What car? Reliable premium motorway executive hatchback

[Jimi.K.]

Hi all,

I'm moving jobs shortly and will be needing my own car again - for both business and personal use. Looking for something a bit premium with the following in order of priority:
- Reliable
- hatchback and large boot for ikea runs at the weekend (a full estate is probably overkill though)
- reasonable mpg (I'll be doing 25k+ miles per year)
- comfortable on the motorway with a few luxuries
- preferably a bit of shove (<8 sec to 60)
- Good value and hopefully <£10k (but can be flexible on that)

I like the Audi A5 sportback, and a 8yo high mileage 3.0 TDI can be had with my budget. How reliable will these be with over 150k miles?

BMW 4-Series gran coupe also fits the bill but they only launched in 2014 so looking at £12k+ for a relatively low spec 420d.

Bit of a different choice, but I test drove a nearly new Skoda superb which seemed quite nice. £10k can get me a 2.0 TDI 2015 current-gen car with 90k miles and reasonable spec. Not nearly as fun as the Audi though.

I'm not keen on estates, but I'm also considering a Volvo V40.

Any opinions on the above cars? Any obvious options I'm missing?

Thanks!

[darrenham]

I'd have thought the V40 would be far too small, certainly compared to the Superb. V60 maybe?

The Octavia is huge in the back, so don't feel you have to go for the Superb, although in basic trim the latter looks better.

[GreatGranny]

I know you said you'd prefer a hatchback and not an estate but £10k would get you this:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

0-60 in 6.4 secs
150mph
Easy 40 mpg
Low tax
Great engine

or if that's too big:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[InitialDave]

In your place, I'd probably look at a later E91 3 series touring.

[MajorMantra]

If reliability is a major priority, I'm not convinced a recent high mileage diesel (like that Audi) is a great choice. Lots to go wrong...

InitialDave said:

In your place, I'd probably look at a later E91 3 series touring.

I love my E91 but it's arguably less practical than many hatchbacks, as there's so little height for cargo compared to cars like the Octavia and Focus.

[Zetec-S]

So (also ignoring the hatchback part of the brief) if you're doing a lot of (motorway) miles and you want a bit of comfort and luxury, how about a Volvo V60?

2.4 D5 SE Lux Nav Geartronic AWD (£9,995)
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

2.0 D4 Business Edition (£8,280)
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...


Of if something a bit more fun is the priority then something like a Golf GTD or Focus ST diesel?

[InitialDave]

MajorMantra said:

I love my E91 but it's arguably less practical than many hatchbacks, as there's so little height for cargo compared to cars like the Octavia and Focus.

Yeah, the 3 series touring have always been like this, but if you think of them as more like a decent size hatchback, it's fine, and they are pretty good all rounders.

[ZX10R NIN]

Jimi.K. said:

Hi all,

I'm moving jobs shortly and will be needing my own car again - for both business and personal use. Looking for something a bit premium with the following in order of priority:
- Reliable
- hatchback and large boot for ikea runs at the weekend (a full estate is probably overkill though)
- reasonable mpg (I'll be doing 25k+ miles per year)
- comfortable on the motorway with a few luxuries
- preferably a bit of shove (<8 sec to 60)
- Good value and hopefully <£10k (but can be flexible on that)

I like the Audi A5 sportback, and a 8yo high mileage 3.0 TDI can be had with my budget. How reliable will these be with over 150k miles?

BMW 4-Series gran coupe also fits the bill but they only launched in 2014 so looking at £12k+ for a relatively low spec 420d.

Bit of a different choice, but I test drove a nearly new Skoda superb which seemed quite nice. £10k can get me a 2.0 TDI 2015 current-gen car with 90k miles and reasonable spec. Not nearly as fun as the Audi though.

I'm not keen on estates, but I'm also considering a Volvo V40.

Any opinions on the above cars? Any obvious options I'm missing?

Thanks!

Here's the thing if I was doing 25k a year I'd be looking for something that's less premium but high spec & lower mileage cars that will be comfortable as well as swift & reliable, I'd also look for a 3.0d engine as they add to a more relaxed environment.

Infiniti M GT Massive boot very comfortable as well as being swift

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

EX Now these are a rare sight but you can get one with low miles & they have a Premium feel to them.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

XF S Portfolio

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Portfolio by going for the lower power model you can get a facelift model

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Premium Luxury

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

CLS Grand Edition

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

E350 Sport Edition

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

5 series GT now this hits most of your requirements

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

All the above are reliable comfortable & most are under 70k.

[Jimi.K.]

Thanks for the replies so far. I do like the idea of a F10 5- series estate! I hadn't realised the 530d has crept below £10k. Although will reliability potentially be an issue?

A Volvo V60 is also a good shout, although I feel like the prices are quite strong compared to a BMW or Audi a year or 2 older.

I noticed that the A5 sportback came top of what cars reliability survey in the executive class https://www.whatcar.com/news/best-older-cars-for-r...
Does anyone have any experience with the 3.0TDI and 7speed auto?

Im thinking of going to take a look at this one as it's not too far from me, and has cream leather which I'm a sucker for, but it's quite high miles!
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2018...

[Mr Tidy]

That is pretty leggy for the money.

I bought a 2006 325i Touring in February for less than half that price, although it was also pretty leggy at 132K miles.

But it has heated Lemon leather!