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Volvo V70r if you dont mind something a few years old. If you are in NZ still import one Japan. If you are in the UK there is a company in scotland importing very clean examples from Japan.
Pity they don't make the Alfa 159 Sportwagon any more.
You could have bought special sunglasses and everything.
What Funky says - I would prioritise a nice car and a cheaper one the bike can go in - that was my Cayman old Rav4 combo - bought s/h today would cost less than the OP's budget - I would be very reluctant to put my bike covered in sh.t inside a £40k car, too OCD
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who would prefer a manual gearbox if possible. As already mentioned, almost all of the more powerful large estates are auto only now. I had one of the last manual Audi A4 3.0Tdi Avant Quattro's before they became auto only.... Wish I had kept it now. That was fast enough with the possibility of adding coniderably to the output with a remap.
Good luck in finding what you want
I don't have room for 2 extra cars, I've done the proper car/practical
Combo with a 993 turbo and a vw transporter. I'd quite like a fast estate, I can lug people and stuff around in it as well as having some completely legal under the speed limit, appropriate time and place fun.
[url= http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201606024533509?search-target=usedcars&make=vauxhall&model=insignia&aggregatedTrim=VXR&year-from=2015&sort=default&searchcontext=default&page=1&postcode=le15df&radius=1500&body-type=estate&onesearchad=new%2Cnearlynew%2Cused&logcode=p&adPos=1 ]Insignia VXR[/url]
Ticks all the boxes, I believe.
Edit: except towbar, possibly.
For those suggesting two cars as a solution, why don't you want to make the most of the driving experience when you need practicality too? Just because I've got the bike in the boot doesn't mean I don't want to enjoy the drive as much as possible. Every week I drive across the Peak District on quiet B roads and have huge amounts of (legal, safe) fun, but I still have a bike in the boot. I'd be gutted if I had to make a choice between taking my bike or having a fun drive. It is possible to have cake and eat it.
Having done the impractical 2 seater sports car thing, I'm really pleased with the current 1 Series I've got. More than big enough for bike carrying duties but great fun to drive. It's not the fastest car I've had in a straight line by any margin, but it's the closest I've got so far to the perfect compromise. Next step will be the kind of estates NZCol is looking at, so will bookmark this...
Well I've ordered a 330i M Sport touring that would meet those requirements although at 252 hp that may not be rapid enough for you. I specified the 8 speed auto but it's available in manual. If you want the 340i (326 hp) you would need to take the auto.
Sounds like he needs to prioritise buying a house with a bigger driveway.
He'd probably have more room inside so he'd be able to hang his suits in a wardrobe and not the back window...
suburbanreuben - MemberSounds like he needs to prioritise buying a house with a bigger driveway.
He'd probably have more room inside so he'd be able to hang his suits in a wardrobe and not the back window...
Oooo so much bile for such a short post.
Insert a smiley. 😯
Golf R estate?
DSG only. It's so much better than the manual that no one bothers with manual on the hatchback! 😉
Harsh there, I don't wear a suit thanks and my house is perfectly adequate although the pool does probably take up the space for another garage, that's my problem not yours. 😆
Didn't know you could get the 330i M Sport Touring in a manual, will look into that. I'm sorry I've offended those that have read this, my apologies. That Vauxhall Insignia is lovely, might go and look.
No Golf R estate manual available (just looked at the VW website) but no-one orders them!
Could it be that no one orders the non DSG Golf R because it isn't available.
Chicken-egg, egg-chicken
Am I the only person to spit my tea out because of the £45k-£60k budget.
Don't think I'd want a Vauxhall if I had that much to spend.
Anything under budget is absolutely fine, I'm not bothered about the badge I just want something comfy, fast, able to lug
Nobody buys cars with cash. It's all about how much credit you can leverage or how much you're prepared to spend on leasing. Anyone buying a 40 - 60k car with cash really isn't that clever.
Problem with big heavy and powerful cars with manual boxes is that they eat clutches. Not really the best technical solution for a heavy and powerful car. Sure you can nurse them to achieve decent miles but you don't buy cars like that to nurse them along.
