Always wanted a V8 and needed a grippier tow car, so have just picked this up.
Only 42k miles so should hopefully be good for a few more:






Just need to sell the Vectra now (£3450) which seems is nothing for such a clean car!
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/4046694.htm


Custard

Saw a V10 one today. I kinda like them.

I started looking at V6 tdis, for the age / mileage I was looking at it was:
£13k with cloth interior
£14k for a better spec but a bit leggier
£15-£16k for a nice altitude or sport with reasonable miles

The V8 comes with electric everything, including seat belt hight adjustment!
The air suspension should be better for towing


The V6tdi does c25mpg
I've managed 21mpg so far, including a B road "handling test"
(surprisingly good for a 2.5 ton beast)

I paid almost half the price of an equivalent V6tdi, which buys a lot of fuel

I'd like to try a V10, that's got to be an amazing engine, but was scared off by the fact that it's a relatively rare engine, and has a turbo weakness, which is easy to fix, but is an engine out job. The V8 is in numerous Audis, and seems reliable, so I thought it was a better bet.
The 2.5tdi is an underpowered van engine.
The 3.2 V6 is a cracking engine, but lacks torque in the touareg (not tried one tho), was tempted as they are very cheap! But air susp, v8 and the better spec pushed me to the V8

The only problem with the V8 is there aren't many around!
Drive one, it's a genuinely nice place to be, almost as nice as a range rover

Custard

Nice to see another one in here. We have done around 70K in ours now and all is well. We also looked at the V6 but as you say the torque is not as good, and I found the 2.5 gutless.

The spec of yours looks the same, plus the trim colour is identical.

It is excellent for towing and the mpg it gives back isn't half bad considering. Plus the suspension adjust really helps when loading trailers.

Be wary of the hand brake lever. Ours came off in my hand a few weeks into ownership, it is not really that sturdy. Plus if putting tyres in the rear, watch the edges as the cloth marks easily.

Enjoy.

Noise :
a lovely Creamy V8 burble ...
..... Wrapped in cotton wool and burried in an underground bunker!
Will need to investigate less silencing. Any any tips?

Vectra mpg:
36 over 15k miles, including towing. But I drive "enthusiastically"
Drove sensibly from Bristol to Kettering x-country to pick up the beast and managed 48mpg! I was amased how much of a difference it made!

Custard

I like it alot!


I would happily have one of those.

I had a go in my sister's 3.2 V6 one of these last weekend - very impressed. Smooth, comfortable and quiet - I wasn't expecting to like it, but I did, a lot. I can confirm that the 3.2 feels a little under-endowed in this application, with the (lovely) noise not quite translating into forward motion.

2.5 wont be winning any races but they respond well to a remap and they're great on fuel. Did 620 miles in mine last weekend on just less than 3/4 of a tank. Working it out at the pumps figured it at 39mpg at 75mph (72 on satnav). 6 speed manual.

I'd love a V8 but 35k per annum declares otherwise!

Blue or black would have been nice....

but it seems old duffers that do low miles and look after their cars choose Green when they buy them new!!
at least this one doesnt have black leather....
Oatmeal (beige) is much nicer... now ever the beige boot carpet could be an issue!

Custard

I actually really like the colour combo and I totally agree regarding the beige lether. I bought my wife an ML 500 recently and went out of my way to find one with beige full leather and walnut trim, as opposed to the much more common black half leather/half alcantara with faux carbon fibre. Each to their own and I know it's not very PH, but I always used to like Jaguars and Bentleys as a kid, so I reckon it's something to do with that!