Yet another car itch – fast diesel estate

Just get a Unimog

4 pot was all the rage on here once! 😄

I’ve done the fast estate thing but when the last one got pinched I didn’t go for another since I didn’t want the hassle/risk of another being nicked (or house broken into). I’m now driving a Volvo XC60 PHEV and it’s fine. It’s doesn’t handle but non of the estates discussed here are sports cars, its plenty quick enough for normal driving, it’s economical and the Volvo is a relaxing place to sit/drive. I leave “sports car handling” to track days.

I used to ride very, very fast motorcycles and, in honesty, find fast cars underwhelming.

Me too, which is why I still reckon circa 200bhp is ‘enough’ in a car – +140mph, sub 7 sec 0-60, 40mph-70mph in 5 sec and the best part of 50mpg.

Do you need anything more than a BMW 320d? – Chris Harris on Cars (youtube.com)

Save cash, buy more bikes.

As the owner of a 204bhp diesel estate I agree. It’s fast enough to pass things with ease, and does get over 50mpg. It’s much quicker than a reasonable pace for public roads.

circa 200bhp is ‘enough’ in a car – +140mph, sub 7 sec 0-60, 40mph-70mph

Those are pretty much the exact figures for the orignal 1980 Audi Quattro. Funny how what were exceptional numbers have become ‘enough’. I remember my first ride in a Quattro being used to the full extent of its possibilities and it was clearly ‘far too much’ on any road open to the public.

That’s the thing about fast cars – it’s like good coffee or wine.  After a while, what seemed amazing now just seems normal, and what seemed perfectly acceptable before now seems rubbish.

However, what continues to impress me about my fast-ish car isn’t the speed, it’s the ease and comfort with which it drives on windy roads, and that’s down to the “geometry” to make a cycling analogy, not the power.

“Look at those status obsessed idiots who like fast cars or expensive watches, they must have very small willies.  Meanwhile one may assume that I have a enormous willy because I prefer very fast bikes and adorn my wrist with only moderately overpriced watches. I like my adornments to wear a certain ‘beaten-up‘ patina so people absolutely definitely know that I absolutely definitely am not interested in fast cars or expensive watches because then I would surely have a very small willy.”

I don’t think I ever mentioned willies at all. You seem a bit touchy and obsessed with willies. I’m not sure just mentioning Freud is quite the same thing. Fwiw, I’m not knocking fast cars or owning them. Or posh watches. But they are sort of very expensive jewellery. Or toys depending on how you look at them. I can’t really afford a proper fast car – I have a VR6 Corrado as well, but it’s not proper fast, it’s just that I like it and like the noise and feel of the VR6 motor.

But yes, you’re probably right, I’m very worried about my masculinity and over-compensate by not over-compensating. Or something like that.

Fwiw, I was given my ‘moderately expensive watch’, I would never have spent 300 odd quid on a watch, but it turns out I quite like it.

I enjoy a nice thing or two… And though I’ve never really been ‘into’ cars, having recently got a nice EV, it’s really fun to have and drive..

It’s got a tonne bunch of BHP and torque (currently at 476bhp) but it’s such a simple and nice thing to drive..

Yeah, I’m never going to use ALL that power ALL the time, but the acceleration to speed is incredible and useful at times.

Plus… Moar powah!

DrP

[BadlyWiredDog]

BadlyWiredDog

Full Member

“Look at those status obsessed idiots who like fast cars or expensive watches, they must have very small willies.  Meanwhile one may assume that I have a enormous willy because I prefer very fast bikes and adorn my wrist with only moderately overpriced watches. I like my adornments to wear a certain ‘beaten-up‘ patina so people absolutely definitely know that I absolutely definitely am not interested in fast cars or expensive watches because then I would surely have a very small willy.”

I don’t think I ever mentioned willies at all. You seem a bit touchy and obsessed with willies. I’m not sure just mentioning Freud is quite the same thing. Fwiw, I’m not knocking fast cars or owning them. Or posh watches. But they are sort of very expensive jewellery. Or toys depending on how you look at them. I can’t really afford a proper fast car – I have a VR6 Corrado as well, but it’s not proper fast, it’s just that I like it and like the noise and feel of the VR6 motor.

But yes, you’re probably right, I’m very worried about my masculinity and over-compensate by not over-compensating. Or something like that.

I was just poking fun at your post and some of the others on this thread, don’t read too much into it – it wasn’t supposed to be a deep-dive into your personality!

Fwiw, I was given my ‘moderately expensive watch’, I would never have spent 300 odd quid on a watch, but it turns out I quite like it.

Really? You should try a fast estate car! 🙂

[BadlyWiredDog]

“Look at those status obsessed idiots who like fast cars or expensive watches, they must have very small willies.  Meanwhile one may assume that I have a enormous willy because I prefer very fast bikes and adorn my wrist with only moderately overpriced watches. I like my adornments to wear a certain ‘beaten-up‘ patina so people absolutely definitely know that I absolutely definitely am not interested in fast cars or expensive watches because then I would surely have a very small willy.”

