Non-Porsche small/medium sized car

[ORD]

A bit of a liberty to ask you guys something off-topic, so feel free to ignore. Any help very gratefully received.

I have started (probably about 6 months ahead of purchase)thinking about what car to buy as a small family car. My wife has vetoed the Macan - which is fair enough given that it is pretty big and arguably ugly.

I think our requirements are probably as follows:-

(1) 4 doors.
(2) Useable back seats.
(3) Decentish boot.
(4) If petrol6 cyl NA (or very lightly blown); diesel is different, obviously.
(5) Good enough handling that I wont cry if I have to drive it away for a weekend instead of the Cayman.
(6) Perhaps would accept AWD but am sceptical.
(7) Not an SUV.

Any thoughts on the following?

BMW - M235i,330d (perhaps a bit big)
Jag - XF (perhaps a bit big)
A smallish Merc? Are any of them any good?
Audi - any not dull?

[Luke.]

Golf R?

[Luke.]

M135i?

[ORD]

Both options. Thanks, Luke. I expect my wife would say that the M135i is ugly (whereas I think it is neither bad nor good looking, just slightly different from the norm).

[Trev450]

ORD said:

I expect my wife would say that the M135i is ugly (whereas I think it is neither bad nor good looking, just slightly different from the norm).

My neighbour has one of these and while I'll conceed its not the prettiest car around, it certainly drives well. Quick, playful and capable, yet a real mile-muncher if needed.

Edited by Trev450 on Tuesday 28th January 12:20

[thegoose]

This(click for advert)?



Photos here

[Actus Reus]

Totally out of leftfield judging by the suggestions above, but a new Octavia vRS diesel has quite a bit of appeal for me (or the petrol), or a Golf GTi. Though I must say, the 'Roc above looks lovely and is in the best colour.

[mm450exc]

I got the wife a Merc C220CDI amg sport saloon. Does the job. Auto, not too small and not too big, 170bhp,.... Drove the latest 250CDI recently when her car was in for service - that's the one to get.

Edited by mm450exc on Tuesday 28th January 15:07

[thegoose]

pete.g said:

ORD said:

I think our requirements are probably as follows:-

(1) 4 doors.
(2) Useable back seats.
(3) Decentish boot.
(4) If petrol6 cyl NA (or very lightly blown); diesel is different, obviously.
(5) Good enough handling that I wont cry if I have to drive it away for a weekend instead of the Cayman.
(6) Perhaps would accept AWD but am sceptical.
(7) Not an SUV.

It's definitely not an SUV.

It's short of 1 door too Silly me - I should have suggested this instead :


That of course ticks all the boxes perfectly (assuming 6 cylinders is a minimum ) - and I haven't even mentioned how good it sounds

[ORD]

I think an estate would be a hard sell. Great car, though. The 'roco would be rumbled pretty quickly as too obv for me!

[findtomdotcom]

thegoose said:

It's short of 1 door too Silly me - I should have suggested this instead :

Except that it's a Mercedes and there for has the build quality of cardboard. Nice engine however, pity AMG didn't build the whole car.

1 Series is an excellent car (looks are marmite), handles well. The Audi S3 Sportback is a great car (the latest version has some great toys) but isn't class leading in terms of handling.

If there isn't a budget, the RS4 and RS6 are completely mental, (they are not small family cars but would make me smile if it was my money).......

[g7jhp]

Don't know the budget, but how about an RS3?

It has the pace, quality, room and the low numbers will help with future values.

[Carl_Docklands]

Golf R.

[findtomdotcom]

g7jhp said:

Don't know the budget, but how about an RS3?

It has the pace, quality, room and the low numbers will help with future values.

I thought about the RS3 but isn't it still on the old platform? (Audi have just moved A3 class to the VW MQB, I think)???

[thegoose]

ORD said:

I think an estate would be a hard sell. Great car, though. The 'roco would be rumbled pretty quickly as too obv for me!

It's OK, I've not shot all my bullets yet

Try this for size
Click here for the full photo gallery.

[andy97]

I have a BMW 123D M Sport - matches the brief you gave. A real GTi type car in my view but RWD. Handles well, more power than my Audi Quattro and more torque than you can shake a big stick at, and all with 44+ mpg. Its currently on winter tyres and I have had no problems in winter weather conditions, including packed snow/ ice on an incline last winter

The latest model (the 125D) is even more powerful, slightly roomier and can come with an 8 speed flappy paddle gearbox for those that like that sort of thing.

[ORD]

All really good suggestions. No real budget in mind, which means I am cross-shopping premium and standard cars.

So far BMW M135i and M235i are my favourites, along with Golf R.

Not a big fan of Audis, but have never driven s very powerful one. Maybe worth a go to see whether they meet with approval. Apparently BMWs are 'dheadish'. I would let her choose BUT she'd probably buy something sensible.

Incidentally, I had a drive in a new Focus this weekend. Makes me wonder what car reviewers are smoking. It's terrible. I would rather drive my wife's 2002 chevrolet kalos. Well, almost. It's so 'spaceship'/cheap feelings and wallowy in corners. Did I miss something? Is this what people want now? I had read everywhere that it handled well. Bonkers. Also, these Eco engines are so nasty; I would rather rev the crap out of a less powerful engine than feel that the car is deciding whether or not to provide acceleration, rather than me. Hard to put my finger on it, but it feels like the car gives you a per-defined slug of power (easily accessible) and then says "that's your lot". Something to do with how the throttle is set up or is it more complex ECU stuff?

[Carl_Docklands]

For a more direct comparison you would need a drive in a Focus ST. Don't forget the Golf R has most of the answers but is around £42k specced.

You can spec an ST right up and the build quality is very good but there is a reason why it remains much cheaper than the Golf.

[ORD]

Fair point, Carl. I was not thinking about a standard Focus as an option. It is more that I was just amazed at how much worse it is than the reviews would suggest. It made me think (not for the first time) "Why on Earth do people buy new cars like this when the same money would buy a really good car with about 30k on the clock?".

I am not sure that I could every justify (even to myself) spending £42k on a Golf, no matter how capable - the reviews are pretty good, though. At that kind of money, BMW is surely the best option, given that they seem pretty eager to give away their cars at about 25% under list price! It almost feels mad not to be buying a BMW at the moment when they have completely lost the plot by chasing volumes at the long term expense of brand prestige and, probably, profits.

[Carl_Docklands]

A few colleagues on my desk drive Bmw x5s they cost more to run than my turbo and they moan constantly about the quality of the workshops handy work.

I have a colleague who drives a vw passat r36 and swears by it

BMW came close with the original 1 series but fluffed it with the john Merrick facelift. Ever seen a BMW 135m in the flesh? It's a trick car for sure.