Brun

BPR mentioned it not me
FWIW I’ve been on holiday a few times in it with both young children, buggy and the rest of the crap that comes with small people and up to press, I’m yet to leave a child because they don’t fit
My old 3 series was the perfect size car for me but no good power petrol xdrive cars were available. This years 340i may be just the ticket

Alby203

Very good suggestion. These are very quick especially once mapped but iv heard there a little juicy. Probably one that ticks all the boxes is a 335d xdrive. They come in touring too. Once mapped it would put many sports saloons to shame namely c63’s and so on just have a look on YouTube!
parts and servicing would probably be reasonable and the performance and practicality would best for buck along with resale value too!

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

So my position so far is, no way I'm getting an M5 for the wife, as she'd have it in a lamp post with the kids in the back in no time at all. She likes to drive fast but has never raced like me so just don't want something too over-powered that will put her and the kids in danger, which also rules out the C63 my heart wants. Want something that has a little poke to keep us excited but not killer as I'll still have the Subaru.

I like the looks of teh F Pace V6 supercharged Jag but realistically for around £30k give or take I'd still be looking at a 3 year old car with mileage on it.

Like the look of the RS3 but it's only available in hatch and that will be too small for family needs for holidays etc, plus for a newer version it will exceed the £30k target.

So yesterday I went to the VW Main Stealers to test drive a Gold R and I have to say I was really surprised with it. They didn't have a DSG model in or an estate so I took out an older 2015 car with 30k miles on the clock and was still really impressed by the car. For 300bhp it pulls far better that you would expect and drives really nicely indeed. This morning my wife is going to test drive a 2 week old Golf R estate 4 motion DSG with panoramic roof and all the options fitted that we are interested in. It's just been registered as a demo by the garage and looks lovely. They have it up for around £32k which is supposedly £10k off new list price for the car.

It will be heavier than the hatch I drove and as it's got the full panoramic roof will be heavier still, so I'm interested to see how it performs. They are a nice place to be inside and have every single toy fitted to this model it's crazy. Space wise it's quite surprising also as we'll effectively be going from an Audi A4 down to golf platform, but it still feels big enough for a family.

The only issue I have is that I really struggle with the idea of paying £32k for a VW golf!

the shreksta

iTrader: (20)

Have you looked at the xf sportback, they have some reasonable poke and awd aswell which will help keep her indoors nice and safe

https://used.jaguar.co.uk/search#/details/2896310

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

Not sure I can see my wife in one of those to be honest and looks like they only do the 2.0L version in the current line up.

Tidgy

bet that was a squeeze,,, haha

tbh if i had kids i;d be 5 series at least size wise

hackisfun

In regards to the C63 and the F10 M5, couldn't you look into the options of a detune to limit the power the wife has available but still get the desirable care you want?

Is it possible to have switchable maps for example, have you considered these potential options?

https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=788899

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

You haven't met my wife, she went through 3 sets of rear tyres in less than 1 year of ownership in her RX8. She would kill me if I bought an M5 or C63 and de-tuned it for her, plus what is the point in having a gas-guzzling V10 M5 and limiting the power? Besides she has to drive 70 miles for work 2 days a week now which may go up, let alone the miles she does outside of work so they are probably out of the question. I want something half sensible here as it will be used as a family car on family holidays too.

hedgecutter

iTrader: (5)

If I said to my missus " Hey, little lady ( she isn't) here's your new car, I've detuned it for you ( because you're a nutter/ dangerous/ bit crap etc etc) she would start punching and probably wouldn't finish until the autumn. And she'd still be bitching about it when we're in the old folks home.

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

hahaha. Yes, same, couldn't have put it better myself! lol

papascooby

A non M5, 5 series? I can heartily recommend a 540 x-drive.

