Which German barge. E39 5-Series, W210 E-Class or C5 A6

[white_goodman]

I fancy a change from my 2004 Chrysler and appreciate that none of these options will get me a newer car but the subsequent versions of these models are significantly more expensive and probably too nice for what I want to use it for (as would a W124). The Chrysler is fine. 200bhp V6, FWD, 35mpg but feels a bit disposable like a lot of American cars of this age. It will be a family workhorse and a car to get me to work. I don't do many miles (less than 20000km per year, so not enough to merit a diesel) but do a fair amount of miles on unpaved roads (don't want the expensive running costs of a big SUV though).

I'm thinking of a late example of one of these cars to keep for the next 5-6 years and would like comparable if not better performance but prize comfort, space, stability, ride and reasonable running costs over handling and would probably prefer to stick with a 6-pot. I would buy an estate version of either of these but there don`t seem to be any available, as for some reason estate cars are not very popular here! I have seen several rusty E39s and W210s around. Are all E39s and W210s afflicted with rust or just certain years. I had a 1999 W203 C-Class Estate with 218k for a while which I liked very much. Pretty much every panel was rusty but mechanically it was still in fine fettle. Is the Audi better in this respect.

I also drive a lot in inclement weather and snow (based in Canada), so an A6 quattro is quite attractive but I haven`t really had any issues with my FWD Chrysler in snow, so I guess a 5-Series or E-Class with decent winter tyres would be fine also.

Which car is the best option and what would be the best engine and transmission combination to go for.