# Need A Good Rep Car



## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

I drive a vw golf gt atm 170 ponies and love it to bits. but its got to go for some thing bigger and I'm finding it hard to narrow my list. needs to be an estate needs to be nippy. I dont like the 3 series bmw or c class merc vw passat is being replaced soon toyota looks gay, volovo we've found to expensive to run, no french motors either please. atm I'm thinking ford mondeo or mazda 6 estate

any other suggestions my key requirments is nice amount of space good level of fit and finish nippy diesel motor


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## Guest (Nov 26, 2009)

For me it would have to be a Volvo V70 D5, 0-60 in around 8.5s and 41-44mpg combined.

But then again Im biased having had 3 Volvo estates in a row, the last being a '98 945 2.3 turbo running at an uprated 220-230bhp :thumbup: and boy do I miss it now Ive got an Espace.


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## thunderbolt (May 19, 2007)

What about a VW Touran? We have one, and it's a belter. 1.9 turbo diesel,38 ish around town & high 40's to low 50's on a run. Very nippy with loads of space and very well screwed together and generous kit.


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## MarkDavey (Jan 9, 2009)

How about a Saab 93TTid? - 180bhp diesel - They have some really good deals on these at the moment - checkout the TXDesign on the Saab website

But I'm biased too - have a 95 HOT Aero = 275bhp of front wheel drive fun :grin:


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## BlueKnight (Oct 29, 2009)

How about an All Wheel Drive Matrix XR. Lots of zip with the 2.4 engine and good on gas. The cargo space is cavernous with the back seat down. The dog loves it. I currently have the 2010 model and this is my third one replacing another series of Toyota 4Runner trucks. With a good set of snow tires, this little car plows through snow like a Husky on a mission. My driveway is over two hundred feet long and I don't have to wait for my snow contractor to dig me out if I have to go somewhere.


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## mrteatime (Oct 25, 2006)

> *toyota looks gay*


:rofl2: :lol:


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

mrteatime said:


> > *toyota looks gay*
> 
> 
> :rofl2: :lol:


Don't all the cars mentioned look pretty much the same anyway?


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## mrteatime (Oct 25, 2006)

MarkF said:


> mrteatime said:
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> > > *toyota looks gay*
> ...


well the mazda and mondeo are the same car in all but badge aint they?


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

mrteatime said:


> MarkF said:
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Are they? I haven't a clue, they stopped making cars I liked in 1985


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## BlueKnight (Oct 29, 2009)

No gay cars allowed in my part of the woods! But we do find them in ditches or in heated garages under a tarp awaiting Spring.

My driveway:


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

BlueKnight said:


>


It's not a car you need :lol:


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## gaz64 (May 5, 2009)

If ever you make a double post delete the first and keep them wondering


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## gaz64 (May 5, 2009)

Vauxhall signum don't argue you know it makes (no)sense


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## carryondentist (Aug 5, 2009)

Skoda Octavia VRS Estate


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## brgkster (Jul 14, 2009)

how about a w201, cheap as chips, they run forever, and they are bomb proof, i have one over two years, bar for a set of tyres and a home service it has cost me zilch.


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

gaz64 said:


> Vauxhall signum don't argue you know it makes (no)sense


I had a Signum for about 3 months, between cars, when you come to sell it nobody knows what it is, I owned it and I didn't know what it was. :huh: What is it? Why was it made? Only worth buying if it is dirt cheap because when you sell it it wil be sold dirt cheap................


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## Johnny M (Feb 16, 2007)

Alfa-Romeo 159 Sportwagon 2.4 JTDM, but you'll need patience finding a good dealer.


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

Johnny M said:


> Alfa-Romeo 159 Sportwagon 2.4 JTDM, but you'll need patience finding a good dealer.


:thumbsup: Won't have trouble finding that in the supermarket car park.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Despite my liking for heavier metal as a daily up and down the road motor you can't fall off with a Mondeo. Cheap to buy & run and a dealer on every corner.


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

BondandBigM said:


> Despite my liking for heavier metal as a daily up and down the road motor you can't fall off with a Mondeo. Cheap to buy & run and a dealer on every corner.


We have three Mk2's for deliveries with between 120k and nearly 200k, 1.8 and 2.0 petrol, (much cheaper than diesels) and nothing has ever gone wrong or stopped working. They are indestructible with regular oil changes. They are a bit dreary, well 1.8's and 2.0's are, but they rack up huge mileages cheaply and the interiors stand up well to abuse. The most amazing thing is, you can get in a 150K+ Mondeo and it feels rock solid, not a rattle. If I was using my own money then I'd get a Mondeo, company's money, then anything else.


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## mrteatime (Oct 25, 2006)

gaz64 said:


> If ever you make a double post delete the first and keep them wondering


ah....but i read what your post said!!!!!


