Cars (sorry) estate, auto, towing

In the usual STW - recommend what you have.

Volvo V70 no later than 2006, 140hp, 170hp non turbo 2.4 petrol or T5. Galvanised, massive boot, best seats in the business, solid tanklike.

Cons. avg 26mpg, not very good for STW driving gods and making progress.

Use your budget to buy a low mileage one owned by a decreased one owner.
I'd jump in ours now and cross continent's in it even with 201k miles on it. Best car we've ever owned (had it 13years)

I have a Passat but it's newer and would be way out of your budget, but it's a very good car. I found when looking last time, admittedly during covid etc, that prices were nuts. Only had to look as my Insignia had eaten it's own engine, then, after that was replaced under warranty, it broke down again with multiple issues including auto-box. I do know a couple of folks with siggys and they've had no issues and both tow caravan or trailer.

Accord or avensis?

Accord. Best car I ever owned. Nothing went wrong in 8 years of owning it and 100k+ miles. Only ever needed tyres and servicing bits. I miss that car.

Not quite the same requirements as when I was looking as I didn’t need to tow, but I read mixed stuff on the reliability of the dual clutch gearbox in some vag group cars. It put me off the superb I was considering a bit. I went with a Jag XF with the zf 8 speed gearbox instead. So if there’s an option on the Passat for a traditional torque converter auto box I’d suggest going with that over dsg.

So if there’s an option on the Passat for a traditional torque converter auto box I’d suggest going with that over dsg.

I had the 6speed DSG in a Passat for a while, which was faultless but the 7 speed variants of the same era were a bit questionable I believe.

I thought about stretching for an XF but my colleague has one of about target age, which he loves and don't want to look like a copy cat 😂.

A bloke I used to know swore by his C5 estate for towing (that was a few years ago) reckoned it balanced of cost/fuel/torque his was the 2.0 HDI with an auto box. Do Citroen even still make a C5 estate with a diesel lump?

I own a car of this vintage - a 2005 Peugeot 407 SW - with the 2.0Hdi engine. It's not fast but it just works. With one caveat - some parts are getting hard to find, for example it went in for a recurring intermittent gearbox issue and the specialist diagnosed a failing gearbox selector switch, great, just unbolt the old one and bolt in a new one, except they're out of stock everywhere and no longer manufactured. I've had to take a punt on one from AliExpress.

Volvo V70 no later than 2006, 140hp, 170hp non turbo 2.4 petrol or T5. Galvanised, massive boot, best seats in the business, solid tanklike.

Not too much earlier, changeover to Euro 4 was 2004/5/6 depending on the engine type. Then Euro 5 kicked off in 08 i think.

Mazda 6 estate?

I read mixed stuff on the reliability of the dual clutch gearbox in some vag group cars

There isn't a torque converter option, but don't. DSGs are great. Sometimes they go wrong but so do torque converters and everything else. Early ones weren't as reliable of course, but I think the reported issues are with some dry clutch ones fitted to some petrol versions.

The thing that is most valuable to me is having self levelling rear suspension. It's fantastic, it allows you to tow and load the boot and have people in the back without the car pointing up to the sky.

You can find it on E class estates, and maybe BMW 5 series touring and maybe the Jaguar one. Some Volvos too I think. It was an option on some Passats I think.

Kia Optima, often overlooked but great cars. Under £10k will get you a 2019 model.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305237697287?advertising-location=at_cars&body-type=Estate&include-delivery-option=on&make=Kia&model=Optima&postcode=ca48lu&price-to=9500&radius=100&sort=relevance&fromsra

I'd go for a 5 series with the 8 speed ZF auto box. Don't be put off by leggy, mine was at 155k miles when it was written off and I have no reason to think it wasn't good for many more. 45mpg over the 60K miles I owned the car with 55+ easily achievable on a long run.

Kia Optima, often overlooked but great cars. Under £10k will get you a 2019 model.

That looks an interesting garage, being sold next to a Ferrari and Rolls Royce!

Nice looking car, but thats huge mileage in that short space of time

I've got a manual Kia Optima and it's a decent value estate car. It's not exactly powerful though and I tried an auto and that felt even slower. I'd certainly not fancy towing with one.

Nice looking car, but thats huge mileage in that short space of time

As long as it has been serviced on time, don't worry about the high mileage. Probably spent most of its time on M-Ways, doing decent length runs, fully warmed up each trip. Far better than a low-mileage car that just trundles 5 miles to the shops each week

Don't overlook the Mondeo, great value for money (well, can be sometimes).

DSGs are great.

Ohhhh, can I join in (sorry Molgrips, I know we have disagreed several times on this). The DSG I had was hateful (Audi A6 3.0l tdi) – it was the first auto I had ever owned and I found it so frustrating (the sluggishness on pick-up being the central issue). For the next car I had I went back to manual but my wife really wanted an auto (shoulder issues cause her problems changing gear sometimes) and we ended up with a Mercedes GLC which is lovely to drive and I would say I am now converted to auto (until I finally get to get a Lotus Elise). We now also have an old Quasqui (2.0tdi so it has the conventional auto, not the CVT) which I definitely prefer to drive over the Audi I had.

One of these:

W212, with the Om642 3 litre V6 diesel.

Air/Self Levelling on the rear - massive towing and load carrying capability. Enormous boot, biggest in class (I'm seem to recall A6, 5 series, V70 or Superb all smaller)
Excellent 7 speed, torque converter auto. (You must be insane to think a DSG is a better option for this usage!)
Torquey, smooth 6 cylinder.
Very solid build - no standout reliability concerns, superb body quality (anything with rust is crash repaired).
Massively durable chassis and running gear - noticeable more so than cars from the class below.
Painless to run and service. There are lots of good cars listed above but most cannot hold a candle to the overall quality of the E-Class. 2.0 4 pot diesels will never be as pleasant!
Loads on auto trader, wouldnt hesitate to run one to 150k+ miles at all.

Just traded mine in for a smaller/newer C350 CDI which is a bit sharper to drive but the E-Class, for your usage requirement, is the ultimate. Best motorway car I've ever had or been in, second only to S Class. I do miss it.

Oh and the Kia Optima - you do realise thats Keighley Motorhub... right?!

@Daffy

Mazda 6 estate?

Great car with a Skyactiv Petrol engine and manual box. Auto and the guaranteed-to-explode 2.2 Diesel? No chance.

Coils on the rear too.

Honestly - for towing and loading up to the hilt, you want E-Class, A6, or 5 series with air.

https://www.practicalcaravan.com/advice/mercedes-benz-e-class-estate

The DSG I had was hateful

That was a while ago though! From my experience of many taxis they have evolved quite a bit, not least because the engines have too.

You must be insane to think a DSG is a better option for this usage!

I've had both a DSG (albeit early 2006 one) and that same box you have. The DSG was much better at shifting, but the Mercedes 7G+ is more intelligently programmed. But as said, DSGs are much better now than they were in 2006.

Regarding the Merc V6, I can imagine they would be awesome to tow with but they are pretty uneconomical. The 250 CDI that I have is 2.2l 4 cylinder twin turbo, it's amazingly torquey with 500Nm and has 204bhp but can still do mid-high 50s on the motorway. It's less economical with a caravan on than the Passat was though.

However it does rather sound like the OP is more interested in a smaller trailer, so that kind of muscle probably isn't required.

Never, never, never buy from Motorhub!

Very solid build – no standout reliability concerns, superb body quality

Except for the rear subframes...

Except for the rear subframes…

That car in the pic possibly pre-dates that issue?

The DSG I had was hateful (Audi A6 3.0l tdi) – it was the first auto I had ever owned and I found it so frustrating (the sluggishness on pick-up being the central issue).

Definitely a DSG? I know up until fairly recently the 3 litres were a proper auto, and the sluggishness sounds familiar. A mate ended up getting his gearbox remapped to help it

Definitely a DSG?

Yes - I just checked the original order! 3.0 TDI Quattro Black Edition 5dr S Tronic

That was a while ago though! From my experience of many taxis they have evolved quite a bit, not least because the engines have too.

Yeah I know (mine was a 2013 model) and I do recall saying in further conversations that I had driven newer DSGs and the lag had not been anything like as apparent – it still put me off them though!

If you want a generally hassle free experience then I’d suggest Toyota Avenses / RAV4 or Honda HRV or if large enough then Civic.

