Suspension sinks on Sundays! C5 X7 that works hard + 206 GTi HDi (and 406 Coupe and 306 HDi). - MattBLancs

[mickthemaverick]

If you really fancy an older car Matt I would give the Subaru Forester a serious look to cover all your requirements. My Legacy has been an amazing car and I believe Jim will confirm that it really does do everything I ask of it with ease.

This model, not the newer SUV:

BFTW

eg this one for sale!! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256343398105 ... R4zkw7GSYw

[Armidillo]

Subaru has done well in Australia, and there are certainly a lot of Foresters running around. The newer ones have put on a lot of weight (bloat), so I'd agree that the earlier ones were more sensible.

One thing they were not great on was fuel economy. In 2005 we were looking at buying a new car - looked at Subaru (having had a great run out of an L-series wagon), but went with a Pug 307 wagon (2 litre HDi) - partly because the Peugeot fuel economy was so much better.

[mickthemaverick]

Yes I've seen those figures for the 2.0 Alec, but my 2.5 returns a healthy 38-44 mpg according to use. Jim and I averaged 43.7 on the South Coast Saunter which I was very happy with for a large AWD saloon. We even managed 48mpg for one day!!

[MattBLancs]

Surprisingly good economy from your Subaru, Mick!
Is the 2.5 a big bore version of the flat four, or a smaller version of the big (3.0?) Flat six?

I think a Forester is likely a bit big but will ask
I'd have called it an SUV to be honest, thought it's both quite a car like one and also with a more serious "4x4" drivetrain underneath. Hard to pigeonhole really that!

It's also outside of my PSA comfort zone too, about all I know of Subaru's is that I should not volunteer to help change their spark plugs!

[MattBLancs]

Having had a good look, the "207 SW RC" appears to be a unicorn, so sadly is ruled out by not existing.

The 306 estate seems a contender - and Sarah did drive my 306 (3 door) quite a bit and enjoyed it. But they are very old now, so
- The rust issue is very much on my mind (especially with a rotten one sat ten paces away)

- Actually petrol or diesel 306 is so old / such an outdated Euro emissions standard as to be no great reason to chose one over the other (in which case either a HDi or non exploding con rod spec 1.9 XUD9TE feels a no brainer choice)

207 SW market seems awash with drab colours and fairly low spec, sadly. Have to say am disappointed at the lack of anything in any way sporting! Why do new estate car buyers seem such a sombre lot!

Also looked at 307 SW, but that's a good foot longer, so again might be a bit big. The size itself isn't a fundamental problem for Sarah driving it, (though she isn't keen on parking the big C5 at present) but that we'd end up with C5 and (a TBC almost same size estate) pretty much indistinguishable. At which point, once ** the Coupe is roadworthy again, the C5 would need to justify it's existence here being presumably less economical than a slightly smaller estate and less capacity than the Coupe with the trailer behind it!

** "Once" rather than "if" - positivity!

[Armidillo]

What about a 307 hatchback? 5 door like the wagon - just not as long. Friends here in Armidale have a 308 hatch, which they seem very happy with.

[CitroJim]

My 8V DV6 seems quite revvy and lively ...

I must disagree with you on that Jim. Our 8v DV6 pulls strongly from astonishingly low revs. In fact I have to clear the error codes every so often because the (engine?) ECU thinks that the dual mass flywheel needs replacing.

It feels like a much bigger engine really. Ours is the 120 bhp version, maybe yours is the 90bhp or something else?

No, mine is quite uninspiring at low revs Paul and needs to be driven more like a petrol engine so maybe mine is the 90 and/or has a different map to yours. So far I've not explored the exact specification of my car... No worries as it goes well well enough as long as you keep the revs up and hold on to the gears...

I do agree that it's a jewel of an engine

[MattBLancs]

Bit of tidying up:
C4 picasso, Subaru Forester = too big.
307 SW, 308 SW = borderline too big.

306 estate, 206 SW = too old basically. Fears of picking up age related issues, i.e. Rust!

C3 Picasso = not acquired the acquired taste


207 SW still front runner.

Parkers and the internet generally on the HDi engines says "90/92 bhp = 5 speed and later 112bhp is a six speed". Not clear if the earlier 110 bhp version is 5 or 6. Think this is worthwhile addition but begining to doubt a six speed was actually fitted! All seem to be 5, even some claiming to be 112 bhp.

Incidentally,
90 or 110 = Euro 4
92 or 112 = Euro 5
As above, given the government rhetoric, seems better to aim at the later emissions standard.

Access and "S" seem to be bottom of the range. "Sport" somewhere in the middle, Allure is highest spec.

This one seems quite good:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-detail ... 2044527162

From Autotrader

From Autotrader

Plusses:
Not a drab colour!
Towbar,
Later Euro 5 spec, though the 92bhp,
Part leather seats in posh Allure spec,
Panoramic glass roof.

Negatives:
Cat N so has been written off, need to look into implications of this (given what trivial damage counts as "uneconomic to repair" nowadays, I'm not worried about the actual condition of the car too much, more what does it mean in terms of insurance etc??)

Fag burns or other damage to the drivers seat,
Five speed.

[MattBLancs]

Ah, well there must have been some six speed 207's then, here's a gearbox from one!
https://parts.asm-autos.co.uk/find-auto ... xMy1hbTAx/

[CitroJim]

That looks worth a closer look Matt... The boot is spacious And as you say, not a drab colour I'm now wondering how well that would swallow one of my bikes...

If you intend to keep it for a good while I see no problem with it being a Cat N as long as the necessary repairs have been done well. It's only if you want to resell soon it might be an issue..

I'd be happy to take a write-off as I tend to keep my cars until their next logical destination is the scrapyard or I give them away...

[MattBLancs]

A quick "spreadsheet"

Own work. Yes I could have been a doctor based on the state of my handwriting

[mickthemaverick]

Interesting how computer technology has invaded every part of our lives!! In my day that would have been called a comparison table

[MattBLancs]

That looks worth a closer look Matt... The boot is spacious And as you say, not a drab colour I'm now wondering how well that would swallow one of my bikes...

207 SW:
Boot surprisingly small, see spreadsheet.

Also of note is quite how badly the C5 Tourer compares in boot space to the 308 SW!

If you intend to keep it for a good while I see no problem with it being a Cat N as long as the necessary repairs have been done well. It's only if you want to resell soon it might be an issue..

I'd be happy to take a write-off as I tend to keep my cars until their next logical destination is the scrapyard or I give them away...

Yes, I'm not bothered about resale value, more I didn't want to pick up a headache to insure.

Seemingly "Category N" = non structural damage Vs "Cat. S" (structural damage) so sounds more likely it's the inflated repair costs that wrote it off in the past.


As you'll see from the sheet, also looking at normal 5 door hatchbacks as a middle ground between little estates and bigger options

[MattBLancs]

Interesting how computer technology has invaded every part of our lives!! In my day that would have been called a comparison table

Yes, I call it a spreadsheet more as I'd normally do this activity in Excel, just didn't fancy putting the PC on, so grabbed this nice pad. (Love a bit of squared paper!)

[mickthemaverick]

My conclusion from that :

Matt's original with annotation