its alright - my hubby used it though as we have a people carrier for my brood ( 3 kids and a dog,,, and a buggy!!)

Suppose it depends on the buggy you go for too- assume you will be wanting one that can deal with fields as well as pavements and a decent 3 wheeler tends to be big when folded - my cousin has a qashqai and borrowed my 3 wheeler and it fitted in her boot - but not sure it would if doggy in there !! LOL..

Men dont like it, but the people carriers are the way to go when you have kids and all the associated crap you then have that comes with them LOL

Hahahaha I'm going to sound terrible but that is the exact reason I will NOT buy a Range Rover! I really don't want to be one of those "types"

tbh my parents have a range rover and its a sodding nightmare to get the kids in - i am small and have to chuck them in the car seats etc as its like climbing a flipping ladder getting in the thing !! and the boot isn't that big certainly not compared to my 7 seater

Go the other way with a defender lol Or Volvo x90 or x60

X had a quashquai (sp) was nice and roomy - but only had a 1.6l engine!! which I guess the fact they have no oommph means they save in fuel

I do love the look of them tho - wouldnt work for my job tho I got about as big as I can get and still not freak pupils out when I pull up for a lesson

My mum has a Lexus RX400h, so I believe it is the older version of the one you are considering (hers is an 05 plate). I've no idea how they are now, but fuel economy on hers is poor. OK, it's good for a 3 litre or whatever it is petrol, but I think she only gets 30-40 mpg overall (I'd have to check numbers). I have a 1.5 diesel Qashqai and I average 50-55 mpg, and that's mostly fairly short trips to work.

If you want to look at Qahqais I'd suggest investigating the Qashqai +2 (fold extra two seats down for bigger boot) with the new 1.6 diesel engine (more economical than the 1.5 diesel and more powerful that the 2.0 diesel; work that one out!).

If I were in the market for a large car and fuel economy was a priority, I'd be looking at a diesel estate. Volvo XC70 could be a good option; my friends has one and the boot is massive! If the estate didn't have to be massive, I'd look at the Kia Ceed SW, Hyundai i30 and the BMW 3 series tourer (or whatever it is they call it). The BMW diesels are incredibly economical.

If I was after a 4x4 specially I'd also be looking at diesels rather than hybrids I think, although I don't know that much about the more recent hybrids options.

Me. I have a Honda Jazz.

TBH I've not noticed the fuel efficiency being much different.

Nice and quiet, though

I've got the X-Trail (for another 5 weeks until i have to give it back when i leave work ). I do really like it.

its averaged about 42mpg while I've had it - not bad really for the sort of driving I do (50% pushing it hard on country roads and the other 50% of the time stuck in traffic in Edinburgh!)

I also looked at subarus - the outback was a really nice car - only reason I got the x-trail instead was that Andy liked the higher driving position.

but for fuel economy in the larger car, I really don't think you'll beat a volvo. They have masses of space + the stop/start technology and I think are saying you should be able to get 70mpg. I didn' go for one because of the price banding with our company cars & also I got really frustrated that you couldn't test drive the actual model I wanted (I wanted manual but most of the volvos they have in stock are automatics).

I'd still always have an estate over a 4x4... we have an audi a4 and it's amazing on fuel. No chance of fitting a (like brundog says a large folded up 3 wheeled) buggy and 2 dogs in the back though, we had to get a roof box, or we forget the buggy and take the carrier or squash the buggy on the back seat next to the baby for a day trip if we're all going

When I bought mine I seriously considered the Lexus Hybrid but the fuel economy was wiped out by the servicing costs tbh as it has two of everything. I love my car but wouldn't recommend it to anyone interested in fuel economy tbf. I knew what a guzzler it was when I bought it and I still love it. I have a Murano big brother to the Qashqai thing it has a 3.5ltr petrol engine so a bit like a Qashqai on steroids. I can easily lift my grandaughter into the back seat and I'm only 5'3" on tippie toes. The boot is massive. I had a x trail on loan and it's fine a bit utilitarian for my liking and the boot is pretty small too. Oh an we used to have a Diesel 3 series tourer and the fuel consumption was cr@p absolute cr@p and the main reason the OH got rid of it, seeing as it was the main reason he bought it for it's alledged fuel economy. It was bought new so not a clapped out old banger.