Hi Matt
My husband is soon to buy his first car (recently obtained his licence) and safety is his number one priority. We need a vehicle to transport two people, our baby, and a German Shepherd on occasion. The vehicle will be used for weekend use. He would love an SUV (loves the Volvo XC90) but they are costly and not so green. MPV's seem to take the joy out of owning a car - I'm personally not keen. What are the best options for us based on a £4k - 7k budget which is a safe family car which doesn't look too much like a family car?
Many thanks for your help.
Kind regards
Mrs Holst, UK
Dear Mrs Holst,
You don’t sound like the kind of lady looking for levity. So, no messing about, here is your answer:
I am not sure if you are against SUVs or just the XC90s, which are, as you say, expensive.
But to get safety, on your budget, you need to ‘go large.’ Newer cars have higher NCAP ratings and lower Co2 output, but the price is too high.
So unless you buy a small car (there are great deals on nearly new Clio’s in your budget) you are going to be less green – the best you can do is get the highest possible MPG.
The top of your budget puts you, assuming a 4x4 is what you want, into cars from 2003, including Nissan’s rough and ready Patrol. But it only gives you 26 mpg! Or you can go for a Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2 D from 2002, get 2 MPG more and pay similar money.
But flicking back a few pages in the Used Car Expert price guide, I notice that the small 4x4s section offers a 2005 Kia Sportage, 2.0 CrDi with 32,000 average miles and 40 MPG. That would be an intelligent, sensible choice and within budget.
Or you could get a 2.0 diesel Land Rover Freelander from the same year that does 37 mpg and has 36,000 miles on the clock. Yes, its 3 MPG less, but it was made here, so hasn’t been shipped around the globe like the Kia (which is bad news in Co2 terms) and Land Rover run a carbon offset programme. Although you need to look into the detail of that if you want to get involved.
Happy hunting,
Matt