Another car/jeep thread - new requirements

[benzebub]

@ TS:

Skoda Superb estate. VAG group, amazing bang for the buck and absurd amounts of space.

[ico]

Nobody mentioned Chrysler Pacifica or the previous Grand Voyager with their "Stow an go" system?

[Shrike]

Last time I made one of these threads there was tons of great advice but I didn't do the courtesy of saying how it ended. I did get the A4 Avant in the end and it's a totally different experience to the smaller A3 Sportback. I know guys were saying in the previous thread that they were sticking their bikes in hatchbacks and that's kinda what made me think I'd be able to live with something like the Sportback. I couldn't though. Aways need to take the wheel off, which isn't terrible, but when it's two bikes and kit, there's really not much room.

A4 Avant is my first proper estate and I was a bit worried when I first looked in the boot. Looked a bit cramped and my heart stopped.. thought I was making a mistake.

Anyway I've moved a ton of stuff in it now and with the seats down the thing is huge. Can throw in two bikes with wheels on and loads of kit. Diesel engine a bit of a tractor when idling but I was getting 50mpg cruise controlling most of it at then later 77mph and lots of start stopping in heavy motorway queues. Dropping speed down to around 55mph roughly seems to max out the economy over 70mpg, but didn't have the time to put it to the test on a long trip yet. Would be a bit crappy driving at 55mph, even lorries would be trying to do dodgy overtakes out of the slow lane.

Thing I don't like to parking it. It's definitely pretty long. Reverse is fine but forward bay parking in tight spots is pretty bad compared to what I'm used to. Need to work on that

[PeytonM]

Last time I made one of these threads there was tons of great advice but I didn't do the courtesy of saying how it ended. I did get the A4 Avant in the end and it's a totally different experience to the smaller A3 Sportback. I know guys were saying in the previous thread that they were sticking their bikes in hatchbacks and that's kinda what made me think I'd be able to live with something like the Sportback. I couldn't though. Aways need to take the wheel off, which isn't terrible, but when it's two bikes and kit, there's really not much room.

A4 Avant is my first proper estate and I was a bit worried when I first looked in the boot. Looked a bit cramped and my heart stopped.. thought I was making a mistake.

Anyway I've moved a ton of stuff in it now and with the seats down the thing is huge. Can throw in two bikes with wheels on and loads of kit. Diesel engine a bit of a tractor when idling but I was getting 50mpg cruise controlling most of it at then later 77mph and lots of start stopping in heavy motorway queues. Dropping speed down to around 55mph roughly seems to max out the economy over 70mpg, but didn't have the time to put it to the test on a long trip yet. Would be a bit crappy driving at 55mph, even lorries would be trying to do dodgy overtakes out of the slow lane.

Thing I don't like to parking it. It's definitely pretty long. Reverse is fine but forward bay parking in tight spots is pretty bad compared to what I'm used to. Need to work on that

Thanks for updating the thread. I’m in a similar situation currently have a golf 5d hatch with one kiddie seat and get the bike in with the two wheels off, but soon will have 2 kiddie seats. Thinking I’d prefer an estate similar to yours rather then suv.

[tymon_tm]

hope your A4 serves you well

this week I tested the new Ssangyong Rexton, a huge, nearly 5m long SUV (it's a mid size at best in US lol) that's netiher good looking, nore it's brand can be associated with the best qualities... BUT, and it's a huge BUT really - I was so amazed by it, I'm sort of still picking my jaw from the floor. it's a 40-50k euro car that can be easily compared with nearly twice as much Audis or Mercs. what's more, it's RWD by default (4x4 is there, but not fixed) so it's suprisingly fast to drive in corners. all in all, it's waaaay better than the Kodiaq I almost bought, it kinda reminds me of M-class (I haven't driven the new one though) and the level of noise is almost at the Lexus level - for half the price!

my wife still hasn't forgiven me for not getting an SUV lol, so I might be seriously considering this one. I'm planning to rent one for a weekend trip to check it out properly, I really hope it's not gonna be as good, because this car stands for most things I hate in cars today... yet it's so freakin good..

[alistaird]

hope your A4 serves you well

this week I tested the new Ssangyong Rexton, a huge, nearly 5m long SUV (it's a mid size at best in US lol) that's netiher good looking, nore it's brand can be associated with the best qualities... BUT, and it's a huge BUT really - I was so amazed by it, I'm sort of still picking my jaw from the floor. it's a 40-50k euro car that can be easily compared with nearly twice as much Audis or Mercs. what's more, it's RWD by default (4x4 is there, but not fixed) so it's suprisingly fast to drive in corners. all in all, it's waaaay better than the Kodiaq I almost bought, it kinda reminds me of M-class (I haven't driven the new one though) and the level of noise is almost at the Lexus level - for half the price!

my wife still hasn't forgiven me for not getting an SUV lol, so I might be seriously considering this one. I'm planning to rent one for a weekend trip to check it out properly, I really hope it's not gonna be as good, because this car stands for most things I hate in cars today... yet it's so freakin good..

I've got New Rexton. had it about 9 months and we love it. Everything you need from an SUV without the inflated price. Mercedes auto transmission coupled with a punchy Korean Diesel and all mod cons. The boot or trunk is huge....

Towing capacity is 3.5 tonnes and we tow a horse trailer and you really don't notice it behind. Switchable auto hold makes Hill starts a breeze...

Discounts on new made it cheaper than low mileage used...

What's not to like???

A

Sent from my SGP312 using Tapatalk

[Shrike]

Didn't know this thing existed. After a bit of research... A: looks class. B: reviews are all over the place on it.

MPG is a dog but on par for SUVs of it's size.

Next generation will have it better than us. Big electric SUVs that are actually affordable to run.

A4 Avant is 4.72m long, so this big thing isn't really that much longer than a lot of larger estates.