West Cork roads reward an SUV that is narrow enough for a boreen, tall enough for the potholes and settled enough for a long run to Cork on a wet night. For most drivers that points to a compact crossover in the 3008 class. If you tow, carry a family and all its gear, or spend hours on the N71 every week, a full size premium SUV in the Q7, X5 or GLE class earns its keep.
What do West Cork roads demand of a car?
Width first. Between Clonakilty and Skibbereen the main road is fine, but the minute you turn off it the hedges close in and a car's width decides how often you stop for a tractor. Put a big SUV on a boreen and you get a daily reversing exercise.
Then the surface. Potholes, broken edges, sunken drains and gravel washed across the road after rain. Ground clearance and a tyre with a bit of sidewall matter more here than on any motorway. Low profile tyres on big alloys look well in a photograph and crack on the first bad pothole outside Drimoleague.
Then the weather. Wet roads most of the winter, standing water in the dips, and a wind off the sea that leans on a tall car. Settled suspension and four wheel drive earn their money on a night like that.
And then the long runs. Skibbereen to Cork, Bantry to the airport, a hospital appointment in the city. Anything tiring at motorway speed makes every one of those a chore, and comfort is not a luxury on a road you do every week. Drivers on the Bantry side do more of those runs than most.
Compact crossover or full size SUV, which suits you?
The compact crossover suits most people. A 3008 class car is not much wider than a Golf, sits you high enough to see over the hedges, and usually runs the same small engine as the hatchback it is based on, so tax and fuel stay sensible. Its boot takes the shopping or the buggy. It parks in town without a plan. CompleteCar's rundown of the best compact SUVs and crossovers in Ireland is a fair picture of the class, and the 3008 is the kind of car at RS Motors in the premium used cars range.
The full size SUV suits a particular driver. If you tow a horsebox or a boat, carry three children and a dog, or cover long distances every week, the X5, the Q7 and the GLE give you the room, the pulling power and the long distance comfort that a crossover cannot. The price of that is width on a boreen, bigger tyres and brakes, and higher tax and fuel. It is the right car for the right driver and the wrong car for a town runabout.
Which SUVs make sense for a West Cork driver?
At the everyday end, the 3008 class crossover. Check the tyres for even wear across each axle, because a heavier car on bad roads wears them unevenly when the tracking is out. Check the suspension for knocks over bumps. Look for a full service history, and a timing belt done if the engine has one.
At the premium end, three shapes cover the class: the Audi Q7, the BMW X5 and the Mercedes GLE, all of them the kind of car in stock. Each rewards a different set of questions.
On a Q7 class car, ask for evidence that the air suspension, where fitted, has been serviced and that all four corners sit level after the car has been parked overnight. Listen for the compressor. Check that the four wheel drive system has had its oils changed on schedule.
With an X5 class car, the service history is everything. Ask for evidence of regular oil changes at the right intervals, and for any work on the cooling system or the turbo. Watch for warning lights on start up and for any hesitation from the gearbox on the test drive.
On a GLE class car, ask for the same service evidence, then spend time on the electronics. Every screen, every sensor, every seat function. Faults in those are dearer than they look. Check that the tyres match across each axle, because a mismatch on a four wheel drive car can cost you the transmission over time.
That class lives on the premium used cars page, and if the exact car is not there, it can be sourced to your spec.
What should you test on the test drive?
A real road. Ask to take the car out of Clonakilty onto the kind of boreen you drive every day, and give it a run at speed on the main road as well. Advice from the RSA on buying a used car covers the basics of a test drive; add these for an SUV.
Over the potholes, listen for knocks and rattles from the suspension. On the wet, feel for any pull under braking. On a hill start, check that the car holds and pulls away without fuss, and if it is an automatic, that the gearbox is smooth from cold. At speed, listen for wind noise from the mirrors and the roof rails, and feel for any wander in the steering. Park it, get out, and look at whether it sits level.
Then read the paperwork against what you felt. MotorCheck's guide on what to look for when buying a used car is the order to do it in.
What running costs come with the bigger SUVs?
Tyres and brakes first, then tax and fuel. Big SUVs wear big tyres and big brakes, and both cost more to replace than a crossover's. Motor tax and fuel follow the engine. None of that makes the car a bad buy, but it has to be in the budget from the start rather than a surprise in the first year. If the running costs of the premium class do not suit, the 3008 class crossover gives you most of the height and the practicality for everyday money.
Questions buyers ask
What's the most reliable SUV in Ireland?
The one with the fullest service history, whichever badge it wears. Reliability follows how a car was maintained and driven, not its make, and a well kept Q7 will outlast a neglected crossover. Judge the car in front of you by its paperwork and its test drive.
Which SUV is best for rough roads?
For West Cork roads, a car with good ground clearance, tyres with a bit of sidewall and a suspension that is in proper order. Compact crossovers handle most boreens well because they are narrow enough to stay out of the ditch. Full size SUVs with four wheel drive are the better cars on a bad road in bad weather, as long as they are not so wide that you spend the day reversing.
Which is the best SUV on the road?
For long runs and comfort, the premium class: the X5, the Q7 and the GLE ride better and sit quieter at speed than anything smaller. For everyday driving between Clonakilty and Skibbereen, a 3008 class crossover is the better all rounder. Match the car to the driving, not to the badge.
Want to drive one on a real road?
Ring or WhatsApp RS Motors on 086 800 0001, Monday to Saturday 9am to 8pm, and you can take it out on the roads you actually drive. Buyers come from the Skibbereen side and beyond, and Clonakilty is on the way.
