I wonder if you'd be able to help me. I need a car to serve a number of purposes. It needs to be 4wd and estate shaped or an SUV/crossover.

It must be able to cruise happily on the motorway to and from work in Edinburgh 60 miles away, it needs 4wd (for the winter) and some ground clearance for mild off-road excursions (forest tracks, beaches on holiday etc). We live in rural Perthshire over 1km along an un-made-up road and this can become quite tricky for a few months of the year when it's snowy.

It needs space in the boot for a small box for a small spaniel, plus space for general kit for two adults plus a forthcoming baby and all its paraphernalia.

If we can get running costs (fuel, tax and insurance) down that would be a great benefit. I wonder if 45mpg is a sensible target.....?

We currently cover all bases with two cars: a 2006 5dr Golf gti (for the long distance trips) and a 2005 swb shogun 3.2d (for the local trips around the countryside and for holidays).
In total we do about 15,000 miles per year.

Can you recommend something that will do everything and save us the increasingly painful cost of two lots of tax, service, mot, insurance etc ?
Budget (assuming we sell both cars) is up to c.£35k cash although I'd rather spend less if I can. I'm assuming it'll be new or very nearly new.

Subaru Outback diesel is my current favourite as we seem to be able to find them for c£25k nearly new. It may not be the last word in chic but is it a sensible prospect for a car to keep for 5-10 years?

Is a new Sportage a reasonable competitor or is it not quite as much a 'proper' car? Its looks appeal and so does the 7yr warranty. (we've had the Golf from new and been a bit disappointed with some expensive bills on common faults after its warranty expired)

Is the extra £10k we'd pay for a Q5 or A4 Allroad worth it or are Audi largely charging for the perceived quality of the interior rather than any real additional technical benefits? Will I be disappointed again with VAG quality ?

Finally is there anything else we should consider now or potentially something that is due to come out soon. We're in no huge rush so can wait for the right car.