What car - £20k - Honeymoon Roadtrip
Discussion
The latest meeting of the Central Planning Committee - 1st Plenary - has decreed that next summer's celebration of matrimony will involve driving around Europe for 2 weeks channeling our inner Chuck Berry.
At this point, the only thing I know for certain is that we're paying a nice man to put both the Central Planning Committee and myself and a car on a boat and deliver us to Spain. From where we'll spend 2 weeks coming back to England through as many different parts of the EU as possible, looking back misty eyed whilst we remember all that we've left behind.
My question for you, the great denizens of PH; what car.
Current transport is a Touareg. I bought it 12 months ago when I had a 60 mile/day commute. Now I have a 60 step/day commute, so I don't need it. It's "worthy", but that's about all it is and I'm sure that when VW designed it, the Riviera Lifestyle wasn't what they had in mind.
So, what car would you choose. Criteria are: Ideally £15k, man maths makes £20k doable (or even something newish for £30) Can be used daily - well, for all of the 500 miles/month I do mostly locally, preferably 4 seats so I can transport the hound (Golden Retriever) around on the back seats occasionally, Petrol, >6 cylinders (but willing to compromise if it's attached to something interesting), sporty and, well, not boring.
Thoughts so-far:
- Pork (probably a 997.1/987.2 Cayman)
- FFRR
- Jag XKR/XK8
- 340 Convertible
- Mustang (sally, oh baby)
What would you buy?
At this point, the only thing I know for certain is that we're paying a nice man to put both the Central Planning Committee and myself and a car on a boat and deliver us to Spain. From where we'll spend 2 weeks coming back to England through as many different parts of the EU as possible, looking back misty eyed whilst we remember all that we've left behind.
My question for you, the great denizens of PH; what car.
Current transport is a Touareg. I bought it 12 months ago when I had a 60 mile/day commute. Now I have a 60 step/day commute, so I don't need it. It's "worthy", but that's about all it is and I'm sure that when VW designed it, the Riviera Lifestyle wasn't what they had in mind.
So, what car would you choose. Criteria are: Ideally £15k, man maths makes £20k doable (or even something newish for £30) Can be used daily - well, for all of the 500 miles/month I do mostly locally, preferably 4 seats so I can transport the hound (Golden Retriever) around on the back seats occasionally, Petrol, >6 cylinders (but willing to compromise if it's attached to something interesting), sporty and, well, not boring.
Thoughts so-far:
- Pork (probably a 997.1/987.2 Cayman)
- FFRR
- Jag XKR/XK8
- 340 Convertible
- Mustang (sally, oh baby)
What would you buy?
For me it would be a CL500 with the AMG kit on it:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
This is the one I'd go for as it has the 4.7 BiTurbo which is an even sweeter engine than the 5.5 N/A, these drive well & are a great car for spending time in & if the road opens up you can enjoy all of these cars too.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
If you're feeling amazingly brave then there's the CL600:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Vauxhall VXR8
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Alfa Brera Prodrive
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Mustang but only the 2.3T model & LHD
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Corvette C6
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Jaguar XKR
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
This is the one I'd go for as it has the 4.7 BiTurbo which is an even sweeter engine than the 5.5 N/A, these drive well & are a great car for spending time in & if the road opens up you can enjoy all of these cars too.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
If you're feeling amazingly brave then there's the CL600:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Vauxhall VXR8
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Alfa Brera Prodrive
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Mustang but only the 2.3T model & LHD
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Corvette C6
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Jaguar XKR
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
I'd be tempted to get a convertible of some description if travelling in summer - we did the same a few years back with £12k of (996 era) 911 that had had a Hartech rebuild and went to Germany. Think that being able to pop the roof down when you are slowly cruising through a tourist resort (or blatting through a tunnel!) added an extra level of enjoyment.
I'd avoid anything super unusual in case it needed maintenance whilst away (although it could be that Corvette spares are easy to come by so that may be my own ignorance). Found the 911 had a big enough trunk for a couple of bags and more could be put on back seat (and as long as it wasn't valuables) are easily hidden by the wind deflector if the roof was down.
I'd avoid anything super unusual in case it needed maintenance whilst away (although it could be that Corvette spares are easy to come by so that may be my own ignorance). Found the 911 had a big enough trunk for a couple of bags and more could be put on back seat (and as long as it wasn't valuables) are easily hidden by the wind deflector if the roof was down.
