R36 Wagon Alternatives?

[jamesatfish]

A question to current R36 Wagon owners, or those who have driven one as part of a search for a new car - what else are people looking at as alternatives to the R36 Wagon?

My wife was keen to pick up an R36 to replace her current car, as she's got a 4WD at the moment and it's too difficult to get our 8 month old daughter in and out of the baby seat due to the height of the car. She wants a wagon to transport all the baby-related stuff, and after some searching she seemed really happy with the R36. Right up to the point where we learned we can't order one any more.

Can anyone offer their suggestions as to what else might be worth considering that offers a similar mix of performance, load capacity and features without going back to a 4WD?

So far we've tried the Audi A4 Avant (too slow), the RS6 (no longer appears in the Audi range at the dealers or the website), and I've got the HSV Club Sport Wagon / Holden Calais V Wagon (when the update lands) and the Mercedes Benz C63 AMG Estate on the to-do list.

Any other suggestions? What else did people look at when buying their R36?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[team_v]

Mazda 6 Sportswagon.
A4 Avant with the sporty motor or with the 2.0T and a chip.
BMW 3## Wagon?

[jamesatfish]

Mazda 6 Sportswagon.
A4 Avant with the sporty motor or with the 2.0T and a chip.
BMW 3## Wagon?

Thanks for those suggestions.

Sadly the 'best' motor in the A4 Avant range is the 2.0T, and it only chips up to 177kW which isn't really all that exciting. It doesn't seem like that engine has the same tuning options as the 2.0T in the S3 / Golf R - if so then that car with a Stage 3 tune would be perfect. I don't know why but Audi Australia doesn't sell the S4 Avant (which is available in other markets) nor the 3.0 FSI available in the A4 Sedan.

Mazda 6 Sportswagon isn't really 'sporty' - 125kw??? - but hadn't considered the BMW range so thanks for that idea. Wonder if they still make the M5 as a wagon?

[Sharkie]

Thanks for those suggestions.

Sadly the 'best' motor in the A4 Avant range is the 2.0T, and it only chips up to 177kW which isn't really all that exciting. It doesn't seem like that engine has the same tuning options as the 2.0T in the S3 / Golf R - if so then that car with a Stage 3 tune would be perfect. I don't know why but Audi Australia doesn't sell the S4 Avant (which is available in other markets) nor the 3.0 FSI available in the A4 Sedan.

Mazda 6 Sportswagon isn't really 'sporty' - 125kw??? - but hadn't considered the BMW range so thanks for that idea. Wonder if they still make the M5 as a wagon?

BMW 335i Wagon would be nice, cheaper still would be the X3 s35i (same 3.0 turbo petrol and much quicker than a R36 in both).

The Audi Q5 and the X3 are not really 4WDs and more sports activity vehicles. They are not much higher than a normal wagon and will suit your space requirements.

Audi Q5 3.0TDI with a chip makes 210kw and 650NM whilst giving really good fuel consumption.

If it was my choice, I'd personally take the X3 .... not much can beat that 3.0 petrol turbo six, especially chipped ... 270+kw/500+NM .....

EDIT: .... the Q5 and X3 also use a proper AWD system with permanent RWD splits not FWD based like the R36

[Jayse]

Thanks for those suggestions.

Sadly the 'best' motor in the A4 Avant range is the 2.0T, and it only chips up to 177kW which isn't really all that exciting. It doesn't seem like that engine has the same tuning options as the 2.0T in the S3 / Golf R - if so then that car with a Stage 3 tune would be perfect. I don't know why but Audi Australia doesn't sell the S4 Avant (which is available in other markets) nor the 3.0 FSI available in the A4 Sedan.

Mazda 6 Sportswagon isn't really 'sporty' - 125kw??? - but hadn't considered the BMW range so thanks for that idea. Wonder if they still make the M5 as a wagon?

Hey James,

I really thought the A4 avant came in a 3.0TDI..but just checked and it's not there..and whats with the RS6 not on offer anymore?!?!

Well i was going to suggest the Skoda Octavia VRS wagon...but it looks like you're playing in a different ball park altogether!!
In addition to the ones you've looked at already i would suggest the BMW 335i Touring or the 535i touring...the 335i might be a lil tight in the boot? Here is a link comparing them: BMW Group Australia > 5 > BMW 5 Touring (2010)
I don't think we get the M5 touring here. What about the M6 M? not my cup of tea, but might be ok and maybe a lil lower than a standard 4WD.

When is the new RS4 coming out? Don't know if you can wait that long. Otherwise the C63 wagon would be a goer.

Would you guys consider a Demo or 2nd hand R36 or RS6? I'm sure there should be some around.

Good luck with the search.

Cheers,

Jayse.

