Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

^^Yeah, it was interesting experiencing the emotions of the moment when shaking hands with the chap - I've put an enormous amount of time and work into that car.

^^The Volvo is 230 bhp/ton, and I would normally agree.

Estate #2 is meant to be more about waft than wham, that said.

I'd definitely have a 5 series estate. Irritatingly they don't import the bloody things here - I've had a go in a 2012 550i and the engine is mightily impressive. Would make a great estate car.
Don't know about the maintenance being cheaper though. We manage to spend around USD2.5k a year on a 05 330 and that's an old tractor by comparison.

Waft without wham is chugging.

Modern cars are all so heavy though- would need 500 bhp to hit your target

In a world where the W212 AMG E63 estate and the Jaguar XFR Sportbrake exist there's one serious flaw with the 545i. If you have to put up with those 5 series looks you'll always wish you had bought a V10 M5.

M5 - Considered it, spoke to two friends who'd both had one, dismissed it utterly.

XFR - no one ever bought one, ever. They're simply not available second hand.

E63 - on the fence, same friend who had the M5 had one of these, said it was the only car that's ever truly scared him when the rear tyres broke traction at ~70 on the motorway, in the dry, in a straight line.

That sounds like a recommendation to me!

Where is your moggy man based? I am looking to speak to someone about the bodywork for the racer. My mg man is one of the best, but you pay for it.

Any other recommendations appreciated too

That sounds like a recommendation to me!

He said it was totally unexpected, and that it almost put him in the barrier.

Bugger bhp, talk to me about torque.

Out of the Legacys / Outbacks I've driven, the 6 cylinder cars were by far the nicest.

The 4 pots tend to drink oil. Not necessarily a problem but not for those who check once a year.

They hold the road well.
Not the most comfortable interior ever but good enough.
Not great on MPG.
That's about what I remember.

E63 must have had the DSC switched off :D

The suby is massively popular down here in aus. They certainly survive well enough. Compared the lotus almost anything will feel slow and too refined! At least you'll have the boxer thrum.
A lot of people have had to rebuild engines as they suffer from clogging and oil issues. Regular oil and filter is a must. Although, depending on engine code you may be ok as I think the WRX was ok. Ej45 or something. They get swapped in all the time.

The liberty/legacy are very practical, have more character than some others and a built well enough even if things like seats and plastics can be a hard.

Just down the road from me in Witchford, Cambridgeshire. Very convenient for me, but quite out of the way for anyone from London's famous London. He's very good, and his hourly rates are actually very reasonable, but he is very Minor-centric (his business is called Minor Services) and he's got an epic waiting list. Took 3 years before we got our slot.

Meh. Torque is irrelevant. Give me a long enough lever and I'll generate more torque than any car engine out there. Torque is only useful when it's combined with rpms, and torque*rpm is power.

A nice chunky power curve (which people tend to confuse with torque) is a nice thing, but torque on its own is pointless unless you don't have a gearbox. If you do have a gearbox, you can turn power into torque any time you like.

I took the Volvo to a main dealer for the first time ever today - Volvo Croydon.

Dropped it off as it was late in the day, picking it up in a few days.

This was a shock - I dropped it off saying "there's a vibration from the rear brakes during very light braking, I think either a piston isn't fully extending or the pads need changing", chap said "we charge £151 to diagnose the fault before we do any work".

Off to the finest of starts I agreed to leave the car there, whilst the chap organised things we had a chat about the car - I said I was a little frustrated by no longer being able to get certain parts, he said that Volvo Heritage was the source of all parts for rare and old cars like the 850 these days.

Long story short I've ordered and paid for some parts that I'd previously been told were NLA (window seals), lets see if they turn up.

I also asked them to fit the upgraded boot trim retaining kit, as apparently it's a marked improvement on the original version in terms of reducing any squeaks and rattles.

Hopefully I'll collect it with absolutely every little niggle fixed after the bank holiday weekend.

The guy backed out.

Needing some time to think means, I can't afford or justify it. #timewaster

Yeah, he's not been in touch today.

Anyway, I've committed to another bout of maintenance now. The car is only going to get rarer, and the condition better.

Be interesting to see what it's worth this time next year, if Brexit doesn't ruin us all.

Surely the spending curve has reached the Apex and you're ok for another 100,000 trouble free miles? Presumably all these new parts will last well?

Speaking of cars lifetimes... Apparently VAG believe 5 years/100,000 klms is the lifetime of their products. Been told my A3 needs a full engine rebuild at 70,000 klms and no, Audi won't be covering it even though it's the well known oil/Piston ring issue. I can fight it and probably get them to pay but it is a long shot as I'm second owner and previous owner skipped one official service. It's that or be a douche and sell the car on with a known problem. Grrr, should bought the Megane gt220 I wanted.

Having just become a dad, I'm looking for an estate that's for the family, but also quick.

This model seems to only be available here, but thoughts on the Subaru Levorg 2.0 STi?...

Given that it's over 200bhp and a (relatively reliable) Japanese car (parts available readily, etc.), seems a decent choice.

https://www.wheelsmag.com.au/news/1705/sti-badge-smaller-turbo-option-to-swell-subaru-levorg-range-in-july

Ha, good luck putting your foot down with a baby in the car. Hooning is the last thing on your mind!

That said If you can put up with slightly older architecture a Renault Megane gt220 wagon is great value. Are you in aus? There's a few here with tiny kilometers for very little cash and factory warranty left over.