My First New SUV

kavinfrost on 20/06/2020 - 15:31
Last edited 20/06/2020 - 15:32

Hey guys, I would need your opinion as I am planning to buy my first SUV this financial year. I know not much time left.

I am a bit confused on which brand and model I should go with, you might already have experience with those cars and will help me to pick.

My budget for the car is between $30k to $35k (can increase to $40k) and requirements are below:

  • 4WD
  • Automatic
  • Leather seating (can go for fabric)
  • Black color (Can go for white or silver)
  • Safety features ( I believe most of the cars comes with basic safety features)

The cars I have already seen so far are:

  • Rav4 GX (Cost around $40k)
  • Mitsubishi (Eclipse Cross Black Edition $30k)
  • Kia Sportage SX(Around $33k)
  • Hyundai Kona (Around $30k)
  • Mazda (Price range starts from $40k+)

I will appreciate your prompt response and any suggestion.

Cheers.

Automotive

Comments

    • kavinfrost on 23/06/2020 - 22:36

      Thank you for your comment. I had a look at their website Skoda Karoq Sportline seem to be really good. I will in touch with the dealer for the pricing. Cheers.

      • EnALup on 24/06/2020 - 14:36

        Asking them free 5 year service and road side assistance will be good too with approx 10% discount from retail.

  • nephilim on 23/06/2020 - 09:07
    +1

    would haggle hard on a Suzuki Vitara diesel honestly, its getting old now
    35k drive away can easily come down to near 30k.

  • gas720 on 23/06/2020 - 09:07
    +1

    if you are still taking comments i would look at the Subaru XV, i bought one last year and its amazing

  • ozssc on 23/06/2020 - 10:26

    Another option to consider is the Holden Equinox (or even the Trax). You should be able to get at least $10K off the original RRP (especially at year end). There are obvious concerns around warranty, service and depreciation but due to the discounts available, you could get a better spec'd car than your other options. Worth a look.

    • [Deactivated] on 23/06/2020 - 19:46
      +1

      I was given a Trax by the hire car company when I was on holiday in NZ. It was without a doubt the worst car I have ever driven. It was incredibly underpowered and I was astounded that a car like that was still being built.

  • Dr-StrangeLove on 23/06/2020 - 10:52
    +2

    How about Skoda Karoq?

    • kavinfrost on 23/06/2020 - 22:38
      +1

      Yes Skoda Karoq Sportline seems to be a good option, will contact the dealer tomorrow for the pricing.

      • Dr-StrangeLove on 23/06/2020 - 22:56

        Could you please let me know on how to go with the pricing? I’m considering that too

      • T-Quizzle on 24/06/2020 - 05:43

        They are a brand new release, so like the RAV4, dealers probably won’t have much incentive to discount for a month or two. In stock cars nearly always have room to move of at least a couple of $K… a few months old/demo and that goes up significantly! End of month Sales quotas can also help u out if u r up for a haggle

      • dutch on 25/06/2020 - 09:50

        Some more chat here about the Karoq. We have the Kodiaq and cannot speak highly enough of it, fantastic car.

  • vinaricee on 23/06/2020 - 11:14
    +5

    RAV4, but ask yourself if you need Hybrid, true that it saves on fuel but if you don't do more than 10 to 15k a year, you aren't technically saving anything. Hybrid version cost more by 5k than any of the same petrol model + might cost more on the servicing side after warranty (battery, hybrid tech, etc.) and you will have to deal with the waiting time period for a Hybrid.

    • kavinfrost on 23/06/2020 - 22:43

      Thank you for your comment. Rav4 hybrid seems to be a great choice and has all the features which we can think of. The best price I have received so for Cruiser hyd awd is 48k and also a wait for 5 to 6 months. As this will be my everyday car so there will be traveling hybrid will definitely make the difference.

    • OzBrogains on 24/06/2020 - 11:32
      +1

      Hybrid also has more towing power than the non hybrid.

      If you intend to resell the car, you won't lose all of the extra $5k.

  • lplau on 23/06/2020 - 15:09
    -3

    MG HS 2020 edition. very good for the price.

    • 91rs on 23/06/2020 - 15:57
      +5

      Chinese crap (yes some are assembled in SAIC Thailand), I'd avoid at all costs.
      They can't be seriously compared to the likes of Toyota, Mazda and Hyundai if we're being honest.

  • losnet on 23/06/2020 - 19:42
    +1

    Have a go at the Kia Seltos if you're considering the Kona. Larger boot space and apparently very smooth drive as it's tune for aussie roads.

