by "Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction" (rustholes-are-weight-reduction)
Published 05/19/2017 at 11:26
by "Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction" (rustholes-are-weight-reduction)
Published 05/19/2017 at 11:26
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STARS: 2
My parents always complain about their old car, a 2000-ish Peugeot Partner, which is an alright car, albeit slow and not particularly comfortable.
I know they won’t change until they have to, because “it works”. The truth is, they never treat themselves, the only car they spent more than 8000€ on was a previous Peugeot Partner they leased new, and sold a couple of years after the lease was finished.
For several reasons (dog, shop, helping my parents) I don’t plan to move anytime soon, I have a small but perfect apartment in the former barn behind my parents house. This also allows me to park my cars around and block the workshop completely. Since I spend my free time getting on their nerves with my car projects, I should give back for once, in the best way I can: with a car.
I’ve been thinking about this for quite some time now, and I think now is the time. They are going to spend a week in Scotland (by the way, if you have any good scotch suggestion they can bring me), and it would be perfect if I could replace their car in that time. I already asked to get the week free, so I can watch the house and so my dog doesn’t feel too lonely, so I have some time to spend on car-shopping.
The car needs to be high enough so my dad can get in and out without an issue (he’s tall and not very flexible, he had some trouble getting into my A4), it must be able to pull a trailer, offer basic comfort, be reliable (of course), and preferably a diesel. So it’s kinda limiting things to SUVs.
After checking what was available in the area, I put together a little sheet with their data:
My favorite is the Forester, but I read that the diesel engines from the first 4 production years had a lot of issues. The CRV is nice, and my sister has one from the previous generation, but with the same engine. This might be a candidate. Then there is the X-Trail, although these tend to be a bit more expensive, and use more fuel. Too much choice makes this more difficult than I thought.
Do you have any input on those? Would suggest something completely different? Budget I plan is around 8-12.000€
"someassemblyrequired" (someassemblyrequired)
05/19/2017 at 12:47, STARS: 0
Little smaller, but would an early Skoda Yeti be cheap enough now?
"m-b-w loves his SUBAROO" (m-b-w)
05/19/2017 at 13:08, STARS: 0
Ignore you’re dad is tall, the Subaru might be the best bet. Easy on the joints to get in and out of, and copious amounts of head and legroom.
"BritishLeyland™" (leylandcars)
05/19/2017 at 13:09, STARS: 0
The only one I have driven of those is the Suzuki. It’s very unrefined, shakes and rattles at low revs as the Reault engine doesn’t have much torque below 1900ish rpm. The clutch is heavy and the gear change has an agricultural feel. Real world fuel economy isn’t that impressive either. But it does have a certain rough charm and ride and handling isn’t too bad.
"BvdV - The Dutch Engineer" (dutchengineer)
05/19/2017 at 13:15, STARS: 0
That’s a very nice gesture of you to gift them a new car.
As for the cars, I think either the Honda or the X-trail are going to be the best, as those seem to be quite reliable. The Kuga is nice too but a bit smaller.
"Klaus Schmoll" (klausschmoll)
05/19/2017 at 14:22, STARS: 0
Did you consider the Mazda CX-5? I know shit about them except that they look nice and that everybody and their grandma on oppo and Jalopnik praises them as the second coming.
"duurtlang" (duurtlang)
05/20/2017 at 01:14, STARS: 0
Why are you leaving MPVs like the Scenic out? Those do everything your parents need better (except towing maybe) while costing less.
"Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction" (rustholes-are-weight-reduction)
05/20/2017 at 01:33, STARS: 0
Those too are (quite literally) high up my list, but they are the obvious go-to candidates. My mom wouldn’t accept the Kuga anyway I think, she’s never been a Ford fan
"Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction" (rustholes-are-weight-reduction)
05/20/2017 at 01:33, STARS: 0
They are really nice, but they are still quite new, so: expensive
"Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction" (rustholes-are-weight-reduction)
05/20/2017 at 01:40, STARS: 0
I really like the Subaru, but the reviews for it mostly say to not touch the diesel
"Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction" (rustholes-are-weight-reduction)
05/20/2017 at 01:42, STARS: 0
Because towing :)
Also, my dad has had a thing for my sisters CR-V since she got it
"Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction" (rustholes-are-weight-reduction)
05/20/2017 at 01:44, STARS: 1
There are some in that price range, but ideally, it should have a tow rating of 2 tons, so they can pull the car trailer when I broke down somewhere :)
"Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction" (rustholes-are-weight-reduction)
05/20/2017 at 01:45, STARS: 0
Thanks for the info! Its tow rating is a bit too low anyway
"someassemblyrequired" (someassemblyrequired)
05/20/2017 at 12:34, STARS: 0
Haha yep that’s an important requirement
"Amoore100" (amoore100)
05/21/2017 at 00:16, STARS: 0
Perhaps one of the older, more rugged X-Trails is in order?
