£10k Comfy Commuter

[Raymond Reddington]

Currently commuting in a 2019 1.2 Suzuki Swift which I’ve ended up using by default after we got a more family friendly car for my wife.

It’s getting absolutely battered up and down dual carriageways 360 miles per week.

It’s not quite the natural environment for the swift and it’s so noisy I can barely hear any music or podcasts once cruising at motorway speeds (road and engine noise). Also the constant need to rag it to get it to perform is tiresome.

The reliability and economy is obviously a huge bonus and we have owned the car since new so we know how it’s been treated, but I think it’s time for it to go.

Criteria:

Comfortable
Quick (subjective but 170bhp+ would be adequate)
Good on fuel, say 45+mpg ideally
Reliable automatic gearbox
Fairly reliable (no desire to be in the garage every other week at a grand a pop like I was with my old Jag XF)
£10k max
Will last me a while so no high mileage heros preferably

Current thoughts:

Mercedes C Class (2014 model)
Mercedes E Class (09 onwards)
Audi A6 2.0 TDI
BMW 5 Series (timing chains?)
BMW 3 Series (same again)
Vauxhall insignia (bit bland..)

If anyone has any advice on the above or has any other suggestions I’d be most grateful.


Cheers

[ilikejam]

Previous gen Volvo S60 could be a good shout. Bread and butter for them - quiet, solid and comfy. Interior is miles better in the flesh than it looks in photos as well

[keo]

How about a Lexus?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2024042891...

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Depends on what the maximum mileage you'd be happy with but you can get a lot of Skoda Superb for 10k.

[venster70]

The Mercedes E Class.

The C220/250 will give you that level of power, and a pretty bulletproof 2.1 engine.
It will offer the comfort and refinement the other German marques won't match at the price point.
Also plenty around to choose from, should be easy to find one with a solid history.

A saloon will offer much better refinement than an estate.

The Volvo V60 is an interesting suggestion, I'm sure that will be comfortable. certainly worth a test drive.

[Raymond Reddington]

sunnyb13 said:

Most German saloons would do this fine. Avoid m sport/ sline if possible and go for SE

Good advice, smaller wheels of the SE type spec would definitely help with the potholes

[Raymond Reddington]

ilikejam said:

Previous gen Volvo S60 could be a good shout. Bread and butter for them - quiet, solid and comfy. Interior is miles better in the flesh than it looks in photos as well

I’ll take a look, thanks for the suggestion

[Raymond Reddington]

keo said:

How about a Lexus?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2024042891...

I test drove one of these a few years ago and loved everything about it, apart from the awful gearbox, which I sadly cannot live with.

[Raymond Reddington]

RedWhiteMonkey said:

Depends on what the maximum mileage you'd be happy with but you can get a lot of Skoda Superb for 10k.

Do you know what the DSG gearboxes would be like in a C. 2016 2.0 TDi Superb?

[Raymond Reddington]

venster70 said:

The Mercedes E Class.

The C220/250 will give you that level of power, and a pretty bulletproof 2.1 engine.
It will offer the comfort and refinement the other German marques won't match at the price point.
Also plenty around to choose from, should be easy to find one with a solid history.

A saloon will offer much better refinement than an estate.

The Volvo V60 is an interesting suggestion, I'm sure that will be comfortable. certainly worth a test drive.

Thanks for the reply - a Mercedes is my most favoured option at the moment. I’m not taken with the older C Class but the model from around 2014 onwards I do really like.

I don’t mind an E Class either but not sure if it’s a bit big for the 2.1 - anyone with any experience of them please let me know!

Haven’t considered Volvo so I’ll take a look at these.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Raymond Reddington said:

Do you know what the DSG gearboxes would be like in a C. 2016 2.0 TDi Superb?

Not specifically, but VAG started using DSG gearboxes in the early 2000s. Any early issues with these had long been fixed by 2016.

[ZX10R NIN]

The Insignia is a very good choice at this price point:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506203...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202510016...

