£4.5-5k petrol estate... opinions wanted please

[rallyeS2]

Right, my other thread has given me some food for thought. The wife is almost certainly getting an XC90 which I can use for shooting. Im strangely drawn towards a big comfy practical estate... I’m not quite ready to hand in my PH cards yet though as the comments on the other thread have lead me to having a plan for a Mini Cooper S (poss works) which I will use for track days and in the summer when funds allow...

So I have narrowed the choices to the following :

Audi A6 Avant 07-09 petrol
BMW 525/530 (maybe 545 if in budget) estate ideally msport unless advised otherwise
Volvo V70 2.5T seLux
Curveball - Alfa 159 ti estate petrol ideally

Any experience or opinions on the above much appreciated, mileage 3-4K per year and will be used for short daily commute and DIY / tip duties!

Thanks!

[Mr Tidy]

Hmm, I haven't quite had any of those, but last February I bought an E91 325iSE which probably has the same N52 engines as the 525i/530is will have at your budget.

I would have preferred a 330i, but they were nearly twice the price - and finding any 6 cylinder petrol Touring was difficult enough!

My 325i is well screwed together and very refined, despite having done 132K miles when I bought it! But it did have full BMW history, and despite being on 138K now it still drives really well.

Mine is a manual and is very high geared, which doesn't go too well with an engine that has a red-line at 7,000 RPM so the 325i feels a bit lack-lustre - for that reason I wouldn't consider a 525i!

I wanted an M-Sport for the M-Sport seats, but to be honest the car doesn't encourage you to drive it in such a way that you'd need them, and at least mine are leather and heated!

The ride quality is OK (it's still on run-flat tyres) but I wouldn't look for an M-Sport if you want a something comfy!

If your preference for an M-Sport is for how it looks, you could always get some bigger wheels for an SE.

I've no experience of the other options though, so best of luck with your search.

[rallyeS2]

Thanks Mr Tidy, that kind of narrows down the bmw option to a 530i Se. Think they look ok with the right alloys. I’ll eventually have a weekend car for when I want to rattle some fillings loose!!