£7k small fast estate

[AceKid]

As per the title, Ive currently got a 2008 Subaru Forester non turbo and its well....boring, slow, very agricultural and actually a bit small for me at 6ft3 to get comfy in. So im looking to spend up to £7k on a smallish estate (for dog or bike), prefence is something fastish, autobox (just prefer slushmatic) and comfy. Also has to be petrol as only do 5k a year and work is only a 12mile round trip.
Current thinking is e91 325i/330i or c250....anything else i should consider?

[MissChief]

Small(ish) fast(ish) estates with slushboxes are thin on the ground.

[Lukas239]

First thing that came to mind is BMW. Any 6 cylinder petrol estate with auto.

Otherwise VAG 2.0TSI/TFSI estate with DSG - octy vrs, seat EXEO.

[DKL]

c55 estates start at about £9k, so a bit over budget but they are nice.

[Evanivitch]

Clubman Cooper S?

There's also a Passat R36 on Autotrader...

[culpz]

Lexus IS300 Sportcross?

[andburg]

how small is too small?

Fabia VRS estate - 180bhp 1.4 tfsi with DSG (0-60 in 7), chuck a remap in and that'll be ~210bhp

[AceKid]

A few good ideas coming through.....i could probably deal with a manual box for the right car.
I like the idea of the fabia, just cant get over the looks and as we find the forester a bit small inside, the fabia probably is too small.

[ZX10R NIN]

My first thought thought was a Mondeo Titanium X Sport as it ticks all your boxes I'd look for a 240 model if you can stretch

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

335i

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

325i

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

S4

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

2.0T A4 S Line

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...



If you can live without a manual then the VXR Insignia ticks a lot of boxes:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

[anonymous-user]

ZX10R NIN said:

If you can live without a manual then the VXR Insignia ticks a lot of boxes:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

What are these insignia VXR's like stock? They seem to be a decent price for a fast petrol estate. What are they like to drive? Do they come well equipped as standard?

BMW petrol engines in the E90 gen don't seem to be very reliable, and I'm not a fan of the VAG stuff.

Edit: Scratch that, they're manuals and a manual in a heavy car isn't to my taste.

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 27th March 20:14

[defblade]

JDM Legacy GT. Most of the virtues of the Forester with (a little, but enough) added driver room and speed.

[ZX10R NIN]

AB57 said:

What are these insignia VXR's like stock? They seem to be a decent price for a fast petrol estate. What are they like to drive? Do they come well equipped as standard?

BMW petrol engines in the E90 gen don't seem to be very reliable, and I'm not a fan of the VAG stuff.

Edit: Scratch that, they're manuals and a manual in a heavy car isn't to my taste.

Edited by AB57 on Friday 27th March 20:14

You can get them in Auto form but they're rare, I've found them to be a decent steer think S4 as for equipment they come pretty much fully loaded.

Powerwise it's a very linear unit Vauxhall actually took some of the midrange out to make it feel more n/a but most remap them to put this & a bit more back.

Auto

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

[Mr Tidy]

AB57 said:

What are these insignia VXR's like stock? They seem to be a decent price for a fast petrol estate. What are they like to drive? Do they come well equipped as standard?

BMW petrol engines in the E90 gen don't seem to be very reliable, and I'm not a fan of the VAG stuff.

Edit: Scratch that, they're manuals and a manual in a heavy car isn't to my taste.

Edited by AB57 on Friday 27th March 20:14

E90 generation BMWs had 2 different N/A petrol engines, the earlier N52 that was replaced by the later N53.

N52s seem to be pretty robust (I'm on my 4th) apart from the expensive electric water pump that will die at some point. N53s also have an electric water pump, but a few other issues as well from what I have read!

Anyway good luck with your search.

[AceKid]

Well looking at the suggestions so far....

Mondeo....hadnt thought about but looks promising
BMW....n52 330i looks like best option
Legacy gt....again, hadnt considered, but will look at

S4....possibly too much bork factor...havent heard good things on these...is that true? A 4.2 v8 would be awesome otherwise!

Insignia....never liked the insignia, and the high tax definitely rules it out...

[Burnzyb]

I’ve currently got a 2.5t Mondeo and it’s a cracking car, the estates are quite rare over the hatchbacks, I’ve got a hatchback but I’d of preferred a estate, the titanium X sport is the one to go for but that’s even more rare again so may be looking for one for a while especially an auto, I will say the 2.5t engine is extremely torquey and you can hold gears for a lot longer, I’ve had my Mondeo in 6th at 30mph and it’s pulled without too much fuss.

The e9x 335i seems like a good option, there is loads of autos, the boxes are as reliable as any and the earlier n52 engine as above is a decent engine, they map really well too.

[ZX10R NIN]

AceKid said:

Well looking at the suggestions so far....

Mondeo....hadnt thought about but looks promising
BMW....n52 330i looks like best option
Legacy gt....again, hadnt considered, but will look at

S4....possibly too much bork factor...havent heard good things on these...is that true? A 4.2 v8 would be awesome otherwise!

Insignia....never liked the insignia, and the high tax definitely rules it out...

The V8 S4 isn't too borky but the high tax will rule it out for you.

[Sc0tchland]

Burnzyb said:

I’ve currently got a 2.5t Mondeo and it’s a cracking car, the estates are quite rare over the hatchbacks, I’ve got a hatchback but I’d of preferred a estate, the titanium X sport is the one to go for but that’s even more rare again so may be looking for one for a while especially an auto, I will say the 2.5t engine is extremely torquey and you can hold gears for a lot longer, I’ve had my Mondeo in 6th at 30mph and it’s pulled without too much fuss.

The e9x 335i seems like a good option, there is loads of autos, the boxes are as reliable as any and the earlier n52 engine as above is a decent engine, they map really well too.

What sort of MPG do you get out of it?

[Burnzyb]

I’ve seen 39mpg on a run keeping to 65mph indicated when I bought it from wolvo BCA, the aux belt was loose and I didn’t want it to bork the engine as when it breaks its common to take the cambelt out, so kept the car under 2k rpm just incase, you’d be surprised at how well the car drives between 1-2k rpm it feels more like a diesel.

I was asked the same question somewhere else and I went on a trip, bit of country lane driving, then onto the motorway with cruise set at 70mph, then off the motorway and a short drive into town to a petrol station, the motorway was part of the m42 and the m40 up to Warwick and back and anybody with local knowledge will know that it’s quite a hilly stretch of motorway.

Reset my ODO and mpg figure and this is where I got.



I’ve bettered this a few times, I haven’t had the car long and the tracking is out and I’ve got odd ditchfinders on it, but tbh it’s a fun car so the loud pedal gets used a fair bit.

I’ve come from a long string of Audi’s recently and this is a great car, it’s quieter inside than my A6 2.0tdi C6, it’s feels more solid too, overall I’m really impressed.

Overall mpg figures are what the auto trader gumph states to be honest, there or there abouts anyway.

[AceKid]

ZX10R NIN said:

The V8 S4 isn't too borky but the high tax will rule it out for you.

Be ok if I looked at pre 2006 models