Motors New wifey-mobile, practical + entertaining options?

The Giblets would no doubt bring a smile in tow with an element of practicality, but a bit spendy. I'd like to see the cost go downwards if it goes anywhere. In other news I'll owe a gardener £16k once some work is finished in a few weeks as well, which is probably curbing my enthusiasm to spend somewhat.

Based on initial feedback, the short(er) list looks like: Polestar, CLA Wagon, GLA, Macan (but IMO that's too spendy anyway), 4er GC, 3er Wagon, RR Evoque (reserving the right to instantly veto this), Disco Sport.

I never considered the Land Rovers before, as they're hardly entertaining, but we'll see how we go. I'm old enough to be relatively pragmatic and sensible about these things, but not yet old enough to have a mid life crisis, so boring is a real possibility :/

Discussed the AWD conundrum and think it's basically mandatory - much of her commute is paved with wet leaves for 4 months of the year and frozen wet leaves for another month, so she's frequently sideways at the moment, not even in spirited driving, just pulling out of side streets. It would present the added bonus of one of us being able to leave our drive when there's snow on the ground as well.

 

That's what a set of winter tyres are for, you don't need snow to fully appreciate the benefit of them, the weather now is perfect for the softer compound with extra sipes to give you much needed grip in lower temps and great water dispersal.

much cheaper than a 4x4, though I wouldn't mind an nice Range Rover to replace my 4x4.

 

I feel the need to stick my oar in here.

A/4WD just isn't necessary in the UK unless you're a farmer or a site worker.

Any road can be navigated by being careful, and if your wife is going sideways then they're just going too fast for the road. And if you're going too fast, no amount of traction is going to save you on ice.

Stick with a 2WD option, far cheaper outlay, and far cheaper to maintain. RR, LR, Cayenne's etc are all just fashion statements for people with more money than sense.

 

I'm not a farmer or site worker but do pull a couple of tonnes frequently off the back of my 4x4 4 is better than 2 really helps you move when on loose/muddy surfaces.

The extra security afforded by 4x4 vehicles is great, on a big hill covered in wet and cold, covered in leaves I too find it a struggle to pull away clean in RWD, as you often have to give enough grunt not too stall but the weight of the car means there is slip, so can understand where he is coming from but winters solve that they find much better purchase than summer performance tyres, I can imagine that difficulty to launch is amplified in a laggy turbo diesel engine, as you'll get nothing, nothing, then 300lbs of torque bam!

 

Not really the point when you're actually using the 4x4 ability instead of using it as a Chelsea tractor.

 

Its also great for the school run, missus loves it, she can smash up and down kerbs, ignore speed bumps etc, women with children in 4x4s are a force to be reckoned with on the road, they feel indestructible, be afraid, be very afraid

 

I'm gon'a have to agree and disagree with you on this one. Best snow car I ever drove was a Citron AX it had three things going for it - short wheelbase, skinny tires, low mass - but as it has no storage space whatsoever, or safty features, or etcetera it is entirely unsuitable for Tad's needs. What it didn't have was a dif-lock, my second best snow car was a Landrover Defender - less skiddy and jittery than the AX, but if it went, it went the larger mass working against you. However, if you drifted off the edge of the road (where's the edge under 500 cm of snow?) in the AX you'd be stuck and have to dig out - shovel sand and grip-tape backed timber were a must - Defender, stick it in dif-lock and out you go.

And that's the key difference - very few 4x4's have anything as simple (and effective) as dif-locks but most these days have some kind of active dif control which will reduce your stuck-time. Oh, they'll all help a bit (some more than others) in actual driving situations and one or even two wheels loosing traction you'll be much better off in a 4x4 - again some more than others. Once you hit black ice and you've lost all traction, then yes - there's little real difference between the orientations.

Which prompts a thought - one of the old V8 Defenders? It's got the old car thing you're worried about, but there's no window motors to fail... or much of anything else

Most 4x4's are fashion statements...

If traction really is a big thing...

 

I thought I should mention that the extended warranty provided by Mercedes whilst pricey as the car got older has been completely no quibble even as our SLK hit 10 years old, dampers and all sorts replaced that I thought might get labelled wear and tear, so if a concern just keep that up outside of warranty.

 

I'm surprised the suggestion of AWD didn't cause contention earlier, actually. This isn't a thread about the benefits of AWD or otherwise, or the benefits of winter tyres or otherwise. I do not have a belief that magical AWD means I can traverse icy country lanes at 70mph on slicks.

Having spent a winter in Chicago with a 330i shod in winter footwear I more than appreciate the awesomeness of them (and driving past stranded SUVs in a convertible RWD BMW is one of the finest pleasures motoring has to offer).

I've also driven an xDrive BMW 3er in less than ideal conditions and it was far more surefooted than I expected, P-Zeroes and all. I also may have exaggerated suggesting my wife was always sideways on her commute, the main issue is getting purchase pulling off, the overflow car park (i.e. field) for the school and the barely-paved lane that is sometimes necessary to traverse on the way. Furthermore, the council doesn't bother clearing or gritting out close, and we're the wrong side of a mild gradient, which means we're currently both completely stuck if any snow settles, which is a royal PITA when perfectly clear roads are mere metres away.

