Bin men smashed my car up - What Car?

[crostonian]

Plenty of Alfa 159s in this price range although whether they are an 'engaging drive' is questionable. They certainly look the part, have a lovely cabin and are quite durable. The 2.2 petrol with a remap and a freer flowing exhaust could be moderately engaging.

[Hoofy]

AB57 said:

andy-xr said:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volvo-S60-2-4-auto-2005M...

Check that auto box though, they can be a bit troublesome. Easy enough to spot, move from park to drive and see if it takes a while to engage

I was considering one, my friend has the 2.5 petrol turbo, it's an 02 and they look lovely inside. They handle well for a big old lump? Any concerning problems with them?

I only have the 2.4T.

What has been said about the autobox is true. It's not ideal. It doesn't quite feel right. But it changes faster than a human can. The rev counter needle looks like it's on speed the way it just drops; never saw that on my old AMG.

Handling? Well, it's predictable and FWD so not exactly a barrel of fun.

Get the newer versions with the silver round the rev counter and speedometer as they are supposed to be slightly more reliable. http://bdbud.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/volvos...

The interior is bland but you say you like it so go for it.

[hidetheelephants]

lostkiwi said:

OP said:

not so raw that I'm going to dread the 4am commute in the mornings over winter

Just how is a BMW going to be good in the 4am winter commutes... like the Merc they struggle to move on anything thats remotely cold ground when they have inappropriate tyres!

EFA

Winter or good quality all-season tyres will make driving in a UK winter quite tolerable regardless of which end is driving.

[lostkiwi]

hidetheelephants said:

lostkiwi said:

OP said:

not so raw that I'm going to dread the 4am commute in the mornings over winter

Just how is a BMW going to be good in the 4am winter commutes... like the Merc they struggle to move on anything thats remotely cold ground when they have inappropriate tyres!

EFA

Winter or good quality all-season tyres will make driving in a UK winter quite tolerable regardless of which end is driving.

Nice miss quote and if you kept up and read teh rest of the thread you would have seen this that I followed up with:

lostkiwi said:

This exactly. If you check my garage you will see there has been a mix of all different vehicles - FWD, RWD and AWD. There is no question the RWD ones have been the ones to struggle most with grip in poor conditions and thats what I'm referring to. Yes you can use them in all weather but they are almost always at a disadvantage compared to non RWD vehicles (assuming like for like with respect to tyres - i.e winter tyres or summer tyres).

[HerrSchnell]

andyb28 said:

This one doesn't really look like its ripping about in the snow!

It had been 20 minutes earlier.

It was the first day of some really heavy snowstorms, the icicles formed from melting snow which was dropping off the bonnet and the windscreen was covered where snow had been blowing off the street.

I took it out again later and the next day took this to record how filthy it had got in just one day, it usually looks like the shot below:

[HerrSchnell]

thecremeegg said:

Congratulations....you're obviously God-like!
BMWs do struggle on snow, you know that.

Thanks but I'm really not and given the correct choice of tyre they really don't.

[the_lone_wolf]

andy-xr said:

AB57 said:

I was considering one, my friend has the 2.5 petrol turbo, it's an 02 and they look lovely inside. They handle well for a big old lump? Any concerning problems with them?

The auto boxes are probably the biggest concern, speak with the seller about it and ask them what problems they've had if any. 'Never had a problem' might mean they're ignoring one

The auto box "issue" is that Volvo were stupid and sold the AW box as "sealed for life" - what they meant was "sealed for warranty period" - with regular (only every 100-150k mile) fluid changes the box is perfectly reliable and used in a huge number of different vehicles without issue

If there isn't a problem present and you change the fluid before one manifests, the box should be absolutely fine

For an old school slushbox it's actually quite nice, and very smooth for cruising

[Hilts]

A 4am commute?

Jesus.

Tell me more please, (or tell me to mind my own) I just wouldn't go to bed.

I thought catching the redeye flight every Monday morning at 6.45 was bad.

[Cabsi]

If it must be a saloon, I'd go for the Jetta equivalent of the Golf GTi.

Perhaps one like this:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

[gizlaroc]

Jesus wept, some of the suggestions are laughable.

AB57 said:

My basic requirements are:

- Manual
- Engaging drive
- Returns around the 30mpg mark on a steady run
- Top of budget of 4k

..... after owning the Mercedes I want something that's a bit more engaging but not so raw that I'm going to dread the 4am commute in the mornings over winter

Sabb, Volvo, Jetta, FFS??!!!

All of those are seriously crap choices, I have had a Sabb 95 for 2 months and it was a good motorway crusier and...no...nothing else, oh, seats wear nice.
S60? Extremely wallowy and that was coming from a 210 E Class. It was fine but no way engaging at all.
Jetta? Seriously?!! I don't even no where to start.


