The car thread 2.

[Colin]

I pretty much do 95% of my driving in an old Saab estate mate, with something special for the weekends. Which to be fair it is one of the best cars I've ever had. Man maths says it makes sense.

[gambit6613]

I am selling my Jaguar XF as i need something more practicle and also suitable for our new dog. Love the XF to bits, best car i have ever owned but for its size its not always the most practical i.e for some strange reason the rear seats dont fold down, which i didnt realise until after i brought it. Also the ISOfix anchor points in the seats are a bloody nightmare to get too, why, oh why they are fitted to be the most irratating things to get to.

Im looking to spend around ?25-?28k and needs to be 2-3 years old. Quite like the look of the Range Rover Evoque but not sure if the boot is decent size. Anyone got any recommendations for a decent SUV/estate?

[charlesr]

My parent in laws looked at the Evoque but then got a Discovery instead because of the compromised boot on the Evoque.

[gambit6613]

Yeah that was my concern, I've not physically seen one at a dealer yet but have seen a couple today in the car park and the boot doesn't look that big. Also as nice as the Jag is, considering the amount it cost new, there are some really cheap touches to it, i wonder if Land Rover/Range Rover would be any better in terms of quality. Im assuming they interchange parts between each other.

[CMcK]

On that budget you could get a new Passat or Superb estate. Both have loads of space inside and capacious boots. MQB chassis is refined and handles tidily. My good lady runs about in the current Passat and I'm very impressed with it. I would have preferred a petrol engine but we didn't have that choice as they didn't sell petrol variants over here at the time.

[QualityChimp]

As for SUVs, I think we've got it down to \toyota Rav4, Hyundai iX35 and Kia Sportage, the Kia being my favourite.
It's got a bigger boot than the Hyundai and more rear legroom than the Toyota, plus there's that 7 year warranty.

I just wanted to say thanks for the suggestions, chaps.
We're going for a Kia Sportage. It's 2013, well under-budget but with good mileage and they're giving us five years of warranty on it. It's the 3 version so has all the goodies like sat-nav and rear parking sensors and camera.

I'm quite excited about getting it now!

They're trying to sell us gap insurance (which we don't need) and paint protection, which I'm unsure about. If it's as good as they say (resprays, seat repair etc.) it'd be great, but I've a feeling it's a coat of wax crudely applied by the work experience lad. Anyone got any feedback on this?

[charlesr]

It should come waxed if they valet it before sale.
This is an extra coating of "something". I was advised against it by someone who knows stuff.
My dad has had it on 2 cars - he said it was great on one and useless on the other....

Spill some water on the bonnet of the car - if it's well waxed, it should roll right off leaving no sign, or some "balls" of water.
Then just clay and rewax (either yourself or pay someone 150) each Summer.

[gambit6613]

Went and looked round a few car dealerships this morning. I first went to BMW and looked at the BMW 3 series GT as it appears to have a huge boot. Nice car but something about it just didnt click. Left to think it over but on the off-chance and without any idea what i would find i went into Mercedes and to my surprise i saw a really nice 2014 CLS Shooting Brake, and it just looked the buisness.

Not even somehting that came on my radar, granted its the 220CDi so not brilliant performance but its great on the MPG and tax. Its black and is the AMG trim so nice bodykit and big AMG alloys, it looks just stunning, and i just love all the LED lights front and back. Also helps the car is packed with gadets. Going to speak to the missus tonight and get her opionion. Cant quite believe im at the age where im buying an estate car lol.

[charlesr]

Estate cars are way cool. You have to have one at some point.

[charlesr]

Official STi black underspoiler. Yay or nay? https://www.japanparts.com/parts/detail/13846

Looks like this: http://v70r.com/forums/topic/37057-f...er-xt-to-v70r/

What about rally mudflaps too? Might help with the amount of crud being thrown up the side. I had some smaller Prodrive flaps on the Impreza and they worked very well.

[Brad]

Big mudflaps ftw. I have rally armour on my 86, makes it look the business I reckon. Not everyone's cup of tea though.

[charlesr]

Have you already put up pics with the flaps? If not, let's see it.

[Colin]

<--- Tries not to snigger at Charles asking Brad to show him his flaps. Fails.

[charlesr]

[gunrock]

My parent in laws looked at the Evoque but then got a Discovery instead because of the compromised boot on the Evoque.

Test drove a Discovery Sport 2.2 TDI last week, going back for a test of the current 2.0 TDI Jaguar engine version today. Big difference from my Ford Galaxy.