No advertising, no bias, no hidden agenda

Time to ditch the 4x4?Buyers shun large cars for something smaller

20 February 2009

Land Rover Discovery 3

4x4s are having a tough time as car buyers downsize

The economic downturn means that downsizing cars - trading larger models for smaller, more fuel-efficient motors - has become all the rage, says Which? Car.

A previously healthy market for 4x4s has virtually collapsed and some people have finally realised that an off-roader isn’t the perfect car for the school run. 

Expensive, 'gas-guzzling' cars such as 4x4s are becoming socially unacceptable - unless you’re a farmer. Buyers have also been turned off by high road tax and some models’ disappointing reliability.

Downsizing options

Which? Car recommends that a large family of six people who may be thinking of buying a seven-seat 4x4 like the Land Rover Discovery (£39,061 for the 2.7TD V6 SE) downsize to a multi-purpose vehicle such as the Best Buy Honda FR-V (£19,095 for the 2.2 CDTi ES).

The Land Rover might have the ‘bling’, but fuel economy is poor and it’s hard to park; the Honda is not only £20,000 cheaper, but solidly-built and tops the Which? Car reliability chart in its class.

Which? Car Spring 2009

More downsizing advice in Which? Car, on sale in Sainsbury's

Other downsizing alternatives to more popular models which could save motorists thousands of pounds include:

  • For a small family, many buyers will default to the popular Ford Focus (£16,595, 1.6 Zetec 5-door), but the quirky Skoda Roomster (£12,295, 1.6 SE 5-door) is more versatile and running costs are lower.
  • For a high-mileage driver, the BMW 3 Series (£26,680, 320d SE 4-door) might have the badge but a Mazda6 (£18,639, 2.2d TS2 5-door) has the value - it’s much cheaper to run and is packed with gadgets that are optional equipment on the pricey BMW.
  • A busy mum might go for a Peugeot 207 (£12,290, 1.4 VTi S [95] 5-door), but would do well to consider a Honda Jazz (£10,990, 1.2 SE 5-door), a nippy, practical supermini which uses less fuel.
  • A first-time buyer might be tempted by a Ford Ka (£9,445, 1.2 Zetec 3-door), but the Hyundai i20 (£8,895, 1.2 Classic 5-door) is more comfortable, more fuel-efficient and holds its value well.
  • For a retired couple, an obvious choice might be the BMW Z4 (£32,660, 30i sDrive 2dr), but a Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe (£20,657, 2.0i Sport 2dr) has a remarkable owner satisfaction score of 97% in the latest Which? Car survey.

Cutting car running costs

Richard Headland, Editor, Which? Car, says: 'Times are hard, so it’s no surprise that people are downsizing to save money. 

'It pays to think carefully about alternatives to the mainstream choices and if you go for a more fuel-efficient car you can cut costs for years to come. Luxury cars and 4x4s could be in for a rough ride.'

The spring issue of Which? Car, on sale exclusively in Sainsbury's, also picks several other alternatives to 4x4s which are not only better to drive, but cheaper to run.

 

Sign up to the Which? Car newsletter

Sign up to the Which? Car newsletter

Which? Car email

To be kept in the loop on all the manufacturer offers and great car deals we spot each week, sign up for our Which? Car email - delivered to your inbox every Friday, and including all our latest news and first drive reviews, too.

All the latest car news

For daily consumer news, subscribe to the Which? news RSS feed here.

If you have an older web browser you may need to copy and paste this link into your newsreader: http://www.which.co.uk/feeds/reviews/news.xml . Find out more about RSS in the Which? guide to news feeds.