€35k to play with - what do ya buy?

Jimmy Bottlehead · 04-03-2016 8:41pm #1

The aul lad is gonna trade in his 2013 Avensis and I'm trying to persuade him to not buy something mundane and boring again as he's always done that and deserves to treat himself to a nice car.

Budget is €35k, give or take.
Main needs are:

"A bit of power", as he likes a 2L engine
Comfort
5 seats & 5 doors (though it's primarily just him and my mum in it)
Diesel
Not RWD (as they live in the country and snow would scupper him with a RWD
Preferably 2013 or newer. 2012 might do in a very special case
Reasonable mileage (prob less than 50k or 60k)

He's admitted he likes the BMW 5 Series but the RWD puts him off, and also seems to like the Audi A6.

What do you guys recommend?

Soarer · 04-03-2016 9:05pm

RX450h?

Granted it's not diesel, but wouldn't be bad on juice being a hybrid.

Sitec · 04-03-2016 9:08pm

A brand new Mazda 6 is a nice place to be. You could nearly get a Platinum top spec 2.2 for that, nice step up from an Avensis.

ianobrien · 04-03-2016 10:37pm

Why no RWD? Surely when your father learned to drive everything was RWD and probably on remolds. Once proper tyres are under the car, RWD will go anywhere a FWD will go.

As for options, I'd be thinking of an auto SUV/pretend SUV mainly for getting in and out of

colm_mcm · 04-03-2016 10:39pm

even a current model 2.0 tdi passat with a bit of spec would be a noticibly nicer car than the avensis.

AMKC · 05-03-2016 12:26am

A Ford Mondeo or a Skoda Superb well worth checking out both lovely cars. The Mazda 6 as said above is also lovely.

CountingCrows · 05-03-2016 1:12am

AMKC wrote: »

A Ford Mondeo or a Skoda Superb well worth checking out both lovely cars. The Mazda 6 as said above is also lovely.

These aren't mundane?

corsav6 · 05-03-2016 1:22am

35k would get a top spec insignia, a fine looking car and lovely interior. Depreciation would be the killer though.

kingofburt · 05-03-2016 9:22am

Have you checked out Volvo's range yet? The S/V60 match every request on your list and the XC60 could be a nice SUV option too.
Edit - it may be a bit smaller than the Toyota and other options

Jimmy Bottlehead · 05-03-2016 12:26pm

Sitec wrote: »

A brand new Mazda 6 is a nice place to be. You could nearly get a Platinum top spec 2.2 for that, nice step up from an Avensis.

Good shout actually, I've only heard good things about the Mazda and it has more spark to it than most of the others.

He's always driven Civics, Passats, Superbs, etc. so that's why I'd like to see him try something a bit different. Make driving more of an experience than a task. Plus a bit more luxury.

ianobrien wrote: »

Why no RWD? Surely when your father learned to drive everything was RWD and probably on remolds. Once proper tyres are under the car, RWD will go anywhere a FWD will go.

As for options, I'd be thinking of an auto SUV/pretend SUV mainly for getting in and out of

I'd agree on the RWD thing, but he's dead-set against not having a RWD. It's tragic.

Zurbaran · 05-03-2016 1:49pm

A 2013 A6 S-line should be doable for 35k. Slightly left field but you could also get a high spec 2014 Mercedes CLA.

A new Mazda 6 Platinum as mentioned earlier is a good shout.