£2,500 estate: cheap, reliable, big boot, engaging to drive?
Discussion
sjc said:
What is it you’re carrying?! All my work stuff goes in it.Alfa much smaller.The only thing I drove ( and I drove loads and ended back in another 75 based V6), which was significantly bigger was the V70, a car that other than the size is quite possibly the most overrated cult car I’ve ever driven.The D5 is gruff( 5 cyl or not), the petrols struggled to move the thing, the turning circle was horrendous, the pillars created dreadful blind spots and the allegedly comfy seats didn’t go high enough under thigh to offer any support.
All sorts. Taking stuff to tip, picking up furniture, taking in-laws to the airport - they always have dozens of suitcases...The main challenge would be occasional furniture. Managed to get a super king wooden bed frame into my old Legacy - just - plus maybe the occasional Billy bookcase - these are 2m tall.Think I was probably spoilt by the Legacy - a thoroughly underrated car that managed to swallow everything I threw its way - that’s my benchmark. Hmm, didn’t realise the V70 was so divisive. Yes, the turning circle is rubbish and I’d try to avoid a non-turbo petrol, but I find Volvo seats from that era super comfy and I like the D5s, though I haven’t driven that specific 00-07 D5.
RoVoFob said:
All sorts. Taking stuff to tip, picking up furniture, taking in-laws to the airport - they always have dozens of suitcases...The main challenge would be occasional furniture. Managed to get a super king wooden bed frame into my old Legacy - just - plus maybe the occasional Billy bookcase - these are 2m tall.
Think I was probably spoilt by the Legacy - a thoroughly underrated car that managed to swallow everything I threw its way - that’s my benchmark. Hmm, didn’t realise the V70 was so divisive. Yes, the turning circle is rubbish and I’d try to avoid a non-turbo petrol, but I find Volvo seats from that era super comfy and I like the D5s, though I haven’t driven that specific 00-07 D5.
I’d say there’s barely any difference in size between the legacy and the ZT-T.Think I was probably spoilt by the Legacy - a thoroughly underrated car that managed to swallow everything I threw its way - that’s my benchmark. Hmm, didn’t realise the V70 was so divisive. Yes, the turning circle is rubbish and I’d try to avoid a non-turbo petrol, but I find Volvo seats from that era super comfy and I like the D5s, though I haven’t driven that specific 00-07 D5.
However on the basis of what you say ... surely a Forester is your friend ?
sjc said:
I’d say there’s barely any difference in size between the legacy and the ZT-T.
However on the basis of what you say ... surely a Forester is your friend ?
Admittedly this is comparing the ZT-T to the V70, but it makes the MG look tiny with a small boot opening and low volume compared with the others: https://youtu.be/Iz6tc9Hqt-wHowever on the basis of what you say ... surely a Forester is your friend ?
The Forester has huge wheel arch intrusion and the boot is quite short. An appealing car, but couldn’t justify it as my practical car. Loved my Legacy and wouldn’t mind another, but wouldn’t pair well with my 130i - they highlight each other’s weaknesses.
Why does this have to be an auto? Apart from the light interior it could have been perfect otherwise: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102289...
Maybe its not an estate you need ..
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/L-K-DIESEL-AUTO-REDUCED...
I cannot find any Mk1 V6's though...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/L-K-DIESEL-AUTO-REDUCED...
I cannot find any Mk1 V6's though...
I’ve never seen ad for a car with a tree on top of it before: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MG-ZTT-XPOWER-CAR-SPARE...
Poor guy...
Poor guy...
stevemcs said:
Maybe its not an estate you need ..
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/L-K-DIESEL-AUTO-REDUCED...
I cannot find any Mk1 V6's though...
An estate should be fine - just Legacy size or above, I’d say.https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/L-K-DIESEL-AUTO-REDUCED...
I cannot find any Mk1 V6's though...
Did toy with the idea of an S-Max 2.5T, but would enjoy driving an estate much more and the extra space is mainly height, which isn’t that useful. A 2.8 VR6 Galaxy would be oddly entertaining, but I think the sheen might fade pretty quickly with 20mpg and a 10-second 0-60 time!
RoVoFob said:
I’ve never seen ad for a car with a tree on top of it before: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MG-ZTT-XPOWER-CAR-SPARE...
Poor guy...
It’s a Z Tree-Tree...Poor guy...
