What car (forward planning)...

WTFH

I'm a money saver, so I'm starting to save for my next car. I suspect I'll buy it in 2 years time, and what I'll be looking for is a 1-2 year old car. In other words, the car I'm going to buy is probably either in a showroom somewhere, or about to be built.

Current car is VW Golf size, diesel, reasonably fast and economical. My normal driving is either 40 mile round trips to the airport, or 200+ mile trips to offices. Very rarely do I do journeys less than 30 miles. Most journeys are with just the driver in the car, but one week a month there can be 2-3 colleagues with me.
The dog doesn't like my car - the boot is too small and low for her liking, so she either sits up front with a seatbelt on, or if I have a passenger, she'll sit in the passenger footwell.

In reality I have very few needs apart form what is listed above. Most things are wants, so here's the list...
Sat Nav
Bluetooth
Parking sensors
Auto or semi auto gearbox
Estate or big-ish hatchback
Reasonable ground clearance
Reliable
>40mpg, <£200 VED
As many toys as possible
Fun to drive. I want a car with heart, not just a mere driving machine.

My ideal would be an Alfa Giulia SW, but since they don't exist and the 159 is out of production, then that rules them out. In reality, I think we're talking A4 estate size, but I'm not a fan of Audi. I also recently looked at the scoobie XV, but suspect it's not going to win me over in terms of fun.
I'm under 50, budget is up to 25k for a 1-2 year old car. It's going to have to last me 5+ years.

It's Friday, go wild with your suggestions!

goonarmy

Im not gonna go wild, the new golf estate. If it aint broke dont fix it, get a bigger boot or however the saying goes.

londonTiger

fun and estate don't really go together unless you're going for a really powerful one like a mercedes AMG estate. But when you go up that powerful you're going to find it difficult to get the VED <£200.

The outlay for a 1-2 year old car makes VED minuscule so you might as well scrap that requirement

Also satnav, bluethooth, parking sensors will be standard on a 1-2 year old car.

otherwise good thread. I'm in the market to upgrade from a golf to an estate although I'm looking at a older diesel (like 2005 A4) which is supposed to be more reliable than modern diesels with DPF.

I think the Audi estates are the best looking out of all estates personally. But they're a compromise because the rear windscreen is 45 degrees/ So no good if you intend to move a lot of box loads. (should be fine for the dog though)

londonTiger

goonarmy wrote: »

Im not gonna go wild, the new golf estate. If it aint broke dont fix it, get a bigger boot or however the saying goes.

I like my golf mk4 hatchback, but the estate version is !!!!!!. Looks like a renault/ford from behind. The mk5/6 are better looking but they are so rare- i dont think i've ever seen one on the road/

BeenThroughItAll

WTFH wrote: »

I'm a money saver, so I'm starting to save for my next car. I suspect I'll buy it in 2 years time, and what I'll be looking for is a 1-2 year old car. In other words, the car I'm going to buy is probably either in a showroom somewhere, or about to be built.

Current car is VW Golf size, diesel, reasonably fast and economical. My normal driving is either 40 mile round trips to the airport, or 200+ mile trips to offices. Very rarely do I do journeys less than 30 miles. Most journeys are with just the driver in the car, but one week a month there can be 2-3 colleagues with me.
The dog doesn't like my car - the boot is too small and low for her liking, so she either sits up front with a seatbelt on, or if I have a passenger, she'll sit in the passenger footwell.

In reality I have very few needs apart form what is listed above. Most things are wants, so here's the list...
Sat Nav
Bluetooth
Parking sensors
Auto or semi auto gearbox
Estate or big-ish hatchback
Reasonable ground clearance
Reliable
>40mpg, <£200 VED
As many toys as possible
Fun to drive. I want a car with heart, not just a mere driving machine.

My ideal would be an Alfa Giulia SW, but since they don't exist and the 159 is out of production, then that rules them out. In reality, I think we're talking A4 estate size, but I'm not a fan of Audi. I also recently looked at the scoobie XV, but suspect it's not going to win me over in terms of fun.
I'm under 50, budget is up to 25k for a 1-2 year old car. It's going to have to last me 5+ years.

It's Friday, go wild with your suggestions!

Current model Skoda Superb will tick all those boxes except possibly 'fun'.


For 'fun-ish' + box ticking, a 5-Series Tourer would do the job.


Skoda Yeti is brilliant, if you like that sort of thing (which I do).


Weirdly enough, the most 'fun' I've had in an estate car recently was driving a colleague's Mazda 6 Tourer. That was quite nice really.

WTFH

Current car is Golf-size, but not a Golf.
Yeti is out, because from what I've seen, the boot is small.

Octavia vRS is maybe on the list.
VED could get scrapped off the list, but fuel economy would definitely stay on.
A Merc would be a possibility, but which one? And while I like the idea of an AMG, the roads up to our house are narrow and bumpy, so I can't have something low to the ground with big skirts and 20" no-profile tyres.
BMW 5? No thanks. I'd sooner go for an A6 allroad.
Oh, yes, maybe something with 4WD - that would be Low down on the option list, but if push came to shove, that might swing the decision from one car to another.

daveyjp

Based on the need for 5 year use with minimal repairs a Legacy sports tourer diesel should be considered.