Q70 Sport Tech all the bells & whistles with a Mercedes drivetrain & under budget:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202508165...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503260...

Premium:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211231...

Or the smaller Q50 with the same drivetrain:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507074...

DS5:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202508015...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507264...

All the above are reliable good cars that'll do 360 miles a week with ease & be nice (some will need carplay/android auto added) places to be.

[covmutley]

I'd go for a 3 litre diesel engine.

I got a 2013 A8 with 76k miles last December for a whisker over £9k. 20k motorway miles later and I still think it's amazing. Deals with a long commute in absolute ease. Sit there in quiet comfort enjoying audio books and podcasts.

I can get 50mpg taking it steady, although mine is the rare front wheel drive only version.

Reliable? Hmm..

Had the crank pulley go at cost of £500 and a coolant leak costing the same. Both common faults. I went into it fully expecting to have some things go wrong, so completely fine with this.

A comparable Lexus seems to be 3-4k more, so that kind of pays for some unreliability!

Edited by covmutley on Wednesday 1st October 19:27

[CzechRS]

RedWhiteMonkey said:

Not specifically, but VAG started using DSG gearboxes in the early 2000s. Any early issues with these had long been fixed by 2016.

Mines on 80k with no problems - 2015, 6 speed. 2 glow plugs and servicing in 60k ownership.

[AddyT.]

Raymond Reddington said:

venster70 said:

The Mercedes E Class.

The C220/250 will give you that level of power, and a pretty bulletproof 2.1 engine.
It will offer the comfort and refinement the other German marques won't match at the price point.
Also plenty around to choose from, should be easy to find one with a solid history.

A saloon will offer much better refinement than an estate.

The Volvo V60 is an interesting suggestion, I'm sure that will be comfortable. certainly worth a test drive.

Thanks for the reply - a Mercedes is my most favoured option at the moment. I m not taken with the older C Class but the model from around 2014 onwards I do really like.

I don t mind an E Class either but not sure if it s a bit big for the 2.1 - anyone with any experience of them please let me know!

Haven t considered Volvo so I ll take a look at these.

Not sure if this helps but I have a ‘17 E220d which is I believe the follow on engine from the 2.1. From memory I think mine has around 190bhp so did wonder the same thing about having enough power. Pleased to say it does. Its not obviously fast but definitely plenty and it never feels underpowered or like I am having to work it hard.

Either Mercedes you choose would be the best call in my opinion.

As for ‘16 DSG boxes. I dont know if its the same but have one in my Golf, same year. Absolutely fine but DSG servicing is key. Probably every 40k in the Skoda but you might need to double check that.

[spreadsheet monkey]

Doing the standard PH thing of "recommend your own car", how about a VW Passat?

Proper repmobile, great seats, very quiet and comfortable on dual carriageways and motorways.

Completely invisible on the road, but maybe that's no bad thing.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202508195...

[Magnum 475]

Regarding the E-Class. I had a 2013 E220 Estate (SE Spec, not AMG Line).

Bought pre-reg with 97 miles, sold in 2020 with 138k miles.

One fault during that time - a pipe union failed in the air suspension, cost of about £150 at a Merc dealer to fix. Other than that, routine servicing, tyres, etc were the only costs.

Would return around 50mpg for motorway driving.

Far more comfortable than the later E-Class, which seems to have gone more toward 'sports' seats instead of comfy arm chairs.

Performance wise: adequate. From memory, the book 0-60 is around 8 seconds - enough for most, but hardly amazing. But, if you have the bigger engine (E350 V6), you'll get much worse fuel economy. As I was spending most of my time doing 70-ish mph on motorway cruises, the V6 wasn't worth the extra costs.

The 2.1 TD also has a reputation for going on forever. By all accounts, 500k miles is achievable with regular servicing and maintenance.

[AyBee]

Have you got off-street parking? Our second car is a Mini Cooper Electric and it would do everything your Swift does but quieter and more economically, all for £5.60 per week in electric. Failing that, maybe a Nissan Leaf if you want something bigger?