Problem with big heavy and powerful cars with manual boxes is that they eat clutches. Not really the best technical solution for a heavy and powerful car
I have had a number of powerful and torquey (500nm+) manual cars. With 4wd which puts additional strain on the clutch and gearbox. Never had a problem with the drive train.
Lucky? Or just well engineered?
When the new Alfa Romeo gets released in Sportwagon guise ohhhhhhhhh I may rob a bank......
they eat clutches
Which is why everyone is moving to autos. Also, its easier to meet emissions limits with an auto, especially on a massive engine. Doesn't help that probably 50% of the "enthusiastic" drivers aren't actually very good at it.
If you want that sort of grunt (400+bhp i'm guessing) on a sports chassis how are you going to be able to have fun? Those i've driven in that category you have to be well into illegal speeds to have anything like fun. Up to the speed limit they are generally so capable you either have to drive like a cock or fit drifting tyres.
Even the T6 Polestars that i've driven (and even the C30 polestar) driving well over the speed limit is fairly uninteresting. If a "little" noisy......
It's a pity that the Cadillac CTS-V Wagon wasn't sold over here.
6.2 supercharged LS V8, 556hp. 8)
Would have been ideal.
Volvo V60T5R Design Manual. Quite nice but maybe not enough? Ah no manual anymore sorry.
The Octavia Scout estate is available as a 150ps 4x4 manual, and the VRs is also available as a 220ps manual estate, if you go onto Skodas site you can select the various trim, engine and colour options.
http://cc-cloud.skoda-auto.com/gbr/gbr/en-gb/5e5/68957#!cc-instance=GBR&cc-salesprogram=GBR&cc-culture=en-gb&cc-model=5E5&cc-carline=68957&cc-equipment=&cc-motor=152118&cc-color=8T8T&cc-interior=LH&cc-packages=&cc-view=step2&cc-configurationId=0&cc-viewstate=%7B%22lastConfigurationHash%22%3A%226_S5_LH_8T8T_%22%7D
http://cc-cloud.skoda-auto.com/gbr/gbr/en-gb/5e5/68977#!cc-instance=GBR&cc-salesprogram=GBR&cc-culture=en-gb&cc-model=5E5&cc-carline=68977&cc-equipment=&cc-motor=152128&cc-color=Z5Z5&cc-interior=HB&cc-packages=&cc-view=step2&cc-configurationId=0&cc-viewstate=%7B%22lastConfigurationHash%22%3A%22S_8Y_HB_Z5Z5_%22%7D
Could it be that no one orders the non DSG Golf R because it isn't available.
Chicken-egg, egg-chicken
The hatchback is available in both DSG and manual. In all markets except the US the DSG 'box far outsells the manual (which is £1500 cheaper). So much so the estate is only available in DSG.
320d xdrive touring here and it's plenty nippy enough even in auto.
My next one will probably be the 335d xdrive in auto too. Go for the flappy paddles and drive it like a manual if you must.
You can go on pistonheads.com and search for manual/estate/0-60 under x.
I'll save you the trouble though - the answer is an Audi. Other options - Porsche Macan (not really an estate but you have to compromise somewhere, BMW M5 touring. My choice would be an e60 550i, if you can find one in manual (rare but they do exist).
NZCol - MemberBudget: up to 45k
About 15 mk3 Mondeo STs. When one goes wrong, throw it in the bin.
I had a somewhat smaller budget, but similar requirements. Ended up with a 56 plate e91 BMW 330i Touring with only 47k. BUT, it is an auto which I actually suits the car/engine and I'm coping with a lot better than I expected having had one previously in an e92 325 coupe which I just could not get on with. I think it just works better with the larger engine. Not sure it helps you, but there might have to be a compromise somewhere given what is now available.
I'd rather have an auto 340 touring than a manual Insignia for example.
