What's the most 'soothing' car you've had..?
Discussion
Ok, so maybe not the most p'head question, but after returning to a motorway commute this week, in traffic, in the rain / dark...whilst wondering why I need fairly hard suspension and 420 Bhp (M4) for this particular journey, maybe it's my age, but I got to thinking what's the most soothing car I could choose for say £20k to £30k...You know, quiet, soaks up the third world road conditions across the UK with aplomb, feels secure and safe, seats you'd choose over your sofa and easy to punt along with effortless pace. Preferably not diesel.
I did contemplate an S class for the above reasons but so many are diesels which I've just gotten out of, but any experience or alternatives as an antidote to the stresses of 90%+ of modern motoring ?
I did contemplate an S class for the above reasons but so many are diesels which I've just gotten out of, but any experience or alternatives as an antidote to the stresses of 90%+ of modern motoring ?
A 230,000 mile E39 530d. It was a manual but that only made it better to me. It was not fast, but on 16 inch wheels and Dunlop tyres it went down the road brilliantly. It had that slightly old baggy but comfortable feel. Like an old sofa. Also it would do 800 miles to a tank, so no need to worry about stopping for fuel on the way home from somewhere.
An Octavia, last generation, as a temporary company car. Replaced a Mondeo that had given me awful back pain. The Octavia was gloriously unexciting; comfy, all the controls in the right places, smaller than the Mondeo outside but bigger feeling inside. Better ride, faster (both were 2-litre diesels so that's relative), better mpg. I do like Skodas in general, but this one in particular was most definitely soothing. Almost, but not quite, enough to get me to stay in the job!
Tesla Peformance
quiet, relaxing and randy pobst (he tuned the suspension for Tesla) has shown you can have decent handling and ride on 20" rims without resorting to the german norm of using steel rods for struts ...
add the self driving and the result was i got out of a 270 mile round trip as fresh as if i had driven 10 miles rather than suffering from exhaustion (im old and in poor health)
quiet, relaxing and randy pobst (he tuned the suspension for Tesla) has shown you can have decent handling and ride on 20" rims without resorting to the german norm of using steel rods for struts ...
add the self driving and the result was i got out of a 270 mile round trip as fresh as if i had driven 10 miles rather than suffering from exhaustion (im old and in poor health)
JakeT said:
A 230,000 mile E39 530d. It was a manual but that only made it better to me. It was not fast, but on 16 inch wheels and Dunlop tyres it went down the road brilliantly. It had that slightly old baggy but comfortable feel. Like an old sofa. Also it would do 800 miles to a tank, so no need to worry about stopping for fuel on the way home from somewhere.
Funnily enough, I too had a 200k mile 523i E39...awesome car overall, only flaw for me were the seats, never quite got on with them....but having said that I did 150k of those miles in it !I would imagine a lot of newer stuff would qualify, but I don't tend to have that now. We had a nearly new Lexus IS250 for a year or so, maybe 12 years ago, and I remember that as being a very nice place to be.
Bizarrely, my recently bought 2018 Ford Connect 1.5 is a lovely thing to be in and drive, Yeah, I know! I would never have believed a van could be such a pleasant place to spend time. It's 9 years newer than the one it replaced and the difference is astonishing. That Lexus and this van are 2 of the most surprising things I've ever owned, especially at the price.
Bizarrely, my recently bought 2018 Ford Connect 1.5 is a lovely thing to be in and drive, Yeah, I know! I would never have believed a van could be such a pleasant place to spend time. It's 9 years newer than the one it replaced and the difference is astonishing. That Lexus and this van are 2 of the most surprising things I've ever owned, especially at the price.
Had an 03 Volvo S60 with the 2.0T 5 cylinder. Lots of things I didn’t like about that car but as a motorway muncher it was superb. Quiet, great ride, fantastic seats and great stereo. Had a few BMW’s and they were better overall but that Volvo had them pipped for sheer comfort. I’d fancy something akin to an LS or s-class these days but need an estate. It’s got me pondering a V90 as next best thing.
Hey, some great replies already, thanks. A few observations....
Skoda, I actually like the thought of one, but I went in a fairly new superb recently and the interior noise put me off, too much road roar, but space was great. The Volvo V70, I had an an old S60 2.0 petrol turbo for a while as a 'between' cars car....Not bad, but ride was worse than I thought it should be
Jaguar, my old man had a 4.2 series 2 sovereign and we used to do Scotland trips and it was awesome, fits the bill nicely, so I do wonder if a more modern version of the same would ace this. I shall investigate ! I have looked at XJ supercharged, but quite rare used, so limited choice....
Merc E class - I agree, we actually have an E350 estate (though diesel) as the wifes / family trip car, which is pretty good apart from always seeming to need the tracking done. Though it may be the collisions with kerbs that 'jump' out into the road when my wife is driving....
Skoda, I actually like the thought of one, but I went in a fairly new superb recently and the interior noise put me off, too much road roar, but space was great. The Volvo V70, I had an an old S60 2.0 petrol turbo for a while as a 'between' cars car....Not bad, but ride was worse than I thought it should be
Jaguar, my old man had a 4.2 series 2 sovereign and we used to do Scotland trips and it was awesome, fits the bill nicely, so I do wonder if a more modern version of the same would ace this. I shall investigate ! I have looked at XJ supercharged, but quite rare used, so limited choice....
Merc E class - I agree, we actually have an E350 estate (though diesel) as the wifes / family trip car, which is pretty good apart from always seeming to need the tracking done. Though it may be the collisions with kerbs that 'jump' out into the road when my wife is driving....
At work we used to have a Citroen C5 estate from about 2004 as one of the pool cars- big ugly silvery blue thing. Had lovely soft cloth seats and the softest ride you could imagine from the hydropneumatics suspension. Used to love long journeys in that. Went on for years- pretty much unkillable.
Get the biggest, newest Lexus you can.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Can't go wrong IMO.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Can't go wrong IMO.
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