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This is a great thread, fantasy power seeking for no other reason than “why not”
Talks heading towards Beemer 530d estates bring back me memories of endless days chugging the motorways towing dinghies and yachts, and filled to the brim with windsurfing gear. I had (in succession) 2 530d sport tourings, first I put 175k on and the second 240k within 6 years over that glorious period of “someone else is paying for the car and fuel”. Awesome is a word too often used, but in this particular instance the term fits the 530d very well. For all the trashy image beemers suffer from, I think the 530d is the best vehicle beemer have ever made. A super comfortable mile munching powerfully reliable machine that gets overlooked far too often, I think it’s the pinnacle vehicle in thier range for two reasons... it’s anonymous and it captures all the best ideals beemers were essentially made for. I couldn’t recommend them highly enough, if that’s the route you are going down.
But, because I’m still playing “big, fast, who cares” card have the X5 5.0d MSport instead. In true beemer fashion it has to be the biggest and most powerful and comes in fridge appliance white. Fuel mpg? No idea... how long do the tyres last? Probably about a week and a half... can you park it outside the school gates at a jaunty angle whilst half on the kerb and half on a baby robins face? but of course, park it anywhere you like, afterall you own the road and your life is way more important than the other plebs that litter and scatter as you floor it out of Tesco’s......
I have no need for an estate, or a big SUV, tbh, but dammit, I so want one of those V10 TDi Touregs! Lots of geegees, but also prodigious quantities of torque.
I think thats that's the one that towed a jumbo 747.....
So… why would I not buy a 530 touring diesel manual? They’re not too expensive, they have some economy, they have a load of...
The auto is a much more sublime experience, and likely better economy too. They have a manual mode and if its new enough, flappy paddles. Even the 2.0d has plenty about it yet it’s also able to “waft”.
9-5 Aero HOT
I had one of those. It went, but so did the petrol. You could see the gauge going down with a naked eye,
From dailying one for the past 3 years, I'd say that's a bit of an exaggeration!.
As I said before though, one trick ponies. Relatively quick, but really crap chassis. Woeful inside as well. There's no disguising the GM!
My Octavia Vrs is big enough and fast enough for me. A bit too fast 😖
Not crazy fast but I quite like my Leon FR. It drives really nicely in most scenario's and is fast enough to lose your licence, and driving on the motorway / back roads is effortless. The boot is surprisingly big as well. If that's not fast enough there's a Cupra version
Count Zero..unless things have changed in subsequent years ..expect only 10-12 k miles per full set ( x4) of tyres ...on a Touareg .
I spent 2k inside a year on tyres alone back in 2006.
But again, budget might prohibit such expensive frivolity. Definitely in the case of the RS6 – I was considering an older one some years ago until I started looking into the running costs. Big performance doesn’t come cheap especially in a big heavy estate car. Even if I was gifted one I’m not sure I could afford the running costs….literally. I don’t mean it would cost a lot, I mean it would be completely unaffordable.
I did this very same exercise, if only semi-seriously. It was a bit of an eye-opener.
There's a big jump in running costs between the "halo" cars (M, RS) and the models that are merely very very fast that almost certainly isn't justified by the increase in performance. Of course, those cars aren't supposed to make any sort of sense, other than to serve their purpose of casting the brand in a good light. Doesn't mean I don't still fancy that M5 Touring...
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...and my vote is in, picked up a JDM-spec Legacy GTB last sunday. Really rather pleased with it, though at this point I drive it like a granny, and the autobox is confusing. Straight line acceleration when it downshifts at just the right moment to come on boost is ludicrous though (it's not really massively fast, it's just that it goes wait... wait... EVERYTHING so it feels mad) and it corners lovely, on the rare occasions I don't massively overbrake before a corner. Imported in 2016 so it's not been Scottish Wintered like my old car, which basically looks like a shipwreck underneath
It's also ridiculously civilised- I picked it up near Stanstead and drove it back to Edinburgh pretty much in one go, the seats are comfy, the engine's quiet and low revved at cruising speed, the stereo's ace... And it has an LPG conversion so it didn't bankrupt me while doing that drive.
