Originally Posted by
davidI
After a decade of living and traveling around the world without a car, it's finally time to buy one here in Spain. A lot has changed over the last 10 years in the car world since I knew my stuff, and even moreso when looking at European models.
Wants:
1. Wagon / Estate / Touring type car. The vehicle will generally only be used on weekends for trips to the beach / mountains so we want something we can sleep in the back of on occasion (as well as haul bikes, skis, surfboards, etc.)
2. Economical. Fuel is over $2 CAD per liter here so fuel economy is very important, particularly since we'll be doing a lot of mileage to the mountains (400km+ RT). I'm used to driving petrol cars but it seems to make sense to go diesel here.
3. Low Emission. I want to reduce my carbon footprint and Europe is taxing the crap out of emissions so keeping CO2 <120g/km would be best.
4. Reliable. I don't have tools/space to do my own repair work and dealing with Spanish mechanics can't be fun.
5. Under 15,000 Euros ($22,000 CAD). Since it's not a daily driver I think that's an adequate budget for something 2014+ with <100k kms.
Although the above is all pretty boring and practical, I'd still like something that's not completely gutless and at least a little fun to drive. Unfortunately, most vehicles over here seem to go with the most economical engines so it's not easy to find something with a bit of pep without paying through the arse.
Based on what I've looked at so far, the VW Passat Variant or BMW 318d Touring seem like good options. The VW Golf Variant and Civic Tourer also look okay, though for the little bit of savings I'm not sure they're worth it. I also looked at the Volvo V60, Skoda Octavia, and Audi A4 Avant but the above listed options seem to get better reviews.
For an idea of listings and prices, I've found the below in the area:
2014 VW Passat Variant 1.6TDI Advance (120hp), 60k kms, 14,000 Euros, claimed 3.7l/100kms highway.
2015 VW Passat Variant 2.0 TDI Edition BMT (150hp), 77k kms, 14,200 Euros, claimed 3.7l/100kms highway.
2016 VW Passat Variant 1.6 TDI BlueMotion (121 hp), 90k kms, 14,000 Euros
2015 BMW 318d Touring (143 hp), 98k kms, 14,650 Euros, claimed 3.9L/100kms highway.
2016 BMW 318d Touring (150 hp), 75k kms, 15,000 Euros, claimed 4L/100kms highway.
2015 Honda Civic Tourer 1.6 i-Dtec Elegance (120hp), 110k kms, 11,700 Euros, claimed 3.7L/100kms
2017 Honda Civic Tourer 1.6 i-DTEC Lifestyle Navi (120hp), 72k kms, 15,000 Euros, claimed 3.7L/100kms highway.
2016 VW Golf Variant (150 hp), 87k kms, 15,000 Euros, claimed 3.8L/100kms.
2016 VW Golf Variant 1.6 TDI CR BMT Business DSG (110 hp), 64k kms, 14,300 Euros, claimed 3.7L/100kms
Thoughts, suggestions, recommendations?