RoVoFob said:
This is top of my maybe list. Makes a lot of sense, but the interior keeps putting me off. Hate the dials and bulkiness of the pillars (do things like this ever put anyone else off cars?). Think the drive would probably suit me very well though.
Might try one when such things as driving are allowed again.Good to hear it’s been reliable. If I remember rightly 2.5T Focus STs cost a lot to maintain (I think some of that is engine related)...
Which dials have you seen? There's two types, one with is two circular dials with a small screen between them, and the converse dash which has 1 and a half dials and a larger screen. I don't particularly like the two dial dash, but mine has converse.Might try one when such things as driving are allowed again.Good to hear it’s been reliable. If I remember rightly 2.5T Focus STs cost a lot to maintain (I think some of that is engine related)...
Mine hasn't cost much to maintain, but then I may have got lucky?
meb90 said:
Which dials have you seen? There's two types, one with is two circular dials with a small screen between them, and the converse dash which has 1 and a half dials and a larger screen. I don't particularly like the two dial dash, but mine has converse.
Mine hasn't cost much to maintain, but then I may have got lucky?
The ones with the digital display between half-moon shape rev counter and speedo. I thought all of them had that...Mine hasn't cost much to maintain, but then I may have got lucky?
RoVoFob said:
namastebuzz said:
I've had 9-5 Aero, V70 D5 and MG ZTT diesel.
The V70 was by far the dullest of the three and I spent a fortune on maintenance. (HOW MUCH for a wheel bearing?)
The MG was fun to drive and amazingly equipped. I loved the webasto programmable heater. The Saab was a rocket and didn't feel any smaller in capacity than the Volvo. It was also the cheapest of the three to run.
Interesting. I always imagined the Saab would be duller than the Volvo with more of a comfort bias and a bland four-pot compared with the Volvo’s warbly five-pot. Did the V70 seem to have been well looked after when you bought it, or any obvious reason why it cost so much?The V70 was by far the dullest of the three and I spent a fortune on maintenance. (HOW MUCH for a wheel bearing?)
The MG was fun to drive and amazingly equipped. I loved the webasto programmable heater. The Saab was a rocket and didn't feel any smaller in capacity than the Volvo. It was also the cheapest of the three to run.
The Saab does appeal, but I think the price would be a factor in that rather than it being the car I want most - wish it had a more interesting sounding engine. MG would be a consideration, but boot is holding me back.
The Saab 2.3T engine is anything but bland in 250bhp Aero guise. Mid range acceleration is phenomenal and I had bilstein dampers which made it more planted.
The 9-5 had the best seats of any car I've ever had except possibly the Saab 9000 Aero and Carlsson. Drove one of them to Italy and back over a long weekend and felt fresh enough to do it again.
Yeah the ZT-T boot is smaller but with kids and dog on holiday with a top box and bikes on the back it still did the job. If you get on the 75 ZT Club forums there's a heap of (fanatical) knowledge but they're all great guys and very helpful. A nice 190 from a club member who's lavished attention upon it would still make a good and interesting buy.
TBH if you're worried about lugging furniture then get a trailer or a van. 😆
Edited by namastebuzz on Sunday 28th February 17:47
namastebuzz said:
The Volvo had a MASSIVE service file with everything ever done to it possible over the years but still cost us an absolute fortune to run. Just bad luck I guess.....
The Saab 2.3T engine is anything but bland in 250bhp Aero guise. Mid range acceleration is phenomenal and I had bilstein dampers which made it more planted.
The 9-5 had the best seats of any car I've ever had except possibly the Saab 9000 Aero and Carlsson. Drove one of them to Italy and back over a long weekend and felt fresh enough to do it again.
Yeah the ZT-T boot is smaller but with kids and dog on holiday with a top box and bikes on the back it still did the job. If you get on the 75 ZT Club forums there's a heap of (fanatical) knowledge but they're all great guys and very helpful. A nice 190 from a club member who's lavished attention upon it would still make a good and interesting buy.
TBH if you're worried about lugging furniture then get a trailer or a van. ??
Hmm. Not good news about the Volvo. Many owners - even those with older high-mileage ones - seem to talk highly about them. Maybe it was a Friday afternoon car...The Saab 2.3T engine is anything but bland in 250bhp Aero guise. Mid range acceleration is phenomenal and I had bilstein dampers which made it more planted.