Thanks for the replies. By way of reply:
CL's are something I'd thought of actually. Quite like the SL too, although my beard is mere stubble on anything with a 3 pointed star.
Not too keen on a Monaro, I suspect that they're driven around with a VB/Castlemaine/Bundaberg in the cup-holder at all times and a permanently lit Winnie Blue.
Alfa, [italianaccent] eets a preeety car. [/italianaccent] and worth considering. How eccentric are they as an ownership proposition?
Corvette - also on the radar, and it does allow me to indulge my American fantasies. If I was to go down the two seater route (with appropriately less space for the hound) would this be the answer and would LHD irritate me on a daily basis? More thought required.
CPC is actually more inclined to a RR than anything else on the list, which I put down to her being from The Cotswolds, although it does need to be in approved spec (no tinted windows, small wheels, smell of dog, preferably in brown definitely not black or white, and a polo club/country sports club sticker in the back window). It scratches a bit of an itch for me too. I love the idea of bimbling around in one, especially as it gets older.
She's less keen on anything with a leaping cat on the bonnet - and anything with a non-factory fit leaper is immediately discounted - after the time the brakes failed on a trip through the lake district on my old X350. She also nearly killed me when she got the Brake Pedal and Accelerator confused when I was finding the fault, although that's another story, so not the happiest memories.
Convertible Schwien is definitely on the agenda. I am sorely tempted by a 996 in either drop top of coupe flavour but with appropriate considerations to modernity. Like Bluetooth and a DAB radio, although I suspect that's easily resolved.
CL's are something I'd thought of actually. Quite like the SL too, although my beard is mere stubble on anything with a 3 pointed star.
Not too keen on a Monaro, I suspect that they're driven around with a VB/Castlemaine/Bundaberg in the cup-holder at all times and a permanently lit Winnie Blue.
Alfa, [italianaccent] eets a preeety car. [/italianaccent] and worth considering. How eccentric are they as an ownership proposition?
Corvette - also on the radar, and it does allow me to indulge my American fantasies. If I was to go down the two seater route (with appropriately less space for the hound) would this be the answer and would LHD irritate me on a daily basis? More thought required.
CPC is actually more inclined to a RR than anything else on the list, which I put down to her being from The Cotswolds, although it does need to be in approved spec (no tinted windows, small wheels, smell of dog, preferably in brown definitely not black or white, and a polo club/country sports club sticker in the back window). It scratches a bit of an itch for me too. I love the idea of bimbling around in one, especially as it gets older.
She's less keen on anything with a leaping cat on the bonnet - and anything with a non-factory fit leaper is immediately discounted - after the time the brakes failed on a trip through the lake district on my old X350. She also nearly killed me when she got the Brake Pedal and Accelerator confused when I was finding the fault, although that's another story, so not the happiest memories.
Convertible Schwien is definitely on the agenda. I am sorely tempted by a 996 in either drop top of coupe flavour but with appropriate considerations to modernity. Like Bluetooth and a DAB radio, although I suspect that's easily resolved.
philipbrown123 said:
How about a Lexus IS 250 convertible. A bit different and 100% reliability ( based on my 11 year old Lexus ).
Interesting thought. I suspect that to drive it's the equivalent of wearing a pair of Farah Slacks. Perfectly comfortable and stops people seeing your gentleman sausage, but it's not going to excite like a pair of assless chaps. My wife and i often euro trips for 2-4 weeks, last trip we pondered what was the 'perfect car' for such trips and i hate to say it PH, but we agreed something small, quick well equipped and ultimately 4x4! We've often found ourselves down rutted tracks, ponderously tight urban streets, Beech's and up mountains.
4x4's simply give us opportunity! You're not worried about catching the chin parking, or getting stuck backing out of somewhere, rough roads are taken at speed, opportunist speed bumps are not terminal and touch parking/door dings are less of a thing.
It takes your luggage without having to pack light too
We never did narrow it down to the exact car but something like a Evoque, Q5, x3 etc etc...
4x4's simply give us opportunity! You're not worried about catching the chin parking, or getting stuck backing out of somewhere, rough roads are taken at speed, opportunist speed bumps are not terminal and touch parking/door dings are less of a thing.
It takes your luggage without having to pack light too
We never did narrow it down to the exact car but something like a Evoque, Q5, x3 etc etc...