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## mrteatime (Oct 25, 2006)

MarkF said:


> Johnny M said:
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> > Alfa-Romeo 159 Sportwagon 2.4 JTDM, but you'll need patience finding a good dealer.
> ...


yep.......it'll be the one with the oil puddle underneath it


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## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

its a hard choice I'm till 24 want some thing that drives well looks cool and can chuck crap in the back IMHO the only 4cars that do that to a point are merc c class but the 710 gets sick inside it and the finish is plasticy. the bmw 3 series but I hate the dash style and I think overly priced. Hav'nt sat inside the mazda 6 yet but it looks mean. and the mondeo which has rave reviews. oh and the alfa sportwagon. but I need my car for work not for sitting on the hard sholder although alfa's are deffo better then they where though














































the alfa is the only one thats truly unique but I'm feeling more drawn to the mondeo


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## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

oh and the biggest reason to turn down a toyota is because I dont want to see my old car used as a taxi once its old on :thumbsdown: imagine being picked up from the pub thinking is this my car


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

Is it your own money or company that is to be spent?

If it's your own buy the Ford. My pal bought a top of the range Ghia (2.2 Titanium X or whatever it's called) for Â£15k, brand new, this year from a Ford main dealer.

If it's company money then the Alfa is beautiful and makes the others look very bland indeed.


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## Parabola (Aug 1, 2007)

Get a Caterham if you can find one with plenty of space and a diesel


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## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

Skoda Octavia or Citroen C5


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## PhilM (Nov 5, 2004)

Has to be the Alfa for me, I use to have a 156 a few years ago, poorly made but a great car to drive... although I have heard that they are put togther a lot better these days


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

Griff said:


> Skoda Octavia or Citroen C5


He's 24! The C5 looks like 2 old blokes cars (different ones) welded together.


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## PhilM (Nov 5, 2004)

MarkF said:


> Griff said:
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> > Skoda Octavia or Citroen C5
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It's also French


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

yeah I'd suggest Honda Accord but you need to be 60 and wear a cloth cap h34r:

You'll not beat a Mundaneoh  go for the alfa :thumbsup: In 30 years time you'll still be saying "why didn't I get the Alfa?"


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## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

it will be a company car purchase but its a family business


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

spankone said:


> it will be a company car purchase but its a family business


Transit Van in that case, the new ones are even better than a Mondeo and cheap company car tax


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## josep (Dec 23, 2008)

Got to be the Alfa 159 TI. The 2.4 can be remapped to 250bhp.


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## seikology (Dec 4, 2006)

mazda 6 innit.


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## Alexm (Jul 30, 2009)

honda accord estate looks quite nice. obv gunna be very reliable being a honda aswel.


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## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

have you seen the face lifted acord its shocking :groan:


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## jaslfc5 (Jan 2, 2007)

im hoping to replace my passat estate in the new year ,even though its a bombproof fast workhorse its seen better days.

with my dog an estate is essential although my ideal purchase would be a t5 vw camper van its not the most prctical so ive narrowed it down to 2 maybe 3 .

im done with vw for a while now reliability and mild performance has got a bit boring.lets face it there are no good looking estate cars ,yes the alfa looks good but it will break down on you too often and you will be sat on the side of the road looking at a good looking italian heavily depreciating pile of good looking junk.

for me it comes down to 3.the mondeo estate new shape ones are very good cars looks like every other estate on the road but vfm is all there.the jag estate i recently test drove a 3.0 sport estate and equipment and performance was excellent and the thing that made me smile was its a jag i can chuck my dog in the back of brilliant.

the main one for me though is the honda accord 2.4,, performance, loadspace, reliability has it all really and can be bought for hardly any money what so ever. yeah it looks like extruded aluminium but so what .

so hopefully in the new year it will be the best one i can afford of those 3 .


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## Defender (Jan 27, 2009)

What about an Audi A4 Avant?, and no I don't have one!

From your list I'd go for the Monedo, I had a '98 2.0LX hatch, got over 40mpg on a trip to Scotland.

A mate of mine has a late 2.2 estate version of the last model and loves it, much better than the X-type he had before.

The X-type was a company car and the Mondeo is his own, it's cheaper to service than his wife's Golf which does far fewer miles.

With the Alfa you'd always have that nagging doubt about it?

Best regards,

Defender :astro:.


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## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

A3 Sportback, or is that too small?


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## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

Robert said:


> A3 Sportback, or is that too small?


tis no bigger than my golf.

have test drove the a4 audi and hate thefact that every thing is an option :thumbsdown: you get nothing standard the 2.2 tdi mondeo seems great vfm test driving one tomorrow :to_become_senile:

http://www.topgear.com/uk/ford/mondeo


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## Defender (Jan 27, 2009)

have test drove the a4 audi and hate thefact that every thing is an option :thumbsdown: you get nothing standard


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## BGM (Jan 21, 2009)

MG ZT-T

or the 75 version if you wear cardigans!!!

