Ovlov T5

Well the 535i is finally starting to piss me off (just how many electrical things can possibly break in one year???) and I'm considering something different, possibly an Ovlov 850 T5. Does anyone here have any experience of these? Am I mad? And most importantly for me, did they make them with an autobox option (my left knee is shagged and driving a manual in my daily rush-hour commute isn't something I'm keen to go back to).

Sod it, lets just make it a "what car" post (some of these requirements aren't mine, one has to keep the wife happy....) - what else is:

2) quick-ish (0-60 in around 8 secs)

4) not French

6) not a Ford

I really fancy a Gallant VR4 estate but I'm guessing that'd fall foul of number 7. Any suggestions lads?

It would.

But the almost-as-good Scooby Legacy won't - it's available in 280bhp Twin-Turbo form, or nutter B4 RSK form.

Take a look on AutoTrader...

good call.

OK - so the T5...

Yep

Yep

Most are, very few manuals

Nope

Nope

Only the new ones...

Only if they don't break down - parts prices can be criminal. 300bhp chipped motors are reliable and great fun though.

Alfa 164 V6 24v Super Lusso. Pick up one of the very last produced on, ISTR, an R-plate for a couple of grand.

If you're spending more, then the 166 with Sportronic would be a good choice - under £5k for a good one.

Ugly alloys :)

How much are you spending?

Also, only 91k and HOW much work has it just needed!? They obviously don't wear that well...

Surely they're taking the piss on the price.

It does seem a little pricy dunnit?

You should be able to find a really good 9000 for a grand or two, they're just trying it on.....

My last (OK ancient) 9K turbo cost me 170 quid and it was fast reliable and fun! Seriously they don't handle like a typical big luxo saloon - quite chuckable.

Is it /really/ "almost as good"? The engine/drivetrain might be almost as good, but the rest of a subaru is not in teh same league as a Galant. One is a cheap shell with cheap interior with some decently go-faster bits underneath; the other is an exec motor with somedecently go-faster bits underneath.

decently? is that a word or did you make it up?

For the money, yes.

It's just as quick, and just as big, but it comes with a smaller version of monsterous-running-costs :)

Have you ever seen a Legacy B4 RSK ? It's most certainly not got any "cheapness" about it. You must be thinking of the Impreza ?

I agree with the general gist though - I'd rather have the Galant VR4. But unfortunately, other things need to be taken into account when buying a car :)

Nowhere near as bad.

They're galvanised, so they don't rust, the interiors don't fall apart anymore, electrics are 99% sorted, build quality is almost up with BMW now (although some might say this is due to BMW being s**te these days), and the mechanical reliability is what it always has been (Alfas always broke down because of buggered electrics, not because of mechanical failure).

You do have to remember to check the oil every 1k miles, though, as it's not unknown for them to burn off enough to drop from max. to min. in that distance - although the V6 is better at this than the 2lt.

Good question. Short answer is no more than I have to, I guess realisticly somewhere between 2 and 5 grand depending what's on offer.

I've always liked Alfas to look at but I'm old enough to remember when they used to fall to bits before your very eyes, I assume things aren't quite so bad these days?

I'm used to that with the BMW.....very tempted though, my wife has a long-standing love of Volvos (don't ask!) so it'd settle that argument straight off and still let me have something I wouldn't be ashamed of! What sort of money for a decent one, any idea?

Bugger, thought so.

Yeah but, I dunno, there's just something about Scoobys I don't like. Too many Impreza-driving tossers round where I live, maybe...