The 9-5 had the best seats of any car I've ever had except possibly the Saab 9000 Aero and Carlsson. Drove one of them to Italy and back over a long weekend and felt fresh enough to do it again.
Yeah the ZT-T boot is smaller but with kids and dog on holiday with a top box and bikes on the back it still did the job. If you get on the 75 ZT Club forums there's a heap of (fanatical) knowledge but they're all great guys and very helpful. A nice 190 from a club member who's lavished attention upon it would still make a good and interesting buy.
TBH if you're worried about lugging furniture then get a trailer or a van. ??
Edited by namastebuzz on Sunday 28th February 17:47
When I said bland, I meant in terms of sound. The punch of the Aero and ability to bend the needle way over - with the speedometers on pre-facelift cars, at least - appeals very much. They just seem to sound like an overheating hoover from the videos I’ve seen!
I have found a 9-3 2.8 V6 Aero with Hirsch remap which also appeals, but again it’s smaller than V70/Mondeo/Vectra/5 Series/Legacy and I’m not sure it’s interesting enough to compensate. 9-5 makes more sense really - it’s just the V6 that’s missing. The seats sound great. I know how comfy Volvo seats of that era are and they can make all the difference.
Having to have a roof box or trailer for me takes the appeal out of driving and seem like a big faff. I don’t need anything bigger than the cars mentioned above, just don’t want something much smaller.
Thanks for all your thoughts.
Barring any spectacular value cars that happen to pop up, the shortlist is: V70, 5 Series and maybe the 9-5. Will try to look at some when these things are possible again.
Mondeo 2.5T and Vectra 2.8 V6 cover a lot of bases but don’t really grab me and they’re that bit newer so would probably be easier to find at a later stage if I decided I wanted one, though it feels like there are fewer and fewer tidy versions of the first three, so now’s the time to get one of those...
Barring any spectacular value cars that happen to pop up, the shortlist is: V70, 5 Series and maybe the 9-5. Will try to look at some when these things are possible again.
Mondeo 2.5T and Vectra 2.8 V6 cover a lot of bases but don’t really grab me and they’re that bit newer so would probably be easier to find at a later stage if I decided I wanted one, though it feels like there are fewer and fewer tidy versions of the first three, so now’s the time to get one of those...
I've been a serial Volvo owner for years but when my beloved V70R was written off following someone hitting it, failing to find another V70R of decent quality, I bought a 95 aero as a stop gap.
6 years later I've still got it but it's getting a bit tired now. Would have another aero in a shot if I can find a reasonable one. I didn't like it very much when I first had it but it's grown on me - boot is big enough to take a mtb wheels on and seats down, comfy, fast enough, don't really care about fuel economy, I don't do many miles in that car and we have a swift sport for town.
Looking at the mk4 mondeos as they seem decent value. I don't really want to spend a lot of money on a car that only does tip/family/mtb runs tbh.
6 years later I've still got it but it's getting a bit tired now. Would have another aero in a shot if I can find a reasonable one. I didn't like it very much when I first had it but it's grown on me - boot is big enough to take a mtb wheels on and seats down, comfy, fast enough, don't really care about fuel economy, I don't do many miles in that car and we have a swift sport for town.
Looking at the mk4 mondeos as they seem decent value. I don't really want to spend a lot of money on a car that only does tip/family/mtb runs tbh.
nosuchuser said:
I've been a serial Volvo owner for years but when my beloved V70R was written off following someone hitting it, failing to find another V70R of decent quality, I bought a 95 aero as a stop gap.
6 years later I've still got it but it's getting a bit tired now. Would have another aero in a shot if I can find a reasonable one. I didn't like it very much when I first had it but it's grown on me - boot is big enough to take a mtb wheels on and seats down, comfy, fast enough, don't really care about fuel economy, I don't do many miles in that car and we have a swift sport for town.
Looking at the mk4 mondeos as they seem decent value. I don't really want to spend a lot of money on a car that only does tip/family/mtb runs tbh.
Mk 4 Mondeo and E Class have the best boots of all these. I think Vectra is good also, but the car itself is older/ less acceptable IMO. Pay attention to boot width as it has a major bearing on usefulness IME. 6 years later I've still got it but it's getting a bit tired now. Would have another aero in a shot if I can find a reasonable one. I didn't like it very much when I first had it but it's grown on me - boot is big enough to take a mtb wheels on and seats down, comfy, fast enough, don't really care about fuel economy, I don't do many miles in that car and we have a swift sport for town.
