The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Saturday
WHAT RELIABLE 4X4 CAN REPLACE OUR PROBLEMATIC LAND ROVER?
QWe’ve owned our 2010 Land Rover Discovery for five years and found it to be useful at lugging about three young children and a dog through the muddy Gloucestershire countryside. The running costs, however, have been very high, with a £1,000+ repair bill each year. Can you recommend an alternative? High up, spacious, and most of all reliable. I like the Volvo XC90 but hear it has similarly poor reliability. We do around 16,000 miles a year, mostly on short journeys.
– AG
AIt’s true that Volvo’s reliability record hasn’t been the greatest in recent years, but it does appear that the Swedish firm has made strides in improving the picture.
And an XC90 would tick the other boxes you’re looking for, combining space and comfort with the premium feel you get with your Land Rover. A 2.0 D5 PowerPulse Momentum with 66,000 miles and a full service history will set you back around £25,000.
As an alternative, for the same £25,000 you could get a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRDi Premium SE with 49,476 miles and a full service history – a car that would still have almost a year of its five-year warranty remaining. The Hyundai is about as reliable as it gets in this class of car. And you should have no complaints from the back, given the seven generously sized seats.
If only five will suffice, though, my final suggestion is the Lexus RX 450h. Lexus invariably finishes at or near the top of most customer satisfaction surveys. The hybrid powertrain is reasonably efficient, especially on the shorter journeys you mention, and the soft suspension means bumps are cushioned well. Inside, it should feel more upmarket than the Hyundai.
The Lexus isn’t quite as roomy as the other cars here, and the boot is less capacious. But if you can live with those downsides, the RX should trouble your wallet for little more than its regular maintenance costs. A 2017 Luxury with 66,000 miles on the clock can be yours for £24,695.