Which barge for the beginner?

[cpas]

I just did a quick search on Autotrader without specifying a vehicle make or anything but setting engine size to 4L to 4.9L and some very interesting stuff came up - lots of XJ6s and XJ8s but also a Passat W8 for £2500

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

[NavSat]

cpas said:

I just did a quick search on Autotrader without specifying a vehicle make or anything but setting engine size to 4L to 4.9L and some very interesting stuff came up - lots of XJ6s and XJ8s but also a Passat W8 for £2500

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

Ooph! I like that. a 4.0 W8 Passat - de-badge and most will think it's a 1.9 TDi SE!

[neil_bmw]

NavSat said:

Ooph! I like that. a 4.0 W8 Passat - de-badge and most will think it's a 1.9 TDi SE!

Due to the 8 sec 0-60 time?

I do like the W8 for its stealthyness but if you are living with MPG in the teens you at least want it to nip on a bit (IMO).

E38 740i (4.4) sport would be my barge of choice.

[sjc]

Gizmo! said:

Baryonyx said:

Not sure about the Rover 75 above, I've never liked the styling on those.

...and it's not a barge.

The V6's do all the barge requirements areas of low noise,comfort and toys, other than acres of rear legroom,which if it's for to/from work you don't need.Styling of course is subjective, but when in the 3 grand market of big saloons the styling of something would come a poor second to the likely hood of massive bills(try Audi attempting to pin 13 grands worth of bills on my friends A8 tdi 38 days out of warranty).For me, it was 28k mile 1 owner FSH V6 75's or 100K+ mile 7 series,LS 400's and XJ's. 2 years on, I don't regret it,well other than the stick anyway!

[Baryonyx]

Thurbs said:

A8's - high insurance due to the ali + be kind to the gearbox. Dont try anything other than wofting, it is a barge after all.

Otherwise a supurb car.

The A8 comes back as being very cheap to insure, comparitively. About the same as a 735, and thats including 4.2 Quattro models. But the possibility of catastrophic gearbox problems and damaged aluminium body panels is unsettling. I'm not writing them out of my searches, though I lean towards the BMW option, and I always have really! In the event of me moving into this new house I hope the market will be flooded with decent luxury for me to look at.

As 'encouraging' other cars out of the way, I am sure these big German and Japanese barges would be good at it. Mind you, it's never been a problem in my MR2 either. If you've introduced yourself into someone's mirrors and they're still not getting out of the way, just flicking the headlights on usually works. The action of them popping up is fairly dramatic and once they're moving between someone's mirrors they usually move over pretty quickly allowing me to get past them.

[Gizmo!]

sjc said:

Gizmo! said:

Baryonyx said:

Not sure about the Rover 75 above, I've never liked the styling on those.

...and it's not a barge.

The V6's do all the barge requirements areas of low noise,comfort and toys, other than acres of rear legroom,which if it's for to/from work you don't need.Styling of course is subjective, but when in the 3 grand market of big saloons the styling of something would come a poor second to the likely hood of massive bills(try Audi attempting to pin 13 grands worth of bills on my friends A8 tdi 38 days out of warranty).For me, it was 28k mile 1 owner FSH V6 75's or 100K+ mile 7 series,LS 400's and XJ's. 2 years on, I don't regret it,well other than the stick anyway!

I'm not saying it's not a good car. I'm saying it's not a barge... it's 3-series sized!

[sjc]

Gizmo! said:

sjc said:

Gizmo! said:

Baryonyx said:

Not sure about the Rover 75 above, I've never liked the styling on those.

...and it's not a barge.

The V6's do all the barge requirements areas of low noise,comfort and toys, other than acres of rear legroom,which if it's for to/from work you don't need.Styling of course is subjective, but when in the 3 grand market of big saloons the styling of something would come a poor second to the likely hood of massive bills(try Audi attempting to pin 13 grands worth of bills on my friends A8 tdi 38 days out of warranty).For me, it was 28k mile 1 owner FSH V6 75's or 100K+ mile 7 series,LS 400's and XJ's. 2 years on, I don't regret it,well other than the stick anyway!

I'm not saying it's not a good car. I'm saying it's not a barge... it's 3-series sized!

I agree, although it much bigger thana 3 series,internally at least more like a 5 series. Think the point I'm trying to make is that if you want the waftiness but not the space, it's a decent choice and great value.

[allgonepetetong]

Gizmo! said:

My mother has two Lexuses (don't ask...)

• Alan Partridge* Lexii, surely? *Alan Partridge*

[Rovinghawk]

Saab 9-5. Drive one & you'll see why.

RH

[Gizmo!]

And for pure ride waftiness: Citroen C6