Same if you want something else..Use the forums mate as they are a bloody good source on info if your wondering what sort of car you want.

Our other car is the 06 Navara STR and it's done 60 thou and not 1 problem with it but the services cost a fair bit but it's a turbo diesel and the damm thing go's everywhere and loves the beach as i do a fair bit of fishing on my break.

Do your research and go into the dealers and talk to the mechanic's about common problems with your choice and make your mind up after that. Heaps of 4WD's out there and good bargains at the moment.

[chevypower]

I would go the Prado out of those choices. 4L V6 goes well, but 3L diesel would get good economy.

[Swordsman88]

You would really need to go through a systematic process of picking the car to be sure your in the right area. Look at where you wil be using the car, who will be driving, running costs, parking etc. If you decide to go with the medium SUV then technically the forrester is not even an option..its a small SUV. I know some cars blurr the line a bit but the random sort of suggestions made above are what results if you don't have a very clear idea of what sort of car you want. Picking the best car after that is the fun bit!!!

As for the whole 'mechanic says this thing'.....while i don't doubt sometime sthey are dead right when it comes to real lemons, mechanics are the last people i listen too. If you listen to them you won't buy anything, because some hate mitsus, some hate fords, some hate nissans etc. Often the reasons are not even logical or applicable to you (too hard to work on, too hard to find parts, too modern (WTF??),) I've had older mechanis (which i trust with my car,, great guys) tell me not to buy a car because it has 'one of those new eletrical control thinges.....too much chance they'll go wrong etc. etc.). So they recommend instead a car that has a crash rating half as good...oh yeah great for your family???

If it is medium SUV, you'll have to find excuses to go past the territory for me. Its easilly the best to drive outside of an X5 and in latest updated form, not a bad looker too. If the missus doesn't mind driving a boat than the kluger is ok (4WD), mazda CX9 (but its very big) maybe. Captiva is not too bad but the diesel is very slow and none of the models drive very well. Bit small though. Its all about what your after.

EDIT: small suv, don't pass up the VW Tiguan. Stupid name, great car. Not too price for base models and comes with diesel. Out drive every other small SUV by miles. Otherwise X trail is practical and blokey to look at.... Don't do the CRV, one look and you'll know why. Rav 4...pricey and 4 pot can't handle the weight.

[Bucknaked]

Originally Posted by SNBXR

Can i ask, what is it with people's fascination with "SUV's" ..... City 4wd's . pointless! I've got 2 Falcons, perfect family cars

When you got kids, the more room you can get the better. Cheapest solution is don't have kids :hihi:

[ZA-289]

Only one car out yours and your missus lists of cars can actually tow something decent.

(prado)

[chich]

+1 for a Forester GT. Reliable as is typical for the Japanese and all Subi powertrains are pretty much bullet proof. Subaru's in general hold their value extremely well its also a winner on resale.

On the negative side, quality of the interior plastics is very average and they also tend to mark quite easily. The clearcoat is also very soft so it marks quite easily. If you cant live with a dirty/swirled car you'll need to be constantly on the ball with the regular washing, cleaning off bird crap asap.

Thinking about it a little more, you could also step up to the 6cyl Outback.

[ranger58]

Well I thought I would jump in to share my recent experience with car buying.

I was also looking at the Forester to replace the Family VT (we have 2 Kids). I also looked and most of the other SUV mentioned and took them for test drives. The thing I think really needs to be pointed out is a lot of these SUV's do not actually offer any more storage room then a standard boot (unless you pack it to the roof and even then not much more).

Prado was nice but not as comfortable on the road (great if you go four wheel driving), the other Toyota's were ok but nothing to right home about.

Anyway the decision was made for us when we found out we were having our third, the only car we found that was comfortable, had enough room (if there is such a thing with kids) and did not cost a fortune was the Territory. And we could not be happier.

When shopping do what we did, pack your car and see how it all fits into the new one before you buy. We could not fit the existing stuff into a forester never mind the over head of an additional child, otherwise I would have bought it.

[AUIIISR]

Originally Posted by SNBXR

Can i ask, what is it with people's fascination with "SUV's" ..... City 4wd's . pointless! I've got 2 Falcons, perfect family cars

We live in Canberra atm, but we are moving to the country next year, bad roads, going bush and wanting to go anywhere are more my priorities, Treating my AU like that would kill me. Having a car that will do it all is what we want.

Some good points raised, as Bucknaked said cheapest solution is not to have kids, ive already failed there.
I would keep the SR, but trying to fit a drumkit, plus baby seat, plus pram etc, fills every seat and the boot, with just enough room for me to get in it. We are moving for the lifestyle, I guess i just want a car that going to pretty much cop it all. And hopefully tow my XF to racedays once its finished! _2:

[ieatsports_cars]

you may be going to hunt me down and slap me but have you considerd a mitsubishi triton ? or a ford ranger ?

[FORCED F6]

Would like to just recommend that whatever car you after, have a look thru discountnewcars.com.au. My partner had been workin there for about 4years also. It's all about putting an enquiry thru the website and you save $$$ according to which car your looking at obviously. Good luck..

[AUIIISR]

Thanks heaps, ill look through pickles as well, brouught 2 cars from there and never had a problem with them, save $$$ as well

[Mongoose]

For the subaru, make sure you DONT get an NA version as they are totally torqueless, but other than that very good vehicles. As for the Mitsubishi, dont choose the 4cyl as it is also torqueless, but the interiors in those tend to deterioate rather quickly but otherwise a good vehicle.

[Crazed]

Having had the use of a Subaru Outback for 6 months a couple of years back, I would never ever buy a Subaru: tinny, gutless, cant steer, cant overtake, hopeless highbeam. And I wont even get into its lack of room and poor towing ability. I simply would not buy one.

After nearly two decades of travelling remote and rural queensland, The Territory has been the best car ive ever had. I think you are doing yourself a disservice by not even considering it. The problems ive had had been a dicky window switch and one of my remote keyfobs stopped working - thats it. It has been stunningly reliable and is still fantastic to drive.

[Bushbasher]

Originally Posted by AUIIISR

We live in Canberra atm, but we are moving to the country next year, bad roads, going bush and wanting to go anywhere are more my priorities, Treating my AU like that would kill me. Having a car that will do it all is what we want.

Some good points raised, as Bucknaked said cheapest solution is not to have kids, ive already failed there.
I would keep the SR, but trying to fit a drumkit, plus baby seat, plus pram etc, fills every seat and the boot, with just enough room for me to get in it. We are moving for the lifestyle, I guess i just want a car that going to pretty much cop it all. And hopefully tow my XF to racedays once its finished! _2:

I know this is left field and not such a "new" car but from what you just described it ticks all the boxes; have a look at a Mitsubishi TD Delica. They come in petrol too but are a bit thirsty. They run the Pajero running gear so parts are readily available and the TD goes very well and will be cheaper to run than just about any other vehicle of comparable size. If you get it fitted with an LPG kit as well it'll go like a cut snake, get sub 8L per 100 economy no matter what the load, will pull your car trailer with ease plus there are enough variants that you could get exactly what you want. SWB, LWB , low roof, high roof, base model right up to full leather and all the trimmings and genuine go anywhere 4x4, not just one of these wanna be SUVs'.
Just a thought.


Bushbasher

PS. Before you dismiss it out of hand, take a couple for a drive, they actually handle much better than you'd think.