Best mini-barge?

[defblade]

I'm struggling to be excited by cars at the moment. I sort of fancy something big and barge-y, the commute is mixed Mway and traffic lights mixed with a bit of 2 lane argy-bargy (everyone wants to be to the left where there's right-turn queuing, and then to the right with parked cars). And the car park at work is rather tight.

So I'm not so sure that a full on barge is appropriate any more. I do have a LWB XJ to go see next week, and XJR on the radar and a bit of love for the 5 series... but there's none of any of these that take my fancy locally.

Budget... 3 grand for a silly car for a year or two, up to maybe 6 for something that's a proper keeper.

While XJ costs might be slightly ruinous, there's no way I can bring myself to spend a few thousand on a boooooring normal sized plasticy car, I'd rather pay through the nose to run something interesting!




What I'm looking for is a quality/luxury smallish-to-mid-sized car. I'm not sure it exists. Small enough to dodge through traffic like an XJ won't; big enough to hum away the Mway. A powerful engine with low running costs (so long as I'm dreaming ). Decent sized rear seats (legroom. Tall daughter). Maybe an estate version. I'm guessing it'll probably be a hatchback so seating a bit more upright than full on-barge; that's a reasonable compromise so long as they're nice seats. Not a 3 series... I've had them. A4s I find a little small for the exec saloon style (although an A3 might be the nearest to what I'm after??), A6s a bit big for this time (I've had 2 before)... An Alfa might have ticked boxes, but a con-rod came out of my last one, so not keen!
So, what have I been ignoring that I should be looking inside?

[0a]

Mercedes 190 2.6 auto

[Northernchimp]

Marmite car, but what about a Lexus IS?

[0a]

Or a Mercedes c32 AMG like this if you want plenty of power http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

[alecescolme]

X-type?
A bit of a marmite car, imho the spec can make or break these cars. Looks best as an estate and get one with full leather & nav as a must.

Certainly cheap to buy.

[defblade]

Not a Merc fan... I'd rather have a BM 3 or 5.

And may as well have an XJ as an X-type to my mind.

But looking for something smaller of similar quality.

I have been hitting the 5 series adverts quite hard

[Mike22233]

BMW 540. Love mine and got it for quite a bit under your budget, 80k on the click, bodywork great and fsh

[chris333]

Have a look at a last generation Lexus IS250..make sure its an auto with the multimedia (ignore the diesels).

Silky smooth V6 engine, loads of toys, 0-60 in 7-ish secs, will never go wrong. 24-27mpg round town, better than 35mpg entirely possible on a run.

[Mike22233]

chris333 said:

Have a look at a last generation Lexus IS250..make sure its an auto with the multimedia (ignore the diesels).

Silky smooth V6 engine, loads of toys, 0-60 in 7-ish secs, will never go wrong. 24-27mpg round town, better than 35mpg entirely possible on a run.

How is that better than a 540 with a v8? Slower as well

[tgr]

As he said, the Lexus will never go wrong. The E39 will always need things doing to it and things like the starter motor are very pricey.

The BMW V8 is nice though - but there's no competition when it comes to reliability

[chris333]

Mike22233 said:

chris333 said:

Have a look at a last generation Lexus IS250..make sure its an auto with the multimedia (ignore the diesels).

Silky smooth V6 engine, loads of toys, 0-60 in 7-ish secs, will never go wrong. 24-27mpg round town, better than 35mpg entirely possible on a run.

How is that better than a 540 with a v8? Slower as well

did I say it was?

Its quite clearly a completely different proposition, which won't go as well, sound as nice, but will be much more modern and will be much more reliable.

[Mike22233]

chris333 said:

did I say it was?

Its quite clearly a completely different proposition, which won't go as well, sound as nice, but will be much more modern and will be much more reliable.

How do you know it will be more reliable

[Mike22233]

tgr said:

As he said, the Lexus will never go wrong. The E39 will always need things doing to it and things like the starter motor are very pricey.

The BMW V8 is nice though - but there's no competition when it comes to reliability

Really? No issues in two years. Have you owned one?

[chris333]

Mike22233 said:

chris333 said:

did I say it was?

Its quite clearly a completely different proposition, which won't go as well, sound as nice, but will be much more modern and will be much more reliable.

How do you know it will be more reliable

well you list the things that have gone wrong with your 540i in the 6 years you owned it, and I list the things that went wrong with my old IS250 in the 6 years I owned that, and we'll see which list is longer.

OK, I'll start: nothing

Your turn...

[JimbobVFR]

How about this

Skoda Superb 2.8V6
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

[noell35]

chris333 said:

OK, I'll start: nothing

Your turn...

Actually lol'd at that. I think you take the internet points this time.

[ZX10R NIN]

Here's my pick:

Aristo Vertex 3.0 Twin Turbo same size as a 5 series & as quick with reliability to BMW weep
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOYOTA-ARISTO-LEXUS-GS30...

Or if it has to be a 5 series, get an Alpina:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

[Crombers]

chris333 said:

Mike22233 said:

chris333 said:

did I say it was?

Its quite clearly a completely different proposition, which won't go as well, sound as nice, but will be much more modern and will be much more reliable.

How do you know it will be more reliable

well you list the things that have gone wrong with your 540i in the 6 years you owned it, and I list the things that went wrong with my old IS250 in the 6 years I owned that, and we'll see which list is longer.

OK, I'll start: nothing

Your turn...

I found ageing M62 V8 lumps to be particularly unreliable, certainly compared to the 6 cylinders so I would tend to support your view...(and I last owned them a long time ago!)

[Mike22233]

chris333 said:

well you list the things that have gone wrong with your 540i in the 6 years you owned it, and I list the things that went wrong with my old IS250 in the 6 years I owned that, and we'll see which list is longer.

OK, I'll start: nothing

Your turn...

Same

[Mike22233]

noell35 said:

Actually lol'd at that. I think you take the internet points this time.

Yip,he sure showed me