    I've driven the new Rav4 Hybrid, it'll be my pick. Power, performance, mileage, boot space and styling!

    • kavinfrost on 23/06/2020 - 22:48

      Thank you for your comment. I did visit Kia showroom and found Seltos is a good option compared to Sportage but there is wait as well for Seltos. If I go with Seltos top model then the difference between Seltos and Toyota is around 3 to 4k. So far the best price I have received for Cruiser awd is 48k.

  • [Deactivated] on 23/06/2020 - 21:35
    +1

    We got a Rav4 Hybrid Cruiser AWD. Love it. Quiet. Powerful. Insanely fuel efficient given it has only seen inner city driving. Capable of some light off road work but not the type of 4WD to take to loose sand. Downside is you may be in for a long wait depending on what model you want. I'm not sure what the wait is these days (where's spackbase?). Plenty of petrol 2WD cars sitting in the lots I drive past.

    Other cars we considered and liked include:
    Subaru Forester and Outback. Great engines. Great AWD system. Great safety features. Both drove great. I preferred the outback's style. My wife preferred the foresters higher driving position, plus at the time it had the more up to date tech and lower servicing intervals so that's probably what we would have got. Of everything we drove, the forester was the best value. We found some great deals on new and demo cars. I don't think the Hybrid is worth it over the petrol option. Mediocre fuel savings at a fairly large additional cost.

    Tiguan - great car. It felt the best on the road of any of the cars we test drove. Love the styling, although it annoyed us how in the new one you have to pay for a more expensive option pack to not get the ugly black plastic bottom edging on the car and have it painted.

    Renault Koleos - had a bit of a look. I like the style. My wife didn't. I hear its a nissan underneath so might not have that famous french unreliability. Worth a look for something different.

    CX5 - I liked the top models turbo engine and all its tech. We found it a bit smaller in the back seats compared to some of the competition. I wonder if we could even fit our baby seat in the back without robbing the passenger of some space. We found some good deals though. That top model they offered for something around $8k off for a demonstrator with about 200km on the clock.

    Skoda (I can't remember what the model was called) SUV - I liked it. My wife wasn't even interested enough from the look of it to bother test driving.

    Kia - didn't look at a single car. Friend had just recently had a bad experience with the hand brake failing and very poor response from Kia so we were turned off.

    Hyundai - we drove the Santa Fe diesel. I liked it but nothing about it really excited.

    A resource we found helpful since we specifically wanted a car to fit the kids/babies in, was Babydrive. She brings a good practical approach to car reviews that I think other reviews would miss. At the time we bought our car, her personal car of choice was a Forester. Considering she reviews SUVs for a living that probably says something about the quality of that car.

    • kavinfrost on 23/06/2020 - 22:56

      Thank you sir for the comment, it is very helpful. Keen to know which Kia model your friend had bad experience. I have seen some positive response for Seltos and Sportage.

      • [Deactivated] on 24/06/2020 - 06:29
        +1

        Was a hatchback, not sure which. I wouldn't write them off for one bad anecdote since everyone probably has a story about the crappy experience with some brand, but that was hard not to do when it was recent. I wouldn't mind a Stinger for myself.

  • SelfMade on 23/06/2020 - 22:24
    +1

    Lexus NX300 F Sport

    • kavinfrost on 23/06/2020 - 22:58
      +1

      Lexus NX300 is really a beauty, must be very expensive.

      • OzBrogains on 24/06/2020 - 11:33

        About $15k more than the Rav.

      • EnALup on 24/06/2020 - 14:43
        +1

        Currently $59k driveway for NX300 base model. $61k approx for F Sport. Were considering F Sport with CX5 top model. Finalized CX5 for much better value and features.

        • SelfMade on 25/06/2020 - 10:33

          Yea CX-5 is better value, Lexus's exterior looks quite nice but their interiors are a bit of a let down…it's not what you'd expect when you see a car that looks like that from the outside.

          In saying that though, Lexus is the most reliable brand which is a big positive.

  • d86 on 24/06/2020 - 13:54
    +1

    I've got a Honda HRV VTI-S 2018. Not happy. Nice interior and plenty of space, but the Thai build quality seems poor to me. Constant rattling/vibration coming from the dash and booth plastic. A known issue, hard to get it fixed, albeit obviously being a warranty case.

