Ask an expert

Hi there, we're after a family car to accommodate a family of four, including two kids under two in their rear facing carseats. The seats use up a hell of a lot of legroom and my partner is 6'4".

We have a 2L mazda 6 auto, which I love to drive, is good on trips out of town and has heaps of boot space but my partner has his knees up near his face when he's in the car with me.

Something solid with a good safety rating, good boot space for both a twin stroller and the shopping and fun to drive would be great. I do find the mazda a bit thirsty too.

Thanks for your help :)

Hi there,
There are a few options available in the Suv and wagon range ,that may be worth taking a look at for around the 15k range. Around year 2006-2008.
2006 Honda Crv,
Mitsubishi Outlander, ASX.
Toyota Rav4
2007- Subaru Legacy/Outback.

I would say a Suzuki Grand Vitara. A friend of mine had a 2007 Grand Vitara and it was a fantastic car. They are available in 1.5, 2.0 and 2.7 litre engines I think, and in a mixture of petrol and diesel engines. Especially if you're doing trips out of town, I would recommend the diesel as the petrol engined models I would imagine to be rather thirsty in the higher engine capacity models (I know people who have petrol and diesel Prados and the petrol is very costly to run). Good alternative to a Rav4 or CRV if you want something that size.

Thanks Cade and Outerphase for replying. I see a lot of Hyundai SUVs out there. I don't know much about them. We've been looking at ex-fleet vehicles and there seem to be a few hyundais around, are they reliable?

Hi there,
The Santa Fe seems to review well, very reliable. Petrol ones seem to be quite thirsty on gas, so I would look at a diesel one.