All,

Need help. Looking for a small/medium size automatic car. Have driven a 530i sport, but too big. Test drove a 330i sport and that was nice. Are there any other suggestions/cars?

1). Has anyone driven the new S40?
2). The new SAAB 93 sports saloon....any good?
3). What's the BMW 330d sport like?

Yes I'm looking at stuff like handling, ride, depreciation. BM would be obvious, but that's just it.....it's as a common as muck.

Thanks

Jay

 

Any ideas???

 

A4 quattro.
Alfa 156.
Lexus is300.

All may not be quite as good as the bmw dynamically but unless you push the car a lot you'll notice that much difference. And all three have a FAR better image associated with them. Respectable, understated, class although this is scoobynet so those attributes won't be appreciated

 

Audi A4 2.0 TDi / C-class Mercedes? BMW 330d is a stormer however.

Volvo S40/Saab 9-3 arent really in that league I dont think, and wont hold their value as well (however will save on the initial purchase I suppose)

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

Like Alfa's but have heard that their aftercare service is ****e and they don't hold their value well.

Any Japanese alternatives?

 

Saab's and Volvo's have superb engines if you get the 2.3 turbo and last forever, only trouble is they are worthless second hand. We had a Saab 9-5 Aero estate with every option possible and at only 18months old sold it for £12000. BMW's have a bad image with them and the 3 series seems to be smaller than other cars in the same class, on the inside they are at least. Saloon doesn't really look very nice, coupe looks much better. Audi A4's are very nice, hold there value well and the quattro makes them handle well. 1.8T with 190bhp is pretty good value and can easily be tuned to 220-230bhp for less than a grand. Mercedes C class again very nice, feels more solid and more classy than the equivalent BMW. C320 is a smooth engine, or if it's diesel your after then the C270 is a good option.

 

Alfa GT? Lovely looking car - well equipped. Not quite upto BMW standards, but a nice alternative. Comes with a 5 year warranty now.

Chris