Police getting BMW's, why not go premium yourself?

It is now common knowledge that NSW Highway Patrol are replacing their current crop of Commodore SS and Falcon XR8's with frugal yet fiendishly quick BMW 530d's (and less frugal but still quick Chysler 300C SRT8's). Motorist state and country wide will be trying to etch the outline of BMW's big sedan into their subconscious, just in case they find themselves going 83kph in an 80 zone. And of course being of the mindset that euro luxo barges are always better I thought if the Police can do it so can you! Here are 4 big Euro sedans that you wont need to rob a bank for.

Speaking of robbing banks you know what would do nicely? Audi's C6 generation A6. Available with everything under the bonnet from a 2 litre turbo four all the way to a 4.2 V8 nicked from the R8 supercar the A6 has always been the understated persons luxury sedan of choice. Almost plain on the outside with just a whiff of class from that mid 00's smooth surface design language, the perfect shut lines and 4 silver rings doing just enough to let people know a lot of engineering went into the C6 A6. If fueling the thing up doesn't bother you then personally I'd find a big boy 4.2 litre Quattro for ultimate cross country cruising.

And as luck would have it here is one I found earlier. Yes it might cost a bit to maintain and the KM's are admittedly high for such a high performance power plant but surely the addition of a sports exhaust to that V8 will melt away any warning light woes! 
2005 Audi A6 4.2 Quattro: $8000       

On the subject of reliability what about a brand that can simultaneously strike fear and love into the hearts of owners? Alfa Romeo and specifically the 166. In my opinion one of the most uniquely handsome sedans ever made. With its comparatively small headlights pushed to other edges of the front end the car is quite hammer head shark like in its appearance. This might be a bit polarising but certainly goes some way to making it an instantly recognisable car.

Unfortunately Alfa facelifted the car in 2003 giving it normal sized lights and re profiled the front end. Personally I don't think the latter car is as pretty. Anyway design aside there was really only one engine the 166 deserved, Alfa's 3 litre "Busso" V6 sitting pretty with polished intake manifolds its enough to make you go weak at the knees and don't get me started on the sound! Luckily for us petrol heads Alfa's horrible reputation for reliability means even the relatively rare 166 is super affordable. $6k is all you need to bag a good one. Have a look below.
1999 Alfa Romeo 166: $6000

Remember when James Bond drove BMW's? I can because they where the Bonds of my childhood and the one that stands out is 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies 7 Series. It wasn't a sexy bond car, it was't a glamorous Bond car but for some reason I lusted after it. 007's was of course a big 750i V8 but the BMW's range topper also came with smaller bent 8's and some of BM's sweet inline sixes too.

Subtle and understated on the outside BMW threw everything but the kitchen sink at the interior. Sumptuous electrically adjustable seats, and a memory function that would adjust everything to a particular drivers preference when they opened the door. there was also tray tables in the back, a car phone, TV's and sat nav all featured in the 7 in the 1990's! No wonder it cost upward of $170k when it was new. Nowadays however a mere 6 grand will get you into one and in the case of the car I found below it could be a real peach, listen to my podcast for more details.     
2000 BMW 735i; $5999

No run down of luxury Euro sedans would be complete without taking a look at the Mercedes Benz line up. And to be honest with Australia having always been such a strong market place for Benz I was bit overwhelmed by the choice on the used market. Following the theme of the above cars I could have lumped for an big S-Class, there are too many to choose from for under $8k, but I thought it might be funner to push the hypothetical budget and get something a little rarer from the slightly smaller E-Class stable.

I give you the sub $15k E55 AMG, sitting purposefully on classic Merc mono block alloys the E55 is an autobahn stormer if ever there was one. Unlike the AMG's of today which shout about their intentions and actually go around corners without falling over the old W210 E55 was designed to obliterate long distance drives and overtake everything in its path thanks to a 5.5 litre V8. Corners came second and the lazy auto box didn't exactly reward the spirited driver. In saying that that though the W210 chassis still underpins the Chrysler 300C some 22 years after it was released! Yes the very 300C that the Police now use in SRT8 form along with those BMW's, so much like I said at the start if its good enough for the law...
1999 Mercedes Benz E55 AMG; $13590

I have also rambled on and given some more details about these cars, specifically the ones for sale on my podcast. Please go and have a listen if you can spare the time.
The Podcast
 

Top 5: Normal cars with not so normal engines

A sleeper, an otherwise ordinary looking car which has a not so ordinary engine under the bonnet. I love them, especially ones manufacturers actually make themselves, so here are my top 5.