Or could you get away with e.g. a BMW 335i M Sport Gran Tourismo which can be had as a manual, rather than an estate?
or a 328i M Sport touring manual
[url= http://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/3-Series/2.0-328i-M-Sport-Touring/Norwich/3478101-605804944-3497221.aspx?srcmdc=se_na_re_ ]BMW 328 Touring Manual[/url]
I ran a volvo V50 t5 sport for a few years. Fast but a bit dull on the steering. Had a VXR vectra estate that was made from cheese and chocolate. 335i is on my list or a RS4/6 would be the weapon of choice
weapon of choice
😐
Probably have to be a semi-fast version to have type approval/space for a towbar.
As already touched on, so much new fast stuff is flappy paddle auto of some sort.
...and yet another thread which demonstrates why road safety really, really needs the human bit to be removed from any control issues with regard to road safety.
Boys with toys don't belong on roads.
Not a wagon exactly, more of a large hatchback, but the Porsche Panamera can be had with a manual.
[img] 
?itok=CAI1el77[/img]
There are 2* 4.8s Panemeras on Autotrader, both less than £40k.
Daffy - MemberNot a wagon exactly, more of a large hatchback, but the Porsche Panamera can be had with a manual.
[img]
There are 2* 4.8s Panemeras on Autotrader, both less than £40k.
Behold, the Panamera Sport Tourismo!
[img] 
[/img]
crikey - Member...and yet another thread which demonstrates.......blaaaaaa
A tiresome **** emerges.
There are 2* 4.8s Panemeras on Autotrader, both less than £40k.
And both of them look like a bulldog licking piss of a nettle.
A tiresome * emerges.
The kind of tiresome * who deals with the end product of 'making progress'. Because it's not only middle class nice folk like us who attempt to crack on, the whole Top Gear schtick also encourages the lower classes to try it too, which results in some people being dead.
I too am not a fan of auto cars and tend to avoid them like the plague wherever possible. However the hire car company, not having the manual 3 series I'd requested last year gave me an automatic 330d Touring xDrive instead for my 2 week work trip.
My daily drive is an RS4 and I love to press on wherever possible but must say I was really impressed with the 330d, lovely sounding 6cyl engine, never dropped below 40mpg despite some very hard driving and a huge amount of mid range and overtaking grunt. And the auto box in this was way better than anything I've driven before, much more responsive, didn't hunt around for gears and seemed to know what I wanted from it without using the paddles.
Heard you can chip these to silly numbers, or there's also the 335d which should be very rapid indeed. As a petrolhead I'll still hold out for manual for as long as possible but I was still tempted by an automatic diesel - go figure???
crikeyThe kind of tiresome **** who deals with the end product of 'making progress'. Because it's not only middle class nice folk like us who attempt to crack on, the whole Top Gear schtick also encourages the lower classes to try it too, which results in some people being dead.
Oh those tiresome lower classes. Were it not for their genetic predisposition towards over indulgence we could enjoy all the heroin, rent boys and powerful cars our hearts desired.
Indeed.
Take care.
Macan S is a great car but not available in manual, also over budget
Panamera are great lomg distance mile eaters but imo no sports car and also have a tiny boot.
I will, thank you.
crikey - Member
...and yet another thread which demonstrates why road safety really, really needs the human bit to be removed from any control issues with regard to road safety.Boys with toys don't belong on roads.
"The ethical dwarf, posturing on the moral high ground, presents a ludicrous spectacle"
Also;
"Let he who is without sin throw the first stone"
Sanctimonious twaddle like yours gets real old, real quick.
Save your lectures for those who might give a shit.
Off the top of my head:
BMW E91 335i could be had as a manual I think. Not 4WD though...
Audi B8 S4 as well could be manual. 4WD too.
...and yet another thread which demonstrates why road safety really, really needs the human bit to be removed from any control issues with regard to road safety.Boys with toys don't belong on roads.
I know, in my defence I've had a string of performance cars over the last 25 years with no issues and when I choose to 'press on' I would only do that on a track day. Driving on a road in a performance car does not necessarily mean you are a Top Gear Warrior.