Estate... but I don't need one...

[mdk1]

[quote=lord trumpton]

What the hell is that?[/quoted]
Peugeot 505, seven seater in some trim levels, the GTi was quick for its day.

[BobSaunders]

Swampy1982 said:

I'm due my company car replacement soon and I can't stop thinking about getting an estate...

I'm torn between the usual suspects,

Passat
Merc 220
BMW 320
Audi A4
Mondeo 2.0

My issue is the boss (misses) is asking me why we need an estate (just me, her and a 3 yr old) and I am struggling to justify it, I just feel that I want one. I'm 34 years old so its not an age thing, and my tip runs, long haul holidays and pet requirements are limited to few to none...

So why do I want one? Have you got an estate and don't need one? Did you regret it and wish you got a saloon? How did you justify it to yourself/misses/husband?

It is an age thing :-) It's just more sensible and practical.

I bought a estate much to the missus saying no - my money. Just myself and her. I can throw the bikes in the back, walking gear, air bed, etc. (all not at the same time). Brilliant.

I seriously do not care what people think either, i admit that some days i miss the looks of a saloon, but it comes down to practicality. I climbed out of a F10 M5 into a E91 320D.

What i miss the most - performance (330D/I will sort this), and automatic gear box.

Edited by BobSaunders on Monday 25th July 22:02

[Mr E]

Last 3 family cars have been estates. We prefer the flexibility and lack of image.

[Ozzie Osmond]

The great thing with an estate car is that once you've got one you can buy any sportscar you like without receiving any lectures about practicality.

[Ilovejapcrap]

I don't really get the point in a saloon, estate is same car probs more or less handles the same and has more room.

A also like the look. It's nice to be able to buy moderate size items and get them straight in the car. I defiantly want an estate next.

[Lester H]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Anything a saloon car can do an estate can do better.

......and the bigger ones are a bit posher than the equivalent saloon, aren't they?

[sparkythecat]

Welshbeef said:

- if you currently have a hatchback take the parcel shelf out and lay the rear seats flat and go for a drive you will get an idea then.

Won't that lower the centre of gravity and thus make the car handle better?

[sebhaque]

I'm 26 and I've had an estate for nearly two years. I love them. They're brilliantly practicable and arguably very similar to drive as their saloon counterparts.

Since I've had my wagon I've had a surprising number of requests for help transporting various goods around for my friends. I remember one evening I was having a beer with a friend who drove a Transit, a mutual friend was moving house and she thought the estate would be better!

I have no need for the capacity of an estate 90% of the time, but the 10% of the time when I need it, the car is fantastic. For example, I'm in the middle of moving house at the moment. My Merc has been faultless in delivering various items in and on top of it. I need to hire a van for a single hour, just to transport one sofa and my double bed. Everything else has fitted in the back of the car without an issue, and I'd struggle to do the move in a saloon without making many more trips for the big items (e.g. desk chair) or having to use a van to lug other items around (ironing board, office desk).

Also, it's very poor form to be a to a fellow PHer just because of his/her choice of car. Not conducive to being afforded any respect back on the forum.

[lord trumpton]

mdk1 said:

lord trumpton said:

What the hell is that?

Peugeot 505, seven seater in some trim levels, the GTi was quick for its day.

Thanks.

The more I look at it the more I like it. Very cool indeed

[Roger Irrelevant]

Ilovejapcrap said:

I don't really get the point in a saloon, estate is same car probs more or less handles the same and has more room.

This is exactly the way I see it too. My current Accord Tourer is the first estate I've had but I doubt I'd have anything else now. Much like the OP I don't need it 95% of the time but on the 5% when I do it's worth it's weight in gold. With sprogs on the way that 5% is likely to increase too...

Currently mulling over an XC70 as a modicum of off-road ability would be handy but I'm not at all keen on SUVs.

[Tannedbaldhead]

lord trumpton said:

DrSteveBrule said:

Still a very cool car after all these years.

What the hell is that?

Peugeot 505 Estate. Brilliant car in its day and probably a better car than its BMW and Mercedes equivalents.

I've ran estates. Odd thing is when I bought my first I though I didn't need it. After running one I wonder how anyone can manage without.

[Welshbeef]

lord trumpton said:

What the hell is that?

Pug 505

[Slushbox]

I did about 1500 miles through France & Belgium last week (in my reasonably priced Dacia estate) and thought, with no accuracy whatsover, that most of the SUV's on the motorways were Brits, while every third French or Belgium reg car seemed to be a black estate, laden with bedding.

A cultural thing, perhaps.