    I saw an ad of Ssangyong Korando. An impressive feature list for a 35k car.
    Also a Mitsubishi Outlander 7 seater can be had for 32k-ish now.

  • Oipjo on 24/06/2020 - 18:01
    +1

    Just bought the RAV4 GX Hybrid today for $38,800 including some slightly above standard accessories.. rubber cargo tray, internal rubber mats, front mud flaps.
    How did it go on price? Anyone else purchased the same and done better? They didn't seem to budge all too much given the limited stock availability confirmed here in this forum as well. Advantage here was we get to pick up next week, over waiting for several months!

    • kavinfrost on 24/06/2020 - 18:40

      Can I ask where did you buy RAV4 GX from and why did you pick GX over GXL? I received the quote for 38k for GXL 2WD Petrol trying to negotiate hybrid for 40k.

      • Oipjo on 24/06/2020 - 18:52
        +1

        Western Sydney Toyota.
        Main perk on the GXL seems to be the additional USB ports - dual AC comes in the hybrid variant of the GX anyway - trying to keep costs down as much as possible - figure the Hybrid is worth the investment over petrol, but (to us) the GXL isn't worth the cost over the GX.
        Mostly though, the GX was already confirmed in a coming shipment June 2020 build, the GXL may have had additional wait times.

  • kavinfrost on 24/06/2020 - 18:43
    +1

    Got the quote for Nissan X-trail STl for 35k, seem to be a good price and like the interior as well but it is 2.5L might not be petrol efficient.

  • serpserpserp on 24/06/2020 - 21:09
    +1

    Black color

    Ok

    Safety features

    Uhhh, the best safety feature is to not buy a black or gunmetal grey car.

    • miicah on 25/06/2020 - 09:38

      And why would that be?

      • knasty on 25/06/2020 - 10:00

        You should see the number of cars around my area that drive at night without their headlights on. I'm stumped why people don't use the auto-headlight function (where they have it). I've introduced many a Uber/Ola driver to it on trips home from the office at night.

      • serpserpserp on 25/06/2020 - 18:49

        Because under any conditions that is not sunny the cars blend into the road colour or suburban surrounds very easily. Often the drivers lights are not on.

  • capslock janitor on 25/06/2020 - 09:48
    +1

    Don't forget to Take an Extended test-drive with your Top 3 if you have time, better start now

  • SelfMade on 25/06/2020 - 10:36
    +1

    Volvo XC60 is a decent one to look at too.

  • cameldownunder on 25/06/2020 - 11:12
    +1

    Kia: My Kia 2.7L V6 has 140K and no issues so far ( fingers crossed )
    Yes the leather seats have rips in them.

    • serpserpserp on 25/06/2020 - 18:50

      Yes the leather seats have rips in them.

      So an issue then.

      • cameldownunder on 26/06/2020 - 10:19

        And the wiper blades had to be changed too.

  • krisspy on 25/06/2020 - 11:42
    +1

    Near new Ford escape titanium. Maybe quite ugly but has a nice ride, based on focus St platform, 2.0T engine. Pano sunroof, auto tailgate. Can get them near new for around 30k

  • aff on 25/06/2020 - 12:15
    +1

    You can usually get a good deal on a Subaru Outback 2.5 Premium, ticks all your boxes and still drives like a car. Around the $40K driveway, pretty solid value no matter which size category you're looking at. New model next year though, but I doubt you'll get it for $40K.

  • cker on 25/06/2020 - 22:24
    +1

    Did you end up buying a car?
    I paid $37k for a brand new GXL petrol version couple of weeks ago but I had to do a lot of research and negotiation for that price in Brisbane.
    Apparently the prices are going up on 1 July.

    • kavinfrost on 25/06/2020 - 22:36

      Not yet but will be on this Saturday. Your GXL is a 2WD or AWD and which colour is it?
      Yes there is a price rise from 1 July but dealers can lock the price as there are 2020 cars arriving in Aug or sept.

      • cker on 25/06/2020 - 22:46

        2WD in graphite

    • cameldownunder on 26/06/2020 - 10:20

      Yes, hurry, buy now, stock limited, discount has to end 30 June.

  • kaikor on 26/06/2020 - 09:38

    How about a Mitsi ASX MR? Looks very nice with all the black highlights but don't know if Mitsi's build quality and reliability can match Toyota or Mazda these days? Does the interior looks plastic and cheap?

  • jpl on 17/07/2020 - 21:16

    Mitsubishi (Eclipse Cross Black Edition $30k) ? Is this price AWD or 2WD?

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