The problem you have is the C Class is actually not bad at all, it is softer than the BMW, but 100x better than the Audi A4 and it is RWD. I liked the Sabb, but it was not engaging to drive, and the torque steer was nasty, I was very glad when it went.


Someone offered an E91 325i above, that is an absolute peach of a car, I would enquire about that.

Having said all that, after messing around in a V70 for a couple of weeks and then an A4 2.0T S-Line, I have gone back to a C Class, a 206 C320 Sport estate, so, so much better than the pre facelift btw for build and overall feel. For me it is the perfect compromise of comfort, practicality and actually pretty fun when pressing on.
I also tried a C350 V6 coupe, preferred the engine but wanted an estate, this came up after I bought my diesel...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

I know you said you didn't like hatches, but maybe an estate?

[g3org3y]

hornetrider said:

The obvious answer is the best 3 series you can afford.

Correct answer in the first reply.

[B'stard Child]

thecremeegg said:

HerrSchnell said:

st.

I wish someone had told me that sooner or I never would've driven the three I've owned over the last ten years in these type of conditions.





Thanks for the info, I'm going to sell mine post haste now I know it will struggle to move on remotely cold ground.

Congratulations....you're obviously God-like!
BMWs do struggle on snow, you know that.

I've got an E38 740 Auto - winter before last in a close of 60 houses after snow thaw and sheet ice I was one of only 4 cars that got up the slight hill..... I left the traction control on to do it's stuff...

[gizlaroc]

I can't see the point of buying a FWD car at all, why would you want to compromise the 360 days of the year you drive when it is not snowing for the 5 days when we have snow?

Buy RWD, enjoy it and if you must some some winter tyres on, or even some decent all seasons like Cross Climates.


I went back to a 2.0T A4 S-Line recently, FWD version, big mistake, far more dangerous than any BMW I have owned when it got even slightly damp.

[lostkiwi]

gizlaroc said:

I can't see the point of buying a FWD car at all, why would you want to compromise the 360 days of the year you drive when it is not snowing for the 5 days when we have snow?

Buy RWD, enjoy it and if you must some some winter tyres on, or even some decent all seasons like Cross Climates.


I went back to a 2.0T A4 S-Line recently, FWD version, big mistake, far more dangerous than any BMW I have owned when it got even slightly damp.

Compromise? Seriously? Its the 4am commute, not a stage of the WRC FFS.

Isn't it strange how so many FWD cars there are and yet fewer people are dying on the roads than ever....

[DoubleD]

gizlaroc said:

I can't see the point of buying a FWD car at all, why would you want to compromise the 360 days of the year you drive when it is not snowing for the 5 days when we have snow?

Buy RWD, enjoy it and if you must some some winter tyres on, or even some decent all seasons like Cross Climates.


I went back to a 2.0T A4 S-Line recently, FWD version, big mistake, far more dangerous than any BMW I have owned when it got even slightly damp.

My current FWD is more fun and understeers less than my previous RWD(E92). RWD isn't necessarily more fun than FWD

[Cabsi]

gizlaroc said:

I can't see the point of buying a FWD car at all, why would you want to compromise the 360 days of the year you drive when it is not snowing for the 5 days when we have snow?

Buy RWD, enjoy it and if you must some some winter tyres on, or even some decent all seasons like Cross Climates.


I went back to a 2.0T A4 S-Line recently, FWD version, big mistake, far more dangerous than any BMW I have owned when it got even slightly damp.

Nothing wrong with FWD. All depends on the chassis.

And are you seriously saying that the Mk5 Golf GTI (aka Jetta 2.0 TFSI Sport) isn't a great car?

If your A4 is dangerous, I'd start with buying some decent tyres and getting the alignment checked.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Don't forget that this is PH, where real men only drive RWD cars.

[CGJJ]

Stop your messing around.
Better think of your future.

[Hoofy]

gizlaroc said:

I went back to a 2.0T A4 S-Line recently, FWD version, big mistake, far more dangerous than any BMW I have owned when it got even slightly damp.

How come??

[gizlaroc]

lostkiwi said:

Compromise? Seriously? Its the 4am commute, not a stage of the WRC FFS.

Isn't it strange how so many FWD cars there are and yet fewer people are dying on the roads than ever....

It is not about dying on the roads you numb nuts, it is about the way the car feels, one is a dumb mile muncher, that as soon as it starts to get anywhere near exciting is dogged by torque steer, and that is the case with Audis, Sabbs, and many Volvos that I have had. It knocks the shine off what could be a good car.
I do wonder why these brands suffer with it so much, jump into a Ford RS and they seem to have it under control, I don't know whether that try and sort it with an lsd or different thickness of drive shafts, but they do something right when so many get it wrong.
I know there are other out there too who manage to get a FWD car handling well too, but the suggestion so far have been rubbish.

The OP wants something that is more fun than his RWD Merc, a Volvo S60, a Sabb 95 and a VW Jetta are just poor suggestions imho.