There are quite a few estate camper conversions on YouTube, the Dutch seem fond of them.

My last 'expensive' car was an E-Class wagon. Used that to move home, instead of hiring a van. Estates are very versatile cars.

Edited by Slushbox on Tuesday 26th July 08:26

[JonnyTenny]

omgus said:

Had a classic Impreza STI Wagon.

Much cooler than any other impreza body shape, get an estate it makes sense.

Same here and I absolutely loved it, would never have swapped it for the saloon!

OP - the missus is asking you to justify getting one, what are the reasons for her not wanting you to get one? When I got my Subaru (that I now miss) she was less upset when I turned up with one that could do/fit everything.

[Swampy1982]

JonnyTenny said:

Same here and I absolutely loved it, would never have swapped it for the saloon!

OP - the missus is asking you to justify getting one, what are the reasons for her not wanting you to get one? When I got my Subaru (that I now miss) she was less upset when I turned up with one that could do/fit everything.

Apparently they look like hearses!!

You lot are a godsend, I think the one statement that really struck a cord with me is that 95% of the time I don't need it, but that 5% of the time its a real godsend.

Has anyone got an estate and wished they hadn't? I will have this car for 4 years, so want to hear any negatives that people have had as well, so I have a well rounded decision.

I get the refinement point, but my logic is that if I've never had the saloon, I will never compare. And lets face it, i'm going from a 4 year old brown vauxhall insignia, so it can't be much worse!

[FiF]

Welshbeef said:

Swampy1982 said:

underphil said:

Cabin road noise will be higher in the estate, due to a less isolated boot

Appreciate the clarification.

What is every ones experience with this issue - is it significantly different to the saloon versions...?

It is noticeable - and also if you have rattling stuff in the boot you will hear it. Also if you have an accident the stuff in he boot of a saloon stays in the boot- in an estate it could come flying through the car though an impact that hard you'd be brown bread anyway.


As for how noticeable it is - if you currently have a hatchback take the parcel shelf out and lay the rear seats flat and go for a drive you will get an idea then.

Personally I generally prefer the Estate looks and they are hugely practical - add a roof box and a family with two kids can go camping for a week with ease.

Personally the advice to take the parcel shelf out and drop the rear seats is only an example of noise level if in the estate you, err, take the load cover out and drop the rear seats.

If you are carrying stuffin the rear that you're worried about them it's worth tying it down, and the estate will usually have handy tie down hooks and eyes. Particularly so of you've got big and heavy stuff. For general bits that you carry around how about considering an estate with what VAG call a variable boot floor. You end up with a flat load space, level with the bottom of the rear door, beneath a space for storing all sorts of stuff.

Personally most of my daily use vehicles have been estates over the decades simply because they fit my needs better. Sometimes the estate looked better than the saloon, eg Skoda Superb, sometimes it didn't, eg Mk1 Escort, though not exactly hideous.

[SturdyHSV]

If you need to convince the Mrs, you could always get a large dog. Instant estate car justification. Alternatively, suggest you do some DIY, this will involve going to the tip, probably disposing of carpet, purchasing lots of bulky items etc. More estate justification. Or go on a tour around Europe with lots of stuff.

Don't get me wrong, you can fit a lot in a hatchback, but it's so much easier sliding stuff into a flat 6ft load bay, this for example was simplicity itself, I didn't even need to stack anything

[anarki]

Had my C class wagon for 3 months now, absolutely love it.

Biggest load so far in the boot has been a 1300x700mm shower tray, a few 3 metre lengths of copper pipe, 3 metre lengths of waste pipe, a toilet and a sink.

Struggled to get the shower enclosure in with all of that so strapped it to the roof bars.

Fully kitted out inside with all the usual Merc refinements and feels like any other car to drive. I'm a convert and doubt I'll ever get a saloon or hatch again.

[Davey S2]

We are a family of 3 as well and I've recently gone from a 4 door 320d to a Merc C Class estate and its great.

I don't really notice any difference in size when driving but it's just useful having more room when you need it.

I did look at 5 series Tourings and E class estates but these were a bit too big given Ionly need the additional space occasionally.

We've done week long trips before in the 320 with a pram and all the other luggage which was fine when it was just me, the wife and the baby but no room for anything else. The wife recently went away with her parents and the baby for a week and got everything in the Merc.

The folding seats are also very useful.

[Leins]

DrSteveBrule said:

Still a very cool car after all these years.

Love it Not up on my 505 trim-level spotting (is your one a V6?), but a quick google produced something I didn't know existed, the 4x4 version of the Break by Dangel: