Entertaining Winter Estate/Family Motor Needed Quickish

[Leithen]

Help!

Having been let down badly by a car broker - car ordered in May now discovered to be not on order from dealer/factory, I'm in need of inspiration for something to fill the void pronto.

Living in the wilds of Scotland (not that wild - Perthshire), where road clearing/gritting/salting is not to be relied upon, I need a four wheel drive or winter tyre-snow capable car for the family. It needs to be relatively big - child/dog/prams/kitchen sinks etc and cost no more than 20K. Now that the boring option of a new Skoda Superb Estate with all the trimmings has fallen through, my thought is, why not try to find something fun too?

So over to the PH experts - help me out, I'm pissed off and totally lacking in inspiration.

[falkster]

Dies it have to be new?
Any other requirements?

[Leithen]

Doesn't have to be new - I do need to get hold of it before the Arctic arrives.

Anything from a Unimog to a Roller considered.

[jeremyc]

Fancy running a modern classic?

[Leithen]

jeremyc said:

Fancy running a modern classic?

Tempting, having had one of the Original Ur-Quattro's. In fact it briefly crossed my mind to look at the Ur-Quattro, until I remembered the dog.....

How much crap can you get in the back of the RS2 and how well is it holding up with the on-coming years?

[thinfourth2]

Subaru forester

Fantastic cars

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

or go chat to Lee

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

Edited by thinfourth2 on Saturday 5th November 11:30

[jeremyc]

Leithen said:

How much crap can you get in the back of the RS2 and how well is it holding up with the on-coming years?

I have neither dogs nor kids, but the back can easily hold all of my track day paraphernalia (toolbox, trolley jack, pair of wheels, two 20 litre fuel cans ...) at the same time as four adults. The back seats are split (two thirds - one third) and fold down flat which gives space large enough for items of furniture (and your kitchen sink).

A well maintained one should be fine - they are significantly over-engineered - but remember that they are 17 years old and nothing will stop rubber perishing or radiators being battered.

One factor for you may be fuel economy - frugal they are not. That performance comes at the expense of 16-18mpg in mixed driving.

[Leithen]

thinfourth2 said:

Subaru forester

Fantastic cars

Our other car is a Forester!

Not sure I want a Legacy too, but it certainly ticks the boxes.

[ClaphamGT3]

How about my wife's old RS6?

Wonderful car; wants for nothing but she just wanted another Mercedes so I got her an E63.

About £11,000, so you'd even have change!

[Spanna]

Passat R36 Estate, Jag X-Type 3.0 Estate. Both AWD with decent power.

You could go older and cheaper with Mitsubishi Galant/Legnum VR4 or Nissan Stagea. Again both estates with AWD and plenty of power.

[DavidHM]

Boring option?

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

Another boring option:

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

Not quite an SUV:

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

Ugly, but good?

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

[Leithen]

Not sure about an RS6 - would probably need to put winter boots on along with slimmer wheels. A bog standard A6 Avant Quattro is an option - probably preferred over the A4 due to the extra space in the back.

[anonymous-user]

Legacy Outback, A4/A6 Quattro/Allroad, Volvo XC-70, Saab 9-3 XWD, Alfa 156 4x4, or Insignia VXR!

[chrisispringles]

This might be a daft idea, but what about a Porsche Cayenne S on 18" alloys and a set of winter tires? I know for a fact that Pirelli do winters in the right size for it.

[Leithen]

chrisispringles said:

This might be a daft idea, but what about a Porsche Cayenne S on 18" alloys and a set of winter tires? I know for a fact that Pirelli do winters in the right size for it.

Not daft at all - I ran a Touareg for five years complete with 18 rims with Nokians - great vehicle. I'm not sure what I'd get for 20K however, and the load space isn't fantastic. (Good, but not vast).

flits off to check used Cayenne prices......

[MattyB_]

jeremyc said:

One factor for you may be fuel economy - frugal they are not. That performance comes at the expense of 16-18mpg in mixed driving.

That Gmund car has been for sale for over a year. They claim its standard when clearly isn't, look how low it is!

And you must be pushing on to average that, I'm just creeping over 20mpg in mixed driving, but its hard not to love that crazy 5pot turbo noise!

[Leithen]

OK, moment of madness, but in looking for something different with 4WD, I remembered that BMW do various iterations that don't make into the UK/RHD.

For example, 525xd and 530xd incarnations of the E61. Totally daft idea, but I do have a business that generates Euros and I do like to be different (no probs with LHD). Importing into the UK would seem to be pretty straightforward - has anyone got any experience exporting cars back to Germany? I'd imagine that because it's originally German the TUV demands would be met easily.

Insuring the thing over here would probably be a challenge, as would getting it serviced.....