What small SUV do you recommend?

My wife has a 71 plate Volvo XC40 2.0 litre petrol light hybrid which is a lovely car and comes highly recommended. My problem with it is that, as it's used for relatively short journeys, it manages only 27 mpg. Our shared problems with it is that, as we are both in our late 70's, doing so much via the touchscreen is very distracting and possibly dangerous and operating the satnav is beyond us, so we rely on our mobile phones - it would be a different matter if we were both 25 again.
We are thinking that we should replace it with something of similar quality but without the drawbacks we are experiencing with the Volvo. We still want to be able to specify luxuries such as electric and heated seats, heated steering wheel etc. Petrol or full hybrid but not all electric would be preferred.
Do you have any suggestions?

Asked on 30 October 2023 by Les Moore

Answered by Andrew Brady
I think you're going to struggle to find a modern, premium car that isn't heavily reliant on a touchscreen display, unfortunately. When you say you use your mobile phones, do you connect them and use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto? This is usually preferable to using in-built navigation. As an alternative, you could try a Lexus NX - it's a hybrid SUV that'll be more efficient than your Volvo. The NX has some handy physical shortcut buttons, too.
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