Large Family Estate car – with a bit of fun
Discussion
The current Mondeo estate family bus is beginning to circle the drain, so I am beginning to consider replacement.
Requirements are;
- 10K a year miles – Medium to long journeys.
- Large estate car (similar to the Mondeo)
- No SUV’s
- More interesting / Petrolheady then the Mondeo
- I keep my cars a long time (9 years for the current one) so not too old
- No motorsport inspired, silly horsepower, only use the performance on track, type cars. 600 BHP won’t help me. Decent road going suspension will.
- Not too flash. I want to park it places.
Current thoughts are;
- Mercedes E53 AMG Estate – Huge boot, strong but not insane performance, although my gut feel is the sub 30 MPG won’t seem worth it for the odd moment the traffic clears and you can use the performance. Not Diesel though. May too flash, although a debadge could help?
- Mercedes E400D – 340Bhp is still a lot but not many cars for sale after 2019.
- Audi A6 Allroad – Air suspension goodness, 280ish horsepower although a lot of reviews seem to say the gearbox is a bit poor and the boot isn’t a patch on the E class.
On paper something like a BMW 540 Estate should be the answer and I do like my BMW’s, but not a massive fan of the 5 series. Boot and the back seats feel rather small, which kind of misses the point of a large estate car.
Skoda Superb 280 might be worth a look, but I think the handling is likely to be a material step down on the Ford.
The Diesel Audi S6 could be interesting but they seem to be more expensive than the E400D and the reviews often give the win to the Mercedes. Plus the S6 is probably flasher than the Merc.
What am I missing? Any insight into any of the above. Max budget of say £35K but obviously less is better.
Requirements are;
- 10K a year miles – Medium to long journeys.
- Large estate car (similar to the Mondeo)
- No SUV’s
- More interesting / Petrolheady then the Mondeo
- I keep my cars a long time (9 years for the current one) so not too old
- No motorsport inspired, silly horsepower, only use the performance on track, type cars. 600 BHP won’t help me. Decent road going suspension will.
- Not too flash. I want to park it places.
Current thoughts are;
- Mercedes E53 AMG Estate – Huge boot, strong but not insane performance, although my gut feel is the sub 30 MPG won’t seem worth it for the odd moment the traffic clears and you can use the performance. Not Diesel though. May too flash, although a debadge could help?
- Mercedes E400D – 340Bhp is still a lot but not many cars for sale after 2019.
- Audi A6 Allroad – Air suspension goodness, 280ish horsepower although a lot of reviews seem to say the gearbox is a bit poor and the boot isn’t a patch on the E class.
On paper something like a BMW 540 Estate should be the answer and I do like my BMW’s, but not a massive fan of the 5 series. Boot and the back seats feel rather small, which kind of misses the point of a large estate car.
Skoda Superb 280 might be worth a look, but I think the handling is likely to be a material step down on the Ford.
The Diesel Audi S6 could be interesting but they seem to be more expensive than the E400D and the reviews often give the win to the Mercedes. Plus the S6 is probably flasher than the Merc.
What am I missing? Any insight into any of the above. Max budget of say £35K but obviously less is better.
Thw S213 E-Klasse is interesting, especially in the E53 or 400d variants. The 3.0 inline 6's are relatively new engines so no infos yet on long term reliability. The 48V mild hybrid is also an extra level of complexity for long term reliability.
The B58 /ZF 8 speed in the G31 5er is a proven reliable combo, but the space is in deed cramped in the back.
How abojt a last model year CLS 500 shooting brake? Still silly but not as bad as the new E63s.
That gen of E-Klass (212) on which its based was pretty well built and the last model years have most of the bugs ironed out. They still look distinctive and the interior has aged witj dignity in my opinion.
The B58 /ZF 8 speed in the G31 5er is a proven reliable combo, but the space is in deed cramped in the back.
How abojt a last model year CLS 500 shooting brake? Still silly but not as bad as the new E63s.
That gen of E-Klass (212) on which its based was pretty well built and the last model years have most of the bugs ironed out. They still look distinctive and the interior has aged witj dignity in my opinion.
steven said:
- Audi A6 Allroad – Air suspension goodness, 280ish horsepower although a lot of reviews seem to say the gearbox is a bit poor and the boot isn’t a patch on the E class.
Audi AllRoad BiTurbo : https://www.evo.co.uk/audi/a6-allroad Max power, 308bhp at 3900rpm ; Max torque, 479lb ft at 1450rpm ; 0-60, 5.6-secs (claimed 0-62mph).
And different / better gearbox
BTW the Username you have- with the brackets. Makes is s
t / impossible to quote, unless the brackets removed I believeI’ve got the 540. The boot and back seats are plenty big enough.
Maybe not quite Supurb big but I’ve had 4 adults and 4 20kg suitcases in the car with no problems at all.
The car is fantastic, covers the miles with ease no matter how much you have in the boot. It feel very neutral to me. It’s not as stiff and dynamic as a 340 but a nicer more comfortable place to be. You can push it, but it’s not going to corner as well as something like an S6.
I’ve got the 20” wheels which look better, but the 19s would provide a better ride.
I’ve no worries about parking it anywhere as it’s just a 5 series. There is nothing particularly special about it. If I took the badges off you couldn’t tell the difference from a 520.
