I needs me an estate
Discussion
I'm going to be selling up my dc2 Integra in the next few months and need to get an estate car for loading stuff around. I want it to be fun, fast, very good to drive, and it HAS to be manual (can't stand autos).
My budget will be around 6,000 (ish, depends on how long I can save up for before I get too bored and buy something), and i'm looking at the Legacy GT-BE (post 2000), Autech Stagea RS, Audi RS4.
Is there anything in particular I should be looking for? Insurance shouldn't be too much of a problem (so long as i try and keep it below 3 liters) and I don't really care about fuel economy...
[EDIT]: Preferably 4 wheel drive, i'll be using it for lugging gear to and from festivals, and also for trips to skiing resorts and other snow stuff.
My budget will be around 6,000 (ish, depends on how long I can save up for before I get too bored and buy something), and i'm looking at the Legacy GT-BE (post 2000), Autech Stagea RS, Audi RS4.
Is there anything in particular I should be looking for? Insurance shouldn't be too much of a problem (so long as i try and keep it below 3 liters) and I don't really care about fuel economy...
[EDIT]: Preferably 4 wheel drive, i'll be using it for lugging gear to and from festivals, and also for trips to skiing resorts and other snow stuff.
Edited by michaelfenton on Friday 22 October 11:02
300bhp/ton said:
Not sure on budget but it might be worth a drive of an MG ZT-T260. Very sorted chassis and handling and a real good drive IMO. Fairly speedy and a lovely sound track. The V8 also offers up a fair amount of tuning potential too.
Hmm, I'll give it a look. Regarding budget, it really depends on how long I can hold out before I buy something. If I wait about a year, I can get together over 10 grand and get something savage, but i doubt i'm that patient. Is the MG 4wd? I also realized that I meant S4 rather than RS4, my bad! Allroad quattro?
michaelfenton said:
It kinda has to be 4wd, will be traipsing through quite a few fields (it's for transporting gear around to festivals and stuff, also for driving to ski resorts).
Ok 4wd does make a difference then and the V8 ZT wont cut it. Only thing worth remembering, not all 4wd systems are created equal.300bhp/ton said:
Not sure on budget but it might be worth a drive of an MG ZT-T260. Very sorted chassis and handling and a real good drive IMO. Fairly speedy and a lovely sound track. The V8 also offers up a fair amount of tuning potential too.
Great shout, but £10k, if you can find one for sale. I looked.Ah - 4x4. Avoid the "quick" Volvos. They are not actually quick at all, and the 4wd systems blow up all the time. Subarus use a similar system (at least Imprezas do) - which means if you need to replace one tyre, you have to replace them all, or you blow the 4x4 system up. Forester et al must use something different to Impreza, as they seem to have a reputation for toughness.
Audi S4 a good shout, but bloody expensive to work on/fix if anything goes wrong (virtually anything engine/gearbox related is an engine out job).
Personally, for what you want the car for, I'd be looking for an early A6 S6 quattro. V8, reasonably simple (none of the RS6 suspension issues, I believe), subtle, and 344 bhp. Not searingly fast, but not exactly slow. Nice noise too. Trouble is, £6k probably buys you one with big mileage. A "normal" A6 4.2 Quattro can be had for half the price - only 300bhp tough. However, the A6 doesn't exactly handle...
I went through the same process as you and ended up with a dirt cheap Volvo V70R AWD. It's brisk and brilliantly practical, but old fashioned, awful on fuel and very boring. It's going for a Defender.
Edited by Harry Flashman on Thursday 21st October 14:55
doogz said:
Harry Flashman said:
Ah - 4x4. Avoid the "quick" Volvos. They are not actually quick at all, and the 4wd systems blow up all the time. Subarus use a similar system (at least Imprezas do) - which means if you need to replace one tyre, you have to replace them all, or you blow the 4x4 system up.
Sorry, but that's utter nonsense.Cheers,
FT.
doogz said:
Harry Flashman said:
Ah - 4x4. Avoid the "quick" Volvos. They are not actually quick at all, and the 4wd systems blow up all the time. Subarus use a similar system (at least Imprezas do) - which means if you need to replace one tyre, you have to replace them all, or you blow the 4x4 system up.
Sorry, but that's utter nonsense.Edit : Very utterly nonesensicle stuff...
Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 21st October 15:08
doogz said:
Harry Flashman said:
Ah - 4x4. Avoid the "quick" Volvos. They are not actually quick at all, and the 4wd systems blow up all the time. Subarus use a similar system (at least Imprezas do) - which means if you need to replace one tyre, you have to replace them all, or you blow the 4x4 system up.
Sorry, but that's utter nonsense.Subaru Imprezas use a similar system, hence the need to change the tyres in sets of four, but either it's cheap to fix or they don't lunch themselves, as Subaru owners don't seem to make the same fuss about it as we Volvo owners do.
NB - I'm not saying that every single one does it - but I am saying that it is a well known problem to we V70 AWD owners (classic and next generation - now well and truly fixed; this was a late 90's/early 2000s problem). I'm guessing XC90s of similar vintage etc don't suffer from the same issues.
Edited by Harry Flashman on Thursday 21st October 15:12
I can't see how that would work. If there was any difference in rolling resistance or anything from two different tyres, diffs would take care of it. The only case where I can imagine this being a problem would be if you had different sized wheels all over the car, and even then it should be grand.
A friend of my father has a 4WD volvo and has echoed the points mentioned here. I personally think that the diffs should take up any slack but it is a genuine problem with many victims. Hence I wouldn't be brave enough to change just one tyre and be sure that it's not vastly increasing mechanical wear.
Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff