A5 Sportback v Passat CC v BMW 520D

jrar

Looking for opinions please - my B5 Passat is 12 years old and I have just passed the 200K miles (360,000 kms) mark on it so am thinking of trading it in and upgrading to a far newer car.

That said, the trade-in value would be negligible so I might be better off selling privately and present as a cash buyer to hopefully give me some bargaining / negotiating power etc. on a new car (preferably from a reputable dealer for some peace of mind if such a thing exists !)

I'm looking for something between 2/4 years old, with a budget of 28-32K but might stretch a little further for the right car.

I do approx. 30,000Kms per annum so would probably prefer diesel - my current car still returns 1000+ kms on a single tank so I'm certainly not looking for anything too thirsty ! Again, preferably manual transmission but not essential (aside from impact on fuel consumption)

Just wondering what people think is the "best" of those 3 cars/models - don't need anything larger than a 2-litre hence the choices above. Did think of including E220 but it's def. 4th choice on the list.

Stheno

My boss has a year old passat cc it's a lovely car. He's put forty thousand mms on it since he got it

Moanin

Looks wise the Passat wins. I'd try to get the 170bhp diesel if there is one. I have the 136bhp engine in an a4 and I find it a bit sluggish.

bazz26

Or just get it remapped if you cannot find a factory 170bhp. DSG is worth finding too.

mickdw

I would be of the opinion that an auto 5 series would be a far superior car to the other 2 when looking at that price range

Germancarfan

that budget would get you in to an f10 5 series which are a fine car IMO.
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/bmw/5-series/used-2012-bmw-5-series-520d-m-spo-galway-fpa-150014260215086170


Any reason why no a6 on the list ?

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/audi/a6/used-2012-audi-a6-2-0-tdi-s-line-limerick-fpa-154114275533757180

PatL23

The auto f10 5 series is a lovely place to be and the 8 speed double clutch box is fantastic imo. Without question I'd have it before the others. Make sure you get one with xenons. You'd get a 12 msport in the UK Inc vrt for the same price as a 12 SE here I reckon.

Once your warranty is out I'd recommend a remap. You can easily remap a 520d to 210 with zero problems.

squeekyduck

I am in the same situation as you OP and have been toying with the idea of the 525d. its a 2 litre engine with two turbos, pushing out around 205 bhp. Its meant to be far superior than the 520d but the only issue is that they are rare to find.

The 520d is still a fine machine. I had a 520d m sport 2012 f10 as a pool car from work and loved it, that why I am trying to justify the f10! Its got the best looking interior, economical and it will hold its value.

OldMrBrennan83

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bazz26

Patww79 wrote: »

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Could you elaborate on what damage a remap will do as I've had a few of my cars remapped and never had any problems with them? The only way I can see a remap causing damage is where the person doing the remapping hadn't an idea of what they were doing or the driver gives the car dog abuse after a remap. Otherwise it just sounds like man down the pub hearsay.

s15r330

Patww79 wrote: »

The BMW every single day of the week, when you're spending that kind of money you want a bit of real class under you.

I wouldn't agree on the remap of any though. Get the one you want with the power you want from day one. A remap will seem fine for the first while but it will be doing damage every day and once it's a few years old you'll have a lot of problems.

Agree with the BMW, far ahead of the other 2. But your remap comment is totally wrong.

heroics

Germancarfan wrote: »

Any reason why no a6 on the list ?

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/audi/a6/used-2012-audi-a6-2-0-tdi-s-line-limerick-fpa-154114275533757180

Agree with this. I was only looking at A6s yesterday and 28-32K will get you really nice S line models. (I may be biased as I have an older A6 and love it)

The 5 Series/A6 will have more space than A5/CC

bazz26

From having owned a CC and now own a 5 Series I can tell that the CC has more interior space. The 5 Series cabin is slightly wider but the CC definitely beats it for front and rear leg room. The biggest issue with the CC is being a coupe it sits lower with a sloping roofline than the 5 Series and head room especially in the rear is alot tighter than the 5 Series. Boot space is very similar in both too but the CC carries a full size spare alloy wheel in the boot whereas the 5 Series has run flats so no spare wheel or tyre well.

jrar

OK, with all the lobbying going on here, I've added A6 to the mix - they are indeed a fine solid looking car and I've a pal who has one and rates it highly.

I'd personally prefer the A5 - in terms of fuel consumption, I'm assuming they're both going to be nowhere near as frugal as my trusty Passat (which clocked up 200,000 miles yesterday !) being bigger, heavier and with more horse-power all round ??

Black_Knight

jrar wrote: »

OK, with all the lobbying going on here, I've added A6 to the mix - they are indeed a fine solid looking car and I've a pal who has one and rates it highly.

I'd personally prefer the A5 - in terms of fuel consumption, I'm assuming they're both going to be nowhere near as frugal as my trusty Passat (which clocked up 200,000 miles yesterday !) being bigger, heavier and with more horse-power all round ??

No no, you're doing it wrong. You need to remove options, not add them.

Personally, I have an 09 CC. Love it, though I wish mine had black&white leather. I bought what I could afford (paddy spec) and added optional extras to it as I went along. I went from a 105Bhp A3 to its 140Bhp so the power upgrade was nice, and still is. If I did a bit more mileage in it, id consider talking the Joe Power and getting a remap. That all said, i prefer the grill and lights in the older CCs.

Personally ive never been a fan of BMWs (with the odd exceptions).
A5s are fabulous looking machines. A6 is probably a bit too "serious" for my liking.

Looks wise with the right kit they're all good looking cars (M sport kit, S-line, do CCs have an upgrade line?)

bazz26

They sold a R Line edition of the CC in the UK but imo the body kit on it looks tacky and cheap.

Mine was a GT which was the top UK spec, no body kit or anything but came with 18" interlagos alloy wheels which along with rear privacy glass made a huge difference to the appearance.

This was mine:

blingrhino

we had a 2008 520d and then a 2011 cc and mrs now has my 2011 f10.

2008 520d great car no problems really but very old fashioned inside.

2011 cc 170 dsg , fast but felt small and was uncomfortable on journeys.leather sports seats very uncomfortable.

2011 520d auto - streets ahead of both by a mile,fast very comfortable and a great all round car although i do feel it is getting a bit dated too.