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Both are available as estates and you can get a 2017 example of either for under £25k, and both are congestion charge exempt.
Both are also well equipped and a bit "premium".
My Mrs has a V70 diesel auto. It's OK, and acceleration is OK, but frankly the leather seats are very uncomfy, and it's very rough driving over any uneven roads and speed bumps compared to my car. She had an XC90 once, which was much smoother, and had excellent seats.
So- don't assume Volvo seats will be comfy, ours does my back in after 30 mins
Is a C class Merc too big?
I have never been impressed with 3 series BMW sizes
saloon boot space seems similar now, but I never used to easily fit in a 3 series, and I've hated the 3 series courtesy cars I've had, whereas the C classes have had more space around the front seats
Thanks for the other suggestions, looking into them.
@ToneControl. What age is the V70? Surprised to hear the seats are uncomfortable. Most reviews I’ve seen say the Volvo seats are one of its best features??
My wife has a 3 series touring (335d), and it's OK. It's quick but boring as you like to drive. The ZF gearboxes BMW use are really good though.
Unless you are up to speed with the options packs on German cars they can be a massive pain when buying secondhand, as some non standard options can be rare but really important.
If I was only doing 7K, i'd lease and choose whatever is cheap at the time (check on Pistonheads car buying forum or start googling and see what shows up on your fb adverts). There have been some really good deals on Golf R Estates etc.
Tha Allroad is no exception.
look at this site:
https://broadspeed.com/
take your shortlist, and see which brand and model is offering the best discounts
Remember to check one or two models up in the range as well, sometimes they have massive discounts.
I can remember a 730d being only £4k more than a 330d one year
some manufacturers subsidise certain models at different points in the car model lifecycle
With the BMW 7 series, as far as I can tell, they have large market share in China and the middle east, and in Europe, and want to challenge the Merc S class. Consequently, buying a new 7 series was possible below used prices, in fact the car was still worth the price paid after 2 or 3 years
This is how the maker can preserve the RRP and the residual value but still offer a discount
Just wade through that site and see if any cars catch your eye
Cameras and such can help with parking
We still don’t want a big car anymore though. Parking the thing isn’t really an issue in terms of physically getting it into a parking spot, we both manage that just fine with mirrors and rear sensors. It’s the size of parking slots that’s the issue, they’re just too small for bigger cars. Our current car is forever picking up marks and dings on the doors because people parking next to us don’t have enough room to open their doors properly (or don’t care more likely).
All petrol estates - 3 series, c class, audi a4 - all good, the rest is personal choice.
7k a year, diesel is pointless.
Hybrids - false economy if you do any sort of motorway driving. Its all a myth (the economy argument) as a lot of the time you are lugging a heavy vehicle with a petrol engine. I really had convinced myself that my next car would be a hybrid until I looked into their useless motorway and real world MPG.
Having said that, I didn't see such large discounts for smaller cars when I looked a few years ago
Might be worth having a look at them? Golf R estate within range for your budget.