I know this routinely gets discussed, but thought it might be useful to post a write up about the estates I tried in my quest for a family wagon (possibly with 7 seats). If you've got a different opinion on any of the below, or want to add your own review of another car, post away !
Volvo XC70 - This was our first test drive as it matched so many of our criteria: estate, decent / funky looks (this is the raised non-permanent 4 wheel drive version of the V70), 7 seat bench option in the back etc. Anyway, we found the interior lovely, the rear reasonably spacious (but not 'enormous' for adults in the back), but when driving it didn't feel quite right for us... we drove a diesel, and it was silky smooth, but it lacked urgency and I felt the steering didn't give a lot of feel. (Sorry Kanga).
We then tried a Saab 95 Estate. We've driven a Saab for years so it felt very homely straight away, and the switchgear layout (once you've got used to it) is very ergonomic and unfussy. Interior was nice. More space at the back than the Volvo. Fab rear visibility too. Went like the clappers (this was a 2 litre petrol turbo engine) and ours is a non-turbo). Comfortable seats, but no 7 seat option (Saab don't think it's safe enough apparently). I looked into this long and hard but got a bit freaked by (a) dealer pricing on secondhand cars seemed to be stupidly high and (b) the engines have some common failiures: oil sludging, ignition casette faults, throttle body faults.
So we walked into an Audi showroom and a few days later tried an Audi A6 estate - elegant minimalist interior, v. smooth (if a bit flash) looking. Drive was somewhat neutral / removed from the road. Swift though. Again, the recent second-hand ones seemed expensive, and it just didn't seem 'fun enough' IYSWIM. There is a 7 seat option but it's not as commonly specified as with, say a Volvo or Merc, so it will be harder (or more expensive) to find one. Tried to get a drive in the 'Allroad' (the XC70 equivalent) but they didn't have one available. At this point, the cars were all beginning to blur one into the other a bit and I was doing my head in... (not to mention poor dw and dd who had come with for all the drives !)
So what better remedy to all this confusion than to try yet another estate !
We took out a BMW 5 series estate ('Touring'). WOW. Now that is what a car should feel like. The steering feedback was fab. Performance was so-so. (We were in a 525 petrol IIRC)... it was certainly swift, but it didn't have that 'OMG' of the Saab. I certainly wouldn't call it slow, but at the end I felt like a 3 litre might just be a little more fun. The interior was pleasant. Easy to live with... nothing outstanding, but quietly competent. I thought the seats sucked somewhat - hard to get into an ideal position, but I've never really got on with BMW seat adjustment (and my dad has had BMWs since I was a kid). This car put a spanner in the works... the Saab no longer had the edge. BMWs also tend to be very reliable...
Hmmm.... I thought maybe we should just check out a small MPV wouldn't be the thing for us... so I went and sat in a VW Touran. It was nice enough, but certainly not as luxurious as the other cars we'd been test driving (cheaper though). I tried to phone to book a test drive. No one called back. I tried a different dealer. No one called back. I turned up in person but they were too busy to see me, so I asked to book a test drive in a few days time... and no one called back. So sod them. I also sat in the new Passat. Quite nice. But as I thought the dealer sucked, I didn't take it further...
So where did that leave us ?
Wondering what a Merc might be like....
So.... we took a Mercedes E class diesel saloon for a quick drive (they didn't have any estates in, althought the sales guy assured me it felt remarkably similar). Silky smooth, bloomin fast, OK feedback through the steering (but nowhere near as tight as the BMW). Amazingly quiet, and very, very plush. I thought the switchgear though was horribly complicated. About a gazillion buttons littered the dashboard, and the brakes were controlled by a computer. Hmmm... also they couldn't find any (post 2003 facelift models) to match our budget, so it was not to be.... However I did like it...
We ummed and ahhed.... and thought maybe the smaller C class would be better for us. So we visited a couple of Merc Direct dealers trying to make up our mind. At one, a nice sales person told me about an E class which was coming in the next day. I had been scouring the secondhand autotrader and ebay ads hoping to find something with a sunroof and the 7 seat option at a decent price, and as if by magic, the car she described totally matched my spec ! It also had a stonkingly large diesel engine. It had high miles (75K) which meant it was keenly priced, and it was green, but I didn't really care about the colour, and these cars should last forever...
So I through caution to the wind and bought it sight unseen after knocking several grand off the price. Job done.
(Of course she's had to go back cos the suspension makes a clonking noise, but they're gonna sort it). I hope.
Oh, and dw loves it...