Based on the E39 BMW 5 Series...... a lot of car for your money!


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

BGM said:


> MG ZT-T
> 
> or the 75 version if you wear cardigans!!!
> 
> Based on the E39 BMW 5 Series...... a lot of car for your money!


Yep but try finding a dealer in the Czech Republic when the fuel pump packs in :lol:


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## dombox40 (Oct 20, 2008)

PhilM said:


> MarkF said:
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> > Griff said:
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Nothing wrong with French cars I had a peugeot 406 2LT Exectitive petrol Turbo for 10yrs and never spent a penny on it bar tyres and exhaust and did 120.000 miles in it just changed it for a new 2.0LT 407 6 speed Deisel that returns 60 mpg on motorway and gives a combined 50mpg and it,s got 140 horses it,s quicker than the old petrol turbo


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## BGM (Jan 21, 2009)

BondandBigM said:


> BGM said:
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> > MG ZT-T
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Fuel pumps are generic on a lot of cars...


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## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

mrteatime said:


> MarkF said:
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> > Johnny M said:
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 :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


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## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

dombox40 said:


> PhilM said:
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> > MarkF said:
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Aha, so YOU got the good one!  :rofl2:


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## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

well I test drove it today nice car smooth etc and I think as a package its great even the future 710 likes it


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## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

its this time of year when I'm snowed in down rural roads taht I think should I get a baby 4x4 instead so the 2 weeks of the year that it snows I'll still be able to get to the pub. what do you think to the baby freelander.

I had a vauxhall insignia last week for 3 days nice car indeed


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

> what do you think to the baby freelander.


Great for 2 weeks of the year..... 

Just stockpile some tinnies, or maybe build a man-shed to retreat to in the snowy conditions....


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## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

Freelander is a great car. I had a 57 plate diesel for two years and it was faultless. Just changed it for a rwd 5 series auto just before the snow came. :thumbsdown:


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Don't buy a 911 either, outside my house the road has a heavy camber and it's just sheet ice at the moment. I've just watched Mr 2wd 09 Porker struggle to pull away from the side of the road, thought for a minute I was going to go out out and sit on his whale tail to give him a bit of a hand to get going. I've already had to sit on the bonnet of a Mondeo as the guy got stuck doing a three point turn.

In this weather and on what is basically ice I don't think it matters what you have or how many wheels are driving :lol:


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## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

BondandBigM said:


> In this weather and on what is basically ice I don't think it matters what you have or how many wheels are driving :lol:


That is sooooo true. People forget that 4x4s are better getting going in the snow and ice, but when it comes to stopping they are the same as any other 4 wheeled vehicle......2-3 tons of pre-formed twisted metal 

I just hope the 710 listened to me this morning, she took the Lexus 4x4 to work along the icey lanes to Maldon......just waiting for the call now 







:black eye:


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## TomGW (Mar 29, 2008)

Given your initial criteria, it would be an A4 Avant for me - I have a 2007 170bhp TDi which I rate very highly. This is my 5th Audi so obviously I like them.


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## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

test drove the skoda yeti and land rover freelander... and well, lets say they aint for me. I'm adding 2 extra things to my must have list 4 wheel drive and a nice diesel engine which narrows the list a lot.

i've got a budget of 25k and the golf as p/x so that can get me a lot of car so might as well get a decent speced a4 avant sline quattro


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## JTW (Jun 14, 2007)

I have a Subaru outback, my second, it's petrol (2.5litre) though they do a diesel now. This is a brilliant car especially in this weather and always a pleasure to drive. Highly recommended and if you fancy a used one there are some bargains around

Ian


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## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

the turbo barge is on its way



















found a great deal of a ford so I'll have one of these in the next few weeks

2.2tdci titanium x sport with nav keyless entry etc etc :man_in_love:


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## yddraig (Jan 4, 2010)

spankone said:


> the turbo barge is on its way
> 
> found a great deal of a ford so I'll have one of these in the next few weeks
> 
> 2.2tdci titanium x sport with nav keyless entry etc etc :man_in_love:


Can't do better than a Mondeo if you're doing the mileage, good cars, well made and drives well. You can also pay a decent price compared to other makes and still get soooo many toys. :thumbsup:


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## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

yddraig said:


> spankone said:
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> > the turbo barge is on its way
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Its true, he speaketh the truth........but then I would say that!


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

Never bored with a Ford


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## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

it is a bargin narge compard to other motors... I'm getting sat nav cruise control with that fancy radar braking system. keyless entry etc etc heated seats etc


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## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

spankone said:


> I'm getting sat nav cruise control with that fancy radar braking system


My current car has that - haven't had the nerve to try it yet. Let us know if it works, will you?


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## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

Robert said:


> spankone said:
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I'll try it out in your car lol


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