Whatever you get don’t believe the modern toss about gearboxes being sealed for life & not needing servicing/fluid changes. Once you settle on a few options have a look into servicing for the gearboxes especially if towing, I’d also to use that to filter out potential purchases way over the servicing recommendations if they don’t have evidence of service work being carried out.

For example the ZF 8HP box found in many BMW’s (& Audi & Jag among others) ZF recommended 70-80K as the service interval, BMW said sealed for life.

If you go for a VAG car check for a factory fitted tow bar. Think they add an extra oil cooler or similar.

I think my DSG had an oil cooler despite not having a factory towbar.

If you go for a VAG car check for a factory fitted tow bar. Think they add an extra oil cooler or similar.

Thanks I think you may be right on the smaller models (up to Octavia sized).

Reason I say that is a few years back I was looking at leasing / PCP on a new Passat or Golf or Octavia or Superb. The Octavia "required" tow bar pre-prep whereas the Passat and Superb didn't. I had a 62 plate Passat TDI DSG that towed nicely and was factory fit for towing I think.

What I'm towing is mostly a double stacking dinghy trailer that's rated at 750kg and probably normally runs at around 450-500kg in practice depending on which boats are on it and what tools and spares I've piled into the storage box bit.

Thanks to @molgrips for the comments on the Merc engine. 200bhp is more than enough for me. Not sure my laid back driving style would derive much benefit from another 2 pots and another litre of displacement.

The E-Class is looking quite attractive alongside the V70 at the moment.

Not sure my laid back driving style would derive much benefit from another 2 pots and another litre of displacement.

It does though. >4 cyl engines generally are quiet and super smooth. and absolutely lovely to drive. At some point (2014 in my car) Merc switch to a nine speed gearbox with the V6 diesels that barely ticks over at motorway speeds. But you pay for it at the pump.

I'm a fan of buying nicer older cars. Newer cheap cars become old cheap cars quite quickly, but older nice cars are still fundamentally nicer. My neighbour has a 3.0l diesel 5 series that is the same age as my Passat. It was a much nicer car, but he paid the same for it; just two years after I bought the Passat. That was 10 years ago, he still has it, it's still much nicer than the Passat was 🙂

@doomanic

Except for the rear subframes…

That made some financially worrying reading.

Are Mercedes still picking the cost of these up vaguely reliably or has the goodwill eroded on this?

W212 seems to be the first generation of affected E Class and that was my fave so far.

AFAIK mercedes are still replacing the subframes for free.
Would a CLS work for you?
Similar to the E class, but better looking imo

Are Mercedes still picking the cost of these up vaguely reliably or has the goodwill eroded on this?

Up to 20 years I think.

CLS are lovely cars to drive but possibly a firmer ride.

CLS are lovely cars to drive but possibly a firmer ride.

My colleague had one of those before his XF, not the shooting brake. Always thought it was a lovely car and was my first thought ahead of the E but the shooting brake roofline/rear hatch shape isn't as dog or rolled sail friendly (boring needs first! 😂).

Have you looked at the V90 or XF estates?
Out of my budget so i personally don't know much about them, except they look very smart cars, although you might blow your £10k budget to get euros 6 compliance

Sorry just waking this thread up as I'm back on the hunt after giving up during the Summer due to the pricing / value proposition and trying to decide if I was just being a bit feeble but I'm piling up the miles again now.
Does anyone know any more about which E Class models/years suffer from the soluble rear axle issue?  The cost (if MB didn't cough for it) would be one (bad) thing but long parts waits are a much bigger issue.
I've done a bit of googling but it's hard to pin down the models / years most affected and whether it's this much noise because it's a big fault with small volumes or there's a lot of them full stop.  The internet does seem to give the impression of inflated issues sometimes.

Apparently with some cars, mostly C-Class apparently they won't even check and just book you in. With others, they check. On my 2013 CLS some of the rear suspension parts have a fair bit of surface corrosion as if it'd been parked up over long grass regularly or something, but I had them check the sub frame and despite appearances it was fine, so my car seems not to be one of the affected ones.

Probably ask on an MB forum though.

At £5-10k in todays market I wouldn't look any further than something Japanese or Korean.

750kg towed is within practically any decent sized cars ability and you want reliability as your key requirement, as the last thing you'll want to do is spend money on it.

