Confused. Long journeys, lots of space, economy, luxury?

[mr_spock]

Ok, I'm suffering from analysis paralysis now (yay, I can be a victim of something!).

Requirements:

• With my new home, I am doing silly miles up and down the A1 between Huntingdon and London. Lots of speed cameras, average speed zones and so on. I'm keeping to the speed limits. In the last 9 days I've covered over 900 miles, although I hope this is exceptional. I'm reckoning on averaging 15K a year or so for the next couple of years.
• I have a bad back and right foot (motorbike accident) so comfort and cruise control, preferably adaptive cruise, is helpful.
• Doing up the house and playing in bands means I need load space, so an estate, large hatchback or 4x4 work.
• I need 45+ MPG average, don't care about petrol or diesel really. I'm getting 44mpg from the rental Vauxhall Corsa I have now.

I don't want to commit to anything I can't exit from for too long, so have set myself a choice of

• lease for 2 years
• buy, with a loan if I need, over 4 years but I can sell up if required. I understand I'll take a loss, but I may be able to pay off early.

I have up to £10K I can use as a lease deposit (but won't need to) or cash + loan.

So far, I've narrowed my choices down to (all numbers including petrol, tax, insurance, servicing etc):

• Volvo V90, 2 year lease, total over 2 years is about £19K, so £38K for 4 years for budget purposes
• Porsche Panamera diesel (£31K with sensible miles, could go cheaper), £47K over 4 years but I'll own it so maybe £15K back when I sell.
• Audi A7 diesel, £32K with a guess of £6K when sold

The other option is a Tesla Model S, but that's a 4 year PCP which worries me. £41K over 4 years.

What have I missed? Am I over-thinking this? Other car suggestions - large hatch or estate - maybe a 5 series or A6?

Aargh!
(or keep the Range Rover until it dies and live with filling up with gas every 2 journeys, £26K over 4 years assuming 1K or unexpected broken stuff every year)

Edited by mr_spock on Thursday 19th October 19:14

[markirl]

Why not something like an E class estate:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Should be reliable, comfortable, quick enough and one of the biggest boots in the business and for £12k you can own it outright.

[Pica-Pica]

You have missed a 335d xdrive estate.

[ZX10R NIN]

The thing is with your back I'd say you need to sit in a few seats first to make sure they suit your requirements, I'd say spend around 12k & you'll land yourself a very decent car loaded with kit.

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

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

Mondeo

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

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

C350

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

C250

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

508SW

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

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

Mazda6 with Radar cruise

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

All the above will make your 15k a year more comfortable than your current Corsa I'd say the 508's are a good call but the Mazda6 looks like cracking value at the moment.

[Shominy]

Skoda Superb Estate?

SE trim and above has adaptive cruise and can be had on lease with 15k miles for less than £6500 if my calculations are correct over two years.

http://www.yes-lease.co.uk/personal-lease-cars/sko...

[bearman68]

C'mon guys. This has Volvo estate written all over it. Nice seats, reliable enough, cheap enough, safe enough. Nice seats.

[RSTurboPaul]

bearman68 said:

C'mon guys. This has Volvo estate written all over it. Nice seats, reliable enough, cheap enough, safe enough. Nice seats.

This.



re: the OP, £19k to borrow a new Volvo for two years??? That is the very definition of madness. (IIRC you can lease a Maserati for £20k for two years...)

Don't forget that a lease 'deposit' is not a deposit - it's just another rental payment.



EDIT: Wait... perhaps if I read the OP properly... £19k/2yrs was everything included? That's perhaps more reasonable!

Edited by RSTurboPaul on Thursday 19th October 21:51

[kiethton]

I'd just get ~£3k's worth of 2005 Volvo V70 D5 and be done with it.

Super comfortable, should be reliable and good on fuel.

Spend the cash on something that you'd enjoy more than a commuting tool

[mr_spock]

Thanks for all the ideas! To answer some points:

Yes, all my cost calculations include everything except tyres. I do understand that the lease is just a sunk cost!

