15k family (a bit of poke) car

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Hi all,

So it's time to move on from my MK6 GTI and I have a budget of 15k.

My commute to work is 10miles and we will use the car for family trips eg belgium centre parks in a couple of weeks.

I've narrowed it down to a few:

Skoda kodiaq - preferably the 2.0tsi (7seats are handy for extended family trips)
Skoda superb - 1.5/2.0 tsi
G31 520d - only a few around this price but gets me into a G series.
E-class 220d estate amg line premium
440i GC - wildcard as I found one... but the boot space is limited but the fun factor surely cancels that?

Any others to consider?
 
Not sure a huge SUV counts as fun? What about an Octavia VRS? They come in Estate form too. The 440i is a great car with a great engine and the boot, being a hatchback is actually quite big, far bigger than possibly even some of your other options.
 
As with every thread wanting a 'fun' car, it's probably best you define what this means to you. Something to throw down a B road? Just a bit of poke when you put your foot down? A nice noise?

To most people, the only one of your suggestions that could be considered 'fun' is probably the 440i GC and even that will be fun in a very different way to a Golf GTI as you currently have.
 
Sorry, ignore what I meant by fun and changed it to a bit of poke!

Long story short my gti is stage 2 on 290bhp but it is currently in the garage with a possible head gasket. So time to get rid as I was going to change anyway.

I want something comfortable with more boot space than the golf.

But I'll have a look at the others mentioned for sure.
 
This is certainly one of the strangest shortlists I've ever seen on here.

Who honestly considers a 1.5 litre 140bhp Skoda Octavia against a 300bhp 3 litre BMW?

I think you probably need to think about what it is you actually want first.

Even comparing the 520d against the 440i - one is an excellent car with a fantastic interior but a dull yet efficient engine, and the other is a dated car with a rubbish interior that feels like it was taken from a 1 Series but with a fantastic engine. You either want one or the other, rather than consider both. Because if you were considering both you'd be looking at either a better engine in the 5 Series or a worse engine in the 4 Series.
 
This is certainly one of the strangest shortlists I've ever seen on here.

Who honestly considers a 1.5 litre 140bhp Skoda Octavia against a 300bhp 3 litre BMW?

I think you probably need to think about what it is you actually want first.

Even comparing the 520d against the 440i - one is an excellent car with a fantastic interior but a dull yet efficient engine, and the other is a dated car with a rubbish interior that feels like it was taken from a 1 Series but with a fantastic engine. You either want one or the other, rather than consider both. Because if you were considering both you'd be looking at either a better engine in the 5 Series or a worse engine in the 4 Series.
The 440i was a wildcard as there's only one available.

There's a few 520i/520d but not many 530d.

As with the superb/kodiaq I will be targeting the 2.0tsi of course.

Comfort and more boot space is what I want.
 
I don't think the 440i is a particularly good choice at this budget, that said you could say the same about most of these options. These are all older almost 100k mile cars, do you really want the maintenance costs associated with that on what seems to be an attempt to buy a reliable and efficient to run family car?
 
Comfort and more boot space makes me lean towards the big German cars, 5 series, A6, E Class etc. Most of these have models with bigger engines with some decent oomph, but to get in your budget you're looking at older or higher milage. I think you need to set out some requirements regarding age and mileage expectations as well.

Something like a Skoda Superb you suggested might be a good shout. Most have a 7-8sec 060 time, but if you get the higher power version its pretty rapid. This is over budget, but something like this Skoda Superb looks spacious and comfy, plus sub 6 sec 0-60.
 
Left field - spend a few £ more and get a Tesla Model 3. You should be able to get a decent standard range RWD model for under £17k and a long range AWD model for a bit more.

Plenty of ‘poke’ and plenty of space.
 
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