24 replies to this topic

[Richie83]

I've got a 2015 Ford Focus as my daily at the moment and it's a pretty good family car. I mainly;
- commute 50 miles a day
- lug around family stuff on the weekend
- holiday with my wife and 2 year old with all their stuff to transport

I would like something practical but with a bit of poke and fun. I've been looking at warm estates (GTD/Octavia VRS) but would consider an older car than I have now if it's a good'un. What do you guys think?

[MatthewsDad]

I've had V70s (both T5 and D5) for years, great workhorses for lugging the family, bikes, camping gear around. The older D5s (pre-2006ish) are cheap to buy and run with amazing fuel efficiency for a big car (I get over 45mpg average, 55mpg on a long run). They have plenty of poke and are easy to work on too. The T5s are outrageously​ fast and fun for an estate but thirsty.

[Matt.L]

Impretza estate???

[designermatt]

big auto volvo t5 with the 2.5 turbo engine, absolutely great car to drive

[dyshipfakta]

Straight 6 BMW estates 2.5 3.0 can't go wrong and fuel consumption isn't that bad. Easily forgiven for the poke and the sound track. I am fond of the Volvo t5s but it would have to be an 850r

[lawrie124]

Straight 6 BMW estates 2.5 3.0 can't go wrong and fuel consumption isn't that bad. Easily forgiven for the poke and the sound track. I am fond of the Volvo t5s but it would have to be an 850r

Agreed.

I have owned four 2 litre Audis for the last 18 years.

When I blew up the last one I bought a 330d in a panic. My god it's fast.

[Richie83]

All great suggestions. I'm torn between nearly new and just getting one that's got many more miles - tricky choice.

[dyshipfakta]

Personally I would rather have something even 10 years old and interesting and pocket the 10 grand extra required for a newish diseasal euro box

[MatthewsDad]

There are plenty of looked after older (>10 years) V70 on Autotrader and eBay. As above, go older and put a few quid aside for replacing stuff as you need to. Build quality on older cars is epic and even main dealers provide significant discounts on older OE parts and oils. I suspect parts prices will be lower than Beemers and Audis but I might be wrong.

[Richie83]

Personally I would rather have something even 10 years old and interesting and pocket the 10 grand extra required for a newish diseasal euro box

this is what I'm thinking. More suggestions would be mega.

[AlexMozza]

An early 2000s RS4 / S4

[Mini Manannán]

Vauxhall Victor estate?

 

[tiger99]

I have a 7 year old Ford S-Max 2.2 TDCi, which goes rather well, has good handling and gives the odd BMW a fright. Lots of room for a family, and fairly safe, Euro NCAP 5. Reliable too.

[Big Sam]

I know someone who has a plugin Mercedes C class estate.0-60 in about 5-6 seconds, top speed limited to 155 as the norm with german cars. Gets him excellent MPG aswell on long runs.

 

He loves it so much his weekend toy BMW Z4 is up for sale.

[CityEPete]

Golf R estate