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Which comfortable, economical company car should I buy?

I drive around 20,000 miles per year on business. I currently have a leased Mercedes-Benz SLK (a bad move for long distances) that goes back in March. I want to buy something reliable, stylish, maybe an estate and have a budget of up to £11,000, but would rather be around the £8000 mark. I have looked at C5s, CLSs, Jaguar XFs, 3-Series Tourings, 5-Series Tourings, A6 Avants, Jeeps etc. Whatever I buy has to be reliable, diesel, good on mpg and comfortable. I want something with a bit of presence as I am a big bloke. So far I have settled on a Mercedes CLS 320CDI or a Jaguar XF2.7TDVI. What would you go for?

Asked on 28 December 2013 by AS, via email

Answered by Honest John
I think a CLS 320CDI will be more reliable than an XF 2.7TDVI. A couple of oddball alternatives are a Renault Laguna Coupe and Peugeot 407 Coupe. The 407 Coupe is one of the quietest cars I have ever driven. Check out anything you are thinking of buying at honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar

Real MPG enables you to register the fuel economy you are actually getting against your make and model of car, its engine and type of transmission.

Every time you enter an average consumption figure against your car, the overall average automatically adjusts to reflect it.

Real MPG

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