Also I realise that a vehicle resembling the shape of a Defender or G-Wagen doesn't necessarily mean it has the same capabilities. The "Chelsea Tractor" form factor can actually be very practical, more than just a fashion statement.

And if none of that is convincing, just assume I'm ignorant and accept that AWD is a very strong preference

So, with that out of the way...

Did that on the 123d for a couple years, but there was a breakpoint at 5 years where either the price jumped up or the coverage jumped down, and we bailed on it. Is the Mercedes one something like that?

 

Yes it did ramp up until we also bailed out, think it went from £1300 for 3 yrs to the same for a year, we wouldn't entertain a lower level of cover, decided at that rate to pocket the dough.

Pretty sure it had recovery via Mercedes for 30yrs too, it always surprises me that the Merc is cheaper to own than my Abarth with run of the mill 1.4 turbo

 

CLS Shooting Brake? Not sure on prices but just an idea. No AWD though.

Dare I say Evoque?

edit:

didn't see that had already been floated.

Proud owner of a 6 series here - screw AWD and get slide happy!

 

Couldn't be arsed reading the whole thread, but reading your requirements the upcoming C450 AMG sprung to mind - available as 4matic and as an estate, not quite so shouty and ludicrous as the full C63, but has 367hp and very decent performance.

 

C450 would actually be perfect, shame it's likely to be 12+ months before a near-new example is available :/

We've just spent a couple hours mulling (or she was mulling and I was finding pre-owned/regd examples, showing pictures, answering questions etc).

The Evoque and Disco Sport went straight in the bin since they're all soooooo slow and fairly optionless for the budget. The Macan also got binned on the basis of cost. The GLA got dropped on the basis the CLA is roomier and better looking. The CLA wasn't dropped as such, but we just sort of forgot about it when we got to the BMWs, so it's clearly didn't make that much of an impression. She was a bit "meh" on the 3er Wagon, so I made an executive decision to drop it since "meh" isn't ideal. It started to look like 335d GT and 435d GC were pulling into a very clear joint lead, but when it came down to what's actually available within a reasonable distance and picking out some to go have a look at, there weren't really any examples with all of the options she wanted. The fact the Volvos all have everything ever specced pushed her back there.

This works fine for me, since the Volvo and the CLA were the only things on the list which would be worthy of a weekend blast - the more I think about it I really can't see myself getting fired up about stepping out of a 730d and taking a 3/435d out for a spin.

So my task for tomorrow is call up a couple of Volvo dealers - one in Blackburn to find out if there's an explanation for a white Polestar registered in March to have 9800 on the clock that's not terrifying and one in Sheffield about a delivery miles model in Smurf blue and arrange something for the weekend.

Making progress. Probably.

She made faintly sexual noises when I mentioned a 640i with a few thousand miles can be had for £40k, before snapping out of it and recalling that she was the one that mandated AWD and 4 doors

I would have absolutely had a 640d GC as my current car if I purchased with my loins instead of my head. That said now I've got the 7er, I know the right call was made.

Thanks for all of the input and feedback so far guys - even if it does seem to have come full circle.

 

Rebel* (I know...)

Just watch for the ones in that colour. I know with your budget it shouldn't really matter, but the insurance costs will be noticeably higher than a plainer coloured Polestar.

 

You know, I never did consider that once - I pulled a reg number from one of the pre-owned ones for an indicative quote, but not sure what colour it was. Good call.

 

If you have the money, any Volvo in Rebel Blue looks awesome though

 

Just been ringing around and there's a dealer in Nottingham with a smurf blue one with 7k on the clock in their network, that they're willing to drive across for me to have a look at. It's overpriced at the moment and I've been candid with them about that, so they're going to get someone with authority on those matters to call me back and we'll go from there.

The white one in Blackburn has been driven by their regional manager to meetings with corporate somewhere down south every week, hence the mileage. I'm inclined to believe them and that it's not been ragged to within an inch of it's life so I think it's still a goer.

We both actually prefer the white, with the blue coming in a close second - but either would do the trick for different reasons. Might see where these ones go before scoping out any of the ones with delivery miles - no doubt these will have had some punishment, I'd expect nothing less, but then at least there's the knowledge that neither is a lemon. I've never encountered one on any of my cars, but my have I heard horror stories (and also a S60 long-term test from a US magazine)

 

It'll be fine with that.
If you do choose a BMW, drop me a PM. we've got connections at work with a massive BMW dealership in the North West so might be able to pull a few strings to get it under your budget.

 

As long as it doesn't have a DPF (lol) and regular oil changes, the regular cold wear should be fine.

 

So the Poledancer Pornstar Volvo is definitely happening - checked out one semi-locally and it's thoroughly hilarious in every way, but the price wasn't right in the end (and she was less convinced by the black than the blue or white anyway).

Gave some pounds as a deposit to a dealer with a white one elsewhere on the basis that it's quite a trek and I can't get there for a week and a bit, but if it's as pristine as they're saying, I'll give them more pounds in exchange for said vehicle. Only 10 white ones in the UK, so hoping this a goer.

The car is nuts though - not the last word in fast, though feels a bit more potent that specs suggest, however going fast in a Volvo estate with grocery hooks and a parking ticket holder is oh so titillating, and the amount of toys in the car is just ridiculous.