Dear all, my apologies for the late reply as I’ve been unwell and struggling to get my health back, anyway straight back to topic, I sincerely thank you all for your contribution and I have carefully considered all the factors you pin pointed and will continue to remember each point before my final decision. Equally I hope that I can also contribute with my findings which may help someone on this platform.
As I mentioned before I live in the city and I don’t feel ready for a full electric car, currently there are no restrictions on petrol cars in my borough and I hope to stick to petrol or self charging hybrid until the full electric car industry has a solid foundation in terms of charging stations and efficiency, I’m not ready for milage anxiety.
Today I randomly walked into Renault showroom(Enfield). while my 30mins visit, surprisingly not one single representative offered help enough though it was not busy, they just kept walking pass while I was exploring, where as my experience with bmw was always complimented via meet and greet in a polite and friendly manner, again maybe this is me over thinking.
I tried to use my time efficiently to analyse the Australe as it was advised by many on here. Compared to my X1, it definitely was more spacious, rear seat space was one of the biggest I’ve ever seen in a car. The interior felt premium and had a lot of high tech. The lumber massage feature was enjoyable but it did feel uncomfortable after a few mins . Boot space was not as big as the x1 but it was enough for a wheelchair. When you open the boot it makes a loud sound three times which is totally unnecessary but guess it’s helpful for some. Viewing angles from drivers position was good and you can rest both your arms on each side of the car. Both the touch screens were responsive and high quality resolution. Overall I was impressed with the quality and would say that the austral has made my shortlist, alongside xc40 black edition. I guess I still need to test drive both and come to a conclusion.
@Glos Guy you’ve also put the Tucson in my mind but I’m not a fan of the exterior design, I need to give it a chance. My x1 has 15,000 miles on the clock so I could look to extend for another 2 yrs and order a new car when I’m confident which car to go for but equally I have a feeling the deposits for Volvo cars will increase in January and I will miss the opportunity as currently it’s very affordable.
