Why did you buy a saloon over an estate?
- Thread starter Ricochet J
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Soldato
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![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
[TW]Fox;30276482 said:You don't have a saloon
Hmmmm, good point, I keep thinking of it as a saloon because it is saloon shaped, but its a hatch. Even so, I wanted an estate and the fact I couldn't find one is the reason I ended up with a hatch.
Soldato
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Saloons are too impractical - Might as well buy a 2 seater convertible
+ one million.
It is annoying that too many people don't buy estates, because there is then poor choice in the used car market. People need to stop buying silly tiny cars and then 'using the wifes' when any family duties are required. Man up and buy a man's car not a teenager toy.
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Saloons are too impractical - Might as well buy a 2 seater convertible
So are estates. If you want actual practicality then a pickup or larger 4x4 are the better options.
Pickups are by and large the most practical and have the benefit of having higher ground clearance and better visibility*. Also the 4x4 can be very useful.
That said I grew up with pickups and have been in a saloon about half a dozen times, they're just odd.
*the one exception being reversing. The current pickup I can quite literally lose an entire large car behind me if I'm not careful... it does benefit majorly from larger mirrors though, which makes general reversing much easier. Most cars mirrors are basically useless.
An estate isn't a mans car any more than a saloon.
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Well the larger 4x4's are better for the one child school runSo are estates. If you want actual practicality then a pickup or larger 4x4 are the better options.
An estate isn't a mans car any more than a saloon.
The problem with saloon boots is they are like post boxes - Lots of room inside but the entry point is pretty restrictive. So great if you need to carry hundreds of small lunch boxes
Also most of the German saloons have the split/fold seats as an option, which most people don't tick.
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I like the look of the saloon and I've never needed the practicality of the estate. Luckily as mine did have the folding seat option ticked I can fit a mountain bike in the back quite easily if I remove the front wheel on the bike which takes all of 30 seconds.
Surely they are, oddly, amongst the least practical vehicles?
Unless you have a desire to carry large bulky loads frequently the pickup is less practical than an estate or even a saloon - most of them have an insecure, open loadbay which is not useful for storing most items and the sheer size of this loadbay means space inside the passenger cabin is generally compromised. Granted some have a lockable rear deck cover but it's still not exactly as convenient a space as an estate!
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[TW]Fox;30277021 said:
We're talking ultimate load carrying practicality here right?
Most people will have a cap or secure cover so it's basically just a very large boot. It also depends on the type of pickup you get but many will have just as much legroom as your average saloon, the difference being you have 5 seats ( and more headroom) and 5-6 feet of boot space as well, which if you lug bikes or dogs around also has the convenient advantage of being washable by hosepipe for the many times you have to load dirty bikes/dogs. Done right they are just as/more convenient.
Again depends on the version - leather seats, climate control, surround sound music systems and touch screens are fairly common if you don't buy builders spec versions. They can be much bigger and bulkier, but it's a tradeoff, much like the difference between a saloon and estate. Cost to run - well again that depends on whether you have a small engine Mondeo or a large engined 5 series for example - and the type of pickup you buy. Obviously there are compromises for the carrying practicality, but this thread didn't exactly start as a particularly serious discussion did it.
Edit: at the end of the day it all depends on what you call practical. My definition is a high enough ground clearance to avoid scratching bumpers and bottoms in every day use, good visibility, 4x4 for occasional use, and plenty of space to fit whatever you need in. That pretty much means exclusively pickups or 4x4s for me. Others have different ideas of practical, he seems the reason for the choice of saloon, estate, hatchback etc. Why buy a saloon when a hatchback is more practical - it's smaller so easier to park and drive in towns, cheaper on fuel and initial cost to buy etc.
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Deleted member 66701
Deleted member 66701
Quieter.
Well the larger 4x4's are better for the one child school run
The problem with saloon boots is they are like post boxes - Lots of room inside but the entry point is pretty restrictive. So great if you need to carry hundreds of small lunch boxes
Also most of the German saloons have the split/fold seats as an option, which most people don't tick.
Obviously.
(although ironically a hatchback is probably more practical than a saloon or estate for that).Also you reminded me of another benefit of a pickup - you can sleep in the back of it when you want. I haven't found an estate (or a normal 4x4 for that matter) you can do that comfortably, even with the seats down - if they actually lay fully flat on the first place. May not be an issue for shortarses by anyone taller than about 5'9 is going to have problems.
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