F15 X5 Replacement

[Panthro]

Thinking of selling my X5 40d. It's my only car other than a 54 plate Focus that is being used to teach my wife how to drive (that's another story), so any replacement needs to be big enough for 4 people (me, wife, 2 year old and 5 year old) and the occasional 5th person (mother in law) in the middle.
My X5 is fantastic and I'm not entirely sure I need to sell it but it's going to be out of warranty next month and having done 83k I'd prefer to sell now. Plus I enjoy changing cars! With the warranty renewal, BMW's offer to me was £2.3k for the full warranty with no excess, which is ridiculous.

My life pre-children was basically BMW M3's and a Z4. I'd love an F80 M3 but not sure it's big enough. Having the X5 and gotten used to the space I'm not sure I want to go back to a smaller car. Looking at a max of £30k and having the following shortlist:

2016 LCI F80 M3 - not sure if it's big enough. Can you fit a tow bar bike rack to it?
2017 onwards 540i Xdrive - Great car, next gen compared to the X5 but doesn't really excite me.
Porsche Cayenne 2015 onwards - can only get a diesel in my budget and it's almost 50bhp down on the M5. Plus I prefer the iDrive system.
Cupra Ateca - not sure on this one at all, never sat or driven one but it's fast and supposedly handles well. Also, I prefer my cars with 3 litres and 6 cylinders.
2015 onwards C63 AMG Estate - slightly more practical than the M3 but still not a huge amount of space. Above my budget and will drink fuel.
Mercedes E400 estate - love these but they are fairly boring and being relatively new will depreciate more than the others.

My ideal car is a facelift RS6 but I can't afford one and probably can't afford to run one either.

So in summary:
£30k max
5 doors and 5 seats
Automatic
ISOFIX
Big boot with fold down seats
More than an average of 20mpg would be good

Any advice or other cars I've missed would be appreciated.

[jdizz]

Golf R estate

Seat Leon Cupra Estate

[bobsavage789]

C43 estate? Not the biggest, but have reasonable running costs, plenty of power and decent practicality.

The E43 (maybe even E53) might also sneak into budget. These have the same engine, but slightly more power and are larger inside, as well as supposedly being very well put-together...

[madmatteo]

jdizz said:

Golf R estate

Seat Leon Cupra Estate

If I had your budget and was coming from an X5, I would seriously consider trying to squeeze into an E43 AMG estate. Examples below. Arguably more interesting than the E400d albeit that is also a great car and stonking engine if you do the miles to justify diesel.

https://www.seraphcars.com/current-stock/2017-17-m...

https://www.lshauto.co.uk/stock/12100090-mercedes-...

I have had the Seat Leon Cupra Estate and Golf R Estate and both were big enough for family needs. That said, my current E Class makes a mockery of them space wise and it makes family life even easier as you don't have to worry about what it can carry (it will take everything you will ever reasonably need). However, if you were minded to look at the Golf or Leon Estates, then keep an eye out for a Leon Cupra R Estate with the ABT power upgrade to 350hp. Example below but might need to stretch the budget to get into one.

https://www.jksc.co.uk/cars/seat/leon/2.0/388283/

Alternatives:

Audi RS4 - https://www.autoselect.co.uk/used-cars/audi-rs4-av...

C43 AMG instead of C63 - https://www.phantommotorcompany.co.uk/used-mercede...

Possible SUV alternatives:

GLE 450 - https://www.beckevans.co.uk/used-mercedes-benz-gle...

GLC 43 AMG - https://www.a1ortos.co.uk/used-mercedes-benz-glc-c...

Best of luck with your search

[Jazzer77]

Lexus RX450 would fit the criteria but probably be too boring if M cars are being considered.

Maserati Levante diesels have dipped to around £30k now.

[Panthro]

Jazzer77 said:

Lexus RX450 would fit the criteria but probably be too boring if M cars are being considered.

Maserati Levante diesels have dipped to around £30k now.

I very nearly bought an RX450h before the X5. The only reason I got the X5 is because it was on the forecourt where the RX450h was and the price wasn't much different so I went with the heart over head decision. Need to drive the newer RX450h because they are fantastic cars.

[Panthro]

E43 AMG is extremely tempting! Thanks for the replies so far.
Not sure if the Levante is too nice for a family car. Not one I've considered before.

[ZX10R NIN]

There are some cracking options at this price point:

Maserati Ghibli but check the rear legroom

S Petrol

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103240...

Facelift

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008293...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008202...

Quattroporte if the Ghibli isn't big enough

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102239...

3.0d no slouch & sound good

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009304...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103049...

XJ Autobiography 3.0d really overlooked but these are a cracking car & good value atm:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102169...

Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland you'll get one with two year Manufacturers Warranty left which (price dependent) you can extend:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103260...

Cayenne 4.2d

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101077...

CLS 400 AMG Line is a good option

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101308...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103200...

CLS 400d AMG Line an absolute peach of a drivetrain & a nice place to be.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102189...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011216...

E400d more practical version of the above:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102219...

If the E400d below does have every extra possible fitted then it's a steal at the price:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103049...

Audi S6

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101268...

New shape 3.0d A7

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103099...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103300...

[JohnBRG]

Panthro said:

Thinking of selling my X5 40d. It's my only car other than a 54 plate Focus that is being used to teach my wife how to drive (that's another story), so any replacement needs to be big enough for 4 people (me, wife, 2 year old and 5 year old) and the occasional 5th person (mother in law) in the middle.
My X5 is fantastic and I'm not entirely sure I need to sell it but it's going to be out of warranty next month and having done 83k I'd prefer to sell now. Plus I enjoy changing cars! With the warranty renewal, BMW's offer to me was £2.3k for the full warranty with no excess, which is ridiculous.

My life pre-children was basically BMW M3's and a Z4. I'd love an F80 M3 but not sure it's big enough. Having the X5 and gotten used to the space I'm not sure I want to go back to a smaller car. Looking at a max of £30k and having the following shortlist:

2016 LCI F80 M3 - not sure if it's big enough. Can you fit a tow bar bike rack to it?
2017 onwards 540i Xdrive - Great car, next gen compared to the X5 but doesn't really excite me.
Porsche Cayenne 2015 onwards - can only get a diesel in my budget and it's almost 50bhp down on the M5. Plus I prefer the iDrive system.
Cupra Ateca - not sure on this one at all, never sat or driven one but it's fast and supposedly handles well. Also, I prefer my cars with 3 litres and 6 cylinders.
2015 onwards C63 AMG Estate - slightly more practical than the M3 but still not a huge amount of space. Above my budget and will drink fuel.
Mercedes E400 estate - love these but they are fairly boring and being relatively new will depreciate more than the others.

My ideal car is a facelift RS6 but I can't afford one and probably can't afford to run one either.

So in summary:
£30k max
5 doors and 5 seats
Automatic
ISOFIX
Big boot with fold down seats
More than an average of 20mpg would be good

Any advice or other cars I've missed would be appreciated.

Used 540i is a conspicuous bargain if you ask me.

[JohnBRG]

F Pace 3.0 petrol? Great steer, ageing well.

[Panthro]

JohnBRG said:

F Pace 3.0 petrol? Great steer, ageing well.

Not a fan, think my F15 has it beat in every area.

[fflump]

I really like the E43 AMG 4matic and test drove one. Lovely interior seems a cut above BMW/Audi in terms of perceived quality. More than enough poke for me anyway.

Coming from a X5 I guess you might appreciate AWD too?

In the end I got a Ghibli V6 S (another suggestion above) as fancied something a bit less common. FWIW rear leg room for our 3 kids (eldest 15) is fine unless you've got 3 gangly 6-foot teenagers the middle one might complain!

[Lozw86]

You cite end of warranty on the X5 as a reason for changing. How much warranty should the replacement have?

It sounds like you’re looking at 2-3 year old cars

What year is your X5?

[Panthro]

It's a 2015. I'm not concerned much about the age but the options to keep the X5 in warranty are a joke. A porsche warranty is £1100 for 2 years. Bmw is more than double.

[ZX10R NIN]

Panthro said:

It's a 2015. I'm not concerned much about the age but the options to keep the X5 in warranty are a joke. A porsche warranty is £1100 for 2 years. Bmw is more than double.

I think the 4.2d Cayenne will tick a lot of boxes for you.

[Panthro]

I'm leaning towards the hybrid or S. Is the 4.2 euro 5 or 6.

[ZX10R NIN]

The 4.2d is Euro6 & will actually be very close to the hybrid when it comes to fuel around town but will be better on a long run

On a SUV a Diesel Hybrid makes the most sense:

Q7

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011045...

If you could live with a mid size SUV then the Alpina XD3 hybrid is the pick

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103240...

[mario64]

I borrowed a new X5 3-litre hybrid for the day and was really impressed with it. Worth considering if you're looking at the Cayenne hybrid?

[2 GKC]

JohnBRG said:

Used 540i is a conspicuous bargain if you ask me.

Estates don’t half seem to carry a premium though

[Panthro]

mario64 said:

I borrowed a new X5 3-litre hybrid for the day and was really impressed with it. Worth considering if you're looking at the Cayenne hybrid?

Is that the F15 hybrid? I'd probably be better off sticking with mine. I'm doing a lot of short journeys now though and worried how it might affect the engine.