An estate that is a good steer?

[Bootdog]

Is this a bit of an oxymoron, or is there such a thing as a good handling estate?
e.g. for use when the wife + 2 kids + dog are not onboard?

[InitialDave]

Yes, but what's your budget and size requirement?

[Bootdog]

around £20k, and we've outgrown a W211 E55, so on the larger end of car things, but an SUV isn't needed if that makes sense.

[Rob 131 Sport]

Any Audi or BMW.

[Evercross]

XFR-S Sportbrake?

[Bootdog]

Rob 131 Sport said:

Any Audi or BMW.

I'd need them to not look like an RS6 or an M5 though.
Allroad TFSI (jap import only) is on the list.

[Bootdog]

Evercross said:

XFR-S Sportbrake?

Will check these out, they haven't been on my radar at all.

[DBA086]

£20k gives you quite a few options:

Medium size: E61 M5, CLS 63 or E63.

Small: RS4 (I think you can get a manual or auto at that money) or C63.

Wife, 2 kids and a retriever are pretty happy in our M5.

[DBA086]

Bootdog said:

Evercross said:

XFR-S Sportbrake?

Will check these out, they haven't been on my radar at all.

I think these are c. £30k (if you can find one).

[PomBstard]

Bootdog said:

around £20k, and we've outgrown a W211 E55, so on the larger end of car things, but an SUV isn't needed if that makes sense.

If you’ve outgrown an E55 then your options are limited, and from experience the only estates that can compete on size - boot and passenger cabin - are a Skoda Superb and a Holden Commodore. Audi A and BMW 5 aren’t as big, esp for the rear seat.

Would recommend finding one of the size comparison websites - can’t remember any right now - and checking the space in each. Another way to check is to set the drivers seat to how you have it, then check the space in the rear seat immediately behind.

Once you’ve got that sorted, check the Fast Wagons thread on here for more options and opinions - there is definitely fun to be had!

[Rob 131 Sport]

£20k is not a vast sum of money, so I would be keeping things simple. An Audi A6 3.0 or BMW 530 is probably the way to go with a 3 litre diesel engine.

Find a nice example with a few owners and a comprehensive history.

[James6112]

Skoda Superb Estate
They feel surprisingly nimble, also well set up for the UK moonscape road surfaces!

[Jader1973]

RIDC is the best I’ve found for dimensions etc

https://www.ridc.org.uk/features-reviews/out-and-a...

[braddo]

Bootdog said:

around £20k, and we've outgrown a W211 E55, so on the larger end of car things, but an SUV isn't needed if that makes sense.

Do you mean the E55 is too small, or just that it's time for a change?

Did you find the E55 a good steer?

[macron]

James6112 said:

Skoda Superb Estate
They feel surprisingly nimble, also well set up for the UK moonscape road surfaces!

Yes, the 280ps one is OK. In a straight line.

[cpl_payne]

If I was tasked with accomodating these requirements with a £20k budget AND provided parking space or an existing second car wasn't a problem I would be very tempted to get the nicest Toyota Alphard/Vellfire for about £15k to meet the family bus requirements and spend the rest on either a motorcycle or a light car for driving pleasure.

Worth considering?

[Swervin_Mervin]

macron said:

James6112 said:

Skoda Superb Estate
They feel surprisingly nimble, also well set up for the UK moonscape road surfaces!

Yes, the 280ps one is OK. In a straight line.

Yeah. They're not one for handling that's for sure

[ninjag]

Bootdog said:

Evercross said:

XFR-S Sportbrake?

Will check these out, they haven't been on my radar at all.

Good luck finding one, the Sportbrake are a limited run and are like unicorns, plus will be more in the region of £30k+ and the V8 is now around £700 to tax each year.

However, the regular XF Sportbrake is a great handling car, smooth over the bumps, precise steering and the rear air suspension makes carrying heavy loads pretty much unnoticeable. They have 50/50 weight distribution as well. Unfortunately, for some weird reason the UK didn't get the 3 litre supercharged petrol in the Sportbrake guise, which is a shame because it's 375bhp and 450Nm of torque.

The best options would be either the x260 3.0d V6 twin turbo with 300bhp and a stonking 700Nm of torque or the 2.0 petrol with 300bhp but a much lower 400Nm of torque.

The audio Meridian Surround System is pretty epic as well.

[MDMA .]

https://www.seymourpope.com/vehicle-details/used-b...

[braddo]

ninjag said:

The best options would be either the x260 3.0d V6 twin turbo with 300bhp and a stonking 700Nm of torque or the 2.0 petrol with 300bhp but a much lower 400Nm of torque.

Relating to the OP's question the petrol will be the nicer handling one, having less weight over the nose. It's probably the closest fit to a modern 'estate that is a good steer'.

However it applies to all the estates being considered - the ones with the smallest petrol engines will have the best handling.