Best Family SUV’s around $50000 or under.

Family, Family, Family. Im too young to want one of my own. This blog is purely hypothetically speaking for if i did have a family today. Now, in many countries, Payment plans and PCP and leases are available but, not all of them. Some people want to buy a vehicle and forget having to pay month after month for it and by the end of it you would end up paying more.

It’s difficult to ask someone to shell out more than $50000 at once for a vehicle. Especially if you have responsibilities and all that other stuff, tough. However a car is a necessity so every now and then a family will need a car to cater for those needs and if you have a good car, the value can be justified because you can keep it for a relatively long time.

The criteria in this case will be; Practicality, Fuel economy, Comfort, Performance, Features, Reliability and mainly Value. When i say the best, i’m not talking about new because new you’ll get a Nissan X-trail which is not necessarily a bad car but, if you can get some of the cars on this list at the same money with no real sacrifices, then they are better!

Plus for a family car, you want something with character because they build fond memories to reminisce on. I still remember the cars my parents had as children. I can still reminisce and smile when i look back but there’s cars i can barely remember that well regardless of the experiences i had in them e.g RAV4’s. I don’t know but theres something Intangible that most people understand but cannot describe. It’s what makes people excited to see Lamborghinis and roll eyes at Priuses.

These are the best you can buy at around $50000 or under.

Honourable Mentions

The Honourable Mentions are vehicles that are here not necessarily because they are bad cars, they are just either unaccessible, bad with fuel economy or performance or are just not as mass appealing. They may be good at doing certain things well but don’t do others that well.

Land Rover Defender

The Defender was an amazing utility and till this day is one of the kings of usefulness. However today it cannot stand a chance compared to the other vehicles on this list including its brother in the line-up. Salute to the Land Rover Defender. Very few cars can have the charm that this does.

Mercedes benz G-wagon

This hurts me to put it here to be honest but, The G wagon is not a good family car. This car is amazing in the way that it captures your heart with its looks and persona. It’s sort of human in its characteristics and thats why people love it. However it doesn’t take care of its occupants very well and finding a good one under $50000 is very difficult. Whenever i see it i smile so if you do indeed want a second car to your actual family car then yes, the G wagon is a go.

Land Cruiser Prado

This car is not necessarily bad. Many institutions seam to like them! I however don’t because it feels like just a thing. It’s like a kettle, you never really think about it even when you’re using it. In markets where it’s rare, sure it looks like such a cool thing but people that have them around understand the reality. It’s like a RAV-4 thats bigger. If you sell it, you wont miss it. Theres nothing special however it’s a good car.

GM Suv’s

The reason i cannot compare most of the American specific SUV’s is because they are only sold in America. Otherwise i would put them on this list. Also most of them have massive V8 engines as the only option and in this day and age, fuel is too expensive. Otherwise cars like the escalade would be up there on this list. An Escalade thats RHD is pushing $100000 once converted. Finding a good one under $50000 is tricky too.

Mitsubishi Shogun

The Mitsubishi Shogun used to be a very good car but its days of being good are over. Nissan took over Mitsubishi and destroyed it which is a shame. If they had kept this car up to speed it would actually do well but now, engines are old, and it’s not serviceable anymore. Salute to the Mitsubishi shogun because this is a missable car regardless of its faults.

Now that the honourable mentions are done lets actually start the list……

Wait, i thought the Land Cruiser Prado didn’t make it to the list? Is this one boring too? No. The land Cruiser 200 has some character. The V8 diesel engine has some macho-ness to it and the petrol isn’t bad. Its also not as slow as you’d imagine from the way it looks! Admittedly, It’s not as tech focussed as many cars on this list and neither is it as luxurious or even good in general. The fuel economy is not that great and although it’s powerful, you’d imagine that from a 4.6l V8 or a 5.7l V8, you’d have more power. The reason it scores this list is because it can fit 8 people. The boot seats are not on the same level as the Land Rover Discovery 4 but it’s reasonable.

The car also has road presence. Unlike the Prado, Its actually a missable car. Like a family pet, your car is something that brings family memories to reminisce on. Some products are so quirky that they actually bring your family closer. Although the Land Cruiser does not do that as successfully as a Land Rover, it’s not bad. Don’t get me wrong however because, it still has that big RAV-4 vibe and with most people that have owned RAV4’s, its not a car you’ll reminisce on not because it’s a bad car but, because it has no character.

Land Cruiser 200 is a-bit expensive but you can buy a bad one for under $20000 and a good one for around $30000 to $50000.

The Mercedes Gl is a car that i love. I made an interesting discovery one day actually. If you look at an Ml long enough then look at a GL, you realise that the Gl kind of looks funny because it looks like a stretched ML. Apparently the dashboard used to be the exact same too. Regardless, It’s a very purposeful looking vehicle.

The reason it doesn’t score higher is because it doesn’t feel as well made as it looks. Of-course its a Mercedes Benz and compared to the average car, its worlds apart. It however doesn’t change the fact that when you turn the ac vent control, it feels like it was borrowed from something less serious. There is a massive grey plastic piece in the middle. No thought at all. The S class had a beautiful interior. Too beautiful for them to try get away with a stunt like that! The newer Gl also has that classic Air Suspension firmness over small bumps that the big Range Rover eliminates. The Gl is more about its looks and presence tbh and what it lacks for in quality, it gains in character.

You can get them from $25000 to about $50000. in RHD markets they are less common but not impossible.

The X5 is very good value. It is also an exceptionally aggressive looking vehicle. The technology levels are really high. For a car of that age, the I drive was so good. If you put I drive side by side with an iPad from that time, the iPad will look like it came from a decade earlier. If you want a car that will age very well, this is the car for you. X5’s never look old. I think its a BMW thing! The quality is superior to Mercedes Benz also. Regardless of engine, the car will be fast. The fuel economy is amazing too with some engines managing 50 mpg, Crazy! The X5 loses points for ride quality and small boot seats. It would help if it could off-road well too.

If you want an X5 but want to save then you can opt for the X6. Because the X6 is less useful than the X5, they drop value quicker so you can find a very low mileage X6 (2017) for $28000. Otherwise you can find X5’s with high mileage at around $23000 and okay to low mileage from around $28000 to around $45000 for the third generation X5.

The Volvo XC90 is an amazing looking car. It’s also safe and practical. I checked one out in Singapore a couple of years ago and Its a really really good car. What it does do well is Family. The Design Brief was make a family car. The reason its not higher on this list is because Its not a very good off-roader. Granted it’s rare that people will take them off-road all the time but families sometimes have to do that. If you examine the cars on the list you’d actually figure out that the rest of the cars on this list are actually pretty good off-roaders with exception of the BMW X5.

So this is a good car by all means and absolutely do consider it if you are unlikely to off-road. My other problem with it is that it can be a-bit vanilla if you know what i mean. The old XC90 was a good car but it was just a-bit unappealing. It’s not exciting. It’s something you associate with boring things. The competition had stuff like V12 diesels in the Audi Q7 to major Off-roading in the Discovery but the Volvo is known for being safe which is not exciting. Although those are things you’re not likely to buy or use in the case or the Rovers, Sometimes ridiculous things create excitement. It’s like a parent telling their kids that they killed a bear, whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter. The kid will be excited anyway and tell his friends at school. The Volvo loses points in that regard.

I haven’t found that many bad ones so you’d have to get a good one at around $28000-$50000

You’d be surprised to find out that some Range Rover’s have 7 seats, what! but the problem is, they aren’t as big as the ones in the Discovery. If you read this blog regularly, you’ll know how much i love Range Rovers! I’ve pushed a Range Rover in the middle of the night after it broke down and still miss it. This is a car that can annoy you and you’ll still keep buying. Children get excited about these just as much as adults. There are cars that are better like Bentleys and stuff but, non are as exciting as a Range Rover because Range Rovers have that character that i was talking about. Character is necessary. I’m personally more of a character than looks guy but luckily if you’re not, the Range Rover is a good looking car. Everyone knows what a Range Rover looks like. If Nissan released a new car and de-badged it, no one would have an idea what it is but you cant say the same for a Range Rover.

