Estate car - £5kish budget

VTR

VTR

VTR

Soldato
Joined
29 Oct 2002
Posts
4,274
Location
South Wales
Going to need to buy an estate car in the next few months for a new business that I'm setting up which will involve travelling up and down the country between a few times a week and a few times a month depending on how busy I am. Needs to be ab estate to fit a drum kit in the back on weekends.

Had a quick look at the Audi A4's but no idea what I'm looking at, which engine is the best, whether I want diesel or petrol etc. Budget is somewhere around the £5k mark, less is preferable but can stretch it if it means I'll get a lot better deal.

Can anyone link me to any A4 estates which would be suitable? I've had a look on autotrader and I'm just not sure whether diesel will be better or not, obviously more MPG on the long motorway runs but I dont want something throwing up huge bills either. Doesn't have to be an A4 they are just the ones which come to mind. Not too fussed on performance, if there's any with 200bhp and decent performance that will still return high MPG on a motorway run then all the better but running costs and fuel economy are top priority.
 
My parents have an A4 estate - to be honest, they're not that big in the back. You'd be much better off with a newer Mondeo Estate.
 
-westy- said:
My parents have an A4 estate - to be honest, they're not that big in the back. You'd be much better off with a newer Mondeo Estate.
Click to expand...

What engines are the ones to go for on these? Any major known problems?
 
All depends on your annual mileage to be honest. The TDCi seems to be the one to go for, however they're known for issues such as the dual mass flywheel needing replacing (along with the clutch and sometimes starter motor as well), injectors and DPFs. All depends on whether you're going to be doing a lot of miles, I have a 2.0 51 plate, that was great for chewing up the miles, however I only manage 40mpg from it on a run, driving gently.
 
If you want boot space check out the Skodas.

We found the Fabia and Octavia Estates to be massive (lots more depth) than other estates from the same group.

5k should get you a decent Octavia VRS Estate, unsure if it will get a mk2
 
Probably not a massive amount at the moment, up to 15k per year - maybe under 10k until business picks up. Want something that isn't going to throw up any massive bills and 40MPG+ on a run is ok really.
 
Conanius said:
If you want boot space check out the Skodas.

We found the Fabia and Octavia Estates to be massive (lots more depth) than other estates from the same group.

5k should get you a decent Octavia VRS Estate, unsure if it will get a mk2
Click to expand...

What are the 1.9L diesel engines like on the Fabias?
 
Last edited:
I have an A4 and while I am happy with it, I know the boot is not huge, a drum kit might not fit, I don't have one lying round to try.
 
I think we'll take a closer look at the A4's first, see if it will actually fit. What engine would be the best choice if the boot space is OK?
 
VTR said:
I think we'll take a closer look at the A4's first, see if it will actually fit. What engine would be the best choice if the boot space is OK?
Click to expand...

1.8T.

The diesels go DAGDAGDGAGDAGDAG and are annoyingly noisey and rough, the V6 petrols drink fuel like its going out of fashion yet don't seem all that fast.

This leaves the 1.8T which seems go to quite nicely with the A4.

The 2.4 takes the wooden spoon of pointlessness, though.
 
Last edited:
Mid 30's on a run, maybe a little more if you are very very nice to it. Think of the the A4 estate as an A3 with a boot extension and you're along the right lines in terms of size, it's not a big load bay at all. If you need to transport some reasonably bulky kit you'll need an A6, passat or possibly the octavia as it's a bit bigger in the back as already said.

They're reasonably brisk, decent mid range with it being a turbo and mid 8's official 0-60 iirc - the A4 isn't a car you'll want to drive everywhere quickly in though, makes the car feel unsettled imo.

Under no circumstances buy one of the CVT transmissioned cars - the gearbox eats itself all the time, the manual or proper slushbox if you can find one are fine. Personally I'd be having a 115 / 130 1.9 TDI but you won't see a massive saving in fuel on 10k per annum - they don't really break though so would be worth having for if/when the mileage picks up
 
Last edited:
High 30s for the FWD low 30s for the quattro. If you can go over 5 a bit you can get the late b6 versions with the SLine cosmetics.

The emissions on the Quattro is high and its in band K. Its over 225 so may in future be in one or the higher tax brackets.

Funny how I mentioned the 1.8t a while back and got cocky replies over poor emissions.

The 1.9tdi isnt that bad. If you need the economy I would at least give one a try.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom