If reliability is important then, sadly, it is probably better to go for a Japanese make – Suburu best. Personally I would go for the Suburu if I had the money! I would put the Volvo 240 GLT in third place; the 1957 Chevy Nomad was the ultimate estate and the Mercedes 280TE second

Diesel 5-series Touring?

Thanks Guys, the Skoda sounds Superb, but being retired I may have to wait a while until good used ones come on the market. In the meantime I think I'll run the SAAB 95 2.2TID until it drops (which might be a long time) or think about a V70 for good furniture carrying abilities

Having scr apped my Saab 9-5 (T reg with engine problems) for a new Polo I started looking around for a cheap replacement for the Saab and found, on the boards in my local Tesco, an immaculate Volvo 940 2.3 estate, whose sadly now deceased owner had looked after it for 11 years (it's a '95 M reg) with minute attention to detail, logging every single item spent in a notebook. It looks more like a 3 or 4 year old car and despite not being the fastest thing on the road I have now become very attached. Volvo fanatics will say that the 9 series was the last true Volvo, solidly built, reliable and RWD. I'd recommend it thoroughly. I paid £750 for mine ( a bit over priced but worth it for the condition), quite a few around still in good condition.

Edited by lordwoody on 29/04/2010 at 17:33