Suggestions for fun (and family) car

[Inspire]

Hi,

I’m looking to buy a new (to me) car. I’ve got the following criteria I’d like to stick to please:

-£15k budget (could go a bit higher). I’ll be paying cash rather than financing/PCP etc.
-Estate
-petrol
-4,000 miles per year (I’m not concerned about fuel costs or car tax)
-Needs to live on the road
-Quick but discreet (this is key)

I missed out on an Alpina B5 the other day on Collecting Cars. Sadly, these seem to be very few and far between.

All suggestions greatly appreciated and welcomed! Over to the masses

Thanks

Rob

[SlowV6]

Leon ST 4Drive? Might need a slight budget stretch. Golf r estate has 4 exhausts, which is a bit of a giveaway whereas the Leon has just 2.

335i Estate or, with another budget stretch 340i.

I am on the same page but accepting of £20k needs to be spent for a 340i.

Audi S4 avant? Again £20k seems to be needed!

[edc]

Quick, discrete, not doing many miles a year, can fit adults in back, I went with a C55 AMG a few years ago. Estate version might suit you.

[Belle427]

340i probably makes most sense but these are quite hard to find and over £20k when i last looked.
Leon Cupra and Golf R closer to £20k too but as all rounders they are hard to beat and reasonable to run.
Depends what you class as fun really, id be looking for something with an interesting sounding engine if you can stomach the running costs.

[Hugo Stiglitz]

E320 estate?

[Inspire]

Thanks all. The Audi S4 estate is a good shout. I’m not so keen on the Golf R or Leon and I think the C55 AMG is probably a bit old now. I did look at a couple m340i but was bit underwhelmed - I appreciate I want something discreet but they appear a bit bland.

I didn’t realised Audi did a v8 S4 - my bad!

Any other suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Rob

[Inspire]

Thanks all. The Audi S4 estate is a good shout. I’m not so keen on the Golf R or Leon and I think the C55 AMG is probably a bit old now. I did look at a couple m340i but was bit underwhelmed - I appreciate I want something discreet but they appear a bit bland.

I didn’t realised Audi did a v8 S4 - my bad!

Any other suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Rob

[Boringvolvodriver]

Škoda Octavia vRS perhaps?

[six port]

I’ve opted for a Passat R36 of all things in the same scenario!

[ZX10R NIN]

Inspire said:

Hi,

I’m looking to buy a new (to me) car. I’ve got the following criteria I’d like to stick to please:

-£15k budget (could go a bit higher). I’ll be paying cash rather than financing/PCP etc.
-Estate
-petrol
-4,000 miles per year (I’m not concerned about fuel costs or car tax)
-Needs to live on the road
-Quick but discreet (this is key)

I missed out on an Alpina B5 the other day on Collecting Cars. Sadly, these seem to be very few and far between.

All suggestions greatly appreciated and welcomed! Over to the masses

Thanks

Rob

The Audi S6 makes a lot of sense & is bang on brief:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504171...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502209...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503120...

508 GT:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505082...

GT Line:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505072...

Mondeo Vignale:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505102...

[Stick Legs]

If you can stomach the borkage the Audi RS6 C6 (V8 BiTurbo one) is a absolute modern classic.

When they work they aren't too bad on fuel and can be manageable, but a bad one is ruinous.

Still stunning and subtle as they come.

[williskwl]

Inspire said:

Hi,

I’m looking to buy a new (to me) car. I’ve got the following criteria I’d like to stick to please:

-£15k budget (could go a bit higher). I’ll be paying cash rather than financing/PCP etc.
-Estate
-petrol
-4,000 miles per year (I’m not concerned about fuel costs or car tax)
-Needs to live on the road
-Quick but discreet (this is key)

I missed out on an Alpina B5 the other day on Collecting Cars. Sadly, these seem to be very few and far between.

All suggestions greatly appreciated and welcomed! Over to the masses

Thanks

Rob

A 335i estate would be a great shout. I did less than 4k a year in mine and had very similar requirements to you when I bought it, which *cough* happens to now be for sale.

[tomsugden]

Having owned 2 S4s with the 4.2 V8, and an S5 with the 3.0 V6 supercharged, I'd go with the 3.0 all day long. A stage 1 APR remap saw mine go from 329bhp to 450bhp. It was capable of doing ~35mpg if you needed economy, but was proper quick too. They make a good noise too.

Example:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504291...

[drgoatboy]

I've always been strangely drawn to insignia vxr estate although they are pretty hard to find and tax is horrible on them.

Understand not everyone would be willing to drive a vauxhall estate .....

https://ebay.us/m/pNe7Iz