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I don't mind the Yeti so much TBH (wasn't overly impressed though). My oher half isnt too keen on the OAP effect they seem to have, and it was, as you say, a bit basic inside.
I think one of the diesel ones with a higher spec like you suggest would be much nicer. We tried the 1.2 as that seems to be the way engines are going these days, and as i said, i'm really not fussed bout fast cars anymore. GF is also very eco minded, so she prefers the idea of smaller engines.
From the quick look around the Kia I had, it just seemed like a much nicer car inside. More modern, even though the one I looked in was 4 years older than the Skoda we drove.
I think a 4x4 diesel Yeti would be much better recieved by my GF. She is a midwife and does a lot of home visits out in the sticks around Bristol and Bath, so 4X4 would probably be a better option for her needs anyway.
Basically i just want to be able put all my shit in a car, spend two weeks or so driving around europe with my dogs and my GF in comfort, without feeling at all cramped and not having to worry about any reliabilty issues. It must also be easy for my GF to drive and park (we live in Bristol, parking here is a much more complicated affair than any other place I have lived in the UK)
I dont give a shit about going fast or driving something that looks super cool. I'd rather drive something that looks a bit dorky TBH.
We dont want to spend more than £10k.
I'd rather have something a bit older and higher miles with a nice spec than something fairly new and poverty spec.
BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Land Rover etc can all GTFO.
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Know that feel bro.
Thanks for insights. Can't bring myself to consider a Kia tho. -
Given that you want to do long road trips in France, despite you saying you didn't care about performance, France is huge and places are a long way away, and with a car full of people, pets and stuff you will need a reasonably sized and powerful engine - I'd say a 2 litre at least.
Driving hundreds of miles on the autoroute is made much easier if you can comfortably do it at 130 kph with nice low revs and low noise levels. And south of Paris you really can do that and then some for mile after mile after mile. We did hundreds of miles at over 160 kph.Also the roads are full of Dutch and Belgian people in motorhomes and you need to be able to overtake them swiftly.
Olly398
bq
Hoops, what didn't you like about the Yeti? Am genuinely interested as we're considering test driving one, in a similar position, but baby instead of two dogs. For your M135i experience, substitute my E46 M3 coupe. Love it, but it's got to go. Ditto also the parking and length concerns of estate cars. We live rurally so an SUV has benefits although 4x4 drivetrain is main concern.
The Yeti 1.2 is 2WD and pretty basic trim... have you tried an AWD slightly posher one?
I am also drawn to Lexus RX450h as we do a lot of short trips 'around town'.
On that note, any other 4x4 (edit: hybrid or otherwise) we should be thinking of? Budget £20k absolute tops.