20k used "luxury" estate/SUV. Petrol or diesel?
Discussion
Having looked at a few "newish" crossovers with my wife as our next potential family car, we haven't really found anything that she is particularly enamoured with, so I think that by reminding her of a couple of older vehicles that we owned in the past (an old C-class diesel estate and a WJ Grand Cherokee) that she actually liked, I think that I may have succeeded in talking her out of a crossover and into a "proper" SUV or luxury estate car. Budget is 20kish, so it'll obviously be a bit older and higher miles but the big question is petrol or diesel?
She doesn't necessarily do the miles to merit a diesel but I'm really after a V6/straight 6 in a car like this for the power and refinement and the diesel certainly offers better mpg and lower CO2 (so less RFL?) for similar performance but then we've all "learnt" recently that diesel is bad (more NOX), so maybe petrol is the more environmentally responsible choice? Although one has to reconcile this with using more fossil fuel and spending more at the pump, which is bad! Also, there seems to be a bigger choice of diesel than petrol cars in this sector on the used market. I probably wouldn't be wanting to buy a new diesel car in 2019 and besides, anything that I could afford new would have a 4-pot diesel and they're all horrid in my experience (I used to run TDI VWs with the PD engines back in the day and I'm sure they weren't as rough as the newer 4-pot diesels that I've driven recently). As a used purchase though, it's a harder choice, as diesel has been so dominant up until this point.
The models that we're potentially interested in are:
previous-gen BMW 330d/335d/335i/340i Touring (F31?)
2014- BMW X5 30d (I assumed you could also get one with the 35i/40i petrol engine but perhaps not)?
previous-gen Mercedes E350 Estate (S212?) - I thought that they did a 350 petrol in these but can't seem to find any, so maybe the 350 Bluetec (diesel) is the only option.
We would have also considered a current generation C-Class estate but they don't do any V6 engines in them apart from the C43 AMG which is still too expensive. Neither of us are a massive fan of Audi A4 Avants/A6 Avants/Q5s but I guess they might be worth a look if they offer what we're looking for at a good price?
So, should I go petrol because it's possibly nicer and better for the environment or diesel because it gives me more choice and is still potentially cheaper to run?
She doesn't necessarily do the miles to merit a diesel but I'm really after a V6/straight 6 in a car like this for the power and refinement and the diesel certainly offers better mpg and lower CO2 (so less RFL?) for similar performance but then we've all "learnt" recently that diesel is bad (more NOX), so maybe petrol is the more environmentally responsible choice? Although one has to reconcile this with using more fossil fuel and spending more at the pump, which is bad! Also, there seems to be a bigger choice of diesel than petrol cars in this sector on the used market. I probably wouldn't be wanting to buy a new diesel car in 2019 and besides, anything that I could afford new would have a 4-pot diesel and they're all horrid in my experience (I used to run TDI VWs with the PD engines back in the day and I'm sure they weren't as rough as the newer 4-pot diesels that I've driven recently). As a used purchase though, it's a harder choice, as diesel has been so dominant up until this point.
The models that we're potentially interested in are:
previous-gen BMW 330d/335d/335i/340i Touring (F31?)
2014- BMW X5 30d (I assumed you could also get one with the 35i/40i petrol engine but perhaps not)?
previous-gen Mercedes E350 Estate (S212?) - I thought that they did a 350 petrol in these but can't seem to find any, so maybe the 350 Bluetec (diesel) is the only option.
We would have also considered a current generation C-Class estate but they don't do any V6 engines in them apart from the C43 AMG which is still too expensive. Neither of us are a massive fan of Audi A4 Avants/A6 Avants/Q5s but I guess they might be worth a look if they offer what we're looking for at a good price?
So, should I go petrol because it's possibly nicer and better for the environment or diesel because it gives me more choice and is still potentially cheaper to run?
Edited by white_goodman on Thursday 9th May 18:55
griffdude said:
I was considering exactly the same problem a few months ago & ended up with a high spec 3 year old 330d X drive touring with 28k miles . I’m very pleased with it but the dealer (ending in ‘stone) were absolutely appalling.
Sounds like a good choice. Out of interest, why did you go 330d and not 340i? What else did you look at?I was going to suggest a f31 340i as I have one and honestly can't fault it what so ever, fast, spacious, isn't flashy (looks like a 320 m sport) and the engine is bullet proof being a B58.
Other option would be a B8.5 S4 again my other choice but found the 340i better on price when I was looking.
Don't get a diesel it's the devil's juice haha!
Other option would be a B8.5 S4 again my other choice but found the 340i better on price when I was looking.
Don't get a diesel it's the devil's juice haha!
Deerfoot said:
here_we_go said:
30mpg
Slightly more if my experience is anything to go by. RFL is £150, they're refined, have excellent build quality and Lexus dealers are a cut above the Germans with respect to aftersale service.
