I used to be an Octavia fan, but after being in other cars I realised how bad the seats actually are. Haven't sat in the newest models, though. I think Volvo Estates are perennially underrated. Same kind of mileage and reliability as any other large-ish car, but way, way more useable boot space - probably the best of any non-4x4. And really comfy, and fairly affordable servicing, and not too many electrical gremlins or overcomplications (NB: I've only had experience of older ones circa 2000s). As a nice little bonus, James May actually appears at midnight in your room the first night after you buy one, pats you softly on the shoulder, and then flies away very slowly. Perks.
Got to say I am very happy with my 2011 BMW 320D ED. Fuel economy is great around town I am getting anything from 35mpg to 40mpg, which I know may not sound that good but it's the best I have had out of any car I have owned. Should also add I am getting anythinng 47mpg to 60mpg on the motorway but it depends on speed and traffic, but the best I have seen was on a long run at 50mph it hit just short of 70mpg. Insurance is fairly cheap, and road tax is only £20 per year so win win for me as it still leaves a fair few cars standing at the lights and handles quite nicely to. Maintenance wise I have not really had to spend a lot on it, other than a few sensors and suspension but that is down to the idiot who owned it before me. The only downside I have with it at the moment is the wheels, stereo system lacking bluetooth streaming and handsfree without an adaptor and also the boot not opening like for example a Mondeo but that's it, that's all I can complain about. If I was living in London though, I wouldn't be looking at anything other than an Electric vehicle though based of my experience of driving around London in the past and it basically being a car park at all times meaning fuel usage went up and economy went down hill. In terms of what Electric car though, I have no idea as I have no interest in getting one any time soon so have not looked in to them other than the usual Tesla Ludicrous videos online.
The part alcantara part leather seats in my Mk 3 look like Golf seats........ but isn't very comfortable. There's a harshness to the base if I sit on it for too long. That's within ULEZ. Be sure to buy petrol or Euro 6 diesels, or electric. Be careful with hybrids, a few odd ones like Volvo V60 PHEV diesel for example is Euro 5, so even though it's greener than a early Prius, you still need to pay ULEZ.
Spose I should mention what I actually drive - Astra 5-door. Legit really cheap and comfy. Spacious boot, good seats. Controls are nice. Internals are fine. Mechanically they're...okay,ish? Had the timing chain done recently, those go about every 35-50k and cost around £600 (there's a thread about it in the Serious forum) but otherwise they seem ok. And every mechanic knows exactly what he's doing without even looking, because they're so common, as with Golfs, Focuses and Fiestas. And if you enjoy being incognito on the road for whatever reason (social anxiety, criminal nightlife) you can't do better. I pass three or four cars identical to mine every day on my commute. It's the spam of cars.
Timing chains are supposed to be the life of the engine, not 25-40k, usual Vauxhall issue of poorly designed oilways and relying on a very thin feed to pressurise the tensioner as the spring is useless. I'm sure there was a recall for these?
Sounds about right. It does, always has, and always probably will sound rattly AF once you know which bit of the engine noise to listen out for, and the chains are pretty skinny and crap (check out the part on ebay, it's a garbage design). In the words of my mechanic, "it's basically a bike chain, they really cut the corner".
That's bobbin's. I only buy motors with chains now, my MG went to 200k mile's before I retired it, my 8g civic was at 150k before it was written off, anything less than 200,000 miles is taking the wee wee.
In that case, I retract my words of praise for the Astra, and will probably throw a molotov at mine the next time it snaps. So...in about a week, probably.
If you want affordable comfort, consider a Renault. Don't get me wrong - I've never met a French car that didn't develop an irritating electrical glitch/gremlin at some point I'm an unrepentant die hard VAG fanboy but even I'll admit Renaults are super comfy places to sit.
I've had four Citroëns on hydropnuematic suspension and nothing rides better short of super-expensive limos.
Just paid £11k for a B8 Passat Estate - super comfy, loads of space and does 45mpg for my up hill and down commute to work - has stop/start and euro VI compliance for diseasel engines - might be too large for London though even with front and rear parking sensors and auto emergency braking, but recommended as a lovely place to be, theres a reason golfs/passats are default cars for certain use cases and that is clearly thought out specs, interior design etc. Little more money than Seat/Skoda which share some parts but are generally older gen VW stuff.
