I have been impressed by the level of debate in this thread:

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/295978-vrs-tdi-estate-vs-bmw-320d-touring/page-2

Despite this being a Skoda forum, owners do not just unthinkingly say "Of course the Skoda is best!".  Skoda owners seem to be a level-headed, down-to-Earth lot who don't try to fool themselves, and the general opinion seem to be that the BMW is probably the better car, but not sufficiently better (for most people) to justify the much greater cost.

So: what other estate cars are there which have a four-wheel-drive option?  Not everyone want an SUV or wishes to go cross-country.  Some people would like an economical, discreet, conventional-looking estate car (with its long load bay, suitable for carrying bicycles or for sleeping in) but with the better traction on wet grass, mud and snow / ice which four-wheel drive offers.

Skoda have the Octavia and Superb, each with a 4WD option.  BMW and Audi also have their similar (but more expensive) offerings.  But who else offers such a car?

And perhaps even more important: does anyone know of a comparative test of such cars, please, particularly with regard to their traction on slippery surfaces?   

Always fancied one of those Banzai Mitsi Legnums to be fair.

The Octavia is a bit of a one off for its size and price, as was the MK2 before it. Theres nothing like it that I know of that comes in less than 30k list; the Passat Alltrack and A4 Allroads both being stupid money.

Think its rather a shame SUK made the UK 4WD variants SE spec only; if they were available in Elegance spec i'd probably go buy one tomorrow; extremely capable car.

Volvo do the V60 and V70 in 4wd variants but there isn't many about and use the same 4wd system as the bigger cars and if my xc90's anything to go on then there quiet good in the rough stuff aswell

Don't suppose there are many Suburu fans on this forum. I looked at them seriously when buying my Scout but they seemed quite dated aand thirsty - the Impreza I hired a few years ago was excellent in mud unclassified roads though.

There is nothing as cheap as the Octavia III 4x4 in terms of estate cars, sadly. I made a post not long ago with a long list of 4x4 estate cars with prices, will try and find it.

Edit: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/285789-the-octavia-mk-iii-scout/?p=3388143

This topic summarizes my thoughts exactly 4x4 Octavia estate is a no-brainer if need a 4x4 AND an estate.

Merc, bmw, audi, volvo and subaru 4x4 estates are a lot more expensive and will cost more to run.

There are some one-off insignia and peugeot 508rx models, but both are much longer, harder to park and not very efficient or versatile and would have dramatic depreciation.

The only closest are the superb and the passat estates, which, for me do not make more sense than the Octavia in terms of size, price and desirability...

All of this is my view at least

Yup, I'm impressed by the ability of the Subarus to get places which other (non-SUV) cars cannot - they seem very popular in the farming / forestry community.

But their fuel economy is poor, and for many years they didn't offer a diesel at all. 

The new Insignia Country Tourer looks to tick most of the boxes. Big warranty a major draw.

 

Have they stopped doing the Superb outdoor since the facelift?

Edited 24 November, 201312 yr by evan15281

If I wanted an estate 4x4 regular looking car I'd buy an A4 from the drive the deal at a HUGE discount.

(for comparison 177 diesel SE is £24k after £6k discount - shame it's the previous chassis/engines to Octy3 though, but you can have a bigger engine, a petrol engine, an automatic box and a better S line trim)

 

The main reason is because Skoda UK are DAFT enough to only offer the 4x4 Octy3 in SE trim so some of the better options can't be chosen.

Plus you are limited to a manual box and only 2 diesels.

 

It's too limiting.

 

Skoda UK, pull your finger out and let us have an Elegance version like the mainland EU get.

Hi everyone,

I've just "ordered" a new 150 SE 4x4 a few days ago. I had one as a hire car for a long weekend and was very impressed. So much so that I bought one over A4 Quattro, 320xDrive and XC70. Whilst similar spec BMW. Whilst both Audi and BMW were arguably more refined, especially the Audi. I could not convince myself that they were 10k plus better. After having three Volvos (V70 and two XC90s) a two BMWs (E46 320Ci and same generation M3), I take delivery of my first ever Skoda on Friday. Quite excited I am about it too :-)

I agree it is a shame that the new Octavia can't be specced with Elegance trim. I would have liked leather. But SE is still quite well equipped.

The new Insignia Country Tourer looks to tick most of the boxes. Big warranty a major draw.

 

Have they stopped doing the Superb outdoor since the facelift?

 

Yes it does, but as I wrote above it is way too long at 4.91 meters. This is a goddamn 25cm longer than the 4.66 meter Octy III estate.

 

My wife would go nuts if she had to drive&park this in town

Hi everyone, I've just "ordered" a new 150 SE 4x4 a few days ago. I had one as a hire car for a long weekend and was very impressed. So much so that I bought one over A4 Quattro, 320xDrive and XC70. Whilst similar spec BMW. Whilst both Audi and BMW were arguably more refined, especially the Audi. I could not convince myself that they were 10k plus better.

 

No offence, but the difference is not £10k.

 

The Octy3 150 diesel 4x4 is a little over £20k if you can get close to the maximum discount from your dealer.

The A4 177 diesel 4x4 Avant is a little over £24k through drive the deal.