Subaru Forester XT

The Subaru Impreza WRX is an iconic vehicle, love them or hate them you can not argue with their rally conquering heritage and bargain basement AWD performance. The wagon versions are also reasonably practical. But what if you want even more practicality and looks so bland you could lose your car in an empty car park? Not to fear; Subaru also created the Forester and you guessed it, in GT then XT spec you got the Impreza's thumping turbo charged motor. All the pace of an WRX with none of the hooning in yer face body styling, well except for the massive bonnet scoop.

Specs; 2nd Generation Subaru Forester XT
Engine/drive chain: 2.5 litre turbo charged boxer engine, AWD
Kilowatts: 155
Torque: 320Nm
0-100km/h: 6.4secs
Price range: $6000-$20,000

Mercedes Benz S600

Do you want an understated luxury sedan with enough power under your right foot to match that of a ballistic missile? If so can I suggest the Mercedes-Benz S600. A car with a 6 litre V12 up front, a V12 for goodness sake! That's the type of power plant usually reserved for super cars and here's Merc cramming one under the bonnet of a luxury sedan. Also expect much, much luxury.

Specs; Mercedes-Benz W220 S600
Engine/drive chain; 5.8 litre naturally aspirated V12, RWD
Kilowatts: 270
Torque: 530Nm
0-100km/h: 4.6secs
Price range: $25,000-$65,000

Volkswagen Touareg V10

Do you need a car capable of towing a Boeing 747? Or maybe you want your house moved slightly to the left and need something to give it a shove. Well Volkswagen have the answer, the unassuming almost bland Touareg was once available with a twin turbo V10 diesel, which produced a quite frankly silly 750Nm of torque. Emissions laws killed off the mighty diesel after 3 years, but thank the car guy gods it existed in what was an otherwise normal SUV.

Specs: Volkswagen Touareg 7L V10 TDI
Engine/drive chain: 4.9 litre twin turbo V10 diesel, AWD
Kilowatts: 230
Torque: 750NM
0-100km/h: 7.4secs
Price range: $19,000-$45,000

Volkswagen Passat W8

On the subject of bland, have you ever seen a Volkswagen Passat? Don't worry if you haven't, as despite their solid build quality and general good at everything'ness they just don't grab you visually. So really what better car for VW to shoehorn a W8 engine and 4 motion all wheel drive system into. For those unsure what a W8 even is think of it as a two 4 cylinder V-shaped engines welded together, making a W shape with 8 cylinders. Honestly it's a ludicrous idea for an engine and by putting it into the Passat the buying public clearly thought so too, with VW only selling 10,000 globally and a mere handful of those made it down under. As I write this I can't even find one for sale, but they're here somewhere in 2003 28 were registered!

Specs: Volkswagen Passat B5.5 W8
Engine/drive chain: 4.0 litre W8, AWD
Kilowatts: 202
Torque: 370Nm
0-100km/h: 6.8secs
Price range: Educated guess, $8000-$15,000

     

Volvo 850 R

Nothing quite says middle aged dentist's car like a Volvo 850. Volvo clearly thought the same so in 1996 they decided to ramp up the 850's cool factor by way of fitting a 5 cylinder 2.3 litre motor. Featuring a wonderful warble with added turbo whoosh, the R is an unsuspecting performance wagon.

Specs: Volvo 850 R
Engine/drive chain: 2.3 litre 5 cylinder turbo charged, FWD
Kilowatts: 184
Torque: 350Nm
0-100km/h 6.9secs
Price range: $6000-$13000

Car of the Week: Maserati 3200 GT

What's got a 3.2 litre V8, twin turbo's and a name so synonymous with motor sport there have literally been books written about it? You guessed it, this weeks car does and I can scarcely believe you can get one down under this cheap. I give you the Maserati 3200GT.

Italian exotica for Astra money     

So I've ventured almost into supercar territory this week and I bet your wondering, how cheap am I actually talking for some second hand Italian exotica? Well I'm saying that for the price of that new Holden Astra ($29,000) I wrote about last week, you can have a car that originally retailed for an eye watering $188,500. It is not my cheapest car of the week ever but surely you can't pass up on a bargain like this? Let's take a closer look.

