Just by way of discussion point, I would be interested to hear other views on the subject of estate cars. I favour them because I genuinely need the space for my work stuff.
I have two on the go at the moment. An old but seemingly bulletproof Mondeo diesel. ( Sorry! ) It is an 02 Ghia X and is now up to 150k It has only ever needed a replacement dipped beam bulb. Ultra reliable car. Nothing and I mean nothing else has ever needed repair or replacement other than normal consumables such as tyres and brakes.
The other one which brings me here is a sort of estate. It's a 2.2 Direct Design Signum. Also very pleasing and astonishingly economical for a reasonably powerful car.
Thing is, I know some people just don't get on with the idea of estate cars and I am curious to know why. Beauty is of course in the eye and so on but I think once you have had an estate you would find it hard to go back to a more compromised loadspace. A bit like your first shed or house with a spare room ! It's like when you first get a petrol mower, you didn't think it would be as useful as it is. I ask myself the question that if I no longer needed the loadspace, would I go back to a hatch or saloon car ? The answer is almost certainly no.
I love the ability to chuck bikes in the back, to load it up for a tip run, to fill it with kit and family for long hauls across Europe without having to bolt power and economy sapping boxes to the roof.
Is it just a personal taste thing which attracts others to non-estate cars? I can sort of see that a large hatch like a Vectra gets somewhere near to being as useful but really can't see the point in saloons. If ever there was a bad use of available space it's a saloon car. A classic example of form winning out over function. That may have some validity at the indulgence end of the car market but in the real world of cars which have to be multi-purpose and usage it just seems such an outdated concept to me.
Anyway, like I said I would be genuinely interested to hear the case for the defence !
Best Regards
Humph
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