New car advice

[Abyss]

Hi all,

I'd appreciate your thoughts on my next car.

I currently own a 2016 Audi A4 Avant 2.0 Diesel S-Line, however with our first child coming along I've decided I want something slightly bigger (mainly a wid er boot for the pram and better rear seat space for the baby seat). I recognise that for most the A4 avant is already the perfect car but I've had it for 18 months, done 45k miles in it and am ready for a change.

I usually spend circa £20k-£30k on a car however the more important bit is keeping depreciation to around £500 per month or £6k/year.

Build quality, comfort, and tech/toys are very important to me. I usually buy cars with £10k+ of optional extras. The most important features are adaptive cruise, lane assist and a very good media interface / nav.

Options I've considered are:
- 5 series estate - Discounted as adaptive cruise is very very rare
- Audi A6 Avant - new one not yet out, the old one would mean buying the same car I had 2 years ago but in avant instead of saloon so I've discounted it
- Mercedes E-class Estate - Ticks all the boxes but didn't like the media interface
- Various large SUVs inc XC90 / Q7 - MPG too low for the 25k/year I do
- Volvo V90 - Not a fan of the media interface or the looks at the back

The current favourite is:
- 6 series GT 630D xDrive - They are higher than my normal budget (circa £36k for an Oct/Nov 17), but they are a high spec as standard and theres quite a few ex demo cars out that with mega kit. It gives me the wider boot, better rear cabin space, a proper engine and generally something that's a step up from the A4.

My only concerns are:
- Will it depreciate quickly given the 6 series GT is somewhat the ugly duckling of the BMW family?
- Will I miss some of the physical load height in the boot with it not being an estate?
- Am I spending too much money on a car? It's affordable but it's a lot to spend on something that will depreciate as quickly as a car does. Will it likely still be sub £6k per year depreciation over 2-3 years?
- Ironically with how my works expenses system works it'd cost me less in fuel to own the 640i but they are at least another £7k more than the diesel

I'd really appreciate any thoughts.

 

[Abyss]

Skoda Superb L+K Estate?

Personally I think they look pretty decent, there's some nice petrol variants but disease is probably best with that mileage haha

The Superb is a very logical choice and was a car I did test drive before buying the A4. I just find it too boring (particularly the interior) and really want to step away from a 4 pot engine this time round. Thanks for the suggestion though.

I would invest in some vomit bags for the 6 series

What about a mondeo vignale? They aren't quite volvo levels of luxury but inside they aren't too bad at all.
The new A6 looks like a very good car - reviewed as better than the G30 5 series & E class
Jag XF sportbrake?
Mazda 6 tourer is a seriously good looking car IMO also

I always had a soft spot for the 5GT even though I knew it wasn't that pretty. I have to admit I do really like the look of the 6GT though. I also loved it being slightly higher but not an SUV.

- I can't get on with the Mondeo cabin, far too much plastic and the radio / screen area looks really outdated.

- I love the look of the new A6, but in reality it's not even on the roads yet and it'll be >£40k even through a broker plus I will need to spec up circa £5k in options (tech pack, touring pack for adaptive cruise etc). The standard S-Line is a pretty low spec i.e. it doesn't even come with the digital cockpit from memory. If I was changing 12 months from now I'd certainly be considering a high spec ex-demo car.

- I did consider the XF, particularly when they were available to contract hire a few weeks ago for around £250/month plus mileage excess, but just didn't take to the car in terms of build quality.

- Have to admit I haven't even considered the Mazda. Whenever I've sat in Japanese cars they have felt cheap / plasticky and I never got on with the Honda Accord I had. Looking at photos of the interior though it does look pretty smart. Will take a look.

If your after good depreciation, you won't see it from those tbh. There's far to many around.

I more just want something that holds a reasonable value. E.g. My A4 and preivous A6 cost me less in depreciatiron than the Honda Accord I had as the residuals were stronger. It doesn't need to be a car that bucks the depreciaition trend as ultimately it will have circa 80k miles on it by the time I change it, just not something that'll plummet like a brick.

I'd probably keep the Audi and buy something else for the Mrs.

I did look at this and considered a base model Kodiaq or the previous generation XC60. The main problem is she loves her car (Mini countryman JCW) and it won't scratch my car itch so I'll only end up changing mine in 6 months or so anyway so having to change 2 cars!

 

[Abyss]

We can get a pram and a full shop in our standard seat leon with 1 child, he is 2 so still use a baby seat.

So I can't see how the current car you have isn't big enough :s

I sense you just want a new toy

Since when is an A4 estate too small for a 1 child family

^^^ This.

