Estates

fjon

I was in holiday in Sweden a month back. I noticed that probably 50% or more of "Saloon-sized" cars there were actually estates.
I've noticed something similar in England, although not quite to the same extent.
In Ireland however there are very few of these.
Why is this? Is it an image thing?

esskay

I spent the last three omnths in Australia and New Zealand and noticed the same thing, loads more estates. I reckon they are used a lot in place of small vans for business use. Ireland is so small the really long distance driving is not really doable, in Europe and OZ/NZ you can cruise on good roads for 1000's on km's and driving an estate would be much more comfortable than a van. I haven't been in Ireland for a while now so no idea what price diesel is, but in OZ/NZ its more expensive than petrol so diesel vans just don't seem a feasible option like they are/were in ireland

Stephen

Irish people seem to buy SUV's in place of estates these days.

rabbitinlights

Sold!!!

delly

rabbitinlights wrote:

Sold!!!

'tis a sweet motor

Robbo

Just bought an A4 Quattro Avant 1.8T Sport

cooper_man

BEAUTIFUL car. I love the a4 estate. Other than that in not really an estate fan (maybe the mondeo)

I agree with you guys about the lack of the over here, i was in oz last year and they are EVERYWHERE. In fact we bought a holden commodore estate over there.

mike65

Many estates look better than thier saloon counterparts. As to why so few are sold here, I think its a longer standing issue than the rise of the SUV.

Mike.

_Kaiser_

Have to say I prefer Saloons myself, though for some reason Passat Estates seem to be cheaper on Carzone than their equivalent saloon counterparts?

bbbbb

I've worked with Scandanavians, the attitude there seems to be you only buy the saloon if you can't afford the estate, where as here unless you have the 3.5 kids and dog, people go for the saloon. The estate is an old mans car.

NordicDiver

Sandinavians need the estate going skiing in the winter, boating in the summer and other activities. The need 4 an estate in Ireland is not that big going to the pub...sry had too.

Cosmo K

The estate is an old mans car.

What ??? Estates are actually a lot more pratical, ever tried to get a couple of fishing rods in the boot of a mondeo saloon ? Its just nearly impossible to find one in Ireland.... ...dream mode on...BMW E34 M5 3.8 estate....with 518 badges ...dream mode off

FX Meister

esskay wrote:

Ireland is so small the really long distance driving is not really doable, in Europe and OZ/NZ you can cruise on good roads for 1000's on km's and driving an estate would be much more comfortable than a van.

Are you joking? We have much better roads here in Ireland than they have in New Zealand. I couldn't get over the amount of single lane brigdes they have over there. One place I drove when there had a bridge that had the usual single lane and also shared the same singel lane with a train line.

cantdecide

Robbo wrote:

Just bought an A4 Quattro Avant 1.8T Sport

beautiful car. i had a '98 A4 avant tdi quattro sport on RS4 18's. i still weep when i realise it's gone....i was 23 and single when i bought it and in the year and a half i had it, it was never made to work like an estate is supposed to. designers have realised in the last 10 years how easy it is to make an estate beautiful and internationally, buyer's have twigged it too, but not in ireland for some reason we always go second class even when shelling out fortunes. when i was in cheshire recently, i couldn't finish a sentence on the road without shouting 'look at that' every two seconds. i can't help but think that generally, as regards motoring in ireland, we're stunted...i can't obide the micra/ corsa debates

crosstownk

In Ireland when we 'tour' it usually involves an aeroplane - a disadvantage of living on an island. In England (with the chunnel) and in Europe a motorist is much 'free-er' to travel with the car on holidays/business so an estate makes more sense. Not the only reason, but certainly a ccontributing factor, imo.

BTW, That Audi Avant posted earlier is so sexy................I want one!

junkyard

I always have an estate car in my fleet, they're so handy. The last nice one I had was a BMW 530d touring, a brillient car in every way. I just bought an Opel Omega 2.5 TD estate, a very rare car over here by all accounts with a BMW turbo diesel engine.

maidhc

So all the nice cars can be robbed in Cobh?

junkyard

You can try but just give me a chance to charge up my drill.;)

crosstownk

The best estate I ever had was a Volvo V70 (2003). I play in a band and carry lots of gear and the V70 had loads of space. Now I have a Zafira

rabbitinlights

Cosmo K wrote:

dream mode on...BMW E34 M5 3.8 estate....with 518 badges ...dream mode off

My Cousin in the UK has a Alpine B10 Touring, Id never even heard of one till I seen it. Its the stealth bomber of estates.

crosstownk

rabbitinlights wrote:

My Cousin in the UK has a Alpine B10 Touring, Id never even heard of one till I seen it. Its the stealth bomber of estates.

Now thats a car.............

I'm off to buy a Lotto ticket!

junkyard

The new BMW 535 twin turbo estate is nearly as fast as the M5. No doubt you can get all the add on trims to make it look like an M5 too.:)

rabbitinlights

That B10 was a mental car, it would sound soo normal while around town, but if you gave it welly, it would sound like a WW2 spitfire, Im nearly sure they had some sort of value on the exhaust that changed the sound when you floored it, it was like it egged you on!

S.

cantdecide

RS6 is the ultimate IMO

KTRIC

Thats the strangest looking Alpina !!!

First time I've seen one with a BMW bonnet badge and Alpina wheels :rolleyes:

rabbitinlights

Is this a nicer picture for you? (I just stuck B10 touring into google for both pictures)

Although my cousins car defo didnt have the horrible looking apline splitter.