Replace a Saab Turbo and a 740i with a.....

[Lugy]

The past few weeks I've been mulling over replacing my current two cars with one for various reasons, cost saving being one main one (I currently rent space in a unit to keep whatever car I'm not driving).
Whether I pluck up the courage to sell the BMW remains to be seen but here we go.
I do about 20k a year, with a large percentage of that 'just for the hell of it' miles (probably about 10k now I work it out!), however I imagine if I bought a diesel, possibly with the exception of a BMW 3/530d, that I'd no longer be as interested in going the long way home!
So, I'm looking for a car that's; comfortable, fast, fun, reasonably practical for holidays/possible kids, sounds pleasant. Not set on auto or manual, I like both and it'd depend on the individual gearbox. Would like fuel economy closer to the Saab than BMW - low to mid 30s. I'm also fairly handy with the spanners so would self maintain but reliability is still something I'd like! I'm not a sucker for 'toys' except heated seats, climate control and memory seats would be a major plus.
Budget would be £7k at the most.

Let's see some suggestions please!

Cheers,

Lugy

[ZX10R NIN]

It depends on what size of car that you need?

[Lugy]

I probably should have added that in somewhere! Certainly not anything bigger than the BMW, so far some of the things I've looked at are the Audi A3 Sportback 2.0T Quattro and E60 BMW 5 series.

[ZX10R NIN]

The E350/500 are low in maintenance terms but will cost you on fuel & road tax.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

As diesels the 320 is reliable

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Audi A6

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

3.2 A3 Sportback
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Dare I say another Saab this time in 2.8T form?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Or if you don't mind a well equipped mainstream car the obviously there's the Mondeo but also consider the 508 I went out in one recently & it drove well.

508
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Mondeo Titanium X Sport in petrol & diesel form these are very good steers

200bhp Petrol
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

175bhp Diesel
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Mazda 6 Sport (not as good as the Ford it's based on but you do get a newer car)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

[nitrodave]

Jaguar XF would be top of my list

[Lugy]

Cheers, I never realised an XF would be so close to budget, definitely worth thinking about, I know how good the diesel engines can be (plus correct number of cylinders for the 'wrong' fuel!).
I had considered replacing my BMW with a CL500 so the E320/500 could have been a more sensible choice, SBC (IIRC) issues would worry me though - would need more research!
The Audi A6 is on my radar, I've looked at them before. My dad's old boss (garage owner) had one and reckoned it was the best car he owned.
I do like the A3 but reckon the 2.0 would be the 'sensible' choice, I'd think that it was just a remap away from similar performance to the V6, plus cheaper tax/fuel costs. Would need to try one to see if it's big enough though.
The Saab is very much on the list to keep me in the fold.
Nothing against the Mondeo, I know how decent they are to drive, but I just don't see me spending that much on one, the same with the other more 'common' cars.

[ZX10R NIN]

The XF will have some big miles on it, as for the SBC issues this has so far only affected a small number but it is an issue worth keeping an eye on as it's a 1k fix.

3.0 XF
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

535d (these do have a few turbo related problems)
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...