Scott3:

 

crocodile:

 

Cheers mate

Your comments are highly appreciated.

 

I do agree with you on the seats, but have found that generally 7 seaters have a slightly longer wheelbase to allow for the extra seats.

 

I am still hesitant about towing with a CVT, as I had a real bad experience with my LaFesta.

 

In the SUV category, where both 5 and 7 seater's are offered, the wheelbase is generally identical (Outlander, Santa Fe etc), 3rd row seats are between the wheel arches. In the wagon category, the Subaru legacy has the same wheel base as the Subaru Exiga (although the latter higher roof line will give more cargo space).

 

It is only really if you jump to the people mover space, or if you are using "7-seater" to separate out the rav4 sized SUV's from highlander sized suv's.


With the CVT's, some are just bad. Nissan owns a stake in a company called Jatco, which is renowned for making unreliable CVT's. Other brand's have run cvt's for years with minimal issues.

That said, you have a decent budget, so can have what you want. I can understand having had a bad experience before, that you would be reluctant. That said, CVT's are real common in the small engine, larger vehicle space that you are looking at (they are cheap to build, and give decent fuel economy). Excluding them cuts your options down, but there are still be plenty of options around.

 

I am busy working through a few Dog and Lemon guides, just read the review on the Subaru, apparently they get their CVT gearboxes from Nissan's Jatco, same as the LaFesta. So that is one off the list.

I will have a look at some of the other contenders that have CVT gearboxes