FlatToTheMat said:
My wife and i often euro trips for 2-4 weeks, last trip we pondered what was the 'perfect car' for such trips and i hate to say it PH, but we agreed something small, quick well equipped and ultimately 4x4! We've often found ourselves down rutted tracks, ponderously tight urban streets, Beech's and up mountains.
4x4's simply give us opportunity! You're not worried about catching the chin parking, or getting stuck backing out of somewhere, rough roads are taken at speed, opportunist speed bumps are not terminal and touch parking/door dings are less of a thing.
It takes your luggage without having to pack light too
We never did narrow it down to the exact car but something like a Evoque, Q5, x3 etc etc...
as a counter point, we've just finished 3 weeks in a Morgan. we had to consider all the negatives you highlight (and more...) and yet my steering committee loved it. i'd prefer something like a TVR, XK8 or older 911, more luggage and better cruising but still with a spirit of adventure. 4x4's simply give us opportunity! You're not worried about catching the chin parking, or getting stuck backing out of somewhere, rough roads are taken at speed, opportunist speed bumps are not terminal and touch parking/door dings are less of a thing.
It takes your luggage without having to pack light too
We never did narrow it down to the exact car but something like a Evoque, Q5, x3 etc etc...
is it the destination or the journey?
CABC said:
as a counter point, we've just finished 3 weeks in a Morgan. we had to consider all the negatives you highlight (and more...) and yet my steering committee loved it. i'd prefer something like a TVR, XK8 or older 911, more luggage and better cruising but still with a spirit of adventure.
is it the destination or the journey?
You are of course right. We are practical people t a fault though. Saying that I'd sell both my kidney's to do three weeks in a Morgan, my wife wouldn't, perhaps that's the difference. Finding the balance. One of our last rips we used a GLK350, nice V6 petrol, small and quiet chuckable whilst not drawing attentionis it the destination or the journey?
XK8 would be my choice
Few left field choices inspired by CABC:
v12 DB7
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
SLK55 with Airscarf and in Mystic Blue
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
BMW 650i Convertible
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Granturismo
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Edited by FlatToTheMat on Thursday 1st November 14:10
Some good suggestions there and an interesting philosophical question.
Whilst it is as much about the journey as the destination, anyone who's ever flown Ryanair can attest to that, the romance of it is broken down somewhat if you spend the honeymoon waiting for Monsieur AA to tow your car to a garage so that Monsieur Mechanique can smoke a gitane, shrug and say Merde.
So, reliability is a bit of a consideration. Not so much so that I want to do it in a Kia Magentis/Hyundai Accent/Toyota Anything, but enough so that you could plausibly deny expecting any problems along the way. Sadly, and based on nothing more than intuition and vague sense of these things, I suspect that rules out the Aston and, probably the Maserati.
BMW is interesting. Can't help but think the Mercedes is a bit on the petit side and I'm not sure there's room for 4.....
Jag still has a place, but it'd have to be the 5.0 with a fruity exhaust. I can't help but think a smaller SUV is basically the same as the Touareg, only smaller. So it's probably not worth changing.
Whilst it is as much about the journey as the destination, anyone who's ever flown Ryanair can attest to that, the romance of it is broken down somewhat if you spend the honeymoon waiting for Monsieur AA to tow your car to a garage so that Monsieur Mechanique can smoke a gitane, shrug and say Merde.
So, reliability is a bit of a consideration. Not so much so that I want to do it in a Kia Magentis/Hyundai Accent/Toyota Anything, but enough so that you could plausibly deny expecting any problems along the way. Sadly, and based on nothing more than intuition and vague sense of these things, I suspect that rules out the Aston and, probably the Maserati.
BMW is interesting. Can't help but think the Mercedes is a bit on the petit side and I'm not sure there's room for 4.....
Jag still has a place, but it'd have to be the 5.0 with a fruity exhaust. I can't help but think a smaller SUV is basically the same as the Touareg, only smaller. So it's probably not worth changing.
Ah yes, forgot about the Doggy!
e500 Cabriolet, great spec, heated/cooled seats, Airscarf etc
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
e500 Cabriolet, great spec, heated/cooled seats, Airscarf etc
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Has to be a Chimera, either in 4.0 or 4.2 flavour
It’d be memorable (key selling point), it
Makes a great noise, it won’t depreciate, if given a full shake-down prior and used regularly it should be no less reliable and there is a big space behind the seats for the hound.
