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I took the week off work and phoned around in advance to make sure we had appointments with Motability specialists and that the actual model/trim (or as close to as possible) was available.
Obviously these are just our opinions, and even though I’m an advanced driver, I appreciate that not all people will share my views.
1. DS7 Crossback 1.6 turbo petrol Performance Line 180 auto (AP £2999)
24 hour test drive, delivered and collected to/from our door. Bit of hassle providing paperwork like proof of address, NI numbers and a £500 deposit (returned no problem) but otherwise great service.
Some of you will remember me enthusing about this car in recent months. It’s very impressive to look at inside and outside, brilliant technology, but the different screens and menus were slightly confusing even for an anorak like me. No hope for Mrs 72 dudes!. The engine was impressively quiet and smooth, and the EAT 8 speed gearbox is marvellous. Ride was generally smooth but a bit crashy over ridges and scarred road surfaces, partly due to 19″ wheels. Seating is very comfortable and supportive, widely adjustable and finished in charcoal alcantara. Downside was quite intrusive road noise at motorway speeds. In the end we discounted it because the car feels big and wide with a tiny rear window. The huge central tunnel adds to this feeling. It was a bit uninvolving to drive too, and front sensors cannot be added, even as an option with this trim level.
2. BMW X1 sDrive 20i X Line auto (AP £1999)
A petrol engine was unavailable for test drive, so we took out an X1 18d in the correct X Line trim. This has a 2 litre diesel engine with 148 BHP and I was impressed with the quietness and smooth delivery of torque, even though the car had just 50 miles on the clock. Mrs 72 dudes drove first and within 1/2 mile declared that she didn’t like it! On taking the wheel, it felt like a hatchback; there is no feeling of sitting higher up like in other SUVs and crossovers. The surface of the road is immediately apparent and the low speed ride was firm. Again, road noise was higher than expected on 18″ wheels. The interior with the standard leather (lovely in the pale Oyster colour) is classy and well finished. However, the standard (non sports) seats are strange and have little support, making you feel like you are perching on them rather than being held in place. On the plus side, the steering is nicely weighted and full of feel and the handling was easily the best of the 5 cars, verging on being “sporty”. Overall, disappointing, as we thought this would be a real contender, especially with the lowish AP. The female salesperson at the dealership was good, certainly not disinterested or arrogant.
3. Mazda CX5 2.0i Sport Nav+ auto (AP £2499)
A lovely thing to look at inside and out. Mazda have got the interior just right, with the quality feel if not quite the panache of the German brands. Everything feels nicely put together. On the road the car feels nice and high, although the standard electric leather seats felt flat, with no cushion tilt available. With some spirited driving on some Suffolk B roads, Mrs 72 dudes could be seen and heard sliding around on the passenger seat! Like the BMW, she knew within minutes that it was not for her. But lots of standard equipment including active cruise control and a very good head up display. The ride is jiggly at low speeds but does smooth out once out of town. Now to the worst bit of the car….. the engine. You’ll know this has a 165 BHP non turbo engine with the torque peaking at high revs by todays standards. It’s simply not suitable for the car! It feels gutless to say the least, even if you drive sedately. Neither is it sweet and willing to rev when you want some extra performance, the auto box kicks down, the revs rise, and nothing much happens! The engine is the noisiest by far, certainly more so than the diesel BMW. Selecting Sport mode just made the noise worse! If you like the CX5 and do enough miles, the 2.2 diesel would certainly be a better bet. To cap it all, we only managed to get 34 MPG on the fuel computer, so much for the Skyactive G technology! Not for us.
