Big, economical and comfortable? 3k max

Third Opinion

Third Opinion

Third Opinion

Soldato
Joined
3 Jun 2005
Posts
5,365
Location
West Sussex
I am getting rid of my Alfa due to increasing fuel and taxation. But I am also sick of not having enough room in my car to take all my work things without using the back seat.

I am totally lost here.

Could be a 4x4, 7 seater or just a large estate.

Performance not particularly important, nor is equipment, just air-con really.

Any good recommedations
 
Peugeot 406 Diesel Estate. Try and get the GTX or Executive for the most toys. All after 1999 (V) have digital air-con/climate control and it works well. Late model GTX and Executive (2002 onwards) mainly have factory sat nav too.

As an alternative the Skoda Octavia Mark I is also very solid, reliable and roomy in either hatchback or estate guise.

Both these cars are beloved of mini-cabbers as they are cheap to run and very reliable.
 
Richdog said:
Older volvo estate? Built like a tank and plenty of room for tools and things, usually quite well-specced too.
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How old is older? if you are talking 7**, 9** or S/V90 then they arent really that economical to run, i'm currently running a 940 2.0 and at 20MPG it's not fun filling it up.

Mind you, doesnt help that i drive it a bit hard but if it wasnt so slow i wouldnt need to.
 
If you want GIGANTIC, the the Citroen C5 Diesel estate is massive inside, but the fancy hydro-pneumatic suspension is a bit dodgy. I had the same system on my C6 and it was.... problematic, shall we say?
 
MarkDavis said:
LOL. Another Alfa Romeo bites the dust :D
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Well with 109,000 miles on her and still retaining 28mpg she has not done bad. Bought her 12 months ago for £2800 with 88k on a 52 plate. Letting her go £2500 now. She cost me no more than a set of tyres and a service.

Good girl she has been, someone will get a bargain!!
 
You could look for an Audi A4 or A6 diesel... to be honest you're always going to be stuck with a tradeoff between size/weight and efficiency, so it's entirely down to you as to the best compromise.
 
Mondeo Estate TDCI?! Massive inside, economical (Assuming you can get a diesel in budget which I would imagine you can albeit high mileage) and most should be well kitted for the money.
 
Estate Wise If I wanted something as new as possible

Mondeo Estate
C5 Estate

For something more prestige

Volvo Estate
Galant V6 Estate
Saab 9-5?

Possibly the above with LPG Kit for economy purposes. All depends what your priorities are?

Ok so you are not interested in toys by the looks of things... In that case a Mondeo Estate would be sensible and you should be able to find a reasonable example with the engine you want since you are not bothered about trim levels. I'm pretty sure they all (but perhaps the very base models) have aircon. Really no point in going for a prestige brand since you are not interested in kit. Therefore buy as new as possible tbh.
 
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My dad has a Saab 9-5, they are a really nice car, his returns 30mpg easliy despite being 2.3 hot areo, I would imagine some of the smaller engines would do better, very nice car to drive though.

The Galant is a pretty good car, dont know if it matches the comfort of the saab though
 
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