4k - which estate?

[redandwhite]

Hi all,

Another 'what car' thread

I am in the process of selling my current car (Clio 197) as the need for an estate has become necessary.

I have a budget of 4k, and having previously owned a E46 330 i am being drawn back to the 330 Touring, as this will give me the space i need plus the necessary umph/6 cylinders to keep me interested (as a petrolhead)

My question is , have i overlooked any other make/model?

I feel like i have considered most other estates, I want something that will have a bit of appeal - and different from the normal bland family car, by appeal i guess i mean power.
And it must be manual, I know BMW autos have a reputation as being ok on the whole but with the mileage some of the 330ds are making, makes me uneasy.

• Manual
• Petrol or Diesel
• 4k
• 30MPG

I have considered the following;

• Mazda CX5 tasty engine in a sleeper shell, the VED puts me off as thats an immediate cost.

• Saab 9-3/9-5 also interest me (especially the Aero HOT) but still a bit boring.

• Subaru impreza wagon/forester - prices seem to be higher on these than when i sold mine 4 years ago, plus it will fall short on the MPGs.

• Mondeo ST Estate - like these, plus chain driven so no cambelt to worry about (Us Clio owners are pretty pedantic about this).

• Laguna Estate GT205 - would have one of these, but pretty rare.

• BMW X5 - Majority seem to be auto, seems only the 3.0D would give me 30MPG.

Not considered anything Audi, should i?

Edited by redandwhite on Tuesday 11th October 18:25

[b19rak]

Octavia vRS Estate is all the car you need. In fact a hatch may also be big enough.

[plasticpig]

Volvo V50 2.5 T5 AWD would be my choice.

[redandwhite]

Thanks will have a look at the skodas

[daemon]

redandwhite said:

Hi all,

Another 'what car' thread

I am in the process of selling my current car (Clio 197) as the need for an estate has become necessary.

I have a budget of 4k, and having previously owned a E46 330 i am being drawn back to the 330 Touring, as this will give me the space i need plus the necessary umph/6 cylinders to keep me interested (as a petrolhead)

My question is , have i overlooked any other make/model?

I feel like i have considered most other estates, I want something that will have a bit of appeal - and different from the normal bland family car, by appeal i guess i mean power.
And it must be manual, I know BMW autos have a reputation as being ok on the whole but with the mileage some of the 330ds are making, makes me uneasy.

• Manual
• Petrol or Diesel
• 4k
• 30MPG

I have considered the following;

• Mazda CX5 tasty engine in a sleeper shell, the VED puts me off as thats an immediate cost.

• Saab 9-3/9-5 also interest me (especially the Aero HOT) but still a bit boring.

• Subaru impreza wagon/forester - prices seem to be higher on these than when i sold mine 4 years ago, plus it will fall short on the MPGs.

• Mondeo ST Estate - like these, plus chain driven so no cambelt to worry about (Us Clio owners are pretty pedantic about this).

• Laguna Estate GT205 - would have one of these, but pretty rare.

• BMW X5 - Majority seem to be auto, seems only the 3.0D would give me 30MPG.

Not considered anything Audi, should i?

Edited by redandwhite on Tuesday 11th October 18:25

£4K is going to buy you a very old X5 with potential for big bills, and the diesels of that genre are going to average around 25mpg.

[ZX10R NIN]

While 4k gets you a very nice ST Mondeo

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Just above that or for exactly 4k you can get a 2.5T Mondeo which are well worth a look.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

[Mr E]

Ran an Aero HOT that was hugely cheap. Wide open throttle in 3rd was never dull.

[redandwhite]

Interesting, i did think the X5s may be a bit of a money pit.

Never considered the 2.5T Titanium X, looks nice

[bob42]

Have you tried the PH classifieds.
There is at least one Mondeo Titanium X (2.5T) that has been reduced today...

[S10GTA]

Paid 3k for a Phase 2 V70R earlier this year. 4k should get you a reasonable one. Won't get 30mpg on a run, but you will get 300bhp.

Edited by S10GTA on Thursday 13th October 14:32

[Sid123]

You should be able to get a 03/04 E320 CDi Estate for that money.
More than fast enough, 40mpg cruising at 80, the option of 7 seats is really useful and has no impact on boot space.
The Avantegarde has the best trim, spec.
Had mine for 9 years and really happy with it.

[redandwhite]

E91s (330d/330i) are dropping into my search, also like the look of these but dont know a great deal other than the engines have more power over the equivalent E46. Any thoughts?

Looked into all the suggestions above too, thanks for those

[Zad]

If anyone goes to see one of those Mondeo 2.5T estates, could you let me know what you think? I'm trying to source one for my dad (ideally lower miles and nearer West Yorkshire though) and I would be interested to see what they are actually like. Right now though, it looks like having to buy a diesel. Which... yeah...

[Pablo16v]

X-Type? I imagine it won't see 30mpg very often but they are a reasonably decent drive.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

[rallycross]

redandwhite said:

E91s (330d/330i) are dropping into my search, also like the look of these but dont know a great deal other than the engines have more power over the equivalent E46. Any thoughts?

Looked into all the suggestions above too, thanks for those

These 2005 onwards cars are just into this price bracket now if they have a few miles om them (over 120k) and are a superb choice if you can find a 6 cylinder one for £4k grab it.

I've had a fair few of these between 100k miles and 190k miles they are very well made and can certainly take the miles provided they have a full history they tend to drive just as well as a low mileage example.


E46 feels very old now when you jump out of an E90/91 into an E46 (currently got a couple of each) so its not worth spending top money on an older E46 if you can get a budget E91. The engines are a decent step forward in the E91 over the E46 (E46 330d sounds like a tractor compared to the later car).

If you can find one my choice would be 330i manual (256 bhp) then 330d auto.
2007 330i had more power (268) but unlikely to find one for £4k.

Avoid 325i petrol the early 2.5 model is a slug and drinks as much petrol as a 330i but feels slow. Later model 325i is a detuned 3.0 much better but unlikely to find one for £4k.
325d and 330d feel similar (both 3.0) and should average 35-40 mpg mixed, more on long trips.

The 330 petrol is a cracking car to drive in manual form, should average around 30-34 mpg, more on long trips.

Make sure you get one with the optional sports seats (the SE standard seats are terrible flat things with zero lateral support in them, either cloth or leather are the same - horrible).
You can change the seats yourself its easy to do job (the fronts are a very easy swop & you can get sports E90 seats on ebay).

At £4k you are very unlikely to find a Sport model unless mega miles so look for an SE with some good options (starting with sports seats and steering wheel - sounds daft but the 2 biggest things you will notice between driving an SE v's Sport is the seats and steering wheel). Sport suspension is not great as with low profiles you feel too many of the bumps, SE suspension not bad with decent tyres usually 17" 225 45.

Here's some of my ones

[redandwhite]

Brilliant rallycross, thanks for the info.

[Vroom101]

Zad said:

If anyone goes to see one of those Mondeo 2.5T estates, could you let me know what you think? I'm trying to source one for my dad (ideally lower miles and nearer West Yorkshire though) and I would be interested to see what they are actually like. Right now though, it looks like having to buy a diesel. Which... yeah...

I bought one three months ago. Love it! All the torque of the diesel but with added power and no smell at the pumps.

But you will spend more time at the pumps

Edit: They are rare as unicorn farts though, especially in estate form. I had to travel from Essex to Scotland for the one I wanted, but it was worth it

Edited by Vroom101 on Monday 24th October 19:03