Of-course the Range Rover ticks all the other boxes. If only it had seven seats it would have been up there. Plus finding a good Big Range Rover for under $50000 can be a challenge. You can find Range Rover Sports however for that money easily.

You can buy a Range Rover Sport 2014- from around $30000-$50000. The bigger Range Rover is more expensive starting at over $40000 for an okay one with higher mileage and low mileage ones at over $50000. If you can find an average mileage one for under $50000 then go for it!

This is one of those cars that has human characteristics. If you approach it wrongly, it can be toxic and if you get rid of it, you’ll miss it and have to get it back. If you deal with it the correct way however and do what you need to do then, this is an amazing car. You have to be prepared to learn new things that you wouldn’t otherwise learn with a Toyota product for example but, this is a car of experience and the more experience you have with it, the better it is to own. When you own it you learn its intervals, common faults and quirks so after that, It becomes an amazing experience. It has brick like solidity and the driving position is fantastic! This is the easiest car to drive on this list because its so boxy and predictable. The visibility is fantastic and the person that designed it most likely has children.

As a family car, it’s better than the Range Rover’s because of the seven full seats and rugged utilitarian nature. You’re not worried about it all the time because of this. Not worried about scratching it or children doing strange things to it. It’s a luxury car that can be tortured and can handle rough stuff both on and off-road. You can buy a good one at around $30000-$50000. You can buy a bad one at $15000 and under and a salvage one for $10000 or less. I recommend the SDV6 because the TDV6 is the older engine from the Discovery 3. SCV6 and V8 are also okay options.

The only reason the cayenne is not number 1 is that it misses out on seven seats. Other than that, the Cayenne is a better car than the number 1. Now i understand that the Cayenne is a little bit more expensive than the X5 and similar cars while offering the same things and in some cases less but, when you actually investigate this car closely, you’ll understand that this is one of those products that is based on quality rather than flamboyance. The Porsche Cayenne is like a wealthy family, something that feels like it’s not going to disappear overnight like riches. Everything is well built, everything is there for a purpose and it’s solid. It has the best quality parts and the highest status badge out of all the cars on this list. But putting aside the logical things, this car has an exotic feel to it. When you’re in it, you have visions of driving it through monaco or something.

Little things like the doors being so solid and heavy and nothing shakes or rattles. I’ve seen teardown videos and underneath the leather and trim is actual metal. If you do that with most other cars on this list, you’ll find plastic. It feels so special and when you push the Porsche Sports Exhaust button and it gets louder, you feel so happy. Honestly, if you love to drive, this is your car. You would willingly do the school run everyday if you’re driving this. And you would think that it sacrifices in the way of reliability or sensibility but it does not. It’s based on a very sensible car which is the VW Touareg but then Porsche threw magic at it and hence its a sensible car but not a boring car. It’s Super comfortable as well with the adaptive suspension. You can buy an older one for $15000 and a newer one for around $35000-$50000+. With the Cayenne, The only price you pay is the price but after you’ve done that, you’ll never regret the purchase!

The Q7 is the best one and i’ll tell you why. I understand that subjectively many people might not agree at first for some un-backed up reason. I find the main reason people might decide against this car is because of its proportions. It has nothing to do with the length per-say but the wheelbase. The wheelbase is just too long and it makes the car look funny but, overtime this car is beginning to look better. The old one was also far too wide so it felt like a biggg car. But with this new one the thing that people don’t like is actually an advantage! Because it has such a long wheelbase and slightly lower roofline than a cayenne, it has amazing ride quality thats only second to the big Range Rover. Objectively, theres no one car that does so many things as well as the Q7. The Q7 is not the best because its the best at everything but, as a package, the Q7 is the best family SUV because it does the most things right especially for the money its asking.

The fuel economy is good and even the slowest ones are fast. There is nothing wrong with it. Its Safe, practical, good looking, good badge, good performance, reliable, the 2015-on Q7 is the ideal family car.

You can purchase a Q7 from around 2015 at around $25000 to about $45000+ for an expensive used one. If you want a bad one then you can pick one up for under $20000. And a salvage one for under $15000.

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