Small (diesel?) Estates

[Mr Scruff]

Never owned a diesel car - never wanted one. Mrs Scruff had one and I didn't really enjoy it and never reached the stated MPG.

However....

I wonder whether I might have need for one now?

I have a wife, a child and a dog. 2 days a week I work from home, 3 days a week I work in a satellite office 16 miles away. Once a month I work in head office, 200 miles away.

Golf GTi has been a great car but is getting too small. The Porsche is staying, and also have a motorbike.

Small estate makes sense to me - 3 series, Volvo V50, Alfa 159, Skoda Octavia. Thing is, most of these are diesel and the petrol ones have pretty woeful economy anyway.

Requirements are - £7k or less, ideally small estate and capable of 38mpg+ on my head office run (which is what the Golf does). It's the family car so needs to be reasonably reliable.

Thoughts and suggestions gratefully received!

[ZX10R NIN]

If you're looking at Octavia's then I'd take a look at the Mondeo:

2.0T Titanium X

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2.2d Titanium X Sport

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Or if you want smaller, the Megane 2.0d GT Line are well worth a look:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

I'm not sure you'll need a diesel though.

[Zetec-S]

By my calculations you'll be doing less than 8k miles a year commuting, so it doesn't sound like a diesel is worth getting.

Appreciate petrol estates are fairly rare, but there are a few out there. How about a Skoda Fabia vRS?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[Mr Scruff]

Definitely do less than 8k commuting, and if I'm honest I'd prefer to avoid diesel.

It's just the challenge of finding a petrol version!

[exelero]

Saab 9-3 2.0t Estate?

[ZX10R NIN]

At under 8k per year I'd really not stress about the MPG

Sensible Options:

Ford Focus Titanium X 1.6T 180bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Less sensible but worthy of consideration:

Saab 9-3 X 2.8T 280bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2.0T 210bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Subaru Legacy R 3.0T 255bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Audi S4 345bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

I would have said one of these but didn't realise how much they'd gone up in price.

C55 370bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[BoRED S2upid]

Nothing mentioned is what I'd class as a small estate. We have a Volvo V70 (big estate) and a SEAT Ibiza ST (small estate) long story as to why we have ended up with 2 estates but anyhow the SEAT has been very good over the 50k we have had it from 12 months old it's wanted for nothing other than regular very cheap servicing and being a 1.6tdi is very frugal constantly returning over 55mpg. I was 70+ on a commute once but didn't believe that was accurate.

You don't see many ST ibiza's around probably because it's such a small estate but is perfectly fine I can fit 2 road bikes in it with the rear seats folded down the dog would be fine in the boot.

[ZX10R NIN]

A Ford Focus estate isn't small?

[codenamecueball]

Octavia VRS TSI
Cupra ST

[Integroo]

BoRED S2upid said:

Nothing mentioned is what I'd class as a small estate. We have a Volvo V70 (big estate) and a SEAT Ibiza ST (small estate) long story as to why we have ended up with 2 estates but anyhow the SEAT has been very good over the 50k we have had it from 12 months old it's wanted for nothing other than regular very cheap servicing and being a 1.6tdi is very frugal constantly returning over 55mpg. I was 70+ on a commute once but didn't believe that was accurate.

You don't see many ST ibiza's around probably because it's such a small estate but is perfectly fine I can fit 2 road bikes in it with the rear seats folded down the dog would be fine in the boot.

Is a supermini based estate any more practical than a normal mid sized hatchback? I can get two road bikes and a week's worth of kit in the back of my Civic no problem.

[Mr Scruff]

Space is definitely an issue, the Golf is a good car but just need a little more room.

Audi A4 has a 2.0 TFSI engined version, are they any good? Always hesitant about Audi for some reason.... Skoda is definitely a good shout, as is the Legacy (but they're hard to find in decent spec and condition)

Not quite sure I can say 'screw it' and get an S4, the fuel costs would still sting and I already have a quick car.

[ZX10R NIN]

I know you're trying to be sensible but this is PH so I had to throw it into the mix