Mid-sized family cars with refinement & impressive interiors?

HangTime

HangTime

HangTime

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I can't say I've ever really been in a moderately priced (let's say up to £40k) car and thought "Wow, this is great!" when it comes to ride smoothness, road noise, kit and general look and feel inside. The closest I can remember was about 7(?) years ago in a colleagues Lexus.

Window shopping for an estate / SUV, mid-sized say up to ~4.7m in length (so no E-class, 5 series, Lexus RX etc) that gives a massive smile when settling down into the seats. I could potentially be swayed to consider something slightly longer or more expensive if it was *really* good but I've yet to be blown away by anything. My old boss had a 7 series which as a passenger was decent but not enough to make me think it was worth the additional cost / size.

What options are out there, perhaps there is something a bit left-field I could consider?
Perhaps a Q5? I've only recently considered SUVs.
 
Look at the D4 Audi A8. Can pick up an approved used one for considerably less than that
7 series is too similar to the 5 series in the older generation so not surprised you weren't thinking it was special enough

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Spot the difference
 
The new Volvos are getting great reviews in terms of quality and interior styling, defo worth a look.
 
Shivy011 said:
Look at the D4 Audi A8. Can pick up an approved used one for considerably less than that
7 series is too similar to the 5 series in the older generation so not surprised you weren't thinking it was special enough


Spot the difference
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The steering wheels are on opposite sides?! What do I win? :D
 
The last of the SAAB 9-5's had the comfiest seats i've ever sat in, more so than the Volvo/Merc i've had in the past.
 
The Q5 is lovely in side but I'm not sure it's going to wow you. The materials are really good, the layout and design are spot on, but it's still not high end like I think your after. You'll need to look at higher up the range for that special type of interior and comfort.

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The Q5 is comfy, definitely. The new ones are quite pricey though.

I've seen/heard good things about the latest Mercedes interiors. Not sure about the ride.
 
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HangTime said:
Window shopping for an estate / SUV, mid-sized say up to ~4.7m in length (so no E-class, 5 series, Lexus RX etc)
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Have you tried a G31 5 Series? It’s ~140mm over your limit which is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

IMO they have a very nice interior although for ~£40k you’ll be in a 520d along with the rest of the plethora of them out there - to be fair though, arguably the 520d makes the most sense of the lot.
 
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Estate version of a 5 series of E class are the most obvious solutions.

If you want both utterly left field and cheap, Citroen C6.

Unfortunately, not sure that any of those fit within your stated car length.
 
XC60 is on the short list, for some reason I hadn't considered the V60 but seems reasonable aside from reviews picking up on the cheap plastics in the cabin.
G31 has the annoying combination of being both >£40k list price for anything but the absolute base model and >March 2017 registration, which means you get shafted with an extra £310/year tax. I know that shouldn't be a deal breaker, as what matters is the overall cost of ownership, but it does grate a little if I'm not going to be completely blown away.
F-Pace when released did get my attention, seems to be holding its value a bit too well however to make it that appealing a secondhand buy as everything on AT within 60 miles is over £31k and that's on a 2016 reg - to be honest I'd probably look for a decent offering from a broker on a brand new one.
E-Class Estate can be had cheap at the moment (£28395 brand new) and compared to most others I've looked at seems to have a decent amount of kit as standard. I just think the length of it might be a bit too much for my wife to handle, as it were.

If I was buying something without any size restriction I could see the E-class wagon potentially being the one I'd go for. Maybe just have to get the missus to sit in one and witness the active park assist!
I suspect I may end up in a situation where to get the level of interior I am craving for I'd have to pay an excessive premium and that's not something I'm prepared to do. I don't have a set budget per se so could go over £40k for something truly special but equally don't fancy paying say an extra 10 grand for a slightly prettier interior that might look dated in a few years anyway.
 
Can't see why a 5 Series wouldn't fit the bill from a quality POV. Surely you can't get much better in this bracket?
 
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