Suburu Legacy Estate.
Large, reliable, 4WD. Not that stylish is the only downside.
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Have you got a Legacy? What about the Forester? Is it moderately ecconomical? I'll have a look at one though.
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Aaaw thanks Gardener - you never know you may have a lovely young bloom to carry in the front soon enough! :)
My neighbour has a Subaru estate, and whilst he doesn't need it for work purposes like you, he is the kind of chap who looks into stuff very thoroughly (remind you of anyone?) LOL
He found it over the net and got the train up to Birmingham or Wolverhampton to fetch it (just slightly second hand)
He'd been particularly concerned about getting around here (quite hilly, often floods in places) in the winter, and this was his choice, for what it's worth.
If you want I can mail him and ask what he's thought of it since he had it (over a year) The other guys here can advise you more on the proper car stuff :)
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Subarus appear to have exemplary reliability.
Running costs appear to be their only possible downside.
May I suggest the Skoda Octavia Tdi estate?.
Built well, reliable, economical and with a boot even you would have trouble filling.
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Yes you may suggest the Octavia estate. Was thinking of this myself. It might rub on the ground though as the wheelbase is quite short for the lenght of car: based on the golf, as you will know, and about the same as my current 306.
Still worth considering(?.
The boot, I read, is not the easiest to lift in and out of. There's a really friendly Skoda dealer not far from here too.
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Yes the Octavia estate might be Ok. I've got a few doubts about it. The floor pan is quite short and there is some overhang which might get in the way over rough ground and the boot, whilst being large, as you report, might be annoying one an every day basis as it doesn't come out flat at the back.
However, ther eis a freindly and helpful dealer not far from here which is very good to know about.
I hear the diesels are really good (+).
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Berlingo HDi? Loads of room, loads of headroom, economical, could get a brand new one for your budget (just about) Not 4wd though
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Yeah, nice off-the-beam choice PhilW. Renault Kangoo Trekka is nearly the same thing and HAS 4wd. 'Car' magazine running one long term and seem to have rubbish economy though, despite, I think, it being diesel (was it 26 mpg?)
Subarus are notoriously thirsty too, but reliable, able, and tough underneath.
Octavia diesel estate comes to mind, though again not 4wd unless you get the 1.8 turbo petrol.
Citroen C5/Xantia has the space and the adjustable ground clearance, which offsets the lack of 4wd to some extent, but reliabilty is not always guaranteed.
WHY OH WHY OH WHY won't someone other than (and cheaper than)Audi do an estate or hatch with a good turbodiesel engine (preferably 140+hp) and 4WD ?? They'd clean up! Practicality, all-weather traction, stonking overtaking ability, 50 mpg...
Are they afraid no-one would buy any of their other models?
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subaru for sure i reckon,
My dad is getting a new company funded car and could have whatever he wanted, in the end after months and months and months of looking he choose the forester, it has 4wd for the
off roading he does (he is not into these school run mum mobiles)
and wanted a biggish car for travelling in with space for
luggage and stuff for weekends away.
I went to have a look in the local dealer to see what it was like and was plesantly suprised, the built quality and materials subaru now use are amazing! so much better than the old ones, the dealer was amazingly helpful and showed me all i needed to see even though i was not after buying anything!!!
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If Subaru had a diesel engine I'd have bought a Legacy earlier this year as they are really good cars. But I couldn't live with 25mpg/250-ish mile range on a regular basis. Will that be an improvement on the Gardener's old Volvo?
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65 litre fuel tank and 11 litres/100km (25mpg) works out at about 600km or between refuelling (over 370 miles) around town, or on a long (6000km) trip we averaged 7.4l/100km (38 mpg) or 880 km between refuelling (550 miles)
Data from Subaru Outback with 2.5l engine running on 91RON fuel
on a mixture of rough sealed and unsealed roads. Must admit that we didnt push the distance between refuelling more than 700km with over 200km between fuel stops!
Ian L.
UK spec car on 94RON petrol may give different numbers
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OK, I admit, I was enjoying myself at altitude in the Sierra Nevadas, but the 2L Legacy was more thirsty than a 3L V6 Dodge doing the same thing.
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Despite having a Subaru Outback for 3 years, I must point out the downsides for this car in the UK, petrol consumption (25mpg around town if careful and upto 34mpg at a steady 65mph (2.5l version) and the insurance group.
The Legacy is much bigger inside than the Forester, the AWD system is the same and the ground clearance of the Outback is the same as the Forester, the standard Legacy has a slightly reduced ground clearance.
Having test driven both Forester and Legacy and Outback, the ride on the Legacy and Outback was far superior to the Forester. The boot with seats up was much bigger in the Legacy based versions, the Forester having quite a small boot until the seats are folded.
regards
Ian L.
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If the fuel costs are like that and the insurance group is high, can't help feeling there must be a better answer?
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If a Suburu's running costs are too high, would a diesel CRV/Rav/etc fit the bill?
I know nothing about this sector at all so I can't comment on prices or recommend a model.
Many folk on here seem to dislike soft-roaders (myself included) but Mark and other aficionados take the teasing in good part!
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I've just been over to hve a look at a Rav4, a few years old. can't say it was my sort of thing although I understand that the later ones are much better things. The boot was only about 4 1/2 feet deep and 42" wide which is not astonishingly big and it seemed a bit tinny to me.