I don’t think I ever mentioned willies at all. You seem a bit touchy and obsessed with willies. I’m not sure just mentioning Freud is quite the same thing. Fwiw, I’m not knocking fast cars or owning them. Or posh watches. But they are sort of very expensive jewellery. Or toys depending on how you look at them. I can’t really afford a proper fast car – I have a VR6 Corrado as well, but it’s not proper fast, it’s just that I like it and like the noise and feel of the VR6 motor.

But yes, you’re probably right, I’m very worried about my masculinity and over-compensate by not over-compensating. Or something like that.

Whether anyone is interested or not, my leanings have changed again…

The ‘estate tax’ on the 3 series is quite big – can get much better specced saloons for same/less money. Not sure I want a 3 series saloon.

Partly due to suggestions on here, started looking at E400d’s (wasn’t keen on a Merc, but). Better specced than a BMW for the price point. Similar performance, but probably (definitely) not as nimble. A mid-luxury motorway cruiser would appeal more to Mrs STR anyway.

Looks like a taxi, but I quite like it…

https://www.jardinemotors.co.uk/mercedes-benz/used-cars/16936051-mercedes-benz-e-class-e400d-4-matic-amg-line-night-ed-prem-4dr-9-g-tronic/

Perhaps you can ask your overpaid/underworked employees to chip in? This would give them a better stake in the business, show them that advert at snap time and see what they think?

mmmm chintz lets everyone know you’re knob.

Looks like a taxi, but I quite like it…

Each to their own, but I was a taxi passenger in one of those recently. The interior is beyond hideous. Stupid uni-screen, with tackiest dial design I’d ever seen and pulsing lightshow like some kind of cheap strip club. I’m sure lots of it can be turned off, but the fundamental design language is a million miles away from anything I’d ever want to own.

From the side those Merc saloons look like an elephant has sat on the boot – it’s the drooping swage line. Makes them look a bit sad.

Just IMO of course! 🙂

I looked at Mercs and Audis when I last changed mine but ended up back in a BMW.

The interior of most modern Mercs looks like it has been designed for the Chinese market and were hideously bling so were automatically discounted. Audi just drove very dull and the s line ride wasn’t good

In the end one of my main factors was I love the opening window in the boot of BMW estates. I’m in and out of the boot regularly getting dog in etc and that feature just works for me. Load dog, close boot open window. Change shoes/boots etc load them and close. Handy for just popping some shopping in the boot.

“Perhaps you can ask your overpaid/underworked employees to chip in? This would give them a better stake in the business, show them that advert at snap time and see what they think?”

What the actual **** has your random crappy comment got to do with anything?

The ‘estate tax’ on the 3 series is quite big

I’m seeing the same thing on older (F10/11) 5-series as well but only by about £500-1000 on a £10k budget. Availability will be the main thing I think, twice the amount of saloons to estates in the range I am looking at. I did look at W212 E220CDi Estates but they’re bit minging and the interior is nowhere near as nice.

I don’t know anything about company car tax now, but if you get stung massively for tax why not just buy privately?

I’m guessing even with the tax it works out cheaper than private or people wouldn’t do it?

I didn’t make the comment without thought. I do find it crass and a touch insensitive sometimes when posters discuss the dilemma of spending huge amounts of money on a vehicle on a forum where some members are trying to get by with an old banger, there is an element of the “look at me”! I can just about tolerate the watch buyers as they’re buying a work of fine engineering that shouldn’t depreciate, I can appreciate the coffee grinders as they get something to drink.. However I can’t ignore the contradiction of this thread discussing the spending of vast sums of money on a car and the thread by the OP where his workers were forbidden from discussing their pay – “ Money is explicitly not to be discussed on site as it causes issues”.

I’m ignoring the discussing money on site comment because it’s been done and has nothing to do with a thread about cars.

Buying a 4 year old diesel family saloon on finance is hardly a brag.

I’m sorry if some people haven’t got as much money as they’d wish, but this forum isn’t ‘poverty track world’ where there’s a veto on spending money. I’m certainly not rolling in it by any means. Reasonably comfortable would probably be a fair assessment.

And there’s no slavery going on on my sites, so give it a rest please. Just for the record, the car I posted is around the equivalent of 1.5-2 weeks current wage bill including bona fide sub contractors.

Back to cars, you’ve all put me off the Merc now anyway 🤣

“I don’t know anything about company car tax now, but if you get stung massively for tax why not just buy privately?

I’m guessing even with the tax it works out cheaper than private or people wouldn’t do it?”

