14 July 2012
Looking for a quick-ish petrol wagon (200+hp), decent to drive, reliable enough to be used as a daily driver, fuel consumption not too much of a problem, and under £5K. Here's the shortlist so far;
BMW 330
Subaru Legacy GT/B etune
Saab 9-5 Aero HOT
Volvo V70T5
Does anyone have any recommendations? I'd love to stretch to an older Alpina or an Alfa 156GTa but fear they might be a bit pricey to maintain.
15 June 2012
A Volvo V70R would be within budget. Ex-police ones can be unbelievably cheap, but makes sure that they're in good nick. 300bhp and 4WD should make for a fun estate! Subarus are well worth a look as well, as is a 330d Touring. Or, if you'd like seven seats, an E-Class estate with a V8 engine (AMGs will be too expensive). It'll be very thirsty though! A Vectra VXR estate would be good as well.
15 December 2008
Mondeo ST 220
Next question please
15 June 2012
If you're interested in a Saab 9-5 HOT Aero estate, make sure it's a pre-2006 model to avoid the really high road tax. That would probably be the case for most cars you're looking at presuming they have CO2 emissions of in excess of 225g/km.
5 November 2007
Mondeo ST 220
Next question please
Forgot about them! Always liked them specially in that metallic blue.
26 October 2007
Skoda Octavia vRS
R.I.P. http://www.autocar.co.uk/forum
15 June 2012
Skoda Octavia vRS
I'd go for the diesel version instead of the petrol one if I were looking to get one of those.
30 October 2007
I second the Subaru [Legacy, B4 RSK, 3.0 R Spec B, etc.] but also nominate another highly underrated, oft-overlooked fast estate - the Mitsubishi Galant VR4.
You either accept a Morgan as you accept the Himalayas or you go on to more splendid things, say, butterfly collecting. A Morgan merely is and that should be enough.
5 November 2007
ST220 and VR-4 are excellent suggestions, thanks for that. Appear to be plenty of ST's still around, and probably the most reasonable running costs.
Definitely like the sound of the VR-4. Finding a nice one might be a challenge though but I like the look of them and they appear to be pretty reliable. Anyone know much about them? I notice Clarkson wrote a glowing write-up in the Telegraph a while back.
I'm not so keen on the VrS for some reason. It just never really stirred the soul in the way the others do. I guess the bigger brother to the Skoda, something like an Audi S4/S6 wagon might be worth a punt. .
20 November 2009
My old Legacy 3.0 Spec B Tourer might be knocking around somewhere if it hasn't been blown up or wrecked. I had it from 2004 (new) to 2007.
The trouble is, it was fast and will be worth peanuts now because of the fuel consumption, so it's probably owned by some unsympathetic chav who thrashes the proverbials off it, fails to maintain it properly and leaves it parked on the road in some dodgy council estate.
It was fine when I moved it on.
5 November 2007
My old Legacy 3.0 Spec B Tourer might be knocking around somewhere if it hasn't been blown up or wrecked. I had it from 2004 (new) to 2007.
Like these a lot. Though the ones floating around 5K seem to be a bit on the dodgy side. I think your fears may be unfounded though - hardly anyone appears to know about the SpecB, which hopefully will mean they stay out of the wrong hands..