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

I had a 5 series as a daily and my Dad has owned them for years and always has the latest model. They really don't float my boat. Not really a beamer fan TBH.

the shreksta

iTrader: (20)

lol my mrs drives a civic type r fn2 and i asked her the other week how often she uses v-tec................she thought it was a gadget inside the car lol. i had to take it out to make sure it worked................it did

the shreksta

iTrader: (20)

jeep srt float your boat

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...ce-desc&page=3

Flat4x4-again

iTrader: (1)

Based on the 3 x dsg Golf R estates I ran, they are definitely more than quick enough for anyone with any family aspirations! Compared with the 2017 354ps S4 Avant I had, the Golf is a bit narrower but the Golfs boot was slightly more usable because the S4 tailgate was more steeply raked. Our large dogs had more space to turn round in the Golf.

I agree that £32k is a fair wedge but you can spend a lot less for older but still lowish mileage cars via the VW used site.

Also I really recommend you find and try one with DCC / adjustable dampers - they give you the best of all worlds.

Great real world bahnstormers !

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

Don't think I'd get the wife in one as her daily to be honest. She really doesn't like Range Rovers or cars like that unfortunately.

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

Thanks for the tip, went through the VW used site last night with a fine tooth comb and nothing else came up that floats my boat. Autotrader have the best all round selection currently from traders and main dealers.

Have found one in the right colour and spec that I like that is a 2018 car and not a year old yet with only a couple of thousand miles on the clock and it's a few grand cheaper than the £33k dealer model we tested. The more I look at the Golf R the more I like it. I can see me getting it Revo mapped to 370bhp within a short time too. lol

Flat4x4-again

iTrader: (1)

They can certainly handle more power easily if you decide to go that way, but as standard they do build speed so easily from low down. I did some back to back drives in the first Golf R I had with my classic Impreza wagon prodrive which has the same power to weight ratio. Both cars thrilled me and are good handlers. The Impreza had to be in the right gear and on boost to match the Golf and it still sounds great at full blat, whereas the Golf was noticeably quicker picking up n higher gears at low to medium revs (next to no lag).

Henrik

iTrader: (5)

Have you checked brokers (eg carwow)?

When I was in the market last for a new car, there were big savings to be had using one of the brokers.

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

That's a good call. Not checked the brokers sites yet but will have a look tomorrow. Nice one.

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

Put a holding deposit down on a fully spec'd Golf R estate now that we're looking at tomorrow. Looks lovely and can't see us not getting this now really.

Henrik

iTrader: (5)

Nice, much better than an A3 type body for a family (IMHO)

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

Yep I agree. Wouldn't have considered a hatch as the primary family car, had to be an estate. Looking forward to having an estate again.

Flat4x4-again

iTrader: (1)

Great! What colour ?

Apart from the four rear tailpipes it is a brilliant Q car in estate form.

(I took the badges off my original Legacy Turbo back in the day and had a lot of fun with that. Watching people disappear in the rear view out of roundabouts was always a laugh. Golf delivers in spades)

madscoob

iTrader: (3)

just done 2500miles in our new seat leon2.0LPETROL stfr sport full leather 18's 7speed dsg goes like ? off a chrome shovel, running in eco with sport to overtake have manages 50.7mpg on a 48mile round trip so not bad at all. as a bonus it also has launch contol RRP £29800, loads of std features didi dash paddle shift etc just can't fault it as a family car 3adults 2 kids

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

It's black. I wanted one on the blue colour but the right car with leather, digital dash, upgraded stereo, 19" Pretoria wheels (£2.5k option) etc came up in black so I jumped at it.

I was reading that 2 of the pipes are fake and never get dirty while the other 2 show the exhaust. That's rather annoying. I may look to change the exhaust anyhow to be honest and go for a stage 1 Revo map.

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

Yep, they are lovely too, so similar in spec to the Golf.

madscoob

iTrader: (3)

sadly not 4wd though, but very tuneable, the is a place in nottingham that specializes in vw seat, found them on you tube i think a visit may be on the cards as they can do one that seat wont see when servicing

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

Ah I didn't realise it wasn't awd. I drove the std non-awd golf R manual and it was lovely.

There's a specialist garage quite close to me who do servicing of these and someone in Milton Keynes who does mapping etc. I'll enquire at some point.