 

No doubt the Audi will be missing a few options that the Octy has, but it'll probably hold it's money better too, because despite being on the older chassis sheep love them used and pay a premium for them because it makes them look more successful when they have one parked on the drive.

 

 

The Octy3 150 diesel 4x4 is a little over £20k if you can get close to the maximum discount from your dealer.

The A4 177 diesel 4x4 Avant is a little over £24k through drive the deal.

 

How can you compare prices from a main dealer on one car and internet broker for the other?....

How can you compare prices from a main dealer on one car and internet broker for the other?....

 

Quite simply because that seems to be the best two prices around now.

The Octy3 is not available at car brokers as far as I know, but rather than just criticise feel free to post up a source and better price if you can.

 

That way it actually helps people who are looking to buy.

How can you compare prices from a main dealer on one car and internet broker for the other?....

Why would you compare the full retail pricing when in real life, you can save ££££. Bossfox states a fair baseline - the cheapest 4x4 Octavia quote versus the cheapest A4 quote (in this case through drivethedeal). Some brokers are also the cheapest route to Octavia 4x4 ownership also (broadspeed.com was very good recently)  

Audi are offering some rather good deals on the A4 Avant at the moment - maybe because the new one is about a year away?  The O3 is a new model (depends if that bothers you).

 

Mini Countryman ALL4, anyone? 

Audi are offering some rather good deals on the A4 Avant at the moment

...as well as the A6 (if you want something a little bigger but only a couple of thousand more then the A4's)

New cost isn't necessarily a deciding factor as far as I am concerned.  A second-hand car which cost £35,000 or £45,000 when new, and can be bought for £25,000 after a year or so, is (for me) comparable with a new car for £25,000.  Even depreciation is not a major factor; I tend to keep cars a long time and I am 70 now, so I may not ever replace any car I buy in the next few years.

I would be buying a car outright, for cash - real money, out of my own pocket. 

It is the direct running costs which would be the deciding factor for me - fuel economy, tax, insurance, servicing costs, reliability (the likelihood of anything gping wrong) and the cost of fixing it when things do go wrong.  This latter aspect might deter me from buying an Audi or a BMW (apart from the stigma of being branded an Audi driver or a BMW driver!)

 I want to buy an asset, not a liability

 

Edited 25 November, 201312 yr by Stuarted

No offence, but the difference is not £10k.

 

The Octy3 150 diesel 4x4 is a little over £20k if you can get close to the maximum discount from your dealer.

The A4 177 diesel 4x4 Avant is a little over £24k through drive the deal.

 

No doubt the Audi will be missing a few options that the Octy has, but it'll probably hold it's money better too, because despite being on the older chassis sheep love them used and pay a premium for them because it makes them look more successful when they have one parked on the drive. 

 

 

 

 

 

None taken. You're only considering one aspect. I considered many more. My numbers ran in at around 10k more to run/finance the Audi vs the Skoda over 4 years. Your numbers might be different. Fair enough. You are correct that basic list price, the difference is nowhere near 10k, but:

 

insurance

car tax

fuel costs

servicing

cost of finance (The discounts are not that great, much of it is contribution towards the finance package which is clawed back) 

etc etc...

 

all added up over 4 years came in at around 10k. difference, it was a little more on the BMW, but that is a more expensive car than Audi even with 6k off a brand new xDrive. 

 

I didn't rate the Audi drive that much. Not a patch on the BMW, and not much better than the Octavia, if there was anything in it at all, the offset driving position I found awkward, and with a new one coming out end of next year it seemed like buying a lemon so went with Skoda.  So I left alone. They are nice inside though, give them that. 

 

I quite like the frugal charm of the skoda. you don't feel like you're being fleeced just because they can. 

Edited 25 November, 201312 yr by Octy3x4x4

 

 

because despite being on the older chassis sheep love them used and pay a premium for them

I got fed up waiting for a new Scout, so decided that at 4 1/2 years old my A6 allroad could fill that role as I'm slightly less precious about it now.

I ordered it literally the day before the A4 allroad was announced and saw that at the Geneva motor show a week or two later. Although I didn't need the extra size, the cost to bring the A4 up to the A6 spec was significant with most of the options having negligible value at resale.

The A4 allroad has not been positioned properly by Audi in my opinion since it needs a subsidized Technik spec (nav and leather) to take it up from the SE spec on which it is based. Unless you want a higher ride and allroad moulding, the equivalent Technik quattro is far better value.

With the latest generation A6 allroad the poor differential remains, especially with the recent DTD deals - I just bought another.

Although I've driven the Alltrack and 508RXH I ruled them out against an anticipated Scout III, and if I had to have just one car this would be it (based on my Scout II experience). Hopefully they'll come out with one before too long as having 2 allroads (3 historically) even if temporarily, is a bit OTT given the general perception of most Audi drivers.

...talking of which - I always fancied an x-drive 3 series Touring since I tried one about 10 years ago (LHD) but can't abide the latest styling and DRLs.

Always fancied one of those Banzai Mitsi Legnums to be fair.

But those VR4s were only automatic and came with hideous wood trim - not very sporty compared to the Alcantara and carbon fibre I was used too back then (2000 ish).