It’s also a convertible...plenty of good ones around for your budget
It’d be memorable (key selling point), it
Makes a great noise, it won’t depreciate, if given a full shake-down prior and used regularly it should be no less reliable and there is a big space behind the seats for the hound.
It’s also a convertible...plenty of good ones around for your budget
If it was to be a convertible then the E500 Convertible is a great shout but I'll say as an owner of an E500 coupe it doesn't feel as special as the CL (my dad has a CL63 & my uncle a CL500) when I get into there CL they just feel a step above.
Also remap a 4.7TT & you're at CL63 levels of performance, the E500 is a bit more chuckable but from the sounds of it you're not going to be trying to nail every apex.
I really like my E500 it's an absolute weapon & hasn't cost me anything other than fuel & servicing.
4.7TT E500 I've got to be honest I'd by the cheaper & better CL500 with the same engine.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
The E500 convertible listed above is a great shout.
Also remap a 4.7TT & you're at CL63 levels of performance, the E500 is a bit more chuckable but from the sounds of it you're not going to be trying to nail every apex.
I really like my E500 it's an absolute weapon & hasn't cost me anything other than fuel & servicing.
4.7TT E500 I've got to be honest I'd by the cheaper & better CL500 with the same engine.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
The E500 convertible listed above is a great shout.
I don't suppose the Central Planning Committee will sign it off, but what about something like a Toyota Alphard or Nissan Elgrand camper with a V6 engine?
I think a mint import with camper conversion would cost around £20k.
You'd have a Rock 'n' Roll bed (bumpity-bump, and rollin' side-to-side) to share with your Golden Retriever!
Also, a fridge to chill your drinks, and maybe a canopy to sit under when you and the hound-dawg need a cool breeze.
You'd save on hotel costs, and be able to park up whenever you spot a beautiful view:-
Not a grey cloud floatin' in sight
Big full moon shinin' up above
Cuddle up honey, be my love
I think a mint import with camper conversion would cost around £20k.
You'd have a Rock 'n' Roll bed (bumpity-bump, and rollin' side-to-side) to share with your Golden Retriever!
Also, a fridge to chill your drinks, and maybe a canopy to sit under when you and the hound-dawg need a cool breeze.
You'd save on hotel costs, and be able to park up whenever you spot a beautiful view:-
Not a grey cloud floatin' in sight
Big full moon shinin' up above
Cuddle up honey, be my love
Maser Grancabrio? https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201... amazing colour too!
Stretching the budget... but
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
not very spicy:
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
not very spicy part 2:
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
not very spicy:
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
not very spicy part 2:
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
A camper van is a nice idea. Sadly, it's destined to remain an idea.
CPC's counterpart took one on her honeymoon - hated every minute and crashed it into a ditch in cornwall. Kind of put her off. I'm also not keen on spending nights under canvass when there are reasonably priced vineyards with swimming pools and beer and rose to stay at nearby.
Maserati is pretty compelling (well pretty, full-stop) but surely they spend their evenings planning on how they're going to empty your wallet next? Oh, and that one's twice the budget and looks like someone drove over a speed bump with several open bottles of claret on the back seat.
F-Type is pretty much the dream. I'm a long-time admirer of anything with a cat on the bonnet (I blame being taken to Kindergarten in the back a V12 XJ-S, then an XK Sport). If the budget stretches, that's the solution.
Sadly, the Mercedes is a dirty diesel. Cliche'd it may be, but a 4 cylinder diesel does spoil the ambiance, somewhat.
CPC's counterpart took one on her honeymoon - hated every minute and crashed it into a ditch in cornwall. Kind of put her off. I'm also not keen on spending nights under canvass when there are reasonably priced vineyards with swimming pools and beer and rose to stay at nearby.
Maserati is pretty compelling (well pretty, full-stop) but surely they spend their evenings planning on how they're going to empty your wallet next? Oh, and that one's twice the budget and looks like someone drove over a speed bump with several open bottles of claret on the back seat.
F-Type is pretty much the dream. I'm a long-time admirer of anything with a cat on the bonnet (I blame being taken to Kindergarten in the back a V12 XJ-S, then an XK Sport). If the budget stretches, that's the solution.
Sadly, the Mercedes is a dirty diesel. Cliche'd it may be, but a 4 cylinder diesel does spoil the ambiance, somewhat.
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