Which car to do anything and everything?

[ALFAitalia]

Duplicate post...

 

[clk320x]

Of all of the cars you’ve owned, which ONE would you choose if you could only have one car to do anything and everything you would ever need a car to do?

Or said another way, which car have you owned which proved to be the one which performed best across the broadest range of purposes, activities or tasks?

It can be any car, from any manufacturer, at any time in history, but it can only be one car, and a car you’ve personally owned. Don’t forget to explain why too.

My Tesla Model S.

Massive boot - can fit pretty much anything you’ll need to, especially with the seats down.

Very comfortable, nippy to drive and great fun. Cheap to run ‘fuel’ wise…

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Handsome car, especially silly in 040

Especially in 040. Siri again.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I'm split between my Toyota Amazon and my E39 530d.

The Amazon would do anything and go anywhere you asked of it, it brought comfort and civility to environments that would otherwise have been inhospitable, drive all day (and all night)....just not with any real turn of speed!

The E39 also did the comfort and civility, but traded go-anywhere do-anything for proper high-speed ground covering endurance. (1000 miles to northern Italy sub 13hrs).

Two legendary cars, and that E39 is a handsome car .

but if you had to pick just one…?

Whilst I have never driven one, back in the day I had a soft sport for this generation of Land Cruiser, and often looked them up on Autotrader.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Good topic!

Sadly, as a young (ish) dad, a petrol 2006 MK2 Vauxhall Zafira 2.2 'design' with the twin glass roofs and a sport button was nirvana.

The 7 seats took many kids to ours and others parties, days out, swallowed luggage for Centre PARC's, had tons is space, a bit of pace and for the time, looked good.
The top spec petrol Xtrail we have now is better, but won't create the memories the Zaffy did.

A close second was my first Mercedes a venerable C class coupe. A diesel yes but with a sequential gearbox (yes I had one of those) half decent poke and got me into the brand.
I miss slamming it through the gears like a rally car....

The E400 coupe I have now is much better all round, but a soft spot for the old coupe remains for what it did (include teaching me never to take a RWD car out in the snow on summer tyres - I crashed at the second corner from my house.....)

Interesting that your modern equivalents are better cars but you would choose the cars you had a generation or two ago, do you know why? Ineterestingly I did the same picking the W164 ML over our later generation ML/GLE 63s.

Ouch re snow! Funny you mention the 203 generation C-Class in the snow, as I had a saloon which was without doubt the car I’ve owned which least liked snow. It was completely transformed after fitting winter tyres though.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

View attachment 148389

Blimey, that does look ready for anything? I’d that Bognor or Miami?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

My Tesla Model S.

Massive boot - can fit pretty much anything you’ll need to, especially with the seats down.

Very comfortable, nippy to drive and great fun. Cheap to run ‘fuel’ wise…

I can 100% understand why you chose the Model S.

Describing a Model S as nippy, is like describing a Rolls Royce Phantom 8 as quite comfy or Bugatti Chiron Supersport as quite fast!

 

[fabes]

Interesting that your modern equivalents are better cars but you would choose the cars you had a generation or two ago, do you know why? Ineterestingly I did the same picking the W164 ML over our later generation ML/GLE 63s.

Ouch re snow! Funny you mention the 203 generation C-Class in the snow, as I had a saloon which was without doubt the car I’ve owned which least liked snow. It was completely transformed after fitting winter tyres though.

The modern replacements are just better in every way, but at that point in time, the Zafira was just about perfect and was part of the family in a golden period when things were better than they are now. Rose Tinted glasses maybe...

I put winters on my CLK and my E350 and they were great in the light snow I had them in, but before the crash I hadn't really researched tyres.

I wouldn't have either now over their current replacements.

But I would love a sequential 'stick' on my full auto E400 over paddles though - old skool!