4. Peugeot 3008 1.6 turbo 180 auto GT Line Premium (AP £2399)
A sister car to the DS7 Crossback with the same engine and gearbox. We drove two different examples on different days, once accompanied by the idiot salesman I mention in my other post, and an unaccompanied drive at another dealer. An excellent car all round. The ride was smooth at all speeds, with acceptable firmness over ruts and ridges with the 19″ wheels. Huge amount of spec on this model and the screens and menus are easier to use than the similar ones in the DS7. The steering is a bit lifeless but nicely weighted, and the engine quiet and smooth. Low road noise. The handling felt less “wooden” than on the DS7. We both liked the tiny steering wheel and high set instruments, although this may not be to everyone’s taste. The seats were half leather and felt nicely supportive and comfortable, with standard heating elements. A car we could easily live with day in, day out, but despite the fancy interior, it maybe lacked the premium feel of some of the other cars tested. When we got back in our current Audi Q3, this feeling was heightened.
5. Volvo XC40 T4 Inscription auto 190 (AP £3500)
We actually wanted to try the T3 Inscription auto (£3199) which has 161 BHP/195 lb/ft from a 1.5 litre 3 cylinder engine, as despite the comparable power and torque figures, I had some reservations – would it feel less smooth or underpowered? As it turns out, finding a T3 demo or even a used example in East Anglia proved to be impossible. I rang numerous dealers (4) and even tried Volvo customer service who never rang back. The nearest T3 auto from me is 110 miles away and that’s just a bit too far. The nearest T3 manual was sold the day before. So we slightly relectantly agreed to try a T4, which has a 2 litre, 4 cylinder engine with 187 BHP. Glad we did! We tried two different examples on seperate days at different dealers. One was an Inscription Pro which has more tech and safety kit but is not on the scheme anyway. Wow! This car just felt right from the start. Very quiet, smooth engine, great 8 speed auto gearbox, effortless performance, like the DS7 and 3008. Very smart Scandinavian interior, especially with the blonde leather. The ride is very smooth, with some acceptable harshness over ridges and ruts from the 18″ wheels. Low road and wind noise. The seats are electrically adjustable and gave both of us a perfect driving position. Easily the most comfortable seats of the 5 cars tested. Handling is not especially fun, but very satisfying. Amazing technology from the portrait shape tablet style touch screen. Fairly intuitive menus, which would nevertheless take a while to fathom and get the best from. It helped that the second demo we tried was in the exact colour combination that we wanted (Denim Blue/blonde leather) – kismet?! The female Motability specialist was excellent too (Kate Priest at Lookers Volvo Colchester), she’d even had this car PDI’d for us as the regular demonstrator was late coming back. Anything not to like? Well, there’s no heated seats or reverse camera as standard (the 3008 has both) but the main things we wanted like power tailgate and front sensors are standard as are LED headlights. Overall it was the combination of premium feel and “rightness” which won us over.
Even though it’s another 3 months until we get our renewal letter (change date early March 2020), we’ve put a deposit down, so the dealer will order the car now to get around the current 4 or 5 month lead time – worse on the T3 apparently. If the AP goes down in Q4, we win. If it goes up, we can re-evaluate. The dealer is happy to return our deposit as the cars are in demand. Because of the excellent service we received, we are happy to buy from a dealer 40 miles away.
Sorry this has been such a long post but hopefully some others may benefit from our views which were actually very close to each other’s.
Our preference was
1) Volvo XC40; 2) Peugeot 3008; 3) DS7 Crossback; 4) BMW X1; 5) Mazda CX5
All other SUV competitors had been discounted by Mrs 72 dudes based on looks or badge snobbery or both!
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excellant 72 dudes, in a way i just wish you needed a smaller car as its the smaller suv’s that i am looking at.
countryman,cx3 etc. very helpful nontheless.
Good review I would definitely agree with most points, the seating for us is a major factor too, be interesting to here what you think of the Volvo over a longer period.
Good reviews mate, word of warning on the XC40 the fuel economy is terrible. I had one on hire in Germany a few months ago, it was a virtually brand new T4 AWD with only 2000km on the clock. I had it for 4 days and averaged less than 23mpg. Most of that was on a restricted autobahn with the cruise control set to 120kph, with only me, a light luggie scooter and one small travel case on board.
