best estate for 3-5 grand?????

[adrian_5071472]

what is the best estate i can get for up to about £5000?Iwant a diesel,so confused as there are a lot of good looking ones.

I like the passat estate 130 version,but are the clutches weak?

mondeo estate,heard a lot about blowing turbos?,407 heard a lot on these being no good,how about a V70?vectra estate?Audi A6 or A4?One i really like look of is a vw touran.

has to be reliable,as last 4 cars i have had have been pigs.

what would you go for?i suppose all cars have their faults

 

[GrahamSouthBrum]

I would have thought that your starting point would be to find out the weights of the estates & see if they are a towing match for your caravan

My preference would be Volvo having towed with 740 940 850 and V70 before getting a 4x4

If I could afford it XC90 would be top of my list

 

[adrian_5071472]

weight isnt a problem,most i will be towing is 1200kg,which all will do easily,i need reliability more than anything

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

adrian, volvo v70, audi and vw are really reliable. all cars have faults but your not buying brand new so most faults would have been ironed out by now.

jo

 

[Guest]

Vectra is reliable,comfortable and diesel engines are ok and will tow up to 1500 (my own experience) wihtout a problem

 

[nigel_5120916]

hi i own 2003 saab 95 estate 30tdi great cars powerful,very fast and can get 27 towing abbey 417 weight 1447k.

Owned car 4 years and never had a problem.have a look around get a 54 plate for around

 

[WilliamLX]

Get a Mondeo! Great car and I have owned them for years and am not aware of any particular turbo problem. Like many diesels the dual mass fly wheel in the clutch can be a problem - avoid reversing with a caravan). The Mondeo will be better value, and better to drive than the V70, much much better than the Passat or Vectra. A4 is too small for caravaning and the A6 would be too old for the money you mention.

 

[dan1]

I disagree with William, we towed with an A4 Avant 2.5TDI Quattro which was a brilliant tow car. We still have the car but also now have a Range Rover.

The A4 gives 40+ MPG solo and 25-26 towing.

 

[WilliamLX]

Dan I didn't say that the A4 was a bad car, but it's low kerb weight is restrictive as to what caravan you could tow. Even the bigger Mondeo leaves you with not all that much choice. For today's caravans the truth is you need a large 4x4 if you want to have a decent choice of vans.

 

[Lutz]

A large 4x4 is not necessary for the average family size caravan. It may be preferable for larger models, but certainly not vital. The decision whether to exceed the 85% weight ratio recommendation is one that everyone must take themselves, after careful consideration of the pros and cons.