Boring family car with 7 seats that can tow 900kg?

ahar

ahar

ahar

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Inside the M25
Currently have a 2019 Skoda Kodiaq that is coming to the end of its PCP term (mid year). Currently thinking about whether to keep it or swap, and part of that is looking at the alternatives. Car probably will have £8-10k of equity when the deal ends and was planning to use that as a deposit (either swap with dealer or pay final payment and then sell elsewhere to get the cash). Budget beyond that deposit of around £10k (I'll top up if its lower) is approx £500 a month.

Requirements are:

- 7 seats, though happily have a 5+2 affair as I have at the moment as its used infrequently with parents-in-law and kids in the small seats
- Tow my racecar and trailer which weigh about 850kg in total (nose weight about 70kg max)
- Must have Android Auto
- I love a gadget, the more the better
- Petrol engine (not EV). Not diesel as cities are really going against them.
- Not be too flash such that I worry about leaving it in a station car park

Options considered or discounted

- Another Kodiaq. I really like the Kodiaq, would be happy with another one
- Audi Q7 or bigger. Not worth the extra expense. Interior in Skoda is good enough for me, I'm not paying for a badge.
- BMW X7 or bigger. See Audi above
- Volvo XC90. Too expensive, doesn't seem to fit in the budget. I do like them though
- VW Tiguan allspace. Like it (a mate has one), built on the same VW platform as Kodiaq. Definite option.
- Disco sport. Haven't seen one in person, but there is a dealer near me so definitely an option. I like other LRs I;ve seen
- Merc GLB. Is this worth the extra expense? I'd need to be convinced. See not paying for a badge above.
- Kia Sorento. Never driven one, don't know someone with one - should I bother?
- Seat. Any point given its on the same platform as Skoda & VW?
- Peugeot 5008. Had a Peugeot 206 a number of years ago and loved it, but not impressed with the current crop. Unlikely to make the list.

Anything I've missed or been unfair about? Means I'll probably be going to the LR dealer, Skoda and VW for definite. Could be convinced on Kia if its worth it.
 
MikeTheNative said:
Hyunadi Santa Fe? In-laws have one for a caravan and say it's good for towing. Does seem quite nice inside as a passenger as well.
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Never thought about Hyundai - just had a look on the website and they do look interesting. Also definitely boring family car !

Thanks for that, will add them to the list
 
ahar said:
Kia Sorento. Never driven one, don't know someone with one - should I bother?
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I have a 2021 Sorento PHEV and it is great. There is diesel, hybrid and plug in hybrid. Same underpinnings as Santa Fe but slightly larger inside for some reason. Lots of space and good for towing. There are lots of gadgets as the only spec available now is 'Edition'.
 
I'd keep the Kodiaq, I'm biased as I have one too but I looked at all the other options too and always came back to it. I was very close on the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento but got a better deal on the Kodiaq. I also looked at the Mercedes GLB but the only petrol was a 1.3l unless you went for the AMG.
 
Choice is obvious.
Smooth, torquey and built to thrill.
Citroen Berlingo 130 or Peugeot Rifter.
You will be the envy of everyone who isn’t pretentious.
 
ahar said:
Both of those are only electric new I think. Can't get electric.
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I think you can’t still get the Rifter as petrol or diesel?
They actually are great cars, people who have owned them tend to like them. (I’ve had 4 Berlingos).
Berlingo is definitely electric only now sadly.
 
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If you like it wouldn't it be worth just keeping the kodiaq?

I've been looking at cars for me dad recently and some of the APR's are shocking, think the highest I've see was 10.9%! :eek:
He's ended up finding a 6.5% offer from a Taxi company

Other than a bit of a squish on the trims I think there's only been one facelift since 2019.
You might end up with a few little extras if you had one of the lower spec kodiaqs but I'd not think anythign massively different
ahar said:
Options considered or discounted
- Another Kodiaq. I really like the Kodiaq, would be happy with another one - This would be my choice
- Audi Q7 or bigger. Not worth the extra expense. Interior in Skoda is good enough for me, I'm not paying for a badge. - Agree
- BMW X7 or bigger. See Audi above - Agree
- Volvo XC90. Too expensive, doesn't seem to fit in the budget. I do like them though - Add any half decent options and yer at 40k+ already = LOLTAX
- VW Tiguan allspace. Like it (a mate has one), built on the same VW platform as Kodiaq. Definite option.
- Disco sport. Haven't seen one in person, but there is a dealer near me so definitely an option. I like other LRs I;ve seen
- Merc GLB. Is this worth the extra expense? I'd need to be convinced. See not paying for a badge above.
- Kia Sorento. Never driven one, don't know someone with one - should I bother? - They do look canny, my mate suggested these when I was looking at the kodiaq
- Seat. Any point given its on the same platform as Skoda & VW? - Nah I looked at them, seemed a lot more plasticky than the equvalents from other brands
- Peugeot 5008. Had a Peugeot 206 a number of years ago and loved it, but not impressed with the current crop. Unlikely to make the list. - As long as its not a peugeot engine lol

Anything I've missed or been unfair about? Means I'll probably be going to the LR dealer, Skoda and VW for definite. Could be convinced on Kia if its worth it.
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Have you thought about the likes of the ElGrands, highway stars and stuff?

Granted they'll all be a little older but Ive seen some lovely ones flying about and I'm tempted haha

Dont forget to have a peek on Carwow hen you've boiled it down to the main contenders, not as much discount as it used to offer but still about 10% off list from what I've been looking.
 
theone8181 said:
Can any evs tow anything if significant weight? I was under the impression that towing stuff would damage then (not sure where I've got the idea from though).
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For me it's the hassle of charging with a trailer on the public network. a lot of the race tracks I go to don't have any chargers as they are smaller hill climb venues (Gurston Down paddock is half in a farmers yard!). To get there and back towing the Caterham id have to charge on a public charger (100 miles each way, towing knocks between 1/3 and 1/2 off the range), and to do that id need to unhook, put the trailer somewhere while I charge then hook back up. At some motorway service stations there's no way to get from where you'd leave the trailer (caravan parking etc) back to the electric charge points as its one way. If you tow stuff, electric is not the way to go if you need a public charger
 
ahar said:
For me it's the hassle of charging with a trailer on the public network. a lot of the race tracks I go to don't have any chargers as they are smaller hill climb venues (Gurston Down paddock is half in a farmers yard!). To get there and back towing the Caterham id have to charge on a public charger (100 miles each way, towing knocks between 1/3 and 1/2 off the range), and to do that id need to unhook, put the trailer somewhere while I charge then hook back up. At some motorway service stations there's no way to get from where you'd leave the trailer (caravan parking etc) back to the electric charge points as its one way. If you tow stuff, electric is not the way to go if you need a public charger
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Thats fair, also I hadn't factored in the range drop, not ideal especially if its long distance.
 
We have a 2017 Kia Sorento. 7 seater and it tows ~1600kgs of horse/trailer with ease.

I'd say it fulfills every requirement on your list...Android Auto, fair share of gadgets (heated seats all round, ventilated seats front, heated wheel, cameras all over it, auto parking, etc).
However....it's a 2.2 litre diesel and I'm not even sure they do a petrol engine in the UK. Not sure if there's a hybrid option, but if not, I guess that writes it off the list.
 
Assuming it has a petrol engine I'd keep the Kodiaq given it ticks all your boxes, less hassle than switching cars and you know the reliability. It's highly likely to be worth a lot more than the balloon payment because depreciation has been massively lower than projected three years ago. So it will be like they were expecting it to be worth £15k but it's actually worth £20k or whatever.
 
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