You can now get a new Nissan X-Trail with the 163PS 1.6DIG-T engine within budget and it works very well as long as you don't want to tow anything in addition to carrying 7 people and their kit: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/ With this engine you won't have any diesel DPF issues during its normal school run duties. But it's only 2WD. Could be that decent tyres such as Michelin Cross Climates will be enough without having to go to 4WD. The 1.6DCI is available with 4WD. A Defender is diesel, crude and noisy in comparison, but because of the love in which it is held, it will hang onto your money a lot better (the last off the line sold for an incredible £400,000). The compromise is a Discovery IV, but that is huge; too big for the school run, and diesel only.