Which SUV is the one for you?
“Ya, but is it really you?” my colleague asked as she slipped out of the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso. “It makes a lot of sense,” I said, rattling off the list of features: the visibility, the option of a panoramic roof, parking assist, a very friendly and cool touch-screen central control panel, Sat nav, raised driving position, the space, seven seats with an endless range of family-friendly fold-down options, and enough electronic gadgets to keep most men happy.
Fuel efficiency — check; lively engine — check; fits seven people comfortably — check. “It’s green, it’s in the lowest tax band, it’s good value for money. It’s very practical,” I said.
That’s when I realised I’d hit the nub of what my friend was alluding to — do you sacrifice something if you opt for an SUV? Do you give a little of yourself away if you settle for practicality?
There was a time when owning an SUV was like admitting to listening to Barry Manilow — appeal for some, but nothing that you’d do in public.
But that’s all changed. The SUV has become a staple on Irish roads: green is the new black and affordability is the buzzword for an economy rising out of the ashes.
The stats for sales, so far this year, show just how important affordability has become:
- 39,000, or 67% of all cars sold this year, are in the lowest C02 bracket, compared to 24% for all of 2008
- 16,000 (27%) are in the second-lowest bracket
- Of the 60,000-odd cars sold, 42,636 are diesel
- 12,426 MPVs have rolled out of shops, so far.
So it’s hard to argue with the Picasso. It looks great, mixing the French love of flair and flamboyance with a touch of questionable temperament. And it works. The interior oozes class. The dash is almost button-free; everything is controlled by a seven-inch, touch-screen infotainment system that’s straightforward to use.
The only concern is the volume of electronic moving parts and gadgets — which is tempting fate a tad. But in a segment that’s all about space, the Picasso is hard to match. The wheelbase is the longest in its class — resulting in buckets of leg room throughout.
Top Gear nominated it as ‘family car of the year’, declaring “so much thought has been poured into the masses of storage in the Picasso that it’s a delight. Pockets, storage bins, torches in the boot, umbrellas, flip, slide and fold seating, big sunroofs, rear air-con; this car has it all and it makes it all but irresistible.”
Engine options include two, 1.6-litre petrols (120bhp and 155bhp), with the 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre HDI diesels delivering 110bhp and 150bhp, but more torque. One word of advice: opt for the manual. The automatic was not very pleasant to drive.
*
I must confess that I’ve never really considered buying an Opel.
Even in the heady days of Jack Charlton’s World and European soccer adventures, the brand held no great appeal.
Years of restructuring, billions in investment by parent company General Motors, a range of new products and a few days in the 7-seat Zafira Tourer and that picture has changed significantly.
I really enjoyed this car from the off. As a fit for the average family, hiking and hauling from the school to the weekend sports fixtures, it’s perfect.
The interior has some lovely touches, and with the ride position higher than its predecessor, visibility from the panoramic windscreen is very good.
I’ve read some criticism about engine noise, but that never registered with me, though I must admit, I tested the car on my own so the story could be a little different with six other adults on board.
Opel’s famed Flex 7 seating technology, makes hopping in and out a breeze and the combination of fold-down options is a match for the demand of modern living.
I wasn’t crazy about the dash. The steering wheel size made reading the controls a bit difficult and the infotainment system had me frustrated.
The 2.0 CDTi 165hp SE version I tested had a host of extras, including seat comfort pack, intelligent lighting system, front and back camera system, SatNav, bluetooth, street mapping for Ireland and Britain, advanced parking assist, side blind spot alert, body styling pack and 17” alloys.
Very impressive for a range that starts at just under €28,000 — with the SE version tested coming in at just under €33,000.
The first thing you notice about the Santa Fe is that it’s a lot of car.
It’s only when you stand next to one that you appreciate how muscular and big it actually is.
At a time when every second car on the road seems to be an SUV, the Santa Fe still manages to stand out. You can’t but help notice the trademark hexagonal grille, the wrap-around lights, the overall USA-style big car appeal.
That sense of space and class is reinforced once you sit inside. In a market where the consumer is looking for extras as standard, the Santa Fe is not found wanting.
The interior of the third generation, 4 wheel-drive version, is leather wall to wall and a stylish and functional dash with the kind of seats and overall ride quality that makes driving what it should be — a joy.
There is bags of headroom and legroom in the first two rows. Access to the third row in a bit tight, but nothing off putting.
The list of standard extras is also very impressive and include multifunction steering wheel, Bluetooth and USB connections for phone and media players, air conditioning, ESP stability control, and off-road capabilities up there with the Land Rover Discovery.
Add the 19” alloys, upgraded 2.2-litre diesel engine, 197hp delivering 420Nm of torque, and it’s hard to notice even the state of Irish roads.
I gave the Santa Fe a good run, up country lanes, dual carriageways, busy suburban streets, lunchtime city-centre traffic and into a multi-storey carpark.
Given its size, it’s not intimidating to drive. The ride is high and firm, with great visibility — even if there are a few blindspots. For all its bulk, the emissions figures are good — 147g/km for the two-wheel drive version / 149g/km for the four-wheel drive.
The only slight drawback is the price. The Santa Fe is not cheap, starting at just shy of €40,000. But you can see where Hyundai have pitched this.
All the marque brands have entered or are about to cash in on the lucrative SUV market. With BMW, Mercedes and the new Porsche Megan well north of €65,000, Hyundai has positioned itself in the same bracket as the Audi Q5 and the Range Rover Evoque, and by offering such bang for its buck, its hoping to lure BMW and Land Rover buyers to compromise on price without losing face.
When it comes to seven seat vehicles, then the Land Rover Discovery is the king of the castle. Sure, its €80k price tag might indicate that fact, but the reality of the car’s abilities only confirms it.
Land Rover has revealed the forthcoming Discovery 5 in America recently and are predicting the new car will be on sale either later this year or early next.
But that should not immediately detract from the existing one, which is still one of the most practical and enjoyable seven-seat 4x4s we’ve ever seen.
The slab-sided, stepped roof ‘Disco’ might be 10 years old now, but that does not detract from what is an amazingly capable, unbelievably practical and still good-looking machine. It is, of course, a costly commodity, but once you’ve shelled out your hard-earned, you will have little difficulty persuading yourself you spent wisely.
Powered by Land Rover’s excellent three litre turbodiesel V6 not only has this thing the grunt necessary to get you from A to B rather quickly, but it also has the ability — thanks to Land Rover’s five-setting Terrain Response system and sophisticated eight-speed automatic gearbox — to get you anywhere (and I mean ANYWHERE) you want to go.
Combine that with an interior which boasts the car’s legendary ‘Command’ driving position, materials which ooze luxury yet have a hard-wearing demeanour and you realise there is more to this thing than might be taken for granted.
Possibly unsurpassed in the seven-seater market for size and comfort, the Discovery’s rearmost pairing of seats can actually accommodate adults, unlike many in the segment. They are designed in such a fiendishly clever way that they can folded away easily and without taking up much cargo space.
For a car which weighs over two and a half tonnes, it handles with poise and certainty and in something this size, that is a very difficult thing to achieve.
For many people a car such as this will be a lifetime choice and, quite frankly, if you had to spend a lifetime with any car then you could not chose a better one.
The Discovery is not cheap and it may be about to be replaced, but it is still as fine an example of a practical and workmanlike 4x4 family car as is possible to lay your hands on.