GT    

The 3200 is unashamedly a grand tourer, it has GT in its name for goodness sake, which means it is the perfect motor for a big country like Australia. That 3.2 V8 up front develops 271kw and 491Nm of torque to take you from 0-100 in just 5.1 seconds and most likely Sydney all the way to Darwin in not a whole lot longer. Those twin turbo's doing there boosting thing to aid that wondrous bent eight soundtrack just as much as they do the fuel economy. Ok that last point might not be strictly true but who cares about economy when you could have a car that looks so damn good. Styled by legendary Italian design house Italdesign I challenge you to find a more classically proportioned Italian GT.

     

The negatives

Heck it even comes with 4 wonderful leather seats and a boot big enough to swallow a few overnight bags, surely there has to be a catch? Well yes, according to reviews at the time the 6 speed manual isn't up to much, so the auto is actually the one to go for, which for cross country eloping is probably best anyway.
Other negatives, be prepared for expensive servicing, but not simply because you live in Australia, being a highly strung Italian sports car the Masser's running cost are high world over, so don't let that put you off, this car would have high repair bills even in Italy.

The reality 

It comes down to the fact that if your willing to buy a Maserati your likely to be prepared for what it's going to cost you to run. The bonus of this weeks car though is that even if your prepared to spend a pretty penny on an iconic Italian marque this one won't cost you a lot, maybe now's the time to take the plunge and buy your dream car?

Go get yourself one

It's blue, its got gun metal grey wheels, its Italian and its absolutely gorgeous. Other than saying it has current rego the advert doesn't give a lot away, but we can presume given the cars rarity that it's been well maintained. It has 130,000km's which I actually like, shows its been used however it is a less desirable manual. One things for sure though, the owner wants it gone so go get yourself a bargain.
   
2000 Maserati 3200 GT, $29,000


Picture credits: Australiancar.reviews

Bruce's Car of the Week: Skoda Octavia RS

How much do you think a Mk5 Golf GTI would set you set you back? 15, maybe 20k? Well this weeks car gives you all the GTI's performance in a more practical package for under $10,000. Lets move the stigma aside and welcome on in the Skoda Octavia RS.

It's just another bloody Golf

Released onto the Australian market in 2007 the 1Z generation Octavia, essentially a Mk5 Golf with a bigger seden esque hatchback body on it failed to set sales charts alight. And this is a real shame as the Octavia RS is a very capable car with some lovely Volkswagen underpinnings. I feel it's only right I explain those underpinnings in more detail. The Mk5 Golf platform was released in 2004 and replaced the squidgy, lackluster Mk4 setup. Not since the late 80's had we seen a Golf with a capable chassis underneath it, so the world waited with baited breath for a GTI that could actually live up to the name. Thankfully Volkswagen delivered, slotting a sweet 2 litre turbo motor into that very capable chassis, with 147kw of torquey turbo power the GTI was reborn.

Styling

The Octavia RS utilities exactly the same setup, the only difference is that by dressing it in a Czech suit people won't pay as much, making the RS an incredibly good value modern hot hatch. Visually the RS is understated in that typically European way. It's not overly designed and definitely not ugly but just different enough to make people in the know look up and take notice, personally I love it.

 

The practicalities

From a practicality point of the view the RS has smaller hot hatch rivals licked. Available as a big hatch or wagon reviewers at the time concluded the Octavia to be the ultimate Jekylle and Hyde car. It could be sensible family transport during the week and a back road barnstormer at the weekend. The turbo engine managing to deliver respectable economy when driven gently and blistering performance when wound up to its red line. The icing on the cake for the RS is that being a top of the range model it wasn't short of standard equipment either, heated front sport seats, duel zone climate control, tyre pressure monitoring, 18 inch alloys and sports suspension were just some of the things which came as standard.

 

A good value, practical, economical but fast car that can carry the family with ease? Come on Australia get over your preconceived ideas about Czech cars, Skoda's are good and the RS Octavia is great.

My pick from the web this week, a 2007 car advertised by a dealer. High km's on this car might explain the asking price, but this should not put people off. These engines are strong and with regular servicing will just keep on going. I think this cars an absolute bargain.
2007 Skoda Octavia RS, $9990