Help me find a nice estate!
Discussion
The wife and I have decided this year we are going to treat ourselves to a new family car. At the moment we have a C Max TDCi on an 04 and fancy an update.
Our budget is about £8K, maybe stretch a little more for the right car. I don't want to go any older than 7 years at an absolute maximum and need 32mpg as a minimum. It has to be an estate as we have 2 large dogs and a 1 year old boy. The issue is finding a balance between something nice to drive and look at without costing a fortune to run. Preferably petrol and manual as we both enjoy driving and won't be putting huge mileage on it to warrant a diesel but I will consider both auto and diesel for the right car. So far I have come up with the following but haven't done very much research into each model as yet:
BMW 3 series - I'm a big BMW fan having owned quite a few, but I'm not particularly familiar with the newer models (E90 range). I've always been a fan of the 6 cylinder petrols but having a look at the autotrader stats compared to the 4's there doesn't seem to be much in it (other than a nicer noise!) I've seen a few 318's for very reasonable money but can't help thinking I would get bored of it after the new car novelty has worn off. Is there a particular engine and spec to go for on these?
Audi A4 TFSi - On paper these seem quite nice and in S-Line spec they look the part too. I don't know a lot about Audi's really as they've never really interested me but I would like to drive one if they are worth considering.
Saab 9-3 - These seem to be a lot of value for money. A friend of mine has already sent me a link to a 2.8V6 turbo which is stunning! I don't think the wife will be happy with the running costs on that particular model but there are others to choose from. I know Saabs come with a bit of an old man image but I'm not especially bothered I am more concerned about the quality of them.
Ford Mondeo - Again a lot of value for money and no doubt a very good car but I don't know if we will be bored of it after a year.
BMW 5 series (E60) - I'm a bit fan of these and found a lovely 525i on a 58plate in great spec well within budget. I know they're a 3 litre so expect fuel consumption not to be fantastic but it could be something we can live with if the car is right. Does anyone have any day to day experience of these? I realise it won't be a point and squirt car due to the sheer size but with it being family orientated I'm more concerned about enough grunt to overtake easily than being able to fling it around the A-roads.
Very vague I know! We are not rushing into anything and I'm purely in the research stage at the moment, but if anyone has feedback on any of the models above or can suggest something else I would be very grateful.
Our budget is about £8K, maybe stretch a little more for the right car. I don't want to go any older than 7 years at an absolute maximum and need 32mpg as a minimum. It has to be an estate as we have 2 large dogs and a 1 year old boy. The issue is finding a balance between something nice to drive and look at without costing a fortune to run. Preferably petrol and manual as we both enjoy driving and won't be putting huge mileage on it to warrant a diesel but I will consider both auto and diesel for the right car. So far I have come up with the following but haven't done very much research into each model as yet:
BMW 3 series - I'm a big BMW fan having owned quite a few, but I'm not particularly familiar with the newer models (E90 range). I've always been a fan of the 6 cylinder petrols but having a look at the autotrader stats compared to the 4's there doesn't seem to be much in it (other than a nicer noise!) I've seen a few 318's for very reasonable money but can't help thinking I would get bored of it after the new car novelty has worn off. Is there a particular engine and spec to go for on these?
Audi A4 TFSi - On paper these seem quite nice and in S-Line spec they look the part too. I don't know a lot about Audi's really as they've never really interested me but I would like to drive one if they are worth considering.
Saab 9-3 - These seem to be a lot of value for money. A friend of mine has already sent me a link to a 2.8V6 turbo which is stunning! I don't think the wife will be happy with the running costs on that particular model but there are others to choose from. I know Saabs come with a bit of an old man image but I'm not especially bothered I am more concerned about the quality of them.
Ford Mondeo - Again a lot of value for money and no doubt a very good car but I don't know if we will be bored of it after a year.
BMW 5 series (E60) - I'm a bit fan of these and found a lovely 525i on a 58plate in great spec well within budget. I know they're a 3 litre so expect fuel consumption not to be fantastic but it could be something we can live with if the car is right. Does anyone have any day to day experience of these? I realise it won't be a point and squirt car due to the sheer size but with it being family orientated I'm more concerned about enough grunt to overtake easily than being able to fling it around the A-roads.
Very vague I know! We are not rushing into anything and I'm purely in the research stage at the moment, but if anyone has feedback on any of the models above or can suggest something else I would be very grateful.
Ozzie Osmond said:
Don't ignore the Mercedes C-class. Loads of estates around at sensible prices. It is said the electonickery gives less trouble than on comparable BMWs.
I'm a massive fan of the new Mercedes range but my budget will only put me in an older shaped one which I'm not fond of. They look a bit dated compared to the others.I am swaying more towards an E60 after the responses on here and also looking at the specs of them! The 525d seems a good choice offering decent poke as well as impressive MPG. We had an E36 320d about 5 years ago now on an 03 plate and it caused some nightmares! The turbo and intercooler needed replacing, as did 4 injectors along with a boot load of other things costing £3.5Kish to fix. I am therefore pretty sceptical about BMW diesels so need to do more research this time.
[quote=Who me ?]Someone mentioned Passat, so why not Octavia, I've heard tales of over 50mpg in a diesel and at the age you want, no DPF . Then, if you are considering Mondeo, why not the Insignia estate. Mondeo petrol drink fuel IMHO, and the TDCI versions have the pull of a Fiesta. Both of the Insignia saloons I've driven have returned close to 50MPG on a trip up north and on that sort of trip I "make a lot of progress", and use lower gears for acceleration. I don't know how many owners Vauxhall honour the warranty on, but it's advertised as up to 100k miles. Then there's the Avensis estate and although I'm not a huge Frog fan, the Laguna estate.
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My business partner has a Passat and although a nice car it just doesn't do anything for me really, sadly the same goes for the Octavia. I run a Passat as a work car and it is very good despite having over 200K on the clock! This may sound irrational but I would feel like I was driving a newer version of my work car. The Octavia I like in VRS form but the wife isn't a fan. I wouldn't go French again after being bitten too many times but the Insignia could be a consideration. I can't stop looking at 5 series' though, they just seem to tick every box.
Edited by Who me ? on Sunday 20th April 20:32
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My business partner has a Passat and although a nice car it just doesn't do anything for me really, sadly the same goes for the Octavia. I run a Passat as a work car and it is very good despite having over 200K on the clock! This may sound irrational but I would feel like I was driving a newer version of my work car. The Octavia I like in VRS form but the wife isn't a fan. I wouldn't go French again after being bitten too many times but the Insignia could be a consideration. I can't stop looking at 5 series' though, they just seem to tick every box.
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