Morning all, input required for some seasoned long term owners please!
A little background, I'm coming from 45 years or ownership of cars, I've had one Mini Clubman (awful) and a Renault Clio but everything else has been (and continues to be) Italian. I'm sure all of you will have your opinions on that but my experiences have been fantastic over the years, I can go into specifics if anyone wants me to. at length!
My current fleet consists of a Fiat Panda 100HP (3 years ownership and a hoot!) An Alfa Romeo 159 2.4 Ti Sportwagen Q4 (7 years ownership without issue until now) , a Lancia Beta Coupe (under restoration) and a Hawk HF3000 (since 1988) replica of a Lancia Stratos.
My Alfa 159 is one of 4 of this spec in the UK and has a problem that I've failed to diagnose, it's with a specialist at the moment, but it looks like the time to replace it is coming soon. After 7 years and 70,000 miles of completely trouble free motoring with me (out of 135,000 in total) it may be killed due to lack of spare parts, probably a CV joint in the centre propshaft that is unique to Alfa Romeo and no longer available.
So, I'm researching a replacement which should be practical, reliable and good looking. There's not much out there. I refuse to go electric/hybrid or SUV and need an estate for lugging stuff about. About the only car I've seen that comes close to being as good looking as the Alfa is an A6 Avant. It's a bit bigger and the load area is also longer and flatter which is a bonus.
I'm a complete novice when it comes to these cars but I'm not put off by an automatic gearbox which most appear to have and if I need performance I'll go for a blat in the Strat. Shopping - Panda. Long distance it needs to be comfortable!
So, recommendations/suggestions/explanations on engines and model names would be appreciated, what to look out for when test driving, maintenance costs, fuel economy in the real world, what to budget and anything else you think I ought to know about before I head out to look for my first potential German car?
Cheers
Guy
