Dear Chris,
I’m after a small 4x4 that can handle a little bit of off-roading, but I want to keep running costs low. What can you suggest for my £15,000 budget?
Michael Duffy, E-mail
If you'd like help choosing your next car, contact chris_ebbs@dennis.co.uk.
For: Long warranty, stylish, lots of kit
Against: Off-road ability, cabin quality
The ix35 was key to Hyundai’s model range revamp and it’s a stylish-looking small SUV.
While the main focus is comfort on tarmac, a four-wheel-drive version will be able to deal with gentle off-road terrain. All four-wheel-drive versions come with the punchy 2.0-litre diesel engine, capable of 49mpg, and emissions of 149g/km mean you’ll pay £149 a year in road tax.
We found a 2010 2.0-litre diesel Style model with 30,000 miles on the clock. It’s within budget, too, at £14,488. Buying at this age means you’ll also still be covered by the company’s five-year warranty, plus the Hyundai comes loaded with kit such as heated front seats and reverse parking sensors.
The ix35 isn’t brilliant off-road, and the car’s cabin materials can feel a little cheap in places, especially compared to the other models here.
For: Reliability, strong diesel engines
Against: Fairly small boot, firm ride
Although Toyota made one of the first tarmac-biased ‘soft-roaders’ with the RAV4, Honda has been at it with the CR-V for almost as long.
The high roofline means the car offers plenty of space for passengers, while the diesel engines are particularly impressive.
Another trump card is Honda’s reliability record – the CR-V finished a very strong 12th in the Auto Express Driver Power 2012 satisfaction survey.
A 2009 59-plate 2.2-litre diesel EX, with 41,000 miles on the clock, will come in just under your budget, at £14,995.
It’s not quite as efficient – or clean – as the Hyundai, so will cost more to run. However, the quality of materials in the cabin is marginally better, and the CR-V should depreciate less and hold more of its value. It will also provide stronger off-road ability than the ix35.
For: Practical, impressive off-road
Against: Looks divide opinion, costs
The Yeti came top in our Driver Power survey this year, and it’s easy to see why it did so well.
It performs admirably off-road, while there are plenty of practical touches – including removable rear seats – and all models come with plenty of standard equipment.
The diesel engines are strong, although they will cost a little more to run than the ix35.
For £14,990, you can pick up a top-of-the-range 59-plate Elegance model with the 2.0-litre TDI 140 engine. For this, you can expect average mileage – although the example we found had a stiff 49,000 miles on the clock.
While the Yeti’s styling isn’t to everyone’s liking, the interior is well finished and rugged details make it look more chunky than the other cars. Plus, Skoda’s network came third in our Driver Power 2012 dealer survey.
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For me, the obvious choice would be Yeti - it scores in every department, has better build and residuals than the other 2, and is the best looking. The Honda looks dated already, and the Hyundai is just another overly styled underbuilt car.
For me this list has some obvious choices missing, following a quick search I found...
1) 2009 Ford Kuga Zetec 4WD 2.0 TDCi with 20k for £14,799
2) 2008 VW Tiguan Sport 4Motion 2.0 TDi with 25k for £14,687
Who would consider a iX35 when you could get both of the above for similar money ;)
Dacia new very reliable £8,995 Duster v Ford Kuga £21,900 will wipe out all the SUV sales of all these when it arrives January 1st 2013 in the UK, as it gets pushed out across Europe and is sold in more countries.
European Sales first 7 months.
Dacia Duster 71,953
Hyundai ix35 58,819
Ford Kuga 38,278
Skoda Yeti 38,190
Honda CR-V 19,858
Honda CR-V has lost its appeal with silly rear quarter styling even though its very reliable, Yeti looks the best all round drive/value for money, but the Duster that has won a lot of awards for reliability will steal sales from all the others when it arrives next year.
If you're looking at second hand Yetis, how about a look at the Octavia Scouts? Probably get a newer, lower mileage one, similar performance, etc.
But it will depreciate like a stone and is BASIC to the extreme! Dacia will sell ok, but after 3 years and people see the poor residuals, they will end up like Proton in the UK. The only reason they've sold so highly in Western Europe is France buying a lot of them because of the Renault tie-up.
According to What Car magazine.
Retained value after 3 years is
£17,300 Hyundai is 57%
£8,995 Dacia Duster is 49%
£21,000 Ford Kuga is 48%
£14,945 Skoda Yeti is 44%
No data on the Honda.
2013 Dacia Dacia voted Europe's most reliable SUV at £8,995 BRAND NEW offers exceptional value for money.