Thought I’d start a post to see what people run as a daily ? I’ve had my blob wrx now for 9 years and it’s always been a daily but I’ve come to the point now where I may do a big build on her (still undecided) and she’s gunna be off the road for a while and I’m going to need a new daily

So I’ve got about 5/7.5k to get a daily, would more than likely want it to be a estate as have 2 kids and could do with extra space

Diesel is out of the question for me as I’d only do around 20-30miles a week so wouldn’t warrant one

I’ve only ever known Subaru in the last 9 years so I keep looking at legacy’s or maybe even a nice clean blob/hawk wagon but I know there’s other cars out there to be had for the money I’m not that worried about running cost

Thoughts ?

 

I've had a blob wagon and a Legacy estate, and our kids quickly outgrew both of them, particularly on proper journeys when the boot was full. They are both quite small platforms. Id have either again though, because they were great to drive and safe in bad conditions when the kids were in the back

 

We use a Qashqai +2 as our daily family workhorse. It's a 2l diesel auto and has buckets of space for all 3 kids, the dog, pram, scooters, etc. I have to chuck a rack on the back if the boys want to take out the bikes but otherwise it does everything we chuck at it. Have done several 6 hour runs down to Cornwall in it and usually with only one stop for the kids, so it's comfy too. Only thinks we've ever had to change are tyres and brakes and it's sitting at around 120k now. Probably gonna chop it in this year though and get a VW transporter.

 

I absolutely love my Ford S-Max for family duties. If the current 2013 model died, I would buy another one (which I have never felt about any other car...). Ours is a 1.6 petrol turbo, which surprisingly does not feel underpowered.

 

I kick about in mk4 golf as me daily, 03 plate GTi, had it 10 yrs and never let me down, reliable old bus👍

 

I like the idea of a blob wagon just trying to find a clean example without mental miles is hard I’m just so used to Subaru I have blurred vision

 

I bought a JDM legacy GTTS for my daily, was torn between this and a Exiga STI.

The BR legacy’s seem bigger than the previous generation.

 

And it will go another 10 years minimum. Mk4 Golf stands the test of time, same as my 54 plate1.9 PD AWX TDi Passat now on 137k miles....when a VW was a true well built car, not like now. No AdBlue, no DPF....perfect!

My mums Mk4 Golf is a PD 1.9 TDi. Imported it new from Germany back in 2000 and has only 42k only the clock now. Literally one careful lady owner as the saying goes!

Keep the GTi as long as you can, anything you buy now would swing in the breeze before that.

 

Skoda fabia vrs brilliant little car just make sure you get a good one cause they can be hit and miss excellent mpg from the 1.4tsi aswell and top performance (0-60 in 6 seconds with a tuning box).

 

my mate had a mk 4 golf gti years ago with front heated leather seats, when it was his turn to take us to work which was Stafford around 15 years ago we were constantly switching each others Heated seat to 5 in the middle of summer 😂😂 fantastic days working on the railways back then and I loved the mk 4 golf gti

 

Don't ask me, I went shopping for a £10k 4.4 TDV8 FFRR and ended up spending double that on a 335D estate. What scope? What budget?

However, when I was trying to work out what I wanted as a practical option to replace my arthritic CRV with and wasn't looking at spending that much I couldn't look past things like the Volvo V70 (well, XC, I wanted AWD). The Volvos go on forever and the petrol engines are pretty decent. Lots of space and mega comfy seats too if you get a pre 2011 version (or at least that's what I found when I've looked at them). The problem with things like Legacies that I found was that they're rarely owned by enthusiasts, particularly outbacks, and so the underside of them can be in a pretty poor state as they're as well undersealed as every other Subaru. That said they are pretty reliable and if you're used to working on your Impreza then you'll be right at home with them. Don't discount petrol 5 series estates too, they're spacious and not bad on fuel. Generally cheaper than the diesel counterparts too.

 

So the budget would be around 5 to 7.5k I’d love a 335D but just couldn’t afford one unless it was like 10 years old and they’ve all got high miles all be it mostly motor way miles just wouldn’t want to spend that amount of money on a car with over 150k miles

Like I said I do around 30-40 miles a week so can’t see the point in a diesel

I want a all round family car that still has enough power to put a smile on my face yet can ferry the kids round and be safe and a good all rounder

 

Sorry, the what scope, what budget bit was a rhetorical question to myself for my inability to stick to them!

If fun and petrol are on the cards then a 530i would be on the list as they don't seem to hold their value as well as the smaller 3 series, or perhaps an imported P2 Volvo V70R with the 300bhp 2.5 5 pot engine. When I was looking last summer there seemed to be quite a few coming in at that point with reasonable mileage. One I did consider that might just come in your budget is an Insignia VXR. In estate form they're huge and even with the hatch you'd still have plenty of space. However, they do seem a bit flaky and appear to have a fair number of drivetrain issues. If you can stomach those (they all seem to take a rounded £1k to fix) then that may be an option? I will caveat that all the stuff I was looking at was AWD and wagon as those were two of my main criteria (as were SUV as a minimum, ground clearance and not a BMW. And how well I did on those!) so the interesting saloon/hatch options that weren't AWD didn't hit my radar.

 

My daily is a ffrr 4.4 v8 petrol. All depends on what you want it for. I got this as I can't justify a diesel range rover as I live inside London with the ulez but I also need something that can tow 3.5ton so seemed like the best option

 

I had couple of A4 s-line diesel estates for last 6/7 years,both been great cars,just changed to a Octavia VRS diesel estate,nice spec,goes well,good size for bikes/kids etc & £30 tax!... offsets STi running costs nicely!

 

Few years back i bought a Vectra 2.0T shed loads of space and comfort. But so unreliable, sold it and bought another Impreza. Its the only way lol