UK Roads Suitable “Wafter”

[Mully1906]

Can anyone recommend a suitable “wafter” that is fit for the AWFUL UK roads, under £3k?

- auto
- big
- comfy

[paul_c123]

Sensible or not sensible?

[loskie]

S60 D5 Volvo

[Mully1906]

paul_c123 said:

Sensible or not sensible?

Hit me with whatever. Not overly fussed at this point…

[paul_c123]

Mully1906 said:

Hit me with whatever. Not overly fussed at this point…

First thing that came to mind was an old-ish Merc S-Class. Doesn't need to be a high spec (the low spec ones aren't exactly spartan) and could be the 320CDI. I would fancy it as a less troublesome beast than eg a Jaguar XF or anything else Jag for that matter.

The problem with this kind of car is unless you deliberately seek out something before March 2006 you could end up with £760/year tax - so beware of this and check each car you consider.

[Nickp82]

Rover 75

[911Spanker]

W212 on 16" wheels and standard suspension. It's fabulous.

[Chris_i8]

L322

[HeWhoDaresRoy]

Lexus LS430 could be good.

[JD82]

Lexus RX400h

Edited by JD82 on Friday 15th August 07:20

[Magnum 475]

911Spanker said:

W212 on 16" wheels and standard suspension. It's fabulous.

Came here to post exactly this. Mine was on 17s, and still one of the best wafting cars I've ever owned. Ran it from new to 138000 miles with no failures, no faults, just routine maintenance.

[Teaspoonasaurous]

Chris_i8 said:

L322

THis is the answer

[Skodillac]

Volvo S80
Skoda Superb
Some variety of JAAAAAAAG or other

Suppose it depends how much you fear the bork in large, luxurious cars and how big you want to go. If you value reliability and cheapness to fix, and can go a bit smaller, Toyota Avensis and Honda Accord would be my choice.

[phazed]

Teaspoonasaurous said:

Chris_i8 said:

L322

THis is the answer

Ideally 2010-2012, 4.4 TDV8, 3.6 TDV8 is perfectly acceptable.

There really is no other…

[Stick Legs]

Jag XF.

This would be my choice.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/18358558

It's over your budget, but honestly it's worth it for the later car, and what sort of Range Rover would you get for £3k.

The 2.2 diesel is much much better than you'd ever give it credit for with excellent economy.

Incredibly well suited to UK roads, much more so than the German stuff.


Easy to upgrade to modern CarPlay / Android Auto with this:

https://unique-ad.co.uk/product/wireless-apple-car...

A friend of mine runs a garage that specialises in this era of Jaguar and he has a 2012 XF as his own daily and absolutely loves it, if he has to go a long distance he takes it in preference to his F-Type or his X351 XJR.

If your budget was capped absolutely at £3k then this pre-facelift is still nice, and Cat N is not the issues may think it is, just find out why, it'll almost certainly be a minor bump.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/18954080

Edited by Stick Legs on Friday 15th August 12:11

Edited by Stick Legs on Friday 15th August 12:12

[Belle427]

I like the look of the Jags, need to research the engine problems though.

[phazed]

I must admit, I missed the 3K budget! That really narrows it down. I would certainly not entertain a 3K Range Rover!

[CABC]

Jag XJs are wonderful. defo petrol for reliability (not fuel tho)
pre-'06 and half the tax for "an Arthur" X3xx, and they waft with a class that most moderns don't have.

[Stick Legs]

Belle427 said:

I like the look of the Jags, need to research the engine problems though.

Lets be brutally honest.

The V6 Diesel can snap it's crank. On a £3k that writes it off unless you want to spend the same again to save the car.

The 2.2 Diesel is a Ford unit, and essentially the Mondeo / Transit engine, the XF got it near the end of that engine's life, so all the bugs were worked out.

If I was looking for a budget wafter with no engine fears I'd be buying the £4k 2.2 grey Waterlooville car I linked.

HOWEVER

If you care feeling brave, and knowing these engines well, the 3.0 V6 Diesel is a brilliant engine, less V6 Diesels as a percentage have snapped their cranks than you'd imagine, and it went in SO many vehicles, the XF specific version was used in:

Citroen C5, Citroen C6, Peugeot 407, Peugeot 607, Jaguar S-Type, Jaguar XF, Jaguar XJ.

a variation on the unit with a different turbocharging arrangement but the same internals was used on:

Land Rover Discovery 3, Discover 4, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar, Range Rover L405, Jaguar F-Pace.

The failure is catastrophic if it happens to you, but the rate of failure is low.

I would not refrain from buying an XF or any other car above just because of the V6 engine, and the V8 variation of it lives in my Range Rover L405.

[Stick Legs]

CABC said:

Jag XJs are wonderful. defo petrol for reliability (not fuel tho)
pre-'06 and half the tax for "an Arthur" X3xx, and they waft with a class that most moderns don't have.

Good shout, The X350 being called an 'Arthur' is a brilliant.

Here's the best advert for the waftability of the XJ:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKqCWwxO31g