Looking for luxury estate/MPV ~£7k

[Eddles]

Currently have a fully spec'ced 2012 270bhp Mk 4.5 Ford Mondeo Titanium X Sport with all the trimmings - automatic cruise control, heated/cooled seats, automatic wipers, automatic xenon headlights, sports suspension, the works. My only bugbears were the automatic gearbox (manual not an option on this model) and it's a gas guzzler. Unfortunately I've been hit with a £3,500 repair bill for new clutches this morning and the wife's appreciation factor has gone down to zero, and mine has gone way down.

Now that I've got a VX220, I don't need such a fast estate, but we want to replace the Mondeo with something a lot more reliable - however I love my luxury toys and I know a lot of cars since 2010 are quite unreliable due to gearboxes/fuel injection systems/DPFs etc.

So I'm looking for a luxury estate, age & power don't matter - looking for £7k but might go up to £8k for the right car.

The new car absolutely MUST NOT have automatic gearbox of whatever flavour, and if possible, I really would like to avoid GDI & common rail engines (e.g. Ecoboost, TSI, TFSI, CDTI, CDRI etc) and the dual mass flywheel. If I get a non-GDI petrol, I will get it converted to LPG but that's an additional £1,000 which needs to be budgeted in, but I'm keen on this option.

What I absolutely have to have is cruise control and heated seats

What I would love to have but don't have to have:

• Automatic cruise control/adaptive cruise control
• Speed limiter
• Cooled seats
• Xenon lights
• Memory seats

I have looked at the following cars:

• Volvo V70
• Volvo V60
• Skoda Superb - zero WAF, though.
• Mercedes Benz E-Class - again zero WAF and high repair costs.
• Volvo V50 is another option but it's a bit small.
• Audi A4 Avant - worried about repair costs though.
• BMW 330i Touring - as above

Any other options/ideas/suggestions?
Many thanks!

[anonymous-user]

Volvo V70 was my immediate thought, or what about a Honda Accord, its available in 2.4 petrol form and your budget could get you the newer shape in EX trim.

If you dont want auto you should probably rule out the E Class as youll struggle to find a manual.

P.S. what is WAF?

Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 18th February 19:13

[Eddles]

Good suggestion on the Accord. I do have to say that I had a really shocking service from two Honda main dealers in trying to fix my Honda Civic, they took 2 months in fixing the car due to parts no longer being available despite the car being 5 years old! I still think Hondas are good, but I can't trust the main dealer. I'll have a look, though, cheers!

WAF = Wife Approval Factor or Wife Appreciation Factor.

Edited by Eddles on Monday 18th February 19:21