leviathan
Snores like a puppy
Hello again, everybody.
Now that my old A6 has broken down again, and this time the repair costs seem to have reached half the entire car's worth, I'm fed up and want to get rid of it. After some thinking I've decided I want a sensible German estate, with an automatic and something around 150-180 horsepower to move it around (fuel costs and insurance stay reasonable this way). It will be a demonstrator or a barely used one, under a year old and under 10kkm ("Jahreswagen") - so pretty much as new, just not quite. What I haven't decided on is whether it should be a diesel or a petrol, and which one of the three it must be: an Audi, a BMW or a Mercedes.
The Audi A4 is a nice all-round car, familiar to me in many ways, and a bit on the pricey side. Quattros with DSG and better motors are out of the price range, sadly - the ones I can afford are mostly the 1.8 TFSI and 2.0 diesels with multitronic and FWD, not exactly your driver's favorite. The 2.0 TDI only comes as a 143hp version, I've test-driven it, and it does feel somewhat underpowered on the autobahn.
With the BMW, I'm currently eyeing a 320d. It has more power to offer than the Audi (170hp), has RWD and a proper automatic instead of a stupid CVT. However, the ones with low mileage hover just around my price limit. I'm also not a huge fan of the looks, or of the interior... but if it's really as good a driver's car as many say, it might still be worth it.
The last option is a Merc C-Class. Currently, I have a test drive booked for a C200 Kompressor estate. With 183 horsepower, RWD and a simple 5-speed auto, it seems almost a better offering than the BMW, and the price is actually lower than the Audis. Fuel economy would be the only downside I can see, it's only marginally better than what my 2.4 V6 turns out now, but then it does have more power.
So, any ideas? I'm really quite undecided on this, so any comments or experiences are very welcome.
Now that my old A6 has broken down again, and this time the repair costs seem to have reached half the entire car's worth, I'm fed up and want to get rid of it. After some thinking I've decided I want a sensible German estate, with an automatic and something around 150-180 horsepower to move it around (fuel costs and insurance stay reasonable this way). It will be a demonstrator or a barely used one, under a year old and under 10kkm ("Jahreswagen") - so pretty much as new, just not quite. What I haven't decided on is whether it should be a diesel or a petrol, and which one of the three it must be: an Audi, a BMW or a Mercedes.
The Audi A4 is a nice all-round car, familiar to me in many ways, and a bit on the pricey side. Quattros with DSG and better motors are out of the price range, sadly - the ones I can afford are mostly the 1.8 TFSI and 2.0 diesels with multitronic and FWD, not exactly your driver's favorite. The 2.0 TDI only comes as a 143hp version, I've test-driven it, and it does feel somewhat underpowered on the autobahn.
With the BMW, I'm currently eyeing a 320d. It has more power to offer than the Audi (170hp), has RWD and a proper automatic instead of a stupid CVT. However, the ones with low mileage hover just around my price limit. I'm also not a huge fan of the looks, or of the interior... but if it's really as good a driver's car as many say, it might still be worth it.
The last option is a Merc C-Class. Currently, I have a test drive booked for a C200 Kompressor estate. With 183 horsepower, RWD and a simple 5-speed auto, it seems almost a better offering than the BMW, and the price is actually lower than the Audis. Fuel economy would be the only downside I can see, it's only marginally better than what my 2.4 V6 turns out now, but then it does have more power.
So, any ideas? I'm really quite undecided on this, so any comments or experiences are very welcome.