Best estate car?

Author
Discussion

white_goodman

Original Poster:

4,042 posts

190 months

Friday 13th July 2012
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My wife would probably like an SUV or an MPV as our family car but I would much rather drive an estate. Just as much space, better looking and cheaper to run but which estate is the best? On which criteria do you decide?

I would suggest:
Alfa 156/159 (best looking)
Audi RS2/RS4/RS6 (coolest)
Volvo (most practical? - although I gather the newer Volvo estates i.e. V50/V60 aren't that large)

Does anything combine these qualities better? An old-shape Legacy estate perhaps? I know this is a bit subjective but what's the best estate car out there, old or new?

SWoll

18,206 posts

257 months

Friday 13th July 2012
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Define best..

I would suggest that probably the best estate car for a mixture of performance, driving experience, quality, practicality and economy is the BMW 535D M-Sport Touring.

'Looks' and 'Coolness' are too subjective to get a real consensus.

I'm sure others will disagree though. smile

Dusty964

6,919 posts

189 months

Friday 13th July 2012
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Classic range rover

TTwiggy

11,500 posts

203 months

Friday 13th July 2012
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I may be a little biased, but I'd plumb for the S/RS Audi Avants - practical, fast, 4WD for when it turns nasty and (until the most recent incarnations at least) very subtle and 'Q-carish'.

MattGTA

419 posts

171 months

Friday 13th July 2012
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MX5

getmecoat

Mermaid

21,492 posts

170 months

Friday 13th July 2012
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BMW 330DM Touring

il sole

287 posts

143 months

Friday 13th July 2012
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My mate bought a 2.0 twin spark 156 estate 2 years ago when the had their first baby. His wife loves it! it's also been 100% reliable even though it had done 120k miles...
although, the boot's tiny...

The previous generation A4 Avant was good and very well built, so long as it wasn't a 1.8T...

devnull

3,745 posts

156 months

Friday 13th July 2012
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W124 E320 Estate. Not exactly a slouch, carved from granite, though they are getting on quite a bit!

superlightr

12,842 posts

262 months

Friday 13th July 2012
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Best estate car out there. Even if Im biased.

Edited by superlightr on Friday 13th July 17:04


Edited by superlightr on Friday 13th July 17:05

TIGA84

5,204 posts

230 months

Friday 13th July 2012
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Legnum VR4

but I'm biased of course!

Mr E

21,583 posts

258 months

Friday 13th July 2012
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il sole said:
My mate bought a 2.0 twin spark 156 estate 2 years ago when the had their first baby. His wife loves it! it's also been 100% reliable even though it had done 120k miles...
although, the boot's tiny...
We had a 156SW with the V6 lump. Nice place to be, drove pretty well, had that engine. Not big.
Replace it with a hulking great Saab, which is pretty big.

UnderTheRadar

503 posts

172 months

Friday 13th July 2012
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There are loads of bear traps in this. I've been the owner of a Passat estate, a Mondeo estate, an Isuzu Trooper, a Landcruiser and a large MPV. A relative of mine owns an RS4 Avant.

Firstly lets dispell the size = space myth. The LC and the MPV have similar external dimentions. The LC has ground clearance and a bulky 4x4 transmission so internal hight is much less, coupled with a huge bonnet covering a longitudinal engine so the cabin is shorter than the MPV's (and the estate's) transverse layout. (The LC is for off-road work and towing stuff)

If, as the OP states, running costs are a consideration (especially fuel) the RS4 is ruiness. Of all the estates it seems to have least usable space of the bunch, although not awful. Some SUVs have extremely small usable space.

IMO I'd go for a large MPV if what you need is a child-carrier. Huge internal space designed for the job, not expensive to buy or run (as long as you steer clear of the Voyagers) The handling is better than you'd expect but the image is less good - depending on what type of person you want to impress.

dave stew

1,502 posts

166 months

Friday 13th July 2012
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I've got a P2 Volvo V70 T5. Does pretty much what I need for a family car - capacious, comfortable and tough/reliable.

It's never going to be an exciting steer, but you need to think WHY you need an estate - its not to lap the 'Ring, is it?

Personally, I'd err towards a big wagon as I don't see the point of having to 'suffer' a wagon but struggle to get stuff in it! My long suffering V70 has had no end of stuff in it - new kitchens, old kitchens to the tip, you get the drift.

Flying machine

1,132 posts

175 months

Friday 13th July 2012
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You might need to define a budget. Are you looking at ropey old bangers or flash high end monsters? If you can afford it then either an RS4 or 535d sound like very nice choices!

Matt UK

17,649 posts

199 months

Friday 13th July 2012
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Budget?

white_goodman

Original Poster:

4,042 posts

190 months

Saturday 14th July 2012
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Matt UK said:
Budget?
No budget, just speculating!

Trevor450

1,740 posts

147 months

Saturday 14th July 2012
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E Class.

lexusboy

1,099 posts

142 months

Saturday 14th July 2012
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Stagea

Dave Hedgehog

14,541 posts

203 months

Saturday 14th July 2012
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superlightr said:






Best estate car out there. Even if Im biased.
even as a massive RS fanboi that merc is lovely sperm

Jasandjules

69,825 posts

228 months

Saturday 14th July 2012
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I am quite happy with our Passat Estate. I will get the 170BHP version in time though.. I know it's an oil burner but I get 50mpg on a run quite easily. And she is comfy, and has plenty of gadgets, air con etc..