Best used family SUVs in New Zealand

Every "best family SUV" list tells you which badge to trust. That is the wrong question for a used car. A ten-year-old SUV is not the model, it is the specific engine, the specific gearbox, and how the last owner treated both. Two Outlanders of the same year can be a good buy and a $8,500 mistake depending on which one you are standing in front of.

So this guide is built the other way round. For each SUV commonly on the market here, it names the fault that model is actually documented for, the years it affects, and what fixing it typically costs. Take that to the viewing and you will know within ten minutes whether the car in front of you is the good one.

How this list was put together

These are drawn from our own fault catalogue: documented, year-scoped and engine-scoped faults for models that actually turn up in New Zealand, including Japanese imports. Repair figures are the typical cost of that one repair, not a total for the car. We do not publish a figure at all when the underlying data is not solid enough to believe.

What this guide deliberately does not do is rank the cars or quote what they sell for. We hold no market price data, and a made-up price is worse than none. What we can tell you is what breaks.

Toyota RAV4

The default family SUV here, and mostly deservedly. The catalogue holds 61 documented faults across 1994 to 2023, and the ones that matter cluster by engine rather than by age.

• The 2000 to 2005 cars with the 1AZ-FE engine are documented for head bolt thread pull-out, where the bolt threads strip out of the alloy block. Typical repair $2,500 to $6,500. This is a very common fault on that engine, not a rare one.
• The 2005 to 2012 2AZ-FE has a plastic water pump impeller that fails, typically $550 to $1,400, and the same head bolt thread pullout issue at $1,500 to $5,000.
• The 1994 to 2000 3S-FE is an interference engine on a timing belt. If the belt has not been changed, budget $500 to $4,500 depending on whether it snaps before you get to it.
• Hybrids from 2019 on are documented for inverter coolant pump failure, $700 to $2,200.

On the viewing: check for coolant in the oil and oil in the coolant on any petrol RAV4, and ask for the timing belt receipt on anything pre-2000. Full list on the Toyota RAV4 inspection guide.

Mazda CX-5

A strong all-rounder, but the diesel and the petrol are close to different cars from a risk point of view. Almost every serious documented fault on the CX-5 is a diesel fault.

• The SKYACTIV-D 2.2 diesel is documented for injector fuel return pipe cracking and oil dilution from 2012 onward, typically $650 to $1,600.
• The same diesel has a known exhaust camshaft lobe wear issue on 2012 to 2018 cars, and that one is $3,000 to $7,000.
• DPF saturation and failed regeneration is a common documented fault on the diesel, $350 to $3,800, and it is worse on cars that only ever did short town trips.
• Across both fuels, 2012 to 2017 cars are documented for brake caliper guide pin corrosion and seizure, $150 to $1,100.

If the family use is school runs and nothing else, the petrol is the lower-risk buy. See the Mazda CX-5 inspection guide for the full picture including which years each fault applies to.

Honda CR-V

The catalogue holds 76 documented faults on the CR-V, the deepest of any SUV here, largely because it has been sold and imported in volume since 1995.

• The 1995 to 2006 cars have a very common documented rust fault at the rear subframe mounting points and sills. Repair runs $500 to $5,000, and at the top of that range it is not worth doing.
• The 1995 to 2002 B20B is an interference engine on a timing belt, $150 to $4,500.
• Real Time 4WD rear differential clutch pack failure on 1995 to 2006 cars, $800 to $2,800.
• Front lower control arm ball joint wear across 2001 to 2016, $380 to $950. Common, cheap, and an easy negotiating point.

Rust is the CR-V decision. Get underneath it, or get someone to. Honda CR-V inspection guide.

Subaru Forester

Genuinely good to drive and genuinely capable, with one documented weakness that dominates everything else. Five separate very common head gasket faults are recorded across the EJ20 and EJ25 engines, spanning 1997 to 2013.

