Next car dilemma. - Estate / SUV 20k miles pa
Discussion
Evening all,
I am currently without a car and need to line something up for early 2026.
Needs to be family friendly, comfortable, ideally fun and relatively economical.
Recent car history:
Just sold Ford Ranger 3.0d v6 wildtrack. Bought for tax reasons (I’m self-employed) but moved on before end of warranty due to reliability issues.
Merc E400d estate 2020-23. One hell of a car - supremely comfortable, bl**dy quick and one hell of an engine.
Volvo V90 d5 cross-country, 2018-20. Really comfortable, but rather dull.
BMW 520d touring 2015-18 - great car, could have done with a bit more power.
I used to have a caterham for weekends, but house move saw that moved on 3 years ago, since when I have had access to my wife’s 2023 Mini Cooper S - admittedly no Caterham, but still good fun.
I fancy going back to BMW, and planning to keep longer than my standard 3 years this time, so don’t fancy buying any older than 2019. Spec-wise, lumbar is a must, as is HK stereo, with adaptive diapers and sunroof being desirable. I really, really want an M340, but will be struggling to find decent in budget and thinking it might be rather thirsty for 20k pa
Budget = £25-30k, and have whittled it down to the following:-
330d - budget should get me into c. 60k with fairly basic spec.
330i - £27k will get a nicely-specced 2021 one with c. 40k miles. I know it’s not a six cylinder/340, but reviews seem to say it’s a very under-rated car - quick, rear-drive and relatively cheap to run.
X3 3.0d - £29k gets a nicely specced 2020 car with 40k on the clock. Tempting - but after running a pick-up for 3 years I’m keen to get back into a car.
530d - surprisingly good value, but thinking I’d prefer the chuck ability of the 3.
540i - I know, I know v. Thirsty- BUT…. you can get a lot of car for my budget.
Ultimately the 330i is perhaps the best bet in my mind currently…. But would value thoughts and experience from yourselves - especially around running costs and durability….
Many thanks in advance
Spud
I am currently without a car and need to line something up for early 2026.
Needs to be family friendly, comfortable, ideally fun and relatively economical.
Recent car history:
Just sold Ford Ranger 3.0d v6 wildtrack. Bought for tax reasons (I’m self-employed) but moved on before end of warranty due to reliability issues.
Merc E400d estate 2020-23. One hell of a car - supremely comfortable, bl**dy quick and one hell of an engine.
Volvo V90 d5 cross-country, 2018-20. Really comfortable, but rather dull.
BMW 520d touring 2015-18 - great car, could have done with a bit more power.
I used to have a caterham for weekends, but house move saw that moved on 3 years ago, since when I have had access to my wife’s 2023 Mini Cooper S - admittedly no Caterham, but still good fun.
I fancy going back to BMW, and planning to keep longer than my standard 3 years this time, so don’t fancy buying any older than 2019. Spec-wise, lumbar is a must, as is HK stereo, with adaptive diapers and sunroof being desirable. I really, really want an M340, but will be struggling to find decent in budget and thinking it might be rather thirsty for 20k pa
Budget = £25-30k, and have whittled it down to the following:-
330d - budget should get me into c. 60k with fairly basic spec.
330i - £27k will get a nicely-specced 2021 one with c. 40k miles. I know it’s not a six cylinder/340, but reviews seem to say it’s a very under-rated car - quick, rear-drive and relatively cheap to run.
X3 3.0d - £29k gets a nicely specced 2020 car with 40k on the clock. Tempting - but after running a pick-up for 3 years I’m keen to get back into a car.
530d - surprisingly good value, but thinking I’d prefer the chuck ability of the 3.
540i - I know, I know v. Thirsty- BUT…. you can get a lot of car for my budget.
Ultimately the 330i is perhaps the best bet in my mind currently…. But would value thoughts and experience from yourselves - especially around running costs and durability….
Many thanks in advance
Spud
Currently own a 2018 G31 540i.
Fantastic all rounder. Have owned the F31 335i before (same engine), 540i is much more refined and has a lot more space, for not much more money when buying used. I have 19'' wheels, normal suspension and ride is fantastic. Can get 35mpg on motorway, 20 ish around town.
The only issue is the length of the car if you are trying to find parking it can be a pain e.g. residential parking.
I did consider A6 and E class, main blocker for me was lack of large petrol engines for those, unless you go S/RS/AMG. Wanted to avoid that due to theft risk (having had my 911 stolen). Have driven A6 Avant 2.0 TDi, pretty dull to be honest.
I've not driven the 530d but imagine that would be fantastic for larger mileages.
Try and get HK (standard stereo is pants), and reversing camera is handy. HUD is nice. Would avoid comfort access, I think it is a minus due to security.
Fantastic all rounder. Have owned the F31 335i before (same engine), 540i is much more refined and has a lot more space, for not much more money when buying used. I have 19'' wheels, normal suspension and ride is fantastic. Can get 35mpg on motorway, 20 ish around town.
The only issue is the length of the car if you are trying to find parking it can be a pain e.g. residential parking.
I did consider A6 and E class, main blocker for me was lack of large petrol engines for those, unless you go S/RS/AMG. Wanted to avoid that due to theft risk (having had my 911 stolen). Have driven A6 Avant 2.0 TDi, pretty dull to be honest.
I've not driven the 530d but imagine that would be fantastic for larger mileages.
Try and get HK (standard stereo is pants), and reversing camera is handy. HUD is nice. Would avoid comfort access, I think it is a minus due to security.
Slight curve-ball come into play….
2 year old Alfa giulia veloce - 10k on the clock falls in budget (just) and comes with 2 year warranty.
The wife had been trying to say that we need an estate due to the dog - until I pointed out that he was quite happy (safely buckled in) on the back seat of the pick-upmfor the last 3 years….
2 year old Alfa giulia veloce - 10k on the clock falls in budget (just) and comes with 2 year warranty.
The wife had been trying to say that we need an estate due to the dog - until I pointed out that he was quite happy (safely buckled in) on the back seat of the pick-upmfor the last 3 years….
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