Just need to get rid of the chavvy dump valve and it'll be grand.
Where are the roof bars .
👍👍👍💪
the problem with all these estates is that none of them is actually any use if you have 3 kids, so I'm stuck in MPV land... Why can'l anyone design a bench seat to take 3 child seats?
Not all ‘kids’ are in child seats, most from aged 10 upwards aren’t, so these cars are then ideal !
Mate has twins plus one older - all fit in an Octavia estate fine with one of these.
<div class="bbp-reply-author">"bikebouy
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Where are the roof bars ."
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I've literally never used the bars on the old mondeo- I have racks but everything goes in the boot. It's got some sort of slotty things for roofrack feet but I don't even know what that is.
It's not as epically massive in the back as the mondeo- the floor's higher, the arches encroach a bit and it's just generally a little smaller. But it'll still eat 2 bikes and kit no fuss and that's all I need. Anyone else can walk.
Though, it is drastically lacking in nooks and crannies, I was moving all my Accumulated Crap from the old car today and there's just nowhere for most of it to go. Ford do some stuff really well...
#shouldhavegottheoutback
the problem with all these estates is that none of them is actually any use if you have 3 kids
So true. Yet if you wait, they outgrow kid seats then stop coming out with you.
Then an estate for 'normally just me and Mrs, occasionally some lanky kids squeeze in the back' works as a comprimise.
Gone for a practical 4 seat, 4wd to replace the RS4 as we don’t need 2 estates , Mrs NZCol has a Octavia wagon now. Yes ladies and gentlemen my man maths has justified a 991 Carrera 4 ☝️
The future is coming 🙂
<div class="bbp-reply-author">jam bo
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#shouldhavegottheoutback
Possibly, possibly. Might make access to some trailbuilding locations a bit interesting.
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I’m 3 months into mine and love it. Just packed it up for the drive to wales tomorrow and amazed how much it takes.
Since the thread started ..I've bought an A6 Allroad S/ tronic 3.0L V6 ( 272) ..absolutely loving it ..just back tonight from a short Torridon break with the family ..the traffic was horrendous but the car is just as happy pootling along as it is hoofing it and boy does it go when you need it to ..
I didn't expect the claimed mpg ..but it is in the low 40's ..which is way better than the 11 year old X-Trail it replaced ..
Very happy chappy so far ..
Nice choice NZCol but have you got the roof bars yet?
A whole thread and I didn't see one mention of a Volvo V70 R. Poor show. While the T5 were quick, the R was 300bhp of 5.7 0-60 hilarity. Add in an ohlins designed suspension system with electronically controlled shocks and 4 pot brembos. Having had an S60 T5 tuned to 320bhp before the current S60R I can confirm it's a whole different beast to a stock volvo.
Plus it has a load capacity that can swallow a pile of DH bikes with wheels on, a sofa or a washing machine AND tumble drier.
Its a proper big fast estate.
I don't know much about those high spec Legacys but I sure like the look of them and thoroughly approve of your purchase Northwind. How many BHPs has it got then?
Nice choice NZCol but have you got the roof bars yet?
Or more importantly, is it the .1 or .2?
My mates still blasting around in his legacy, 2.5ltr flat four petrol machine.. 160k odd now but still looking like a decent vehiqule 👏
Nice motor that 👍
The Tesla model S shooting brake
I think thats that’s the one that towed a jumbo 747…
It was indeed, someone reckoned that, given a long enough rope, it could raise the Titanic! A slight exaggeration, but that big oil burner produces humongous amounts of torques. 550 lb ft, apparently.
Count Zero..unless things have changed in subsequent years ..expect only 10-12 k miles per full set ( x4) of tyres …on a Touareg .
I spent 2k inside a year on tyres alone back in 2006.
