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Roomy Saloon not as dull as a Passat? (looking for options from A4)


Waylander
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Ours are all doing mid 40's with mostly town driving so not sure why yours was so low?

You do realise that it's lead foot Larry that you are asking that question to. The only person on the planet to consistently get a 120d to do 30 something mpg as an average. :coffe: :grin:

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some great info there - in particular useful to know about the Insignia as they look big driving around and I was going to check that too. Need to be comfortable for 3 as 1 seat will be taken up soonish by car seat.

Thought long and hard too and whilst I might like something like the Lexus GS it seems silly to chase something 5 years old which might be expensive to maintain (ditto Jag) so may well wait til I can afford a "nearly new".... :-(

So I seem to have come full circle a little bit to S80, Passat CC (2 year old), 520D, A6 which all seem to be within the same £11-13k range for "up to 5 years old, upto 60k" bracket....

Did have a quick look at the XC90 too; lucky she likes a Galaxy too as they seem to cheaper! But that will have to wait: my (interim) car, boiler/roof/loft and THEN she can decide if new kitchen or newer car are more priority to her....although by then child #2 will be knocking on independent school fees territory....all fantastic to look forward to of course, but (yes I am rambling now so will stop!)

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If you like the Lexus it'll be a good shout, they never break so you'll never need to spend any money on it other than servicing.

I don't think I can remember ever seeing a Lexus on the side of the road with hazards flashing. Toyota, yes, Lexus no. Not even the original IS200 (the best ones :grin:)

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I don't think I can remember ever seeing a Lexus on the side of the road with hazards flashing. Toyota, yes, Lexus no. Not even the original IS200 (the best ones :grin:)

Depends where the Toyota was built, and i'm serious here, UK built cars such as the Avensis are not great (but probably not much worse than anything else), and Japanese built cars such as the Prius are utterly dependable.

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One thing I will say in general on UK built Japanese cars - I'm really impressed with the fit and finish on both the parents' Honda Jazz and my sister's Nissan Juke.

Plenty of GS300s out there in budget. One thing is they're a popular private purchase among older folk who don't go anywhere, so lots of clean low milers. Don't bother with the GS450h - it has a smaller boot than a 1 series, due to the batteries.

Only downsides would be sub 30mpg and not particularly cheap servicing. But as said already, they simply don't break.

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Back in the early 2000s my uncle had an Avensis as a company car, he was doing huge mileage up and down the M1 daily from Nottingham to Northampton / MK, approx 100k in 3.5 years, I seem to recall it ate front suspension!

Replaced by a 320d - much better!

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If you like the Lexus it'll be a good shout, they never break so you'll never need to spend any money on it other than servicing.

My only frame of reference is a friend who bought an 09 plate Hybrid SUV and he has had to spend a few k on it on 2 occasions....

Re the 450H - I agree; the Lexus dealership is next door to the VW one so on our first (and so far only) family scouting mission we saw the GS300 and GS450 - the boot in the latter is tiny. Need a good size boot.

GS300 seems to be a thirsty car though?

Does this car HAVE to be diesel Mr Waylander?

How many miles do you do each year? (Sorry if you mentioned it before). Anything less than 18K and you might as well get a petrol jobbie! So a whole new load of options and debate for us to 'guide' you with. :grin:

I have dine 122k in my A4 in 9 years so I expect the mileage to be similar. Doesn't have to be a diesel I agree; I do 50miles a day on commute (up and down the M60); so average is 13.5k a year

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The Lexus is the kind of car that encourages you to waft around in cruise mode rather than put your foot down. (I think that's a nice way of saying it's crap to drive, but no matter... :uhoh: ).

I reckon you'd average 28-30mpg on that commute in a GS300. Should get 35mpg on a run. You're realistically only going to get 35-40mpg in a similar age/size diesel.

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Saw one on the M25 with a breakdown truck last Saturday

Wow, didn't know the AA used Luxus to rescue their broken down breakdown trucks, makes sense though! :grin:

Re the problems with the hybrid Lexus, that amazes me to be honest, I might suggest that perhaps the car had previously been in a very bad accident and poorly repaired or something, but it would only be speculation.

Mentioned in another thread that I know of several Lexi with well over 400k on them, and one that's well in excess of 600k now!