It could do with a bit more induction/exhaust noise, but that’s easy to solve.
Would I buy one again. Yes. But I wish I’d bought the last of the petrol S6 instead. Not for any other reason than they sound better, are quicker and because I’m like a small child, because they sound better
Maybe not quite Supurb big but I’ve had 4 adults and 4 20kg suitcases in the car with no problems at all.
The car is fantastic, covers the miles with ease no matter how much you have in the boot. It feel very neutral to me. It’s not as stiff and dynamic as a 340 but a nicer more comfortable place to be. You can push it, but it’s not going to corner as well as something like an S6.
I’ve got the 20” wheels which look better, but the 19s would provide a better ride.
I’ve no worries about parking it anywhere as it’s just a 5 series. There is nothing particularly special about it. If I took the badges off you couldn’t tell the difference from a 520.
It could do with a bit more induction/exhaust noise, but that’s easy to solve.
Would I buy one again. Yes. But I wish I’d bought the last of the petrol S6 instead. Not for any other reason than they sound better, are quicker and because I’m like a small child, because they sound better
Thw S212 is cavernous, much more spacious than an X5, it embodies thr classic Benz wagon values perfectly. The post FL versions are well built.
How is the AMG63version of these from a comfort perspective? Are they very stiff? Reliability?
The CLS Shooting Brake is still a stunner but very rare.
How is the AMG63version of these from a comfort perspective? Are they very stiff? Reliability?
The CLS Shooting Brake is still a stunner but very rare.
[quote=(steven)]
Current thoughts are;
- Mercedes E53 AMG Estate – Huge boot, strong but not insane performance, although my gut feel is the sub 30 MPG won’t seem worth it for the odd moment the traffic clears and you can use the performance. Not Diesel though. May too flash, although a debadge could help?
[/quote]
An E53 would be my preference. Very quick by most metrics and not as much of a hooligan as the E63, not is the bodywork as shouty.
The E53 mild hybrid of the era you are shopping in seems to get positive reviews-it has an electric motor to provide power before the turbo kicks in thus eliminating power lag. This sounds very clever and I'd definitely have this car on your short list to test drive.
Current thoughts are;
- Mercedes E53 AMG Estate – Huge boot, strong but not insane performance, although my gut feel is the sub 30 MPG won’t seem worth it for the odd moment the traffic clears and you can use the performance. Not Diesel though. May too flash, although a debadge could help?
[/quote]
An E53 would be my preference. Very quick by most metrics and not as much of a hooligan as the E63, not is the bodywork as shouty.
The E53 mild hybrid of the era you are shopping in seems to get positive reviews-it has an electric motor to provide power before the turbo kicks in thus eliminating power lag. This sounds very clever and I'd definitely have this car on your short list to test drive.
Coincidentally when I read your opening post I thought the same thing as the first response........ the V90 cross country. I was very keen on on of these about 2/3 yrs ago and a yr old sub 2k one was about £22k. I really should have bought it.... they are far more expensive now.
One wideball suggestion would be the Citroen C5X. When it came out i was intrigued as it was apparently a coupe/ SUV/ estate all in one. I drove one summer of 2022 when they first came out the 225hp PHEV. The refinement at low speeds is amazing with the posh suspension, like an old Jag XJ. The 1.2 is maybe best if you can handle 130hp but reviews say it's enough and still say the ride is good without the posh suspension. Every review on the internet whether a test or long term drive really rates the car. Brand new mid spec 1.2's are £24,600, £6,600 off list, the top spec is £25,500, £8,100 off list.
When it comes to looks it's maybe a bit marmite. I thought in the flesh the part SUV designation was wrong it was much lower like a conventional saloon/ estate. I saw it more like a V90 cross country/ Audi allroad shape, just like a raised estate, but about 6 inches shorter.
It may not appear to have the space of a conventional estate but one of the official design parameters of the C5X was it needed to be big enough to fit a washing machine in the back.
I test drove it out of intrigue, we had a 5 year old Fiat 500x at the time and I'd never test driven a car in years. It was well worth it and I came away very impressed and I expect anyone would be. We ended up getting a great deal on a DS9 in the end but I still ponder if I did the right thing.
One wideball suggestion would be the Citroen C5X. When it came out i was intrigued as it was apparently a coupe/ SUV/ estate all in one. I drove one summer of 2022 when they first came out the 225hp PHEV. The refinement at low speeds is amazing with the posh suspension, like an old Jag XJ. The 1.2 is maybe best if you can handle 130hp but reviews say it's enough and still say the ride is good without the posh suspension. Every review on the internet whether a test or long term drive really rates the car. Brand new mid spec 1.2's are £24,600, £6,600 off list, the top spec is £25,500, £8,100 off list.
When it comes to looks it's maybe a bit marmite. I thought in the flesh the part SUV designation was wrong it was much lower like a conventional saloon/ estate. I saw it more like a V90 cross country/ Audi allroad shape, just like a raised estate, but about 6 inches shorter.
It may not appear to have the space of a conventional estate but one of the official design parameters of the C5X was it needed to be big enough to fit a washing machine in the back.
I test drove it out of intrigue, we had a 5 year old Fiat 500x at the time and I'd never test driven a car in years. It was well worth it and I came away very impressed and I expect anyone would be. We ended up getting a great deal on a DS9 in the end but I still ponder if I did the right thing.
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