Mid Size SVU recommendations please

C

Claire2014

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Hi there

Reasonably priced & safe SUV

I am having my first child in October and need to buy a new car to fit in the baby and pram etc. I am considering either a demo/used model of the Ford Territory Or the VW Tiguan Allspace. Any ideas or recommendations that people have on these 2 models? Or budget is about around the R550 000 mark so not looking to go too fancy. Just want good structure that's safe and something easy to drive.

Some points to note: Not keen on a Toyota for safety reasons in Joburg, would like an automatic car

Recommendations welcome!
 
Don't glance over the Chinese options..

Chery, Jeacoo, Omoda, Jetour you can grab mid size SUVs from any of them, brand new for 100k or so less than your budget.. typically also offer much better warranty and service plans than the known big brands..

Also have a look at the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage, which you can get low mileage automatic options within your budget, but very likely already out of warranty and or service plan..
 
The CAR Magazine recently had an article in the July issue comparing almost all the SUV's in the 500k class with the Kia Seltos (1.5CRDI EX+ AT), Volkswage T-Cross and Toyota Corola Cross coming out the winners.

The issue is worth a read for the comparisons alone.
 
Kia Sportage/Hyundai Tucson are the winners.

Ford territory is Chinese so don’t bother, Also you shouldn’t be spending R600k on a Chinese car, that’s just dumb.

If occupancy safety is a big requirement then only look at cars that are built for 1st world European countries.
 
WAslayer said:
Don't glance over the Chinese options..

Chery, Jeacoo, Omoda, Jetour you can grab mid size SUVs from any of them, brand new for 100k or so less than your budget.. typically also offer much better warranty and service plans than the known big brands..

Also have a look at the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage, which you can get low mileage automatic options within your budget, but very likely already out of warranty and or service plan..
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3/4 of those Chinese manufacturers have been in SA for 2 years or less.
Chery is the exception but has left the country before.
Good and well to buy it, how long do those companies intend to stay and support these cars.
First adopters are going to be the ones that deal with the most issues.

Rather look to KIA or Hyundai, with a family SUV, you don't want to deal with warranty and parts issues when things go wrong.
 
Tiguan is a great choice with many options in that price range especially the 1 year olds from Avis. It’s comfortable, safe with some punch and good fuel economy. If you want new look at the Renault Duster, Kia Seltos or even Mazda CX-5. If Chinese is your flavour there are many options there as well but at that budget there are better established brand options. Also, nothing is really wrong with the territory, but the Tiguan beats it for me. Make a short list and test drive the ones you like. Be sure to take your pram and baby seat along. Don’t believe the salesman BS that all the baby things will fit. They will say anything to sell a car.
 
XPD said:
Tiguan is a great choice with many options in that price range especially the 1 year olds from Avis. It’s comfortable, safe with some punch and good fuel economy. If you want new look at the Renault Duster, Kia Seltos or even Mazda CX-5. If Chinese is your flavour there are many options there as well but at that budget there are better established brand options. Also, nothing is really wrong with the territory, but the Tiguan beats it for me. Make a short list and test drive the ones you like. Be sure to take your pram and baby seat along. Don’t believe the salesman BS that all the baby things will fit. They will say anything to sell a car.
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Thank you this is so helpful
 
Have you considered a tank Touareg?

Jokes aside, Tiguan would be my choice, mostly for personal reasons but they are really good medium SUV's in my opinion.
 
fun fact:
- pretty much any estate vehicle (i.e. station wagon) has more luggage and people space than any comparative SUV
- compact SUVs tend to have even less space than a sedan e.g. Toyota Corolla Cross has less space than the Toyota Corolla

SUVs are the flavour of the past few years and are wildly popular for sure, but the "space" argument often falls flat when you look at the facts
 
Corolla Cross - high fuel usage (unless hybrid) and high theft/hijack risk

You need a safe and reliable vehicle and I would also go for the Tiguan.
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
In that budget the CX5 is the obvious choice...
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I currently have a mazda Cx3 (Active Auto). I test drove the Cx5 and just feel its not solid enough for kids. I also havent been impressed with Mazda's after sales service to be quite honest.
 
Yes Tiguan is your best bet.
I would have said get a VW Caddy. Not much better car you can have with small kids. You can put the pram in the back without folding it up and the sliding doors are great to put kids in their car seats. But you don't get them in Auto anymore.
 
We had a baby 2 months ago and bought CX-5 for my wife a year ago. The biggest advantage of the CX-5 over the rest in the category is that the rear doors open perpendicular making putting the baby seat in and out a breeze
 
NarrowBandFtw said:
slightly biased as I drive a Subaru XV, but if solid build and reliability is important the ever popular Forester is worth considering / taking for a test drive, preowned is possible in that budget:

Used-Subaru-Forester-2023-28071734 | Subaru South Africa

www.subaru.co.za www.subaru.co.za
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I love a scooby but the issue is the limited network. There's literally only 4 dealerships in GP, 2 in KZN and 2 in WC. If you don't stay close to one then it becomes an inconvenience...
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
I love a scooby but the issue is the limited network. There's literally only 4 dealerships in GP, 2 in KZN and 2 in WC. If you don't stay close to one then it becomes an inconvenience...
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this be true :(

they 're fairly reasonable in pricing a pickup/dropoff fee for services and they leave their old skedonk for you to use at least

but yeah dealerships are few and far between
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
In that budget the CX5 is the obvious choice...
Click to expand...
The Mazda CX5 is a excellent vehicle but I would not recommend it due to the scarcity of critical parts such as airbags and sensors.

We've had long outstanding claims where Mazda couldn't supply certain parts and the claims were delayed by 2.5 months awaiting parts.
 
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