Looking at the mk4 mondeos as they seem decent value. I don't really want to spend a lot of money on a car that only does tip/family/mtb runs tbh.
nosuchuser said:
I've been a serial Volvo owner for years but when my beloved V70R was written off following someone hitting it, failing to find another V70R of decent quality, I bought a 95 aero as a stop gap.
6 years later I've still got it but it's getting a bit tired now. Would have another aero in a shot if I can find a reasonable one. I didn't like it very much when I first had it but it's grown on me - boot is big enough to take a mtb wheels on and seats down, comfy, fast enough, don't really care about fuel economy, I don't do many miles in that car and we have a swift sport for town.
Looking at the mk4 mondeos as they seem decent value. I don't really want to spend a lot of money on a car that only does tip/family/mtb runs tbh.
Interesting that you didn’t like the Saab straight away. I instantly liked the scruffy S60 I looked at a year back. Was tatty, super-smoky inside - who knew you could fit that much ash in one ashtray?! - and needed some suspension work and a good service, but was still really comfy, enjoyable to drive and imagine it would have been satisfying to live with, too.6 years later I've still got it but it's getting a bit tired now. Would have another aero in a shot if I can find a reasonable one. I didn't like it very much when I first had it but it's grown on me - boot is big enough to take a mtb wheels on and seats down, comfy, fast enough, don't really care about fuel economy, I don't do many miles in that car and we have a swift sport for town.
Looking at the mk4 mondeos as they seem decent value. I don't really want to spend a lot of money on a car that only does tip/family/mtb runs tbh.
I get what you’re saying. My dilemma is whether to get the cheapest possible vaguely interesting estate - a £795 2005 V70 D5 is heading up that option at the moment - and have it primarily as a tool for moving things around, or get something more appealing as a car to enjoy in its own right, like the £2k 530d I’ve been keeping an eye on. The only Mondeos I’ve look at are 2.5Ts and none of those seem to have been looked after that well. Wonder whether other versions are better looked after...
It’s so hard to make any decisions when it’s not really possible to look at things and drive them right now!
Ntv said:
Mk 4 Mondeo and E Class have the best boots of all these. I think Vectra is good also, but the car itself is older/ less acceptable IMO. Pay attention to boot width as it has a major bearing on usefulness IME.
Vectra has a longer boot, the Mondeo has a wider one. Meanwhile the E-Class has the best overall volume - I assume it’s the tallest, since the boot seems shorter than the Vectra’s and not much wider...Yep, you're right. You can always find more length by moving the front seats around, but you can’t normally find any extra width.
So...As of yesterday I am a Volvo driver.
I’ve picked up a 56-plate V70 2.5T SE manual with 118,600 miles for £1,300. Seemed to be far cheaper than any similar age/mileage 2.5T - although there never seem to be many 2.5Ts for sale and even fewer manuals
The catch? No service history...at least according to the seller. I phoned up my local Volvo dealer out of curiosity to see if they had any trace of it being serviced at a main dealer.
The result? 14 main dealer services on record - all within time and mileage - the last being in July 2020, less than 3,000 miles back. I even phoned up two more dealers to make sure they’d got it right. Score.
It needs four new tyres, front discs and pads, a new boot cover and a few other things, but all in it looks like a good buy. I’ve already filled the boot and taken one load of stuff to the tip, and the car is full and ready for tip trip two...
I’ve picked up a 56-plate V70 2.5T SE manual with 118,600 miles for £1,300. Seemed to be far cheaper than any similar age/mileage 2.5T - although there never seem to be many 2.5Ts for sale and even fewer manuals
The catch? No service history...at least according to the seller. I phoned up my local Volvo dealer out of curiosity to see if they had any trace of it being serviced at a main dealer.
The result? 14 main dealer services on record - all within time and mileage - the last being in July 2020, less than 3,000 miles back. I even phoned up two more dealers to make sure they’d got it right. Score.
It needs four new tyres, front discs and pads, a new boot cover and a few other things, but all in it looks like a good buy. I’ve already filled the boot and taken one load of stuff to the tip, and the car is full and ready for tip trip two...
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