I personally find them very nice to drive, not exciting, but still nice.

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I have dine 122k in my A4 in 9 years so I expect the mileage to be similar. Doesn't have to be a diesel I agree; I do 50miles a day on commute (up and down the M60); so average is 13.5k a year

Oh. That opens a whole new ball game - maybe.

How much for an XF 3.0 petrol? With modern petrol engines, you'll easily get 30-35 from a 3.0 on the motorway. Quite possibly, lower running costs too!

Also, the A6 3.2 quattro, BMW 530i. All better value on the used market now, than the diesel equivalent.

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50 miles a day in a quattro A6 3.2?! No thanks! Insanely cheap to buy, Gizze bought one years ago for next to no money as it was stuck at an Audi dealer. But not economical for 250 miles a week commuting - that's a rapidly approaching a tank a week!

(still think the C6 4.2 quattro is the stealthiest Audi ever made as mentioned previously. Rare as those Golf R Cabrios Shao Khan loves though!)

Back in the real world, the best economy I've personally achieved in the A3 was going up your way actually - Bedford, A421, Black Cat, A1, Stamford, Oakham, was shitting with rain and I was taking it easy driving my parents, 54 mpg on the DIS. Precisely double what I'd get in my S4 on a steady long distance run if I'm smooth (27)

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50 miles a day in a quattro A6 3.2?! No thanks! Insanely cheap to buy, Gizze bought one years ago for next to no money as it was stuck at an Audi dealer. But not economical for 250 miles a week commuting - that's a rapidly approaching a tank a week!

(still think the C6 4.2 quattro is the stealthiest Audi ever made as mentioned previously. Rare as those Golf R Cabrios Shao Khan loves though!)

Back in the real world, the best economy I've personally achieved in the A3 was going up your way actually - Bedford, A421, Black Cat, A1, Stamford, Oakham, was shitting with rain and I was taking it easy driving my parents, 54 mpg on the DIS. Precisely double what I'd get in my S4 on a steady long distance run if I'm smooth (27)

I got 35 from my old 2.7 twin turbo A6 quattro avant, fully loaded with family and luggage on A & B roads, so 35 in a more modern petrol should be easily do-able.

Any less than my silly commute & I'd have considered a petrol A6 or A8.... ie 300 miles!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free

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Admittedly when Eldavo first mentioned an E60 I didn't know what he meant and assumed it was a Merc E-class!

I agree looks handsome.

I see no 5-series for under £13k though (up to 4 years old).

I think I have abandoned (with regret) the S80 as I just can't see a decent one in this price bracket.

And on balance I would prefer a 5-series over an A6 (bigger change from A4).

GS300 too thirsty for my blood.

I do still like the Passat CC but again spec and most importantly finding a 3 seater (in the back) not easy so not helping the cause.

Have had a dramatic (albeit small) change in circumstance in the past couple days so and thinking I might just be able to push the boat out and shoot for a 10-plate XF in the ~£16k range in a few months while the pennies build up. Not sure.....

Will pay a visit the BMW and Jag dealership tomorrow (next door to each other) with the family to have a look at both in the flesh and then revisit

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We have finally completed the family scouting mission of all the various cars and have narrowed it down.

Preferred solution is the (E60) 5-series SE (520/525/530D) 08-10 plate

The business case for the Jag XF is still being worked on but I am wondering if I might be better to get a 5-series first so I have 1 brand change wow and then change again to the Jag after that with the 2.2 and 3l engines bedding in in the interim...

Kids had great fun in the latter 2 showrooms +++

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I'm spotting a potential employment sideline in answering all of Waylander's questions in one attempt.

Personally I'd be going for a 530d M-Sport but I can see why the SE ticks your boxes.

I can tell you one thing though; I hope you enjoyed your Audi as after switching to a BMW you won't want to go back. I had to drive my colleagues A3 black edition the other week and he drove my 3-er. I was back in understeer and numb steering world and when we got back he told me he took it all back and could see why drivers chose BMWs.

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Have to say that BMW have really impressed me recently. I really didn't like the E8x 1-series and the E9x 3-series - but the current F2x and F3x ranges are massive improvements.

The E60 has aged really well - but I'm still not all that convinced by the cabin in SE trim. (We had a couple of 520SEs in the fleet when I worked for Tchibo).

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