Agreed, very useful to have side by side comparisons like that 72Dudes. Fair assessment of the X1 too, which we have. I was a bit concerned about the seats and it took some while for them to soften up, perhaps due to the thickness of the leather. Now, a year on, they are very comfortable, although not armchair!
Thanks for that 72 Dudes, I like all of the cars you tested so good to get someone else’s view point.
The only person who got all his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.
Anything i post over three lines long please assume it is an article lol.Wigwam who? Lol.
No my friend pure coincidence.
The only person who got all his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.
Anything i post over three lines long please assume it is an article lol.I have an X1 that has electric leather sports seats with the extending thigh bolster, and it’s an extremely comfortable place to be. It’s an expensive option though.
72Dudes i’m interested to know how tall you are given the XC40 looks to be on the compact side of things
While we’re at it what about waist size and inside leg lol.
The only person who got all his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.
Anything i post over three lines long please assume it is an article lol.Don’t know if they will ever appear on the scheme but the XC40 hybrid, is now available, and full electric is to be released later this year or early next.
The only person who got all his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.
Anything i post over three lines long please assume it is an article lol.I thought the seats on the facelift xline were the sports seat with thigh support as standard, it seems to suggest that in the brochure.
Mine is a 17 plate and sports seats on the Xline were an option then. That may have changed with the face lift model.
Brydo I do hope the hybrid appears that would be perfection
Looks gorgeous
@SaintsMan. That’s appalling! I certainly hope ours does better than that. Your hire car was AWD but it shouldn’t make much difference really. In the demo we did around 30 miles, cruising on the A14 at an indicated 72, some suburban stuff and back through a retail park with some stop start driving. The fuel computer, which I re-set just after we left the dealer was reading high 30’s at the end if I remember correctly. The car was set in Comfort (normal) mode.
@Macca. I’m 5ft 9, but I’m long bodied and shorter in the leg; my wife is just under 5ft and she had to have the seat almost to the top of its travel. The demo had a sunroof and there was loads of headroom for me. Probably even more without one. Certainly felt bigger and more spacious inside compared to our Q3.@SaintsMan again – I think the SE and X Line have the comfort seats as standard, the M Sport obviously has the bolstered sports ones with extendable base, the Sport trim I’m not sure about as the facelift model has gone all black wheels and window surrounds. Sports seats are a £375 option in the X Line, well worth it given the low AP.
Hmm, we tried a Q3, fine for Mrs Mac but at 6’2″ way too cramped for me, shame that because the build quality was top drawer.
May just need to satisfy my curiosity on the XC. Ordinarily i tend to want a large boot so that once the boss’s walking frame is in there is still room for lots of other stuff. Thing is, our kids aren’t kids anymore and have their own cars so actually i’m thinking how often, if at all, would we need the back seats to be useable? We could just drop the rears on those occasions that we need to carry a lot of stuff.
Food for thought maybe.
Mike if it does manage onto the scheme look out for an eye watering AP.
The only person who got all his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.
Anything i post over three lines long please assume it is an article lol.I’ve heard some horror stories too about the T4’s mpg. Mid 20’s seems to be the norm.
I just saw the X1 seat option on the price list 72dudes, I was going on info mentioned in reviews and the initial info when it was first announced.
Yeah, I was shocked by the fuel consumption, I saw the range was over 550 when I first jumped in the car, it was only when I filled it up to return it that it dawned on me that was 550km not miles, of course the economy was given in l/100 km, I had to double check my calculations when I converted it back to mpg.
I had my first A14 trip of the season on Thursday on the way to Northampton, of course that’s useless info to you if you’re over the eastern side of the A14.
We had one on test the boot was too small for us anyway, it was an impressive drive and quite comfortable too. But as mentioned the mpg was pretty shocking, I even asked about it after the test drive and was told that was normal as it was a heavy car? It was the same even if you drove it under the speed limit.
Our vw does almost twice as many miles to the gallon.
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