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

I’m trying laying on of hands to make the stereo better, but we may need an exorcism.

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5 series estate has been a dream car for years.
I hate clthe thought of owning a car though and it would be sat around doing nothing most of the time.

In other news I've seen an Alfa drop top 2 seater thing and more nice a Renault 5 all done up in champion sport livery and looking racy.

I’m looking at a 328i touring tomorrow. Are the 4 banger turbos any good? Know bugger all about them. I’d like the 5 series better but they haven’t sold them here since 2010. Doh.

The engines are super smooth but have zero torque low down and the turbo lag is a bit of a problem. This means they feel underpowered in comparison to the 30d variants of the same vehicle.

Having said that, they have fairly decent economy and rev out okay.

Did you not get any bigger petrol tourings out there?

Not since 2010 it seems! There are bugger all estate cars offered in the US. We were looking at Subaru but it seems almost everybody opts for the slug 2.5lt version, all the 3.6rs fetch silly money secondhand.

I mean, they're not bad cars and at it'll shift faster than most of the shitbox SUVs and trucks rolling around in the US but it's definitely not a characterful engine like the 6's BMW are famous for.

Surely there are a few Mercedes c / e class wagons kicking around too? That era are basically 99% plastic but they had bigger engines...

Very few! Loads of R class wagons and they look like something you take your last journey in. Despite the agreeable bombast of some of the powertrains, I don't think I could stomach a Mercedes. I might chip away at the Mrs and see if she'll put up with a bigger 4 door, maybe a 535i or something.

Test drive the 328i first - it might be fine for what you want.

At least you've got the bikes if you want something to rustle your jimmies...

Had an E93 320D M-Sport.

It was the worst car in the world. Engine shat itself at c.125,000km. Roof mechanism shat itself. Ate tyres. Gearbox shat itself.

Every tow truck that ever collected it was met with "4-cyl diesels are all the same these days and they're all shit, it's all we recover anymore"...

Long story short just buy a really well maintained older 6-cyl...

Edit: Just noticed you're after a petrol, can't comment on them.

Yeah, no point buying diesel cars in the land of Gasoline. An estate would be ideal but there are so few here that they sell for a premium. I bridle a bit at the idea of paying 535i prices for a 328i Wagon. ..sod all choice too.

What to do? Need a new family wagon asap, we've ditched the idea of a Transporter for potentially a Touran. That's making us think of an S-Max as well though. My heart maybe wants a BMW touring thing but the numbers confuse me.

We've had all 3 previously but have always bought at around the 2 grand mark and we've (not me) wrecked them one way or another. We're really pushing the boat out now though and can stretch to around five and a half. Any thoughts or offers gratefully received.

Thinking manual, petrol, leather seats.

Obligatory Volvo suggestion

I have a pending re-location to NZ on the cards, So i have been doing some antipodean car window shopping.

I had considered a Holden or Ford fast Ute (because V8 / Barra / MCM), but also the want for something Japanese and turbo is real.

5.5k should get you an E61 LCI (facelift of previous gen) 5-series touring. 530i is the sweet spot for power/economy but even the lower power models will shift, just don’t expect low-down torque. Manual is rarer than auto but leather and lots of toys are common.

So Mondeo ;)

It’s not exactly a Mustang

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Hertz American Muscle. Accept no substitute....

The time has arrived at the tender age of 32 for me to get a driving license. I am taking the lessons at the moment and have scheduled a test (so pray for me). I will be needing a car in near future.

This is the criteria:
don't know much about cars
don't care about cars
want to spend as little as possible overall
petrol and be able to pass ULEZ
will need to get TPFT with a black box in the first year of insurance
drive parking in zone 3 SE London
should have 5 doors and ability to take a child seat, bikes on roof or at the back and ideally a wider rear seating area

What are my options pls?

uber.

BRM's Golf?

Edit: might not be ideal from insurance point of view.

is he selling? Why not ideal from insurance? is it pricey to insure? Sorry but I am going to ask a lot of n00b questions like these .. I can offer centre pull rim brake advice in return and some crab apples.

It’s a fast one- first year insurance likely to be punitive or unavailable.

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/14875703/

As Dammit says, GTi likely to be costly to insure with zero NCB.

Something like this: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F223636679288

More: https://www.parkers.co.uk/skoda/fabia/hatchback-2007/12-tsi-(105bhp)-se-5d/specs/

Fuel consumption: 53 mpg
Insurance group: 13
Annual road tax: £125