£4-8K Fast/comfy estate

[-Neil-]

So my Nissan Leaf is going back in August at the end of its 2 year pcp.
New ones are substantially more to lease and even though I could make a small profit on buying it at the end then selling straight away I'd rather be shot of it than have it sat around trying to sell it.

So I'm after:

Estate (getting a dog in June/July time).
Comfortable and well specced (leather/heated seats a must) as will be doing min 15K miles a year mainly on motorway.
5/6 Cylinder with a bit of grunt.
Auto.
>40mpg.


Current thinking is:

Volvo V70 D5.
Mercedes C350CDI/E350CDI.
BMW E91 330D or some F10's are in budget but could be rough as bottom end of market.

Any thoughts on the ones above or anything I've missed?

[Deerfoot]

I've got a V60 D5 auto and it ticks all your boxes...

Obviously a bit smaller than the V70 and others on your list but unless you're planning on getting a Great Dane you should be OK.

[ZX10R NIN]

E320cdi Sport (350's are hard to find at this price point unless you're looking at high milers)

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

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

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

W203/204 C320cdi (I'd take the EClass over the see just for the extra space & comfort)

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

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

C270cdi

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

Alfa 159 TI a slightly leftfield choice but a very good car

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

The V60 is well worth (same drivetrain) a look if you don't need the V70's boot space:

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...

Chrysler 300C

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

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

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

[Genuine Barn Find]

Audi 3.0 V6 Allroad Quattro C6.
Remap the V6 and you will be pushing 300 BHP, 600 NM of Torque and a good 35-45mpg.
Your budget will be a lovely low mileage example with all of the toys, plus they are super on the air suspension, good (soft road) and sure footed in the winter.

[-Neil-]

Thanks for the suggestions, some interesting ones some not so much (Chrysler lol).

I keep looking at the 350CDI engined Mercs, a remap takes them to 290bhp and comedy torque which would make them even more effortless

[Martyn76]

Biased vote for an E91 330D, great cruiser and it's not slow!

[salam0506]

Hey looking for a similar motor myself.

I had a '98 Subaru GTB which was great but got a bit old and the turning circle was terrible. Looking at newer ones now (2006) which come in at £6-8k but still not sure if the turning circle was that bad - anyone had any experience with these?

We have a 2017 E220d on lease that is going back at the end of March. Not sure whether to spend another £7k over 2 years on lease or just get a used motor.

How is your search going?

[Otispunkmeyer]

Same here. Currently have a Prius...it's a good car and the purely logical result of an efficient, cheap to run thought experiment. But the comfort is lacking...

I didnt want diesel, but I think I'm coming round. 15k miles a year minimum. The Prius does 50+mpg and it's petrol. So it's dirt cheap. I can forgo some of that for more comfort...but suspect big diesel sixers are out!

How are Skoda Octavia? VRS ones seem plentiful!

[ZX10R NIN]

Otispunkmeyer said:

Same here. Currently have a Prius...it's a good car and the purely logical result of an efficient, cheap to run thought experiment. But the comfort is lacking...

I didnt want diesel, but I think I'm coming round. 15k miles a year minimum. The Prius does 50+mpg and it's petrol. So it's dirt cheap. I can forgo some of that for more comfort...but suspect big diesel sixers are out!

How are Skoda Octavia? VRS ones seem plentiful!

Go for the Mondeo or 508 they're quieter than the Octavia it's a small margin but enough for me to notice (especially the 508) and depending on spec they're a great place to eat up the miles.

[stevemcs]

Doesn’t the 508 have the awful manual robot automatic gearbox though ?

[ZX10R NIN]

Normal auto as I understand it.

[Otispunkmeyer]

manual is fine. Though auto is a bonus, that is another good thing about the Toyota, very easy to just drive and the MPG goes up when you're creeping in traffic!

[James76G]

I've had a 2011 W204 CDi for the last two years (saloon) and it's been great. I have no desire to remap it because its plenty quick enough anyway and its not going to transform it into something interesting. It is what it is, which is to say a quick, quiet and comfortable cruiser.

Issues with them are that they aren't very well specced generally, I looked for some time to get one with the right combination of xenons, command nav and heated seats. Obviously there are exceptions, I saw one with heated and cooled seats once.

Secondly the colour palate is a little monochromatic and almost all have black interiors. Thankfully I found one that had a light interior but that's very much a personal thing.

[GreatGranny]

OP, slightly off topic but I finished a 3 year lease on a Leaf a few months ago.

I test drove the new one and was very impressed but it was just too expensive, Nissan wanted nearly £100 more per month than the old one!

I can't see the new one being the success of the original if it's so expensive.

[amstrange1]

Genuine Barn Find said:

Audi 3.0 V6 Allroad Quattro C6.
Remap the V6 and you will be pushing 300 BHP, 600 NM of Torque and a good 35-45mpg.
Your budget will be a lovely low mileage example with all of the toys, plus they are super on the air suspension, good (soft road) and sure footed in the winter.

A remap can get the 3.0TFSI lump to well over 400bhp in the C6 chassis if you remap the gearbox at the same time to hold the revs longer. MRC seem to be the best for this.
You're dreaming if you think you'll get 45mpg even in stock form! 35mpg on a long run without traffic is doable if you don't use the power, but my average over the last 20k miles is more like 25mpg.
£8k is a stretch to get a lovely low mileage example IMO, but should get you an honest and solid one.
I'm a fan, but they're not an economy wagon.

[-Neil-]

GreatGranny said:

OP, slightly off topic but I finished a 3 year lease on a Leaf a few months ago.

I test drove the new one and was very impressed but it was just too expensive, Nissan wanted nearly £100 more per month than the old one!

I can't see the new one being the success of the original if it's so expensive.

Yeah I'd love to change into the new one but prices are just stupid.

[-Neil-]

James76G said:

I've had a 2011 W204 CDi for the last two years (saloon) and it's been great. I have no desire to remap it because its plenty quick enough anyway and its not going to transform it into something interesting. It is what it is, which is to say a quick, quiet and comfortable cruiser.

Issues with them are that they aren't very well specced generally, I looked for some time to get one with the right combination of xenons, command nav and heated seats. Obviously there are exceptions, I saw one with heated and cooled seats once.

Secondly the colour palate is a little monochromatic and almost all have black interiors. Thankfully I found one that had a light interior but that's very much a personal thing.

I agree, the specs can be quite boring and the colours too!
My ideal colour combo is anything but black leather in a red or burgundy colour which is rare!

[ALawson]

This C320 would appear to be a Brabus D6 variant (just spoke to the seller who was surprized by the letters on the back not being C320). He did mention it appeared to be a bit quicker than he was expecting!

https://www.farnhamcarriageco.co.uk/cars/mercedes/...

He has no knowledge if it is a D6 or just has a badge on the back, I may go and have a look as the car is local to me and see if I can see the box under the bonnet. C Class is a little small for me, I would prefer and E!

In theory the Brabus chip takes it to circa 275bhp and a load of torques.

[ZX10R NIN]

The Brabus remap was normally done by the main dealer from new so you should be able to find out from them.