End of the road....

[Martin]

Well, after 10 years of happy Saab motoring I have just ordered my next car. Sadly not a Saab but a Skoda Superb Elegance.

I will be sad to see the old car go but at 12 years old it is starting to cost too much to run.

[mikeloadsasaabs]

I'd be interested to know what you think, it's on the shortlist to replace our 9-5 estate if it ever expires.

[Kev_Mc]

I've had two of the older Superbs. Very good cars, but not as good as the JD Power type surveys suggest. Expectations are lower so the cars are better than people think. Still good though - I miss my old Superb.

Have you gone for the TDi 170? Elegance trim is very good with the leather and sat nav as standard. They do have a lot of space in the back - even more than the 9-5's. Are you having the hatch or estate? Check out the Briskoda forum for all things SKoda.

Be sure to post some pics and your first thoughts on here when you pick the Superb up. 

[Petemate]

I too am looking ahead (WAY ahead according to my financier OH) and am torn between a Skoda, Audi and Seat. Estate definite; also must be one of their 170BHP jobbies, having enjoyed the 9-3's DTUK equipped motor. Audis I tend to find are much more expensive, which is one reason why we ended up with the Saab, and the Seats, although basically A4 S-lines with the cabrio dash, are a bit thin on the ground. With my arthritic left ankle getting steadily worse, needs to be auto and the VAG ones are pretty good from what I hear.

[Kev_Mc]

I'm leaning towards the new Mazda 6. Very good mpg, decent performance, and not too bad looking either.

[jmblack]

I expect my next will be exactly the model you've chosen. Or maybe the new Octavia when it comes out....

[Steve440]

I'm leaning towards the new Mazda 6. Very good mpg, decent performance, and not too bad looking either.

I drove one and though it ticks lots of boxes felt surprisingly slow and lacked any character.

Im not a lover of Audi's but they do some impressive estates and the high powered BMW 3 series estates are a good drive.

Steve

[Petemate]

Steve - one of my neighbours has a Seat Exeo estate. Nice motor - it is basically the outgoing Audi A4 S-line, with a lot of the interior from the Audi Cabrio. New and used these cars are £3-5k less than the Audi versions! For me, I would be looking at an Octavia superb when the time is right/ripe

[CitTone]

Yes but can you get two full-size dish-washers* in the back and still have space for a toolchest?

*sexist jokes apart...

[jmblack]

I took a tape measure to the skoda showroom one day! The floor space on both the Octavia and the superb are almost identical although superb has a bit more height. Interestingly floor shape very very similar to my 95!

Octavia seats a bit tighter and folded space less. The superb however has acres of back seat space and I think beats the 95 folded.

I believe the new Octavia next year will be bigger again....

[MartinMc711]

Currently have a 9-3SW, hoping to get one of the last few registered Saabs next time (couple of years yet) or fingers xxx-ed to be richer by then and the XF Sportbrake.

[Kev_Mc]

I'm leaning towards the new Mazda 6. Very good mpg, decent performance, and not too bad looking either.

I drove one and though it ticks lots of boxes felt surprisingly slow and lacked any character.

Im not a lover of Audi's but they do some impressive estates and the high powered BMW 3 series estates are a good drive.

Steve

Was that the current Mazda 6? Don't think the new one is for sale here until January next year.

I've no doubt the 3 series (and 5 series) are very good, but you have to pay for the privilege. I'm a bit of an inverse badge snob, so the BMW badge puts me off..

[MikeIOW]

We tried the CX5: felt very nice in the higher power diesel....I would expect the 6 to be good too.
With the value so low on our 95 '09 estate, decided to keep it a couple more years.

The Skoda's are nice...enjoy!

[Petemate]

Further to my previous post - once the flooding has subsided on the Abingdon Road, we are going to test drive a 2008 Octavia hatchback (I like estates for the weight advantage for towing but the Skoda is only 80 or so kg less) at the local Skoda dealer, only 2 miles away. Wanted a Superb, but they have none in our price range. The Octy is a very nice example, with only 41k miles, and the top of the range 'Laurin & Klement' with many toys; heated memory seats and mirrors, full leather trim, parking sensors, ESP etc, follow home lights, blah blah. Shame to see the Saab go but I can barely walk each time I have driven the car now due to a rapidly worsening left arthritic ankle, and so I now need an auto. The DSG of the VAG cars is a nice 'box and although no steering wheel paddles, I will soon get used to the manual facility as and when needed, eg down steep hills and possibly to hold it in 5th over hilly A roads with the caravan on!
I know there are auto 9-3 cars available but I haven't really got a lot of time to look also price is an issue.
I reckon I will still follow the fortunes or otherwise of the great friends made on here, being a foraholic (just made that word up especially for me lol)

Pete

EDITED TO ADD!

Just done a deal on the latest Sportwagon to arrive at Sytner Select at Cumnor, auto - picking it up on Monday afternoon. Took a big hit on the trade-in on ours, but trade-in prices for the age and miles the same everywhere AFAICT.
 Pete