Estate cars do seem to have greater status and they are good to drive. Used to be known as shooting breaks, of course.
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As I keep saying ... I have a CRV, and I love it.
But ... for your purposes loading is a bit high up, and the rear seats don't drop down completely flat.
When off duty though, you get a nice comfortable ride and it's easy to drive like a proper 'car' My insurance isn't bad either (£260 for me and spouse fully comp.)
They don't do a diesel engine atm though either.
The RAV 4 didn't even have enough space for my shopping! it reminded me of a McDonalds Happy Meal design (no offence meant to anyone) I have no idea why they're so popular.
Someone I know has one, and can't see why I prefer my car - but just between you and me, she's an awful driver, and a bit thick too! So what would she know?
So neither that car nor the driver are recommended by your resident "shopping expert" ;)
Personally I'd think you were better off with an 'estate' car (I think you have to wear a cap to drive a 'shooting brake')
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Hootie,
I'll have a look at the Honda, of course, I hear people saying very good things about how relaible they are. It's not too nice having a very unreliable car fr anyone.
By the way, I wear a genuine Basque beret for six months of the year in the winter or an Andalucian farmer's cap from time to time. Just to be different.
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Then may I respectfully suggest Gardener, that you need a car with a certain 'style'
(ref: the CRV, mine is coming up for 6 years old, Mr H has one too which is two years old, and they've never let us down at all - like I say, I love mine. 2nd hand Hondas tend to hold their price though - unless you're selling! that's why I'm haning on to mine. Cost something in the region of £18,000 - 19,000 can't quite remember - might struggle to get £8,000 now.
Having said that over the 6 years it works out at £1,667 plus straightforward running costs - that's a whole different way of looking at it rather saying I've dropped over £10,000)
As you can see I can never quite get my head round the cost of motoring.
Try one and lug some heavy stuff up into the boot - I'm only thinking of your back!!!!
(oh and btw - that's a point, rear door opens in two part motion, glass up first and then w-i-d-e opening rear door (sideways) might not be practical for you? They've changed it now on new ones I think?
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Thanks to everyone who has given avice and suggestions reagarding topic (and to everyone else who also thought about it but didn't actualy replay). Extra thanks to Hootie: I'll be looking at Hondas very carefully.
I have realised that although neither of my current cars are very up to date, they are neverthless reliable and serve me well. So I shall continue with them until a house move makes me distill them both down into one single car.
The gardener.
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As someone else has already mentioned you are in the right financial territory for a new or nearly-new Citroen Berlingo/Peugeot Partner/Renault Kangoo. The Berlingo and Partner have an excellent smooth, economical turbo diesel engine that gives plenty of power and I believe the facelifted Kangoo has the new Renault DCi. You enjoyed the Kangoo in Spain; this engine will make it a bit quicker. I reckon (well, actually I know, but we won't go into that here) that all of these three have enough ground clearance for farm tracks and fields, with almost no overhang to catch you out. The interior is also very robust--no velour to tear as there is in a car or "lifestyle" SUV and the boot, even with rear the seats in place, is massive.
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I'm a bit torn on this one.
Do you need 4x4 or just ground clearance? Either way, I think the Octavia 4x4 has slightly raised suspension over the standard car. However, that's available only with the 1.8 litre turbo engine, which will only give low 30s mpg, compared to the 50ish of the TDi.
If build quality is important to you, the C5 is merely average, but it is huge. There's also a good range of engines, it's cheap to buy, and makes a lot of sense. A Passat is likely to be too old or pricey, but a 52 plate Mondeo should be available too within budget - although again, it's a bit ordinary image and quality wise.
There is nothing to be said against the Legacy whatsoever, except for the thirst. You mentioned that this was a problem with your current car, and Subarus don't drink petrol sparingly - or diesel at all.
The Kangoo dCi engine is only the 1.5 - probably adequate as a van, but not so great if it's your main car. For that reason, I'd be inclined more towards a Partner or Berlingo, which have 90 bhp which, though not hugely powerful, is more reasonable. Even so, it's not going to impress the ladies.
Alternatively, why not just get a beater like a Granada or Renault 21 estate for £500, run it into the ground for a year, and woo the ladies in something small and sporty?
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I need ground clearance and occasionally 4x4 for towing and wet grass fields, mud and people's gardens. Octavia 4x4 has about 25 mm more clearance which is not very much extra but is a decent car which could be forgiven for its consumption. Bty, the Skoda diesel does a reported 46 to 48 mpg.
Not interested in Citroen after a crash in one once. Ford is not my scene even though they are good cars just for snobbish reasons. Will be looking at the Subaru range later although their running costs might bother me (I am not a big earner). Its a shame that Japanese have only just started diesel cars because Honda CRV is a strong possibility.
Plenty of said around 2 to 3 yers old and £11 to £12k. Next year will look. I am keeping the 306 and Volvo 740 for a bit longer as both serve me well. But a forthcoming house move will mean less space for cars and so eventually need to distil the two into one, QED.
Avoid Renault 21 - nothing like as relaible as '86 Volvo + 178,000 miles. Latter went through MOT with only a few things to repair!
Thanks everyone for their thoughts - I have enought ideas now, I feel.
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