I do like it and nothing has ever gone wrong in the two years I've had it.
ninjag said:
The XF is a great choice, OP you can get the E Class in 350/500 petrol form but they're rare but worth keeping an eye out for.If you're doing lots of short journeys & not many miles then I'd petrol engines would be the way to go, if you're doing over 10k with a reasonable runs then a diesel will be fine.
What do you class as Luxury? I think the Lexus & Infiniti brands are as good if not better than the German brands so take a look at those too, you'll average 20mpg with a petrol SUV & around 30mpg with a hybrid & the same for a diesel & obviously more with estates unless you get an E63 Estate.
ninjag said:
Can't beat a bit of "French" luxury! In all seriousness though, it's a good-looking car and a lot of car for the money. I've always fancied a Jag but the XF interior always seems to let it down in pictures (not seen one in person) and how are they for reliability?WCNFSL117 said:
Have you considered looking at a 2015- 520d touring or an possibly Audi A4 Avant? Both very comfortable, spacious and well equipped cars
Not a massive fan of the F11 5er to be honest (we prefer the X5) and I'm not sure if I could live with the (lack of) refinement of that 4-pot diesel. a 3.0 TDI A4 Avant might be a possibility, although we're not a massive fan of Audis.ZX10R NIN said:
The XF is a great choice, OP you can get the E Class in 350/500 petrol form but they're rare but worth keeping an eye out for.
If you're doing lots of short journeys & not many miles then I'd petrol engines would be the way to go, if you're doing over 10k with a reasonable runs then a diesel will be fine.
What do you class as Luxury? I think the Lexus & Infiniti brands are as good if not better than the German brands so take a look at those too, you'll average 20mpg with a petrol SUV & around 30mpg with a hybrid & the same for a diesel & obviously more with estates unless you get an E63 Estate.
Lexus and Infiniti certainly classify as luxury and I wouldn't rule either out. I just find the styling of their vehicles a little "hit or miss". They don't do any estates, so what would their equivalents to the BMW X5 be? Lexus RX I suppose...If you're doing lots of short journeys & not many miles then I'd petrol engines would be the way to go, if you're doing over 10k with a reasonable runs then a diesel will be fine.
What do you class as Luxury? I think the Lexus & Infiniti brands are as good if not better than the German brands so take a look at those too, you'll average 20mpg with a petrol SUV & around 30mpg with a hybrid & the same for a diesel & obviously more with estates unless you get an E63 Estate.
white_goodman said:
Can't beat a bit of "French" luxury! In all seriousness though, it's a good-looking car and a lot of car for the money. I've always fancied a Jag but the XF interior always seems to let it down in pictures (not seen one in person) and how are they for reliability?
I think they get a bit of a hard time to be honest and people still relate to the older generations. Best thing is to pop over to some Jaguar forums, I was surprised to find the one I go to isn't actually full of problems, certainly no more than other marques including the likes of Honda. I think perceived reliability / unreliability is something to be aware of, I'm quite sure there are a few marques which have very good marketing (or something) to hide their reliability / 'going on fire' issues.I don't have a problem with spending money on a car (so long as it's not silly money) if it's a car I enjoy driving and ticks lots of boxes. I've got a good specialist indy nearby as well which helps. The interior is nice and different from the typical 'Euro' interior which I think the newer Jaguars are guilty of now. It's quiet and there's a lot of little touches which I think help such as even the inside of the boot lid is covered in proper carpet not that cheap thin material stuff or just bare plastic. The quality of the standard leather seats could be better, it's a little too shiny/smooth for my liking but I think the top Portfolio spec get nicer leather. But then I found BMW's standard leather to feel almost like rubber so I guess it's subjective.
PugwasHDJ80 said:
Merc CLS estate in 350cdi flavour
we had it chipped to around 290bhp
its the only car my missus wishes we'd kept- the first out of 15 or so cars
beautiful to drive, practical and sufficiently reliable
really poor panel gaps though!
Thanks. I'd forgotten about these and didn't realise they were down to this kind of money yet. It does look nicer than the E-Class wagon and the "saloon" version of the CLS in my opinion for that matter. Does it lose much to the E for practicality? i.e. still a 5-seater and is the boot significantly smaller?we had it chipped to around 290bhp
its the only car my missus wishes we'd kept- the first out of 15 or so cars
beautiful to drive, practical and sufficiently reliable
really poor panel gaps though!
irish boy said:
335d touring ticks a lot of boxes, but needs the acs springs fitted as it comes on se suspension. With this done they drive well, punchy and still returning mid 30's average. Reliable too, very few dpf issues on this engine compared to many.
Thanks. Good to know. By ACS springs, do you mean the adaptive dampers?Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff