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i travel 100km a day on a country road (169 corners), to get to school. and now i have added travelling 100 etxra kms (one way) over a gravel windy road to pick my son up from boarding school in new plymouth. so i travel alot. our ford falcon is serviced regularly but starting to cost- around $1200 a month in fuel. with boarding school fees I would like to buy a safer suv to drive. we only have 1 vehicle and it needs to be big enough for 3 growing children-13,12,11 plus luggage. any suggestions? apart from moving closer to town!! (which wont happen for a while) i would appreciate any help. maria
Hi Maria. An SUV won't necessarily be "safer" in these conditions, as the higher centre of gravity may render them more unstable on a gravel road. However, there are many good safe models out there - preferably ones with ESC (Electronic Stability Control).
You don't mention what age of vehicle (new or used?) you are considering or what the budget may be. Perhaps if you can give us an idea of budget, we may be able to make some suggestions.
thanks for this- we are looking at $30,000 max. as new as possible!!! and with km under100,000.
we had a test drive in a Santa Fe and a highlander. My husband liked the highlander but it may be out of our range and the fuel may be just as bad as what I am paying now so no saving and the santa fe he felt cramped (i just think he was looking for excuses!) he suggested we stay with buying a falcon.
I am keen to try and get something asap. I thought too a mazda cx 7 or cx9? what do you think- my husband refuses to go to Holden (just a ford thing!)
Thanks I am looking forward to your reply. :)
OK, so I assume you're looking for a largish, petrol powered SUV then?
It's unlikely that any of the models you mention will be any more economical than your Falcon and most will cost more to run, especially the V6 petrol powered 4x4 models.
Both the CX7 and CX9 are very comfortable but have a reputation for being thirsty, as does the Highlander.
As you will be doing a high mileage, a diesel may be the way to go.
It's a shame you (or your husband) felt the Santa Fe felt crampt, as the 2.2 diesel is great, and the 2.4 petrol isn't bad either. A Toyota Prado may fit the bill, it's large, available in diesel and has a solid reputation, but finding a good late model one in your price range may not be easy, but should be possible.
The Ford Territory has only recently been available with diesel power, so will be outside of your budget - and I daren't mention the Captiva to your husband for obvious reasons. (Holden!).
Failing that, you could always stay with a Falcon, but like the V6 SUV's, running costs won't come down.
Hi, my sugestion is a Nissan Pathfinder, a late model such as 2007/08 would be around $30,000. ST 2488 cc diesel would be ideal for your needs with 4WD. It has 7 seats 5 fwd auto or tiptronic version with an annual fuel cost of $2980 (4 stars) including RUC as per the government Fuelsaver website.
On a similar note...
I only do around 10-12000 km per year as most of mine is motorbike. I purchased a Holden calais to tow my boat (approx 1.2tonne) but it really drinks fuel.
I am also wanting to launch places that require 4x4. Should I go diesel? or with that really low mileage will it end up more expensive that petrol?
Thanks
A large petrol SUV will drink fuel at an even higher rate than your Calais, so diesel would be the preference. The other factor to consider is that large petrol SUV's do not retain their residual value anywhere near as well as diesel ones do and they can be hard to sell.
In summary, with a large 4x4, diesel is usually the way to go, especially for towing.
would it work out cheaper than running the holden?
or should I just hire a 4x4 for those rare occassions where the Holden can't get in?
I had heard that for low mileage like mine that a Diesel would be more expensive to run