Under the recommend what you have, my OH has a Kia Sportage - her auto 2.0d will tow 1500kg (un-braked) and happily tows a loaded braked horsebox.

I drives surprisingly well , and while I've a high-spec BMW, nothing wrong with the Kia - all the options and decent engine/gearbox and road manners.

"her auto 2.0d will tow 1500kg (un-braked)"

not legally! 750 kg is the maximum legal unbraked trailer weight in the UK

What exactly are you towing?

750kg of what?

And over what terrain?

Just coming in with another +1 on the air suspension. 5 series estates all have it, and some of them are euro 6 pre 2016 (do check though. Same for some Passat engines).

not legally! 750 kg is the maximum legal unbraked trailer weight in the UK

Might be, but most vehicles are rated higher.

@garage-dweller It was me that posted the Merc Earlier. I've had a prefacelift 2010 S212 E. Now a later model S204 C.
Also have various other similar age cars in family, C Class saloon and Coupe, later model E etc...

All absolutely fine.

It is 'an issue' that affects 'some cars' just like we could pick up any multitude of other issues on every single other car mentioned in the thread. And even if it DOES affect you (which it probably wont), Merc fix it for free anyway. But with a full fresh MOT, get the seller to put it on a ramp if possible for a quick inspection.

Dont let it put you off what is easily the best car suggeste for your needs.

But with a full fresh MOT, get the seller to put it on a ramp if possible for a quick inspection.

Better to go to Mercedes because the ones that fail do so from the inside so it's not always obvious.

We had W212 V6 cdi  and W213 E class V6 and all tow really well. More economical on long runs that local travel. Nice to drive too.

We still have our 16yr old Accord estate. Everything still works, 100K on the clock. No issues with it at all over the years but not particularly economical (petrol). Not particularly big as an estate either but the last ones are 2012-2013?

What exactly are you towing?

A stacking dinghy trailer.

Think like a long, wide and shallow camping trailer with scaffolding on top with two upside down boats, trolleys and 4 cruise missile launchers big plastic tubes strapped to the sides full of masts and sails.

I also tow a camping trailer with four bikes or two kayaks loaded on top and some smaller dinghy trailers (longer and lighter).

The stacking trailer is rated at 750kg but it's probably running at about 500kg on an average local trip (more for a big event or with the two larger dinghies on it) and the camping trailer is probably similar.

It's not very sleek due to all the jutting out bits and gaps through it and flappy boat covers.

I'm towing on an actual road and the odd rough track in and out of campsites and venues.

Thanks for all the follow up comments everyone.  I think we are going to enhance the budget by £5k or so at the top end.  

I’m towing on an actual road and the odd rough track in and out of campsites and venues.

Self levelling suspension really helps in that situation as you are much less likely to ground the towbar.

Self levelling suspension on an old car is just something else to go wrong surely. You won’t need it towing a 750 kg trailer unless you’re loading it incorrectly, nose heavy for example? 

The wife tows a horsebox with her Kuga - can't say we've ever felt the need for self-levelling suspension.

Self levelling suspension on an old car is just something else to go wrong surely.

I dunno,  maybe. We tow a caravan which may work out differently but we had to load the caravan very carefully and put almost nothing in the boot to avoid feeling rather nose up and wallowy. Clearly I'm pretty fussy here though but we were driving a fairly long way.
Things like the transition from road to sloping driveway could result in grounding. You may not be as exposed to that in a Kuga with more clearance to begin with.

Your trailer MUST be nose-heavy though otherwise you will have severe and possibly fatal stability problems. Recommended for caravans is 5-7% of the total weight of the van which is quite a bit to be hanging off the back of your car. I don't know how the numbers work out for horse boxes as they're shorter.

My 2017 5 tourer has just had the comrpessor unit replaced that runs the air suspension at the back. Apparently the newer stuff is not as robust as the older stuff. Cost just shy of £1,100 at the local indie who said he’d done 3 that week, my 5 series, an X5 and an e-class. All exactly the same issue.

the ZF 8HP box found in many BMW’s (& Audi & Jag among others) ZF recommended 70-80K as the service interval, BMW said sealed for life.

Only over here, in the us and Canada there is a service schedule for the gearbox.