New job... Car change... Any recommendations?

A Jag XJ of some sort, very comfy, mine only pulls ~2200 rpm at 70mph, I'd consider a diesel X350 version, you may be surprised wrt the amount of bang for your buck. What's your rough budget?

[fizzwheel]

I'd be looking for something that you can put rocket miles on and it wont depreciate anymore.

Play my favourite game. Set a £1000 limit on auto trader and then see what comes up close to you.

If you are doing alot of miles, you want something comfortable an with a quiet cabin, auto box helps, but I'm not convinced the hit on the fuel economy is outweighed by the more relaxed driving experience.

I'd probably be looking at ( and have been ) in no order of preference

Passat
Mondeo
Octavia
Audi A6 / A4 ( but avoid the 6 pot diesels in the older models and the economy isnt that good and also they dont have a good rep mechanic wise, from what I have read anyway ) our A6 is the ultiimate mile muncher, I've driven to Manchester and back in one day and felt as fresh as a daisy when I got home.
3 Series BMW Touring

I've also been looking at

Saab 9-3
Volvo V70 & V40's as well.

Volvo's seem like a stupid amount of car for not much money...

Avoid anything with drug dealer alloys and low profile tyres.

Originally Posted by Tim in Belgium

A Jag XJ of some sort, very comfy, mine only pulls ~2200 rpm at 70mph, I'd consider a diesel X350 version, you may be surprised wrt the amount of bang for your buck. What's your rough budget?

I'd 'like' to spend around £7-8k for something around 2-3 years old, but my actual budget is a fair amount more as I realise it might be a bit unrealistic to get what I'm after for that much.

Ok, I've got a decent list of cars to try now - cheers peeps!
The one thing I've noticed though (as a current owner) is a lack of any mention for Toyota... (or Honda for that matter)

Has anyone had any experience of either the Corolla or Avensis for longer distance driving?

May be a tad small, but how about the 2.2 diesel honda civic? Chain cam engines I believe & japanese build quality to rival the common german shouts.

Pal of mine had one as a company car, went well enough and felt solid to sit in.

5 stars on honest john too http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/honda/civic-2006/

Sorry, just seen your mention of Japanese marques...

[yorkie_chris]

Toyota avensis... spot on... boss had one, smooth, quiet, went well.

and 2 million taxi drivers can't all be wrong

[Luckypants]

I've heard that the Avensis can be uncomfortable to sit in for long periods. My ex-wife had one and suffered a bad back from long days in the drivers seat. Honda Accord would be a good shout, but they seem to keep their value very well, so possibly expensive.

[rowdy]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

Before going for a VAG group diesel, check out their turbo problems. They have a particular issue with the turbo on their 2.0 TDi engines, so much so that the local main dealer keeps 3-6 turbos on the shelf in their parts department! These can fail at a young age and low miles, under 50K miles and around 3 years old.

This. Why do a lot of people believe the hype that german cars are so reliable.
They used to be. A Merc 190E or W124, bullet proof. Nowadays, german cars just aren't any more reliable than any other.

Not just the turbo problems on the VAG 2.0TDi engines, that's pretty limited to the 170bhp versions. The 140bhp versions use different turbo but the fuel injectors fail (vag cars also suffer from traction control module, abs module, climate control condenser failures as well as a few electrical faults, windows and the like).

The trouble with any modern diesel is dual mass flywheel and diesel particulate filters.

If it were my money, I would look at a Volvo V70 (or S60) D5. Trouble is earlier cars (pre 06MY) had weak intercoolers, 5 speed gearbox (stay away from auto on these) and 'only' 163bhp.
I very, very nearly bought myself a 56 plate one. 6 speed gearbox and 185bhp. Pulled like a train, and the most comfortable car I have ever driven. Trouble is the post 06 have the dreaded DPF. These clog up, put the car in to limp mode, dealer charges a couple of hundred quid to leave a brick on the accelerator for half an hour then clear fault codes, blah blah etc etc. And they also leak diesel in to the sump, causing the oil level to rise, thinning the oil, and guess what . . . yep, putting the car in to limp mode.
These can have the dpf removed, exhaust section replaced, and remapped to run without dpf for around £500.

[fizzwheel]

Isnt the issue with DPF caused by the car doing short journeys and the exhaust not getting hot enough to burn / clear out the detritus from the filter ?