 

[philnewmerc]

CLS55. It might be a bit Marmite but I happen to think it's one of the most striking cars of the past 30 years. It's got the feel of the original XJ6, huge on the outside fighter cockpit on the inside. Not sensible, but makes you feel special. It pootles around in silence most of the time and then when you need to gun it accelerates savagely and makes me giddy like a kid. The ride is very comfortable and yet it handles brilliantly. The air suspension can be raised, which I thought was a gimmick until I've come across flash floods. The fuel economy is acceptable at a running average of 21.4 imperial mpg mixed driving and climbs to 25 on a very long fast run. And about 12 around bust town. Can do very comfortable slow speed wafting, it feels like a sports car on a roads in manual mode, and it feels like a bullet train on the motorway. The heated ventilated massaging seats are great when I've got back ache. The frameless windows are pretty pointless but again feel very cool when you open the door in summer with the windows down. It really is a four door coupe. The general air of quality in the cabin is a step up for me compared to my previous two c-class cars which I wasn't expecting but is very welcome. Rust is much reduced on this model and this year of car (2005) but does need to be kept on top of to stop minor blemishes expanding. The engine is a little noisy, with all the whiring and squeaking of various belts and machinery of the AMG upgrade. And the exhaust is a tad too quiet. But apart from that, getting into this car even to go shopping, feels like an event. According to the price list it was with options 79k new which according to the bank of England inflation calculator is 133 k in today's money. Most of these models with fairly modest mileage cost less than 1/10 of that, which is amazing.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

It pains me to say it but if only one car it would probably be my old Mk4 Mondeo Titanium X. Although just a hatchback the carrying capacity was enormous so it was perfect for European jaunts with the bikes. It was also super reliable, comfortable and returned over 50mpg. The handling was excellent and you could actually hustle it really well. It also had loads of toys that worked perfectly - moving headlights, voice control etc. To be honest the only thing it lacked was that kind of luxury feeling.

All the other cars I’ve had/have dont have the practicality so although I would say I prefer them over the Mondeo they wouldn’t work as being the only car. Probably the closes would be my Alfa 33 QV Permanent 4. Rare as anything these days - I think there are only about 3 on the road last time I looked. (Examples below but identical to mine)

 

[Connoisseur]

Has to be my Macan S. Used it for everything and it always delivered. Long towing trips, full loads to the tip, family outings, reliable, comfortable and a dream to drive with oomph when you asked for it.

 

[HappytalkAgain]

A little plain Jane compared to most in this thread but our existing steed is the best to date. 2017 C300h estate. Absolutely perfect for our needs. Big enough for Mrs Ants Scooter/wheelchair/walking frame. Great for (non messy) tip runs. Comfy mile muncher, brisk enough for my sedate driving style. Economical. Fully loaded with 95% of factory options. Great bassy sound system for ‘just because’ drives in the country.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

A little plain Jane compared to most in this thread but our existing steed is the best to date. 2017 C300h estate. Absolutely perfect for our needs. Big enough for Mrs Ants Scooter/wheelchair/walking frame. Great for (non messy) tip runs. Comfy mile muncher, brisk enough for my sedate driving style. Economical. Fully loaded with 95% of factory options. Great bassy sound system for ‘just because’ drives in the country.

You forgot one important thing Ant, it’s blooming handsome car

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Has to be my Macan S. Used it for everything and it always delivered. Long towing trips, full loads to the tip, family outings, reliable, comfortable and a dream to drive with oomph when you asked for it.

Cracking car, the Macan. Funny you mention tip runs, before going to Donington to drive our ML with the MC12 and Enzo, it took a load of stuff to the tip!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

It pains me to say it but if only one car it would probably be my old Mk4 Mondeo Titanium X. Although just a hatchback the carrying capacity was enormous so it was perfect for European jaunts with the bikes. It was also super reliable, comfortable and returned over 50mpg. The handling was excellent and you could actually hustle it really well. It also had loads of toys that worked perfectly - moving headlights, voice control etc. To be honest the only thing it lacked was that kind of luxury feeling.

All the other cars I’ve had/have dont have the practicality so although I would say I prefer them over the Mondeo they wouldn’t work as being the only car. Probably the closes would be my Alfa 33 QV Permanent 4. Rare as anything these days - I think there are only about 3 on the road last time I looked. (Examples below but identical to mine)
View attachment 148393

View attachment 148394

I can’t remember the last time I saw a 33 on the road, certainly a rare beast, especially all these years later.