[Steve]

I'm fairly sure we don't get the M5 wagon here - but from memory the M5 is no longer on sale anyway - but we did get the last E63 wagon so it's probably just a matter of time until one is available in the current E model. At least, one would hope so.

However, the X5 M is another good option.

[Dyldo]

G-Power BMW X5 Typhoon: News & Reports : Motoring : Web Wombat

Buy an X5 for $100K or so, $50K later with the G Power Typhoon kit you have a X5M killer for the same money. Plus it looks about 100times better.

[R36 Dreamer]

Money doesn't seem to be a problem for you, so I would suggest the following

Audi Allroad - expensive, but will fill the brief on what you want.
Merc E Class - Beautifully screwed together, options list is a killer.
BMW 5 Series - When Available.

Funny you should mention that you are looking to go to a wagon with the baby. We are looking to go the other way - have an R36, looking to move to a ML, RR Vogue, RR Sport when the lease on mine expires.

We thought the height would be a good thing - you can load the baby at standing height instead of bending over all the time.

Would appreciate your input - before we spend our dough!

[Jayse]

We thought the height would be a good thing - you can load the baby at standing height instead of bending over all the time.

Would appreciate your input - before we spend our dough!

I would have thought the same thing too...maybe it's the height of the 4WD drive when lifting up and loading pram/stroller + all the 1million other things that come along with a new bub.

Putting the baby in at standing height would be alot easier on the back (IMO) but it also depends on the height of the person doing it and if the baby seat is in the middle or on one of the sides of the back seat.

another one to the list.. E350 Estate: http://www2.mercedes-benz.com.au/con...d_chassis.html

Cheers,

Jayse.

[jamesatfish]

Money doesn't seem to be a problem for you..

Money is always a problem - caused by spending too much of it on cars...

Although outright $$$ isn't such a big deal, value for money certainly is - which is partly why I was keen on the Audi RS6 until seeing the Passat R36 - certainly the Audi is a 'better' car but I don't think it's $200K better than the VW.

Audi Allroad - expensive, but will fill the brief on what you want.
Merc E Class - Beautifully screwed together, options list is a killer.
BMW 5 Series - When Available.

The Allroad unfortunately loses out as a diesel as my wife doesn't like the truck noise, but certainly the Merc C and E classes are worth closer inspection.

I'm seeing a heap of recommendations for the BMW range - to be honest I haven't stepped into a BMW dealership yet but it seems like that might be a good idea as there's plenty of options coming forward there.

Funny you should mention that you are looking to go to a wagon with the baby. We are looking to go the other way - have an R36, looking to move to a ML, RR Vogue, RR Sport when the lease on mine expires.

We thought the height would be a good thing - you can load the baby at standing height instead of bending over all the time.

Would appreciate your input - before we spend our dough!

Both my wife and I are short - I'm about 5'7" and she's closer to 5'4" - so lifting up into the baby seat is becoming harder for her with our baby getting close to 10kg. She's swapped from her 4WD over to a Mk V Golf for the moment and is finding the height much easier to get our daughter in and out of the seat, but she's missing the boot space (plus the convenience of a boot with flat access rather than the lip of the Golf hatchback).

We've got the 4WD dropped down as low as it goes (height adjustable air suspension) but it's still just that little bit too high to be comfortable.

If you two are a little bit taller than us then the 4WD would probably make great sense, but for my wife it's just too much of a struggle and will only get worse as our daughter keeps growing.

[jamesatfish]

Thanks to all for the suggestions - I thought I had everything covered already but there's plenty of metal out there I hadn't even considered.

Certainly seems like there's a few options in the BMW camp - the X5 won't get a start because it's just the same height as the 4WD we've got currently, but the 3 and 5 series wagons are interesting and from a quick glance online the X6M might be an interesting option if it isn't too high - will have to see that one in person before making judgement.

The Audi RS4 would probably be perfect - except for the fact that Audi inconsiderately doesn't make one at the moment...

Any other suggestions would be most welcome and I'll keep you posted as to which way we end up going.

Thanks again all.

[gead]

if it was me, i would be heading straight to the Mercedes dealer and speccing a c63 estate...

[Steve]

You're right, it looks as though the X5M isn't much lower than the regular X5 - weird!

The X6M is a bit lower, but also has far less cargo capacity.

There are a few R50's around with low K's and a few options that may be worth looking at, too.

[Jayse]

James,

Just did a quick search on carsales..a few very low km (read: brand new or demo model) R36 wagons available @ dealers atm.
VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT Cars For Sale - carsales.com.au - carsales.com.au

not so many for the RS6 (maybe this one): http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/...cs=4&silo=1011

But i'm with Gead..C63 Estate specced up just like you want it!! Mate of mine just got the Sedan...

Cheers,

Jayse.

[nivek]

+1 vote for the C63 Estate