PH Service History: Estate of the Nation
The SUV onslaught means many families have forgotten the virtues of the classic estate. But we haven't
Chatting with a colleague of mine the other day, and he was relating the woes of his long-term SUV test car. Now, if you believe everything you read, the SUV is the saviour of the modern family, with a high seating position that enables easy belting in of car seats, oodles of boot space, and rugged looks that connote safety and protection.
I've had this nagging doubt on that front, and I'm sure I'm not alone here; said chat with said colleague confirmed some of my suspicions.
He bemoaned the fact that, while his SUV does indeed have plenty of boot space, because it's tall and wide space, rather than long, he has to place his daughter's buggy in first, and widthways, and then pile the rest of the luggage on top. And while the seating position is higher, because the front and rear seats are closer together, he has less space to manoeuvre in front of the child seat to strap her in. In short, his SUV isn't the panacea for familial travelling one might hope.
So my belief that an estate makes the ideal family wagon remains intact. Not only is there properly usable boot space - long and wide, so you don't have to stack all your belongings - but you get proper handling and decent fuel consumption, too - two areas in which every SUV is compromised.
In other words, if family transport is a necessity in your life at the moment, I'd advise steering clear of the latest high-rise, and having a look at a wonderful wagon instead.
A Mondeo, perhaps. After all, Mondeo estates are fabulous things on the used market; whether you're going for a Mk3 or a Mk4, the space per pound on offer is nigh-on impossible to beat. Take this late ST TDCI, for example; barely 10 years old and with average miles on the clock, and yours for £1,995.
You don't need me to tell you that these are rare beasts, crisp of handling and suitably potent yet also delightfully frugal, and the 2.2-litre diesel is more reliable than the mildly terrifying 2.0 used in lesser models. This one isn't the tidiest around, judging by the pictures, but spend a few quid on refurbished wheels and deep-clean the interior yourself and it should be a very satisfying family wagon for a bargain basement price.
Got a bit more cash to splash? I'd drop four grand on this tidy-looking Impreza WRX in a heartbeat. Granted, it's hardly the largest estate in the world, but it should do the trick for family work, as with all Impreza WRXs, you get a very tasteful amount of shove, all-wheel-drive traction and delightful handling.
If the ad's to be believed, this one comes with a full history and a useful spot of recent work, and doesn't look to have been messed around with. The MOT's short, but the price is very reasonable, so in that regard you pays yer money, and so forth. Family-friendly, fun and four-wheel-drive - who needs an SUV?
Of course, if you partook of my last column, its high mileage should hold no fear, especially as there's plenty of evidence of frequent maintenance to back it up. There's a fresh MOT, too, and while pictures must always be taken with a pinch of salt, it looks well cared-for. Being an ST-3, it's top-of-the-range, so you get xenons, dual-zone climate, heated seats, cruise, and so on. And of course, there's that singing, 250hp engine up front and the Focus's delightfully playful chassis whenever the family aren't in tow. All this for under ten grand. Rude not to, surely?
But I'll admit that a lairy Focus estate probably doesn't tick the 'status symbol' box that most SUV buyers are looking for. To solve that problem, I have one more suggestion: a tidy, three-year-old BMW 3 Series Touring. And not just any 3 Series Touring; this one's a 335i, which means it gets that rarest of things in a modern BMW: a petrol-powered six pot.
335i Tourings are hard to come by, especially with adaptive suspension - a must if you want to avoid the harsh ride that comes with M Sport trim. But this one's so equipped; in fact, it's got seven grand's worth of options fitted, including BMW's Professional nav and the Harman Kardon sound system. It's also done just 18,000 miles, so it's barely even used. And while £25k isn't exactly pocket change, neither is it all that pricey compared with the cost of a nearly-new SUV.
Not only will it fit your family and their gubbins inside, but it'll also hit 60mph in 5.2 seconds and still return around 35mpg, while also driving much more tidily and looking, to my eyes at least, a whole heap classier. No contest, really, is there? Long live the estate.
I have the Focus and it has been good for my young family, albeit that rear passenger space is quite poor. It is my first estate but I'd definitely have another - probably the 3 series next! Not just about better driving dynamics but looks too. Better than a blobby SUV, and also in my opinion often better than the saloon version.
Want to buy a Jag XE Sportbrake? You can't. https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/no-jag...
Now, though, I've replaced it with a 2.5 X-Type (don't judge me it was cheap), and the difference in how the two cars go round corners is absolutely night and day. The X feels orders of magnitude more planted and stable to me. And the thing about this is that the X is in no way a handling-foused car.
I get why you might want a crossover if you weren't really into driving. The Kuga was roomy, comfortable, fairly impressive to look at, did have a bit of extra visibility over other cars, and was generally very easy to live with. I certainly wouldn't call it a bad car. If you're someone who cares about things like handling, though, I just don't know why you'd do it to yourself.
I think the SUV is for most an easy choice and fashionable, our works car park is full of them, of all makes and sizes, and the market place is spoilt for choice, personally I think it shows a lack of car taste, but that's just my opinion.
Whilst I know I am very Subaru biased after owning 8 in a row, the Legacy offers the family all the benefits of the SUV, look at the sales in North America for example.
If it wasn't for towing my motorbike out of fields I have the Mondeo every day, the Legacy gives me the added assurance of being to get out of the field and not worry about the little and infrequent snow flurries we have, plus its a great car to drive and is well built.
Only those in the know understand how capable and 3.0 Spec B is.
With a pram and luggage, the advantages of an estate in terms of sheer convenience outweighed the nice features of the IS for me.
There's now an Octavia vRS estate on the driveway instead. I tried a Focus ST that just wasn't as nice to be in, so bought the Skoda instead. Very happy with the family wagon and while it's no sportscar, it's far more fun on a spirited drive than an SUV would be for me.
With a pram and luggage, the advantages of an estate in terms of sheer convenience outweighed the nice features of the IS for me.
There's now an Octavia vRS estate on the driveway instead. I tried a Focus ST that just wasn't as nice to be in, so bought the Skoda instead. Very happy with the family wagon and while it's no sportscar, it's far more fun on a spirited drive than an SUV would be for me.
I only have one baby (1 and a half now- car bought a month before she arrived) and a wife who doesn't do "packing light".
I was resistant to the idea of an estate until I spoke to others and tried a couple of cars out, and now I'm a convert to the cause. Yes, you can manage without an estate just fine, but having one makes many things in life just easier.
My Girlfriend is about to give birth so even lifting shipping that extra few inches into th boot makes a difference.
The extra boot space my old RR Sport had over my current 335d was eroded by having to carry the dog ramp
And having decided I've reached that stage in life where accelerative urge has become irrelevant - old age, speed cameras, too much traffic etc etc - I'm going full barge next time with a V90. Launch control is pretty impressive but after 5 seconds or less of full gas you're in licence losing territory.
Cheers
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