Forget the Volvo, Merc and BMW X5 at that price bracket. You would, most likely, be buying problems that the old owner has gotten rid of.

Of the rest, I'd probably say the Subaru. Their petrol engines and gearboxes are some of the best in the world, beautifully unstressed, and seem to go on forever.

Owning an older Outback i'm bound to recommend one, but given your mileage i suggest looking at the 3.0 litre H6 engine instead, regd before March 2006 or they will clobber you with £500 VED, chain cam, head gasket problems almost unheard of unlike the 4 pot, and a sweet as silk TC auto box to boot.

Your mechanic will like you too, because (spark plugs excepted which are a PITA) these are a pleasure to work on and ridiculously reliable, check exhaust carefully it will without a doubt be cheaper to have a stainless made up when the original dies, they have to be having a laugh at what they want for an OE system.

Outlander whilst a very decent vehicle, having owned the mk1 with the 2.4 petrol, it likes a drink and doesn't give enough oomph for the £ IMHO, and i found when delivering them that the 2.0 litre Diesel wasn't man enough for the weight, though admittedly my view is tainted somewhat due to extreme loading angles calling for lots of low speed grunt and anything that can't provide it will get the thumbs down from me.

Subaru Outback 2.5 SE

Nice car. Unstressed. I would go auto.. Subaru clutches do wear. Check suspension bushes and rust at front and rear subframes...

Volvo XC90 2.4 TD D5

Big bills if anything goes wrong.

Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRTD

Coa*** to drive and unrefined I believe.

Mercedes-Benz M Class 2.7 ML270 CDI

Very expensive to run. Often neglected due to that.

BMW X5 3.0d

As Mercedes.

Mitsubishi Outlnder 2.0D or 2.4Sport

Mitsu have a reputation for engine problems and indifferent dealers.

Buy the best you can with service history and an obvious "been looked after" feel. Any car with any faults such as warning lights - run away from. Owner cannot afford repairs.

Check all warning lights work (come on when ignition switched on) esp ABS as some vendors disable them to hide faults.

Buy from a dealer only. Too much risk and no comeback privately.

Petrol Auto Toyota RAV4 is nice. Avoid diesels - lots of problems,

EDIT: AVOID cheap early diesel Subarus# (pre 2011) They break crankshafts New engine £11k

# just in range if hi miles.and rough.

BUY IN SUMMER ££££ cheaper.

Edited by madf on 26/11/2015 at 12:57