Replacement for a large Estate car

[MC Bodge]

I'm looking for a replacement for an estate car.

Petrol (>150bhp, preferably closer to 200bhp), without an engine designed to die at 50k-100k miles.
Large boot (with seats up and down)
Roof rails
Good handling and steering
Good ride quality
Manual gearbox preferred

It will only do around 5K miles per year and be used 1 or 2 times per week.

A budget of around £15K.

There is not that much choice in estate cars. I wouldn't really want an "SUV", unless it is quite car like to drive.

Preferably not a VAG car. A Passat might be OK, though.

Edited by MC Bodge on Tuesday 14th April 07:36

[Jazoli]

I’d recommend a Skoda Superb 2.0tsi, they are fantastic cars.

[MC Bodge]

Jazoli said:

I d recommend a Skoda Superb 2.0tsi, they are fantastic cars.

I had a bad experience with an Mk3 Octavia Estate. Dreadful NVH, ride, handling, steering, clunky infotainment, poor quality interior (the car felt generally value engineered to the point of cheap and flimsy). It has put me off Skoda.

[bristolracer]

Subaru Outback

[stevemcs]

There isn t much out there at the minute, you have the Mondeo and 530i that I can think of, both however will be auto s, the Mondeo will be easily in budget, the 530i just out of budget.

I have the 280 Superb, I would not buy another.

Oh and there is the Mazda 6 but they are not the quickset.

[POIDH]

5k and used twice a week has EV wrtten all over it...

[MC Bodge]

stevemcs said:

There isn t much out there at the minute, you have the Mondeo and 530i that I can think of, both however will be auto s, the Mondeo will be easily in budget, the 530i just out of budget.

I have the 280 Superb, I would not buy another.

Oh and there is the Mazda 6 but they are not the quickset.

The choice does seem quite limited, hence considering something vaguely SUV like, but would prefer not to.

I have had a number of Mondeos. I'm looking for a change.

What are your issues with the Superb?

[dontlookdown]

A Mazda 6 would probably be my choice. They are underrated cars, v comfortable, practical and reliable with good steering and handling. Decent build quality and nice interiors.

The 2 litre (which is most of them) is not the fastest though.

[trashbat]

Car-like SUVs, you can just about get a reasonable Stelvio for that, you'll be looking at 60-100k miles. It'll be automatic but it's a good one. You'd have to stretch your budget to get a nicer spec like flappy paddles but it's not the end of the world.

[_Rodders_]

BMW of the F11 variety I'd imagine.

[macron]

stevemcs said:

I have the 280 Superb, I would not buy another.

How come?

Shame you don't want a VAG as they answer this question more than most - Superb technically the largest estate, the odd A6 petrol turns up but crap angled hatch limits actual space, Passat petrol occasionally about. Wildcard is Arteon hatch as it's quite big, but like the A7 the boot floor is high.

Mondeo 5 series or Imported probably, E class? Very few petrols around, but big and in post 2017 guise quite nice. Everything else is smaller

Edited by macron on Tuesday 14th April 08:26

[MC Bodge]

POIDH said:

5k and used twice a week has EV wrtten all over it...

The only EV estates in budget appear to be MGs

[FiF]

MC Bodge said:

stevemcs said:

There isn t much out there at the minute, you have the Mondeo and 530i that I can think of, both however will be auto s, the Mondeo will be easily in budget, the 530i just out of budget.

I have the 280 Superb, I would not buy another.

Oh and there is the Mazda 6 but they are not the quickset.

The choice does seem quite limited, hence considering something vaguely SUV like, but would prefer not to.

I have had a number of Mondeos. I'm looking for a change.

What are your issues with the Superb?

I had a gen 2 Superb and it lived up to the name.

Your budget gets you into a gen 3 however and the short time used a gen 3 just didn't feel as good. The suspension was very floaty and not well controlled especially when loaded. Also others who had them reported reliability issues and were often having to have front suspension and steering bits replaced. But that info is 3rd hand in fairness.

Mazda 6 would be a good shout, I considered one long and hard, 2.5L auto which goes well. Not driven a 2.0 so can't comment there, and by all account diesel is not great.

There is only one in budget on AutoTrader, higher mileage than the others which run about 18k plus. Why is that one so cheap? Just a tad under 14k, maybe a CarVertical report might show something up.

In the end I passed on the Mazda 6 and scratched an EV itch and currently in an Astra Tourer EV. Not helpful sorry.

[WTDMM]

V90

Although you may struggle with demanding a manual.

With that mileage a T5 is doable i think although id prefer a 2020 onwards to get carplay etc

[dave_s13]

MC Bodge said:

POIDH said:

5k and used twice a week has EV wrtten all over it...

The only EV estates in budget appear to be MGs

You might just squeeze into a model Y.

I've had several estates including Volvo v70, bmw e39s, BMW E61, Merc E class, Saab 9-5 maybe others I've forgotten.

None of them are as practical as my current Model Y, or as quick (Performance). Boot is massive, seats fold flat, frunk also relatively huge.

Charge at home, no servicing, you can't really get better value.

[dave_s13]

MC Bodge said:

POIDH said:

5k and used twice a week has EV wrtten all over it...

The only EV estates in budget appear to be MGs

You might just squeeze into a model Y.

I've had several estates including Volvo v70, bmw e39s, Merc E class, Saab 9-5 maybe others I've forgotten.

None of them are as practical as my current Model Y, or as quick (Performance). Boot is massive, seats fold flat, frunk also relatively huge.

Charge at home, no servicing, you can't really get better value.

[vikingaero]

MC Bodge said:

I'm looking for a replacement for an estate car.

Petrol (>150bhp, preferably closer to 200bhp), without an engine designed to die at 50k-100k miles.
Large boot (with seats up and down)
Roof rails
Good handling and steering
Good ride quality
Manual gearbox preferred

It will only do around 5K miles per year and be used 1 or 2 times per week.

A budget of around £15K.

There is not that much choice in estate cars. I wouldn't really want an "SUV", unless it is quite car like to drive.

Preferably not a VAG car. A Passat might be OK, though.

Edited by MC Bodge on Tuesday 14th April 07:36

I'm on my second Passat diseasal estate.

First one did 120k in 4 years beating the highway to Universities and family holidays. Not as stark as an Octavia and not as sporty as an A4/6. Ride was really good on 215 winter tyres that I've often left them on! Boot and fold down seats mean I've car camped in it quite often. Nothing replaced other than servicing, tyres and brakes.

Bought a 4k used 2024 Passat to replace it as a 10 year car. One glitch with an ABS ring/sensor - replaced under warranty.

15k will get you a newer GTE petrol Hybrid thing.

[MC Bodge]

dave_s13 said:

You might just squeeze into a model Y.

I've had several estates including Volvo v70, bmw e39s, BMW E61, Merc E class, Saab 9-5 maybe others I've forgotten.

None of them are as practical as my current Model Y, or as quick (Performance). Boot is massive, seats fold flat, frunk also relatively huge.

Charge at home, no servicing, you can't really get better value.

Is the ride as bad as other Tesla cars?

[Sebastian Tombs]

I currently have a Citroën C5 Tourer and it is basically the perfect car.
When it dies I'll either get another or one of the following:

Jaguar XF Sportbrake
Mercedes E Class from W212 facelift onwards
Peugeot 508 SW

I similarly really dislike VAG offerings, and there isn't really anything else.

[kiethton]

Potentially a little older/leggier than you want but it's 1/3 of budget

https://classifieds.seloc.org/ads/2011-volvo-v70-t...