From 2 cars down to 1 - £8-10k crowd pleaser

[aojb]

Evening all,

TLDR: what semi interesting shared car that’s slightly interesting and fit’s the mrs’ vague yet exacting standards…

I’m soon to be moving in to a new job which requires almost no commuting. As a result my bargain £4k Porsche Cayenne Turbo has been sold and we’re currently using my partner’s A1. It’s a great little car but not very practical with a dog and bikes to contend with.

There’s about £4k of equity in the Audi so the plan is to sell that and get a joint car. My mrs ‘isn’t bothered’ about cars yet the list of vetos is long - no estate, no ‘salesman cars’, no Vauxhalls, no Fords… it goes on. She would be happy with a big car if it’s ‘high up’. I’m trying to sneak something slightly interesting under the radar.

At the moment I’m stuck on an E70 X5 3.0D. Hardly exotica I know but better than a Quashquai etc. I’d been keen for an L322 but even she has heard about their reliability issues. Needs to have reasonable economy on a run 35-40 MPG

Happy to do some spannering myself, so running costs not necessarily too much of an issue

I’d love to hear anyone’s suggestions…

Cheers

Ps curve ball is I get a 2011 Panamera 3.0 diesel and convince her it’s a practical solution.

[ZX10R NIN]

Alfa Giulietta Quadrifoglio:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206066...

Cloverleaf:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301193...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301032...

Scirocco R:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211041...

Mazda 3 MPS:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206066...


SUV wise I'd look at these:

Jeep Grand Cherokee:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301183...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301123...

ML350cdi Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212132...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212102...

Infiniti QX70:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206156...

FX:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211131...

[GreatGranny]

Golf GTI?

I know it's maybe a salesman's car but it's an interesting (ish) practical hatchback.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301113...

[Bobupndown]

Is Octavia VRS too salesmany?

[Shedding]

aojb said:

Evening all,

TLDR: what semi interesting shared car that’s slightly interesting and fit’s the mrs’ vague yet exacting standards…

I’m soon to be moving in to a new job which requires almost no commuting. As a result my bargain £4k Porsche Cayenne Turbo has been sold and we’re currently using my partner’s A1. It’s a great little car but not very practical with a dog and bikes to contend with.

There’s about £4k of equity in the Audi so the plan is to sell that and get a joint car. My mrs ‘isn’t bothered’ about cars yet the list of vetos is long - no estate, no ‘salesman cars’, no Vauxhalls, no Fords… it goes on. She would be happy with a big car if it’s ‘high up’. I’m trying to sneak something slightly interesting under the radar.

At the moment I’m stuck on an E70 X5 3.0D. Hardly exotica I know but better than a Quashquai etc. I’d been keen for an L322 but even she has heard about their reliability issues. Needs to have reasonable economy on a run 35-40 MPG

Happy to do some spannering myself, so running costs not necessarily too much of an issue

I’d love to hear anyone’s suggestions…

Cheers

Ps curve ball is I get a 2011 Panamera 3.0 diesel and convince her it’s a practical solution.

An E70 X5 won't do 35 to 40 mpg on a run. It'll be more like 30mpg.

[Scootersp]

XC60?

[PistonTim]

BMW X1 xdrive - I have an older E84 model and it does bikes, paddleboards etc with ease and still 45 ish mpg.

Best car I've ever owned.

[QuickQuack]

It would be slightly below your mpg expectations but way above average reliability, with a pretty awesome engine and very comfy seats:

4.4L V8 XC90-1

4.4L V8 XC90-2

[pti]

QuickQuack said:

It would be slightly below your mpg expectations but way above average reliability, with a pretty awesome engine and very comfy seats:

4.4L V8 XC90-1

4.4L V8 XC90-2

Slightly!?

Also, I was under the impression mk1 XC90s weren't particularly reliable these days?

[_Rob]

As above, Octavia VRS or Golf GTI hits this brief perfectly. They're both perfectly normal cars if you don't care about them, but they have something a bit extra when you want it. The Octavia especially is a car you cannot possibly be annoyed at. They aren't exciting, but excitement comes at a cost that is often worth paying for... but not when you're trying to keep SWMBO happy.

