T5OLF

iTrader: (4)

Since the arrival of our first child the Golf had been struggling to fit all the stuff in we need such as prams, dog etc etc. The wife has plans for another a couple of years so thought it was time we switched to a bigger motor.

I like the look of the 2.5 Touareg and the merc 270 ML, I also looked at the Audi A4 estate.

I have around 10k to spend, can anyone suggest a good family sized car that is not to boring.

bpm1588

out of those it has to be the a4.you should find a 2.0l tfsi with decent kit for 10k,maybe a few miles on there but it'll still be a good motor.i have the 170 tdi myself and it took a while to get used to after my scoobs but i find it very hard to fault.

RRH

The Touareg drives much better that the older shape ML if that helps... and they're real good value for money now.

pippyrips

Out of the two I would go with the Touareg everytime.

I not a major merc fan anyway but the older ML's just seem so dated in looks IMHO.

Having sat in Gazz300's recently acquired 2.5l touareg I was really impressed with how nice it was inside and it had lots of toys to keep you occupied.

Spooky Mulder

My vote would go to a BMW 530d Touring (Sport if you can find one).

Brilliant to drive and we can fit in two sub-four year olds, all their stuff and have room to squeeze in the dog and the nanny (she has a small **** so can fit between the child seats in the back).

Superb cars - 35mpg, quick, very soothing on long journeys. 10grand will get you a very decent motor. We have had ours for 50k miles - the only faults were very minor - washer bottle pipes came off a couple of times.

RRH

If we're going to introduce BMW (glad you did it rather than me S M ) I'd take a serious look at the diesel X5 if you're wanting an elevated driving position. It all depends on whether you're concerned about the image; personally I couldn't give a toss. It tows well, carries kids and dogs (5 series boot space might be a bit better) and is a relatively nice place to be when doing distance.

I did Shipley and back on Saturday, Chester zoo and back on Sunday, to the office and back twice (40 miles) on Monday, and Bath Uni and back on Tuesday on one tank of fuel. All from 20 miles or so north of liverpool.

Yesterday I went to Edinburgh and Hexham delivering and visiting buyers, and home last night fresh enough to go to the pub. Didn't last long though...

Spooky Mulder

MLs are built in the US - they are not proper Mercs

noobyscooby

Touareg is far nicer than ML which is a bit footballers wives.

The 2.5 has engine and parts from the VW Transporter, but chipped, it flies along quite well.

The 3.0 is a far better drive but still very expensive.

The 3.2 has hefty fuel consumption but you pay a lot, lot less than a 2.5 so if your annual milegage is low, these are a steal.

The 4.2 is the best, but you need a banker's pension to pay for the fuel.

The 5.0 V10 is very powerful but its not a refined as it should be.

There are no specialists with half the VW dealers' labour rates like you get with Scobbies and Beemers and VW service can be patchy as not all dealers can work on Tregs and not all Treg technicians are as good as they should be.

VW Touareg Owners Forum • Index page will give you lots of advice, but remember the Treg is a big, complex, 4x4 that can rack up some big bills: £1,000 for a new propshaft today for example and £4,500 for a gearbox because no one reconditions them.

Warranty Direct will cover up to £5,000 and a maximum of 100K miles for around £50-£55 per month though after 60K you have to contribute an increasing percentage towards the cost of parts.

Although I have a Treg, in your shoes I'd go for the Audi or the Beemer.

Spooky Mulder

...or you could always go for a Cayenne

David Morris 1959

Suggest you carefully research the parts pricing on the VW before buying:

Timimg belt replacement - in some Countries- VW refuse to sell the parts- locked into dealer networek to replace timing belt;

If Diesel, particle filter replacements - 2 of them at 100km/60k mile service - circa GPB 3,000 each? x 2

500

After owning both I would strongly recommend the touareg hands down, the older ML is not a patch on the touareg.

We're selling ours at the moment as Jen wants a 545i
2003 VW VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG SPORT V6 AUTO GREY LPG GAS on eBay, also, Volkswagen, Cars, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 04-Mar-09 23:26:18 GMT)

T5OLF

iTrader: (4)

Cheers for imput guys, given me a bit to think about I agree theML look's a bit dated in the old shape. My mate owns 2 garages so I'll ask about parts, though he may be biased being Merc specialist.

Dave Thornton

I have an ML - if you need 7 seats and 4x4 at a cheap price (under £5k) it makes absolute sense. Above that and it's best to go for something less dated.

However, given your budget and no need for 7 seats, get something with the BMW 3 litre diesel engine in.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

We had an ML briefly, old shape petrol, it was fairly crap, heavy on fuel, ponderous, not that fast, I really cannot see why anyone would want one, new one is a lot better though. They aren't all that big inside.

However, for 1 child, going that big seems a bit like overkill, we went from a Golf with two kids to a Volvo 850 Estate, was plenty big enough, then with three we ended up with a Sharan, which wasn't much fun but did its job, then a new Galaxy which is great.

Unless you need 4wd I would avoid off roaders and go for a biggish quality estate, unless you really want a four by four, I personally don't see the attraction as they dont drive as well, use more fuel, don't handle as well and have poorer accident statistics (due to rollovers) than non four by four vehicles.

Audi A6, Volvo V70 etc would be a good bet.

T5OLF

iTrader: (4)

Been looking on a few forums and neither is great on fuel, not that I expected them to be but going from 50mpg in the Golf to 25/28 on a run from the VW and not much better from the merc is a big jump. Maybe if I was not paying 300 quid a month in child care I could warrent it but money is a little bit tighter these days.

I need an estate for the dog so maybe the Audi A4/A6 TDI would be a better choice.

This looks quite nice:
Audi : Audi A4 1.9tdi 130 Sport tip auto

bpm1588

that looks a nice car but i'd hold out for a b7 2005 on a4.they've come down quite a bit in price lately.don't rule out the petrols either,compared to the other choices here imho it will still be easier to run and be nicer to drive

webby v7 slipperwagon

iTrader: (2)

The 270 cdi is actually built in Austria