Rapid estate cars v diesel estate

[66comanche]

Hardly an exciting topic maybe but I'm on the lookout for an estate car. Have been primarily looking at diesels but trying to convince myself a quick petrol estate wouldn't be too bad on fuel in comparison. I'm likely to be doing 12k miles p.a, budget up to £5k.

Quick petrol variants I've looked at:

Alfa 156 GTA 3.2
Ford Mondeo 2.5T
Subaru Impreza WRX
Vauxhall Vectra 2.8T VXR
VW Passat 2.8 V6 4motion
Volvo V70 T5 2.3

I've excluded anything Audi/BMW/Merc as you get comparitively little for the money and having just had a Merc, scared by the costs should things go wrong (I realise any car has a potential to break the bank).

The alternatives would be diesels like

Accord 2.2CDTi
Mondeo 2.0 TDCi 140

Are there further petrol versions I should consider and am I mad to go for a 25-30mpg over a 50mpg one at the miles I do, also taking the VED into account?



Liking the brute power of the Vectra but having had one previously, the Impreza floats my boat

[66comanche]

dave stew said:

One issue with estates of course is, how big do you need it to be? I've got a V70 T5 and one of the reasons I bought it was the space. An Audi S4 or Impreza isn't big at all.

In my mind, buy the biggest load area you can - face it, driving an estate is hardly a style statement - so what's the point of buying a tiddler that won't swallow an Ikea kitchen or two seater sofa?

By the way, my vote is the T5 - mine's got 170,000 miles up and still very strong. Recommended.

Good point, basically it has to be able to swallow 2 labradors - no load lugging as such. Rules out the 3 series and to be fair the Impreza may not be any better, but I love them.

Love some of the suggestions, out of my price range though they may be (Welshbeef is pissed as normal I assume!)

Have looked at the Legacy 3.0R but the consumption is truly horrendous! 30mpg I can maybe deal with but a realistic 20mpg, no ta.

[66comanche]

All very good questions, I will try and address them

once said:

Surely a lot depends on the kind of driving that you do.

If that estate is going to spend all its time stuffed full of kids, labradors and wife then I would think lazy diesel rather than perky petrol. How much of that 12k a year is going to be spent using the car's power or just wafting from place to place?

I would say that 8k miles p.a will be going to and from work which is a mix of 3 miles quietish town roads and 12 miles DC each way. Plus a few miles here and there popping out at lunch. The remaining 4k will be general running around, driving places to take the dogs, to the coast, on holidays/short breaks etc.

once said:

On the other hand, if there are going to be long stretches with only you at the wheel or you've got an understanding missus, then a big petrol engine swings back into the equation. You know you want to.

No kids, no wife and the lady passenger in question is definitely NOT understanding when it comes to rapid driving so cruise mode would certainly have to be on rather than hoon mode! I can live with this (probably!).

once said:

If reliability is an issue, then your £5k budget probably ought to buy you a newer Mondeo than an older BMW or Merc. Unless you're a dab hand with the socket set ...

Reliability is an issue and I can change a wheel/wipers but that's about it

once said:

If cost matters, then £5k of a diesel car is going to be cheaper to fuel than £5k worth of big engined petrol car.

I'm coming from a diesel car which averaged 37mpg which I suppose is probably equivalent to 34mpg in a petrol due to the fuel price difference, that's how I'm justifying it anyway

once said:

Do you want swanky leather and chrome or roughty-toughty 4WD and wipe-clean surfaces?

Ideally both! Leather/plush interior would be great but I also love the 'hooligan' look of the WRX/VXR.

once said:

There's no such thing as a perfect car. Because the car that meets my needs might not meet yours. Our main family car has gone from being a Mondeo to a small people carrier and then to a larger people carrier as our family grew up. And in a couple of years time I can see that the people carrier is going to switch to an estate or saloon when we don't need the extra space any more.

The space is purely for the dogs really, I do no other load-lugging as such.

magpies said:

I have had WRX estates and could get just over 30 mpg (real world) obviously not blasting but also not crawling - 33 to 35 on motorway at 70 - 75

I have an A4 Avante (2.5v6 Tdi) for 9 years and get 44 not driving slowly and close to 50 on motoway at 70 - 75

This is good news on the WRX front, I had a UK turbo2000 but I'm afraid I used to get <25mpg per tank due to enthusiastic driving

Had a look at the A4 but it's not great value, ie a 129k 2.5 TDI 180 Quattro on a 53 plate for £5k. Autotrader says 35mpg combined so assume yours was the 163Bhp or 155Bhp?

Right, to put some more flesh on the bones I have compiled a shortlist from Autotrader. The Saab 9-5 is very interesting but I have opted for the 9-3 version as I prefer its looks and there are no 9-5's on AT Note the budget can stretch slightly.

Saab 9-3 2.8T
Quite like the look of these and would be fun to tell everyone the 911 Turbo thing


Alfa 156 3.2 GTA
A long shot this, an Alfa would scare me to be honest


Ford Mondeo 2.5T
Dull looking but lovely 5pot engine


Impreza WRX
My favourite at the moment I think. Say £3750 with a bit of bargaining and £1250 buys a lot of petrol


Legacy 3.0R spec B
Lot of car for the money but 23mpg combined is a worry, I take into account the post previously though about this.


Volvo V70 T5 2.3T
Brilliant value, assume ex trafpol at that price maybe although mileage low for that. Wouldn't choose a white one.


Vectra VXR
Lovely car, this stretches the budget a bit too far really but at 38k miles it would be tempting. Must be remapped too as ad states 280Bhp


Very interesting comments about the JDM WRX - could be tricky to track one down but having a 6 speed box would presumably balance the economy versus the extra power it has?

[66comanche]

dave_s13 said:

Torque curves have a great deal to do with it too but welshboeuf has focused solely on power to weight.

OP you better fookin update this thread with what you buy, pictures of it and how fast it feels vs it's on paper stats.

Trouble causer.

Will do!

As for the Forester, have had one so looking elsewhere - great car just want something different.

Welshbeef - GTFO of my thread you plank!

[66comanche]

Contigo said:

Back on Topic for a minute, have you looked at the S4's I mentioned earlier?

Interesting but probably a step above what I'm looking for - V8, 20mpg combined (prob less with hooning) and a 9/10 year old 115k+ miles car for £5k, sounds like a huge bill about to happen. 344bhp would be lovely but probably overkill for me if I'm going to use a gallon and a half just to get to work and back.