[QuickQuack]

pti said:

QuickQuack said:

It would be slightly below your mpg expectations but way above average reliability, with a pretty awesome engine and very comfy seats:

4.4L V8 XC90-1

4.4L V8 XC90-2

Slightly!?

Also, I was under the impression mk1 XC90s weren't particularly reliable these days?

Ours never gave any trouble at all over 120k+ miles. Only changed because metalwork in spine following injury didn't agree with the curvature of the seats anymore It was far more reliable than a low mileage, late model L322 which replaced it only 2 years ago!

[Yomamaisasnowblower]

GreatGranny said:

Golf GTI?

I know it's maybe a salesman's car but it's an interesting (ish) practical hatchback.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301113...

Wow, over 9k for a 11 year old ratty looking gti. Madness.

[aojb]

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions! I’ve floated most of the suggestions (o definitely thought the XC60 would be a hit) but after visiting a few show rooms today I think we’re settling on a 2011 X5 3.0d.

It seems a solid car although the deal has yet to be done. Don’t suppose anyone has any experience of these/ any obvious things to check or be wary of?

Cheers

[Mr Tidy]

I don't know anything about them, but I wouldn't describe it as a "crowd pleaser"!

[Shedding]

aojb said:

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions! I’ve floated most of the suggestions (o definitely thought the XC60 would be a hit) but after visiting a few show rooms today I think we’re settling on a 2011 X5 3.0d.

It seems a solid car although the deal has yet to be done. Don’t suppose anyone has any experience of these/ any obvious things to check or be wary of?

Cheers

Did you buy it? I have a 2010 X5 40d which is the same car except for an extra turbo. They have the N57 engine which can have timing chain issues but less problematic than the 4 cylinder versions. Mine hasn't given any trouble and to keep it that way, I change the oil and filter much more frequently than BMW suggests.

Check that it has had the front prop-shaft (BMW call it drive-shaft) recall done. There is a redesigned one which hopefully, unlike the original, doesn't have a tendency to fail and whip around under the car, smashing both the gearbox and engine sumps.

It eats expensive tyres but mine has been very relaible and as a result, quite economical (for a big family car).

[aojb]

Yes, I ended up with a 30d LCI with 100k on the clock. It’s running very well and I’ve seen 40mpg on a run without too much effort.

I’ve had the transfer case oil changed and the adaptations reset as there was a slight judder at slow speeds and that seems to have cleared it up. The mechanic though the long term answer was to replace the tyres with the BMW specific ones but I don’t fancy dropping nearly £1k on tyres especially when the current set have plenty of life in them.

Thanks for the heads up ref the prop shaft. I’d not read anything about that but I’ll do some digging.

Next on the list is to retrofit CarPlay to bring it a bit more up to date but other than that I’m hoping to run it with minimal input or spannering 🤞

[Pica-Pica]

‘Prop(eller) shaft’ is a bit of a layman’s term, carried over from boats. Always known them as drive shafts in car design circles.
Enjoy the car. It might be worth dropping £1k on star-marked tyres.

[GreatGranny]

Yomamaisasnowblower said:

Wow, over 9k for a 11 year old ratty looking gti. Madness.

That's what they cost!

Not sure why you are shocked.

[Shedding]

The terminology of prop and drive shaft seems to vary with manufacturer. For example, the Mitsubishi technical manuals for my GTO all refer to prop-shaft with the driveshafts being those directly driving the wheels.

Here's a link on X5 drive-shaft issues: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Best to talk directly to BMW.

I examined the shaft on mine before I took it for recall. The play in the UJ was around the BMW defined allowable limit. The local BMW garage told me that the play was just within limits but because I was clearly worried, they changed the shaft anyway. If they hadn't I would have changed it myself as I'd rather not lose all the gearbox fluid and sump oil while driving!

40mpg is good. Mine averages 28mpg.