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Which estate car would you recommend to replace our 2003 Volvo V70?

Our 53-plate V70 with 133,000 miles needs replacing with something similar, but I cannot decide what. I have read reviews on many sites, but especially yours and every car has major drawbacks. So far the choice comes down to a 5 Series touring, an E-Class estate, an A6 estate, another V70 or a Mondeo estate. We have to trade in the V70 so will have that plus about £10,000 to spend; I realise this price bracket will limit me to 4-6 year old cars, but I am happy with that.

Asked on 12 May 2011 by JH, Woodbridge

Answered by Honest John
Quality is no different whatever the badge. All the fancy badges do is buy status, so it's best to go for the Mondeo, as new as possible, because you will get a newer Mondeo for the same money than any of the other cars. It actually drives more smoothly than an equivalent Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Volvo. And if anything should ever go wrong, a Ford is much cheaper to fix than an Audi, a BMW, a Mercedes-Benz or a Volvo.
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