Oh for sure. Any car purchase would be private. No benefits to putting a diesel car through the business at all

It has got me thinking though. Just watch out for my post in the pick up BIK thread 🤣

I wouldn’t be put off by the bmw estate tax, you’ll find it’s better for residuals when you sell it. I sold my last bmw estate (privately) within a week at the same high price dealers were asking. You won’t manage that with a saloon.

Yeah fair point ^^

Anyway….🤔

This could turn out to be a complete (erm, semi) U turn in my thinking….

That looks pretty conservative to me, visually.

I’ll just chuck a couple of pics into the thread:

And I’ll sneak this in cheekily:

That looks pretty conservative to me, visually.

Don’t know if you’ve picked up on it, but it’s the E-Tron S Quattro Vorsprung. 500bhp, 0-60 4.5s

Would buy through the business and (need to confirm with the accountant) can write down 18%/year – which I think has to reduce to 9% if used for personal use. Could write down 100% as AIA if it was brand new, so there are other vehicles to consider. Still, that would be £5k/year against corporation tax. 2% BIK and leccy charging costs to the business. It would be used for some business use when I don’t need a van full of tools and I’m not getting ridiculously muddy.

That should get the BIK tax dodge frothers, erm frothing. But it’s an EV, so it fine, eh? 😉

I’ll just chuck a couple of pics into the thread:

The CLS is nice, I like that

Not really wanting an Audi A5 saloon (though I am an Audi fan)

The Ioniq is next level fugly

E-Tron S Quattro Vorsprung. 500bhp, 0-60 4.5s

What’s the ‘whoosh’ equvalent of “BBBBRRRAAAAAAAPPPPPPP”!!

I like that – not a fan of SUVs, but that’s low enough to look like a ‘slightly tall estate’..

I’d go for that if i were after a fast car, TBH..

DrP

It’s a fast EV SUV – I still prefer my cars to be car shaped, i.e. not massive just because ‘it’s what consumers want’. In reality the car companies sell them because they have higher margins. Anyway, that’s my tuppence.

Going back to the fast diesel estate theme, I’ve just put a deposit on a F10 BMW 535d. 309bhp, 0-60 in 5.5s.

Don’t know if you’ve picked up on it, but it’s the E-Tron S Quattro Vorsprung. 500bhp, 0-60 4.5s

I meant that it looks fairly conservative, aesthetically. Like a typical SUV.  The CLS is a step above in terms of design quality I reckon.  There’s one near us* that I see occasionally, looks flippin amazing in real life – not least because they are really big and low.

* There’s also one on my drive but it’s an older model and an estate, which, much as I now love it, does not look as good as the saloon.

A much better looking Audi is the E-Tron GT:

A much better looking Audi is the E-Tron GT

Yeah, I like the GT, but would always wish it was an RS. Probably not the ideal vehicle for my customer to see me rock up on site in though

Same for the Taycan

Here you go!

but that’s low enough to look like a ‘slightly tall estate’

Looks are deceiving – mainly because it has wheels with a diameter last seen on a stagecoach. They’re 22″, the car weighs 2655kg, and is bigger than many poor peoples’ houses.

“Here you go!”

You clearly aren’t interested in cars and are just in this thread to troll.

Be a good boy and kindly piss off somewhere else, thanks

Probably not the ideal vehicle for my customer to see me rock up on site in though

Are any of these?

molgrips
Free Member
Probably not the ideal vehicle for my customer to see me rock up on site in though

Are any of these?

People are strange. I turned up on a a Saturday at a clients, using my personal car rather than a van (because I was going elsewhere after, wouldn’t want to invoke the wrath of the BIK pedants).
Someone copped the hump about me turning up in a Porsche, despite it being worth less than the van by a long way.

I thought they were joking when they moaned.

We lost the contract, I was pleased as they wanted everything out of hours, which is a pain in the arse.

ioniq 5 n if you want a fast, newish, (relatively) cheap, tax-efficient family conveyance. 650bhp, 60 in under 3.5 seconds, really fast charging (10-80% in 17 minutes) doesn’t look too flashy at a customer site, isn’t an SUV. Reviews are fairly positive.

The Ioniq 5N also has a simulated V8 engine sound that not only goes up through the gears when accelerating, but it also lets you go BRRMM BRMMM by pressing the accelerator when stationary.

If you want understated speed, there’s always the Volvo EX30 twin motor which does 0-62 in 3.6s but still looks like a normal compact SUV.

“Are any of these?”

Nowt up with a BMW estate, or Merc saloon turning up. There were no issues when I bought a brand new Discovery a couple of years ago. The E-Tron is about as flash as I’d go – but in your words looks reasonably conservative. Points for turning up on a large scale solar farm in an EV too. Just feel an E-tron GT looks a bit too flashy for some reason. One of the other contractors drives a Mercedes GLE

“ioniq 5”

The interior and exterior leave me cold tbh