• EJ25 head gasket failure between coolant and combustion, 2002 to 2007, typically $2,000 to $5,000.
• EJ20 head gasket failure at the coolant passages, 2002 to 2013, $2,200 to $4,800.
• EJ25 Phase 2 head gasket failure, 2007 to 2012, $1,800 to $3,800.
• The 2007 to 2018 CVT is documented for belt wear and a cracking cooling line, $3,500 to $9,000.
• Turbo XT models from 2003 to 2013 are documented for oil starvation from a clogged banjo bolt filter screen, $2,500 to $6,000.

A Forester with a documented head gasket job already done can be a better buy than a lower-mileage one without. Ask for the invoice specifically. Subaru Forester inspection guide.

Mitsubishi Outlander

Popular as a seven-seater and as a plug-in hybrid, and the risk is completely different between the two.

• Petrol 2007 to 2015 cars use the Jatco JF011E CVT, documented for primary pulley bearing failure at $3,500 to $8,500. This is the big one.
• The 4B11 engine in 2006 to 2012 cars is documented for balance shaft oil pump failure causing oil starvation, $1,800 to $6,500.
• The 2001 to 2006 4G6 is an interference engine on a belt, $500 to $1,200 to do the belt, considerably more if it snaps.
• PHEV models from 2013 on are documented for front motor inverter overheating and limp mode, $1,200 to $6,500, and a front motor oil seal leak that can contaminate the inverter, $900 to $9,500.

On a petrol Outlander, the CVT is the whole decision. Drive it from cold and hold a steady light throttle uphill. Mitsubishi Outlander inspection guide.

Nissan X-Trail

Roomy and cheap to get into, with the most heavily documented transmission problem of any SUV in the catalogue. Six separate CVT faults are recorded across the generations.

• Xtronic CVT judder and premature failure on 2014 to 2022 cars is logged as very common, $4,000 to $8,500.
• The 2007 to 2013 T31 Jatco JF011E CVT is documented for shudder and thermal overload failure, $4,500 to $9,500.
• The 2001 to 2007 T30 has very common front lower ball joint wear at $280 to $750, and a documented rear subframe crossmember rust-through at the mounts, $1,800 to $5,500.
• The 2001 to 2007 QR25DE petrol is documented for head gasket failure and overheating, $1,800 to $4,000.

If you are buying an X-Trail, budget as though the CVT is a live risk, because on these years it is. Nissan X-Trail inspection guide.

Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe

Grouped because they share engines, and they share the single most expensive documented fault on this page.

• The Theta II petrol engine is documented for connecting rod bearing failure leading to engine seizure. On the Santa Fe, 2013 to 2018, typical repair $8,000 to $18,000. On the Sorento, 2009 to 2020, $5,000 to $14,000. This is recorded as a common fault, not a freak event.
• The newer SmartStream 2.5 petrol carries the same documented failure mode, $8,000 to $22,000 on the Santa Fe from 2020.
• Diesels are a different risk profile. The 2001 to 2012 Santa Fe D4EB 2.2 CRDi is documented for injector failure and fuel return leak, $800 to $3,500, and the 2000 to 2006 D4EA is an interference engine on a timing belt.
• The 2020 onward 8-speed dual-clutch on both is documented for clutch shudder and, in a recall, an electric oil pump failure causing total loss of drive.

The two-minute version

1. 1.Decide petrol or diesel first. On the CX-5 and the Santa Fe it changes the risk more than the year does.
2. 2.On anything with a CVT, drive it from cold and load it up. The X-Trail and petrol Outlander faults show up under load, not on a flat test loop.
3. 3.On anything pre-2007, get underneath it. Rust is what ends CR-Vs and early X-Trails here, not mechanical failure.
4. 4.Ask for the specific invoice, not the service book. "Full service history" and "head gasket replaced at 180,000km" are very different pieces of paper.
5. 5.Check the plate before you go. Money owing against a car does not show up in any inspection.