It's not commuting funnily enough, I work from home! It's seeing my family, friends, doing gigs, socialising. I'm finding that I'm avoiding the journey as it's either inconvenient (filling the Range Rover every 2 trips), costly at 30MPG, or painful in the Corsa.

3 series and C class are too small. Pug 508 looks OK but I'd go for the E class first. The Mazda6 is interesting, albeit a bit ugly to my eyes. Then again, I like the Panamera, so who am I to judge?

Skoda Superb is great value, I did try one but the seats are too short in the leg for me. Same with the V90, but the R-Design has extending seat cushions.

I'm not going to get something as old as a 2005 Volvo, I have enough old cars to fix. I'd like something that will at least bring a bit of a smile, and make me not dread the journey. Stuff like DAB, Bluetooth or CarPlay, heated everything etc, make it bearable.

I'll have a look for a local(ish) E class, but I can't get the Panamera out of my head. They're around for 25K - if I can sell for 15K after 4 years it's about 7K a year with everything included, which isn't too bad.

[mr_spock]

I found a local E300 hybrid estate, 67MPG and some reasonable performance. £19K, might be worth it, total cost over 4 years is £31K and should be worth 10K at the end. If it's comfy, we have a winner by a huge margin!


Not a Porsche though. And I see there's no love for the Audi A7

Edited by mr_spock on Thursday 19th October 23:33

[RSTurboPaul]

mr_spock said:

I found a local E300 hybrid estate, 67MPG and some reasonable performance. £19K, might be worth it, total cost over 4 years is £31K and should be worth 10K at the end. If it's comfy, we have a winner by a huge margin!


Not a Porsche though. And I see there's no love for the Audi A7

Edited by mr_spock on Thursday 19th October 23:33

Is that 67 real-world mpg or 67 Test Cycle mpg? lol

[lost in espace]

Tesla, you have autopilot (option though) and free fuel if you are quick.

[55palfers]

£19K will buy a lot of fuel for your Range Rover?

[ZX10R NIN]

The E300 is a good shout:

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

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

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/pl/track/click?min_en...

[Pica-Pica]

Back to basic financials, the cheapest car to run is the one you already own.

[mr_spock]

Pica-Pica said:

Back to basic financials, the cheapest car to run is the one you already own.

It actually isn't in this case. Over 4 years, including everything from tax, insurance, fuel, resale value and so on the Range Rover will cost £27K whereas the E-class (at a budgetary 55MPG) would be about £22K. There's almost a £180 a month difference in fuel alone - not to mention the hassle of filling up more frequently. Even the Panamera is about the same as the Range Rover, assuming 50% depreciation in 4 years.

[VAGLover]

Pica-Pica said:

Back to basic financials, the cheapest car to run is the one you already own.

Erm, afraid not
Costs like depreciation and fuel can make buying a different, or even a new car cheaper.

[AndrewCrown]

Mr S

My suggestions... keep the Range Rover..

Buy this.

W221 Mercedes Benz S-Class.. any engine...2007-2009.. Very safe, enormously comfortable Find a well looked after one.. Not the limo/ LWB version..

[mr_spock]

AndrewCrown said:

Mr S

My suggestions... keep the Range Rover..

Buy this.

W221 Mercedes Benz S-Class.. any engine...2007-2009.. Very safe, enormously comfortable Find a well looked after one.. Not the limo/ LWB version..

That would appear to be the worst of both worlds! I will be averaging 1500 miles a month - I've done over 1000 in 7 days this month, but I think that's exceptional. So getting a car that won't carry my stuff and will still burn large amounts of fuel and require constant refilling and fixing makes no sense.

I'm going to try a couple of E class estates, and may have a go in a Panamera just to see what it's like.

[mr_spock]

Would a Jag XF Sportbrake be an option do you think? Maybe a 2.2 with a remap?