Arrival of a large new dog means it is time for a large estate car (probably 1-2 years old. As a diesel fan (Passat 110 TDi saloon), it must be a diesel, for my wife it has to be auto. So I have a limited choice, several candidates are not available as auto diesel e.g. new Mondeo and I fear BMW and Mercedes are too pricey.
My shortlist is looking like:
Citroen C5
VW Passat 130
Rover 75
Volvo V70
I would really appreciate any comments on these or alternative diesel auto estates which I may have overlooked.
Thanks - BB
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The New Mondeo Diesel IS available as an Auto.
Regards.
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Rover's have never held their values well in the first few years of their lives. I was not impressed with the 75 saloon when I looked at it a few years ago.
The company I work for attracts large discounts on some Rovers but even this could not tempt me.
I would seriously consider the C5 out of the ones mentioned so far.
Surely there must be others out there, Renault Megane, Peugeot 406, Fiat Marea, Vauxhall Vectra/Omega, etc. Do Skoda do one? If so you could probably buy the same spec new for the same money.
Also what about Seat?
H
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Yes - Winner of the Family Car class in this year's J D Power survey (for 2-year old cars) -
Skoda Octavia.
Octavia Tdi Auto estate. There you go.
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The A6 Avant with the V6 diesel is great but the 4 cylinder one isn't.
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The C5 diesels are all superb and with the adjustable suspension on the estate you wouldn't do much better. There have, however, been some problems with jerky gearboxes on some auto models - if you test drive one try it in all sorts of situations. Pricing should be keen too because new C5s (like most Cits) have been heavily discounted.
If you haven't already done so, join the C5 forum on yahoogroups.com. You'll see all the potential pitfalls.
Graeme
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Graeme comments fairly as an enthusiastic C5 owner, glad you're still enjoying it.
From my experience with one C5 auto I would have a very long test drive before deciding. The auto box/engine combination was one of the most unpleasent I'd experienced in years. I'd have been gutted if it was to be my car for the next "x" years.
MM
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My C5's manual, so no probs with autobox. My one (hatchback) has also been pretty reliable compared to many - and it is an 'early build'. The newer ones off the line probably have most teething troubles fixed.
Put it like this, if you get a good one, a C5 is brilliant. Even if you get a troublesome one, the 3 year warranty should, in theory, sort everything out but this is very much down to the dealer. I've got a very good dealer, but there are some reports of Cit dealers being unwilling / unable to resolve problems.
Don't dismiss a C5 out of hand - but do your homework first!
Graeme
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The Rover 75 Diesel-Auto Tourer - great car.
Try one before rubbishing me!
MG-Rover Problems? forums.mg-rover.org
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How about a vauxhall Omega 2.2 or 2.5TD I'm sure they come with auto's. Have exactley the same problem myself! Check my profile!!
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I had the use of one for a spot of removals for a friend and I'll second the Rover 75 Diesel Estate but it wasn't an auto. The ride, drive and engine are all first rate, we couldn't hear the engine at all.
Looks good too but I realise this is somewhat objective ;)
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My money's on the Rover 75. The dealer will even do a power upgrade for about £500. There's also the MG version which is highly rated, although will be quite new.
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Hi - we've just smashed up our beautiful Citroen ZX Avantage auto diesel estate and want to know where's a nice website to go on to try to locate a new one? Any guidance gratefully received. We're in the North West but would travel! We don't know how much the insurance will give us but it will be something between £1500 and £2500.
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Hello Chrissie and Fiona -
Have a look at this page of links:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/directories/DirUsefulWebsites...g
Also here:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/index.htm?news_id=991
And here:
tinyurl.com/5am9
And:
tinyurl.com/5amb
Which are two links to the Auto Trader website showing 4 and 23 cars respectively!
Hope these help.
Dave.
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I have 2 friends running diesel estates who think they are great. Both do big milages and carry piles of sports equipment. One is a Pug 406, and the other is a Primera. Unfortunately I don't know whether you can get an auto in either. Another friend has taken nearly 300k out of a P reg diesel Primera as a taxi, and it's still going strong.
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Are Laguna II's really that bad that they do not feature on your shortlist. I think that they are one of the better looking cars on the market.
I have a BM diesel estate and think that it is a great car but it is manual. I drove my bosses Omega Estate 2.5td (old shape, old technology) and found it very comfy but sometimes a tad slow picking up speed.
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