My sister has 2 young kids, and the "big" family car is an A4 Saloon.

I found the A4 Avant had quite a small boot for a 2 small child family. Cabin space was fine unless you wanted to chuck in 2 kids and a grown person in the back.

Problem is the size of prams nowadays, they are sodding huge!

And car seats, at least whilst they are rear facing.

Obviously it's possible to get by just fine with the likes of an A4 (we fit toddler and dog in the focus estate and would manage another proper baby seat if need be) but it's not difficult to see why the op might fancy a bigger car

I've always been used to having bigger cars (Toyota Avensis, Volvo S60, Honda Accord Tourer, Audi A6, Audi A4). I've therefore become accustomed to having plenty of space and not having to cram everything in.

With now having a child the A4 is "tight". The pram will only just fit in the boot with the parcel shelf down and it means forcing the top half and base in next to each other and the wheels scuffing/dirtying the top. I then have to put the other bits in the boot inside the pram and take them out / put them back in every time I get the pram out. The baby seat in the back seat means moving the passenger seat forwards quite a bit and the access on the rear doors is low and quite narrow to get a car seat in and out. It's also a real squeeze to get 2 passengers in the back with the seat even on short journeys.

Ultimately the A4 avant isn't that big for an estate. A friend has an Octavia hatchback and wanted to look at mine. We both agreed he has as much space in the Octavia.

I absolutely don't need to change my car but I will use any excuse to change to a new toy . The excuse this time round is in the first 4 weeks alone I've got fed up of having to cram things in the boot.

 

[Abyss]

If you have £500 per month to burn through then why not consider a lease? £300 per month amortised would get you something very nice for a couple of years.

I have been keeping an eye on the leasing thread on Piston heads but nothing has floated my boat yet. I'm picky on options that I want which writes off most cars as the base specs are usually terrible. I would have gone for the V90 deal that was floating around but I missed out on the really good prices and the mileage excess ramped up after a certain mileage.

£500 amortised over 2-3 years generally gets you something nowhere near the 6 series so it's reliant on rare very cheap deals coming along.

 

[Abyss]

I don't know if it's changed from the 5 GT, but the rear seat squab in that car is at a very steep angle to make it more comfortable for rear passengers. I noticed that this made rear-facing car seats more upright than usual.
On long journeys, our little one's head would fall forward far more often than in any other car into which we stuck our rear-facing seats.

Something to consider @Abyss.
The car itself is brilliant, well the F07 was anyway.

Cheers. Had a test drive on Saturday and it looks like the 6 series is better as I didn't notice any issues with the car seat. Might be one worth me checking again though.

How about a Jag XF or F-pace?

I do love the F-Pace, but think the boot might be a bit short and I can't find one as yet within budget.

 

[Abyss]

This was in a Concord Reverso Plus, not a Group 0, so YMMV.
Also note that the slope of the rear hatch means it's not *that* practical. 5 Touring has more boot space with the rear seats up, 5 GT had more space with them down.

Either way, great car. Haven't driven a 6 GT so can't comment, but the 5 GT was great for wafting, and it handled pretty well with the trick suspension and gearbox in Sport+

Thanks. I'd be perfectly happy with the 5 tourer, but one option that I won't compromise on is adaptive cruise/lane assist ("driving assistance plus" for BMW and "Touring pack advanced" for Audi) and it was pretty much never specced on the 5 tourer for some reason. If a 530D M-sport tourer with a high spec and adaptive cruis popped up for low £30ks I'd be snapping it up.

 

[Abyss]

I really liked the Kodiaq and come very close to buying one. If Skoda offered the more powerful engines in manual I would have.

The higher end VW Tiguan's might be worth looking at. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Mazda CX-5 are well worth looking at too.

I was impressed by the Kodiaq, better than I expected. What puts me off if I had one as my car is the Skoda dealer in Nottingham is horrible and certainly not a place I'd be able to take the car for servicing / have a coffee / work etc. I'd also need to go new/nearly new to get the right spec (Edition 190PS with adaptive cruise / lane assist) which means spending £30k on it. I'd worry a £30k Kodiaq would lose more money in 2 years than a £36k 6 series GT.

I looked at the Tiguan but didn't like the interior. Will look at the Alfa / Mazda now, thanks.

Edit: Alfa boot is too small

 

[Abyss]

What were your issues with the Merc E class multimedia out of interest? I ask as its on my list of possible future cars. Thanks

I didn't get on that well with the position of the dial with the touchpad covering it and just didn't find it as slick as the Audi or BMW systems.