I never owned a Mondeo but all generations were well engineered cars, and deserved to sell more in the later years.

The car was better than ever but brand-conscious drivers and the rise of the German brands scuppered it.

I was genuinely sad to see the end of the Mondeo, Scorpio, Insignia, Omega, etc.all great cars, for a fraction of the price.

It seems the French buying French - and especially the government - has helped the big French. Ads survive longer.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

CLS55. It might be a bit Marmite but I happen to think it's one of the most striking cars of the past 30 years. It's got the feel of the original XJ6, huge on the outside fighter cockpit on the inside. Not sensible, but makes you feel special. It pootles around in silence most of the time and then when you need to gun it accelerates savagely and makes me giddy like a kid. The ride is very comfortable and yet it handles brilliantly. The air suspension can be raised, which I thought was a gimmick until I've come across flash floods. The fuel economy is acceptable at a running average of 21.4 imperial mpg mixed driving and climbs to 25 on a very long fast run. And about 12 around bust town. Can do very comfortable slow speed wafting, it feels like a sports car on a roads in manual mode, and it feels like a bullet train on the motorway. The heated ventilated massaging seats are great when I've got back ache. The frameless windows are pretty pointless but again feel very cool when you open the door in summer with the windows down. It really is a four door coupe. The general air of quality in the cabin is a step up for me compared to my previous two c-class cars which I wasn't expecting but is very welcome. Rust is much reduced on this model and this year of car (2005) but does need to be kept on top of to stop minor blemishes expanding. The engine is a little noisy, with all the whiring and squeaking of various belts and machinery of the AMG upgrade. And the exhaust is a tad too quiet. But apart from that, getting into this car even to go shopping, feels like an event. According to the price list it was with options 79k new which according to the bank of England inflation calculator is 133 k in today's money. Most of these models with fairly modest mileage cost less than 1/10 of that, which is amazing.

Corking car the CLS 55. A landmark car for Mercedes I would say.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

It pains me to say it but if only one car it would probably be my old Mk4 Mondeo Titanium X. Although just a hatchback the carrying capacity was enormous so it was perfect for European jaunts with the bikes. It was also super reliable, comfortable and returned over 50mpg. The handling was excellent and you could actually hustle it really well. It also had loads of toys that worked perfectly - moving headlights, voice control etc. To be honest the only thing it lacked was that kind of luxury feeling.

All the other cars I’ve had/have dont have the practicality so although I would say I prefer them over the Mondeo they wouldn’t work as being the only car. Probably the closes would be my Alfa 33 QV Permanent 4. Rare as anything these days - I think there are only about 3 on the road last time I looked. (Examples below but identical to mine)
View attachment 148393

View attachment 148394

I used to rent them occasionally and my view was the same as you: handsome, excellent competent car, just not quite luxurious. Oh, and the ride quality was excellent,

Badly underestimated.

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[as400]

I do like my current w212 E350cdi and its immaculate inside and out.

But a previous car that did everything and ticked all the boxes would have been a 5 door Golf GTi.

Understand the love shown here for ML's I had a 420cdi, had an effortless journey from the south coast to the Isle of Skye and the car was a godsend when we moved house could get so much in it.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I do like my current w212 E350cdi and its immaculate inside and out.

But a previous car that did everything and ticked all the boxes would have been a 5 door Golf GTi.

Understand the love shown here for ML's I had a 420cdi, had an effortless journey from the south coast to the Isle of Skye and the car was a godsend when we moved house could get so much in it.

View attachment 148396

Indeed, great cars. Very rare in grey, even more so a grey 420

 

[rich1068]

We had one of the last first gen XC90s. Got it just before the all new one came out and kept it 4 years which is a long time for me. It coincided with us having three kids that all needed some sort of child seat and short of an MPV was just about the only car that fitted the bill. Massively helped by the integrated middle child seat that they all come with. It was a little agricultural (2.4l 5 cylinder turbo diesel) but was very safe, well equipped, roomy, felt like it was hewn from granite and would go pretty much anywhere. Most importantly, my wife liked it too. Had some great family adventures in that car.