Up until recently, I was doing around 4500/year! That’s going to probably double, but owning a Touareg is purely hypothetical at this time. Were I in the position to be able to afford to buy a V10 Touareg, I’d possibly consider getting an old Smart fourtwo diesel for commute purposes, which is 15 miles each way, at around 90/gallon, only using the VW for really shitty weather, and for weekend and holiday excursions.
How about a 535i touring?
It’s big. It’s fast. It’s an estate. Any questions?
Another Scandi lover here.
My Saab 9-3X remapped to 240 bhp.
Acceleration in 5th - 50-80 mph is amazing for a 1.9 oil burner.
Failed its PPI I'm afraid so bailed on the purchase - lots more fish in that sea so keeping my powder dry. Ideally want to find a manual GTS. With roofbars ....
Been a lot of chat on the previous pages about some 'fantasy' estates and yet no-one has mentioned these
For the real 'money no object' spec I'm sure it could be altered with some Vantage V600 bits...
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More realistically these look a hoot, and might be half sensible
My father looked at one years ago, was about £15k, baulked at the running costs and bought a two year old 2L diesel 75 instead for £10k. His 75 is now worth about £1k, the V8 ZTs are heading for £20k. That £14k difference would have paid for a lot of fuel and tyres, sometimes the daft option is the more sensible.
Chrysler 300c Touring with a 5.7L V8 Hemi. Manages a stunning 12mpg 😂
<div class="bbp-reply-author">davosaurusrex
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I don’t know much about those high spec Legacys but I sure like the look of them and thoroughly approve of your purchase Northwind. How many BHPs has it got then?
It is bog standard at 260bhp (the manual version gets 280bhp, not sure whether it's a hardware or software difference, but the manuals are usually about 33-50% more expensive too). 260 seems like a perfectly good number really.
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I'm still sticking with the Merc E; 320 or bigger in avantgarde flavour. Will razz all over most of the ^^^^ without getting out of 3rd.
not sure whether it’s a hardware or software difference
Auto boxes tend to rob some bhp but at this level a nice auto box makes sense. Not the cars to be gunning through a manual box.
In this case the engine output's different too. Much rather have the manual tbf, auto is nice for wafting
The facelift Spec B auto box is meant to be a bit more eager to shift, plus you have the flappy paddles and the si drive thing.
I'm on the lookout for a UK DM facelift 3.0 Spec B at the moment, 245bhp is enough for me 🙂
I love a fast estate, my last car was a B7 S4 and I’ve currently got a F31 335d, both brilliant but I still miss the V8!
<div class="bbp-reply-author">ta11pau1
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The facelift Spec B auto box is meant to be a bit more eager to shift, plus you have the flappy paddles and the si drive thing.
I’m on the lookout for a UK DM facelift 3.0 Spec B at the moment, 245bhp is enough for me
Yeah, I can add flappies if I'm so inclined and I thought I would, but not sure now.(though, the tiptronic lever feels intuitively the wrong way round for me, upsgifts are "away" and I feel like they should be "towards")
TBF I think I'd have rather had the facelift 3.0 overall, but the LPG and lower tax on this daft thing actually make it fairly sensible.
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Technically an early V8 S4 would just creep into my price range, but I couldn't bear the potential running costs of a 15 year old V8 S4, it would probably bankrupt me!!
If money was no object I'd have a 2.7 bi-turbo RS4, stunning cars and probably a decent investment. Oh and an RS2 and 1st gen RS6 alongside it!
TBF I think I’d have rather had the facelift 3.0 overall, but the LPG and lower tax on this daft thing actually make it fairly sensible.
There's an LPG converted 3.0 facelift estate near me, it's a little overpriced at £5500 but doing the maths it would save me around £40-50 a month... Insurance is actually slightly cheaper Vs non-lpg car for some reason!! I'll see if it's still there in a couple of weeks as I won't have enough put away until the end of this month.