New car time, small SUV, lease or buy

peter212693 · 13 Feb 2016 at 21:55

Hi all,

The wife and I are thinking its time for a new car. We currently have a Civic which is starting to show its age and want something a little bigger. We have a 2 year old and planning maybe on another child.

I have been doing some digging and come across 3 we like:

- Nissan Qashqai
- Mazda CX-5
- Kia Sportage

We want all the toys on it as the civic was an EX model so had bluetooth, sat nav, heated leather seats, auto wipers and HID lights, reverse camera, etc. Boot space, the bigger the better as the civic has quite a big boot anyway.

What do you guys recommend, I have read they all have there pros and cons and common issues which leads me on to my next question....

Lease, buy, Personal contract purchase or other? Lets be honest no on is going to make money on a car so I was thinking towards weather a lease or PCP. This way we can afford to have a new / newer car than buying one. Yes we have to give it back at the end of the agreement with a lease but we then can carry on and get a new car again.

I am unsure on the best option really as the most we have ever spent on a card was 5k and that was just a bank loan.

Thanks in advance!

Tinders · 13 Feb 2016 at 22:47

I'd be surprised if those cars offered much more space than your civic. Cabin space will be about the same boot space will be bigger on the SUV's.

Liquid_Entity · 13 Feb 2016 at 22:50

I've seen a million and 1 qashqai on the road compared to the cx-5.

I don't know whether that's a good thing or bad

Marvin · 13 Feb 2016 at 22:57

CX5 is meant to be the best in class, but ultimately with cars like these the TCO is king.

PapaLazaru · 13 Feb 2016 at 23:01

Honda HR-V?

Jono8 · 13 Feb 2016 at 23:06

I would discount the Kia Sportage off that list unless you are getting the old shape one, simply because the new one is an incredibly massive backwards step design wise.

It is hideous, where as the old one was fairly handsome as SUV's go.

Unless you get an out of this world deal, PCP and handing it back or leasing every 2 years is the most expensive way to own a car as you are simply paying for the highest depreciation rate all the time.

Granted you get to always be in a new/nearly new car but don't think for a minute that it is not costing you lots more money than the alternatives

Whilst i know i just said don't get the Kia, perhaps the best buy money wise is to get either a great deal through a broker on a new Sportage or find a good 1 year old one and keep it till the warranty runs out seen as they have a massive 7 year warranty.

peter212693 · 13 Feb 2016 at 23:14

Cabin space is not so bad but the extra boot space would be great. The wife and I like the idea of the higher driving position which is why we are leaning to a SUV.

I seem to see a Qashqai around every corner near me which is probably a good thing but reading online there seems to be a lot of squeaks and rattles and potential clutch issues with this and coming from the Civic which the clutch has started to slip a little and rattles and squeaks like made I want to try and avoid this. Again this might have been the older versions and newer ones these issues corrected?

I have read a lot of reviews and they all do point to the CX5 being the best drive but seem to tbe the most expensive with not as many toys but I may be wrong.

Honda HR-V.. I just dont like the styling of the older ones, the brand new ones look nice if not a little smaller then the rest? Plus the boot space is a lot smaller than the rest.

Just sat watching reviews of the new Sportage and totally agree the styling has gone down the pan but the interior quality seems so much better and a nice drive apparently.

Jonnycoupe · 13 Feb 2016 at 23:16

Tinders said:
I'd be surprised if those cars offered much more space than your civic. Cabin space will be about the same boot space will be bigger on the SUV's.

Compared to the Civic? Unlikely

civic boot is massive. Simple suspension, no AWD and fuel tank under front seat = size from the glass above.

mccarf · 13 Feb 2016 at 23:39

peter212693 said:
Cabin space is not so bad but the extra boot space would be great. The wife and I like the idea of the higher driving position which is why we are leaning to a SUV.

I seem to see a Qashqai around every corner near me which is probably a good thing but reading online there seems to be a lot of squeaks and rattles and potential clutch issues with this and coming from the Civic which the clutch has started to slip a little and rattles and squeaks like made I want to try and avoid this. Again this might have been the older versions and newer ones these issues corrected?

