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

A4 and octavia are smaller platform car (a3/vw caddy van platform) than a passat (a6/superb platform) hence bigger in many ways.

3 series is generally about same as a4 and lexis 200 series type cars. Smaller than you think and not the practical car many think they are.

For practical Ness and not scary running costs get an accord or a mondeo. IF you can find any for sale, neither have sold anything like the numbers of tge Germans abd French cars recently, accord wagons are almost "rare" and higher spec mondeo (2.2 in graphite or titanium x) are equally hard to come by but drive quite rewardingly and have many gadget standard.

If you want German, get a superb, unless you get into current generation passat 2015 onwards and plummet value way worse than previous generations, which is odd). The older (2010/15) superb wagon I think is prob the best of those.

2008 on volvo v70 are ok so long as it has a volvo engine in it (any 5 cylinder petrol or diesel). I used to saw maybe avoid the 1.6 and 2.0 diesel ford units, but now i saw defo avoid, unless they have got way less than 50k on. Know too many people that have fallen fowl of this engine made of cheese.