I have read a lot of reviews and they all do point to the CX5 being the best drive but seem to tbe the most expensive with not as many toys but I may be wrong.

Honda HR-V.. I just dont like the styling of the older ones, the brand new ones look nice if not a little smaller then the rest? Plus the boot space is a lot smaller than the rest.

Just sat watching reviews of the new Sportage and totally agree the styling has gone down the pan but the interior quality seems so much better and a nice drive apparently.

If it's just for the higher driving position and bigger boot then how about MPVs like the Ford Galaxy?

Jono8 · 13 Feb 2016 at 23:55

mccarf said:
If it's just for the higher driving position and bigger boot then how about MPVs like the Ford Galaxy?

I don't think he wants to give up on life just yet.

Dis86 · 14 Feb 2016 at 00:25

Step father has a qashqai. Top spec one, sure it's a tekna or something like that. Spec is good. He's had it for a year now and not a single problem. Cabin has literally no creaks or rattles. Build quality is actually very impressive.

MORE SPEED · 14 Feb 2016 at 01:13

Dis86 said:
Step father has a qashqai. Top spec one, sure it's a tekna or something like that. Spec is good. He's had it for a year now and not a single problem. Cabin has literally no creaks or rattles. Build quality is actually very impressive.

Can echo this comment, but with the latest Tekna variants you can now spec 17" alloys instead of the 19" that came on the earlier models. The one thing I would've changed was reducing the alloy size as it can be a bit crashy, so 17" is the way to go imo.

v0n · 14 Feb 2016 at 01:57

Nothing on that list is on par with CX-5 in any way and on any level. It's a complete no brainer.

MORE SPEED · 14 Feb 2016 at 02:53

v0n said:
Nothing on that list is on par with CX-5 in any way and on any level. It's a complete no brainer.

Apart from on refinement, interior quality, driving quality, costs etc. It is a bit apples and oranges though as the CX-5 is a size above the Qashqai really.

Tinders · 14 Feb 2016 at 07:20

CX5 is more X-trail than Qashqai size is it not

Just checked.Civic actually has a bigger boot than the Qashqai!

How about a CRV, that has 3 isofix across the back, and a cracking boot.

.:SAmSuNG:. · 14 Feb 2016 at 07:57

What about the new hyundai tucson? My mate has a sportage and it's meh. Feels cheap.

Crv would be my choice or cx5 if you can afford it.

LiE · 14 Feb 2016 at 09:28

Civic boot and practicality are extremely good , surprised it's left you wanting more. My wife put 2 large prams in there no issues.

peter212693 · 14 Feb 2016 at 09:30

Yea I definitely dont want a MPV like the Galaxy.

Surprised more people have not mentioned the Sportage as they are about everywhere but I suppose the interior suffers and the new design isnt great.

Honda CRV is an option, I will look into the specs on these and price.

The Mazda looks favorites but as has been said its a step up by the looks of it and the cost reflects this.

Anyone any opinions on the financing options?

LiE said:
Civic boot and practicality are extremely good , surprised it's left you wanting more. My wife put 2 large prams in there no issues.

Its maybe not so much wanting more, the civic is starting to show its age so want something newer so dont want to go backwards and just like the idea of a SUV.

Dis86 · 14 Feb 2016 at 09:36

v0n said:
Nothing on that list is on par with CX-5 in any way and on any level. It's a complete no brainer.

https://www.carwow.co.uk/blog/nissan-qashqai-vs-mazda-cx5

Just one of a number of sources says differently.

The qashqai consistently comes out on top.

tickedon · 14 Feb 2016 at 09:45

peter212693 said:
Anyone any opinions on the financing options?

It all comes down to how often you want to change your car.

If you want to change your car every 2-4 years, then the exact finance option doesn't matter - you need to see what the opinion is on the amount of depreciation over those 2-4 years, and then look at which finance option is the cheapest. In many cases, that'll be a lease and you can often get a lease for less than the car depreciation over that period.

However, regularly changing a car will increase your cost of ownership overall. Personally, I think 6-7 years is a reasonable length of time to keep a car, and so for me a straight forward cash + bank loan made much more sense.