Need a do-it-all for under £20k? These 10 sporty estates should do the trick
Audi RS6 (C6)
Audi RS4 (B5)
Audi RS4 (B5)
No messing about this week: here’s one of the all-time great wagons, and one which has just recently celebrated its 25th birthday. The B5 kick-started this genre of car, and still to this day, has enough power and grunt to challenge an uncomfortable number of the latest and greatest sports cars. For added smiles, it even has a hilariously oversized subwoofer in the boot.
BMW M5 (E61)
,
BMW M5 (E61)
Mercedes-AMG C63 (W204)
What was once perceived as slightly ugly and not at all reliable is… still (largely) both of those things. But the E61-generation M5 also has a 5.0-litre V10-sized joker card up its sleeve, which is still considered by many to be one of the finest engines ever made. Oh, we almost forgot: you get an entire car thrown in as part of this £19,000 deal too.
,
Mercedes-AMG C63 (W204)
Volkswagen Golf R (Mk7)
If you haven’t already noticed, this list comprises mostly German metal. They do fast estates better than anyone else, and here’s another fine example. It’s one of the facelifted W204-generation C63s, and that means it has the 6.2-litre naturally aspirated V8. Ignore the ‘6.3’ badging on the flanks, though. Typos can happen.
,
Volkswagen Golf R (Mk7)
Ford Focus ST (Mk3)
It’s getting a bit frantic at this point, isn’t it? We’ll tone it down for the next couple of entrants, beginning with the Mk7 Golf R estate. The displacement is brought right down to 2.0 litres here, while the power also drops a few bands. But what it does provide is mileage; or a lack thereof. This one has under 20,000 on the clock, which in Top Gear logic means it's brand new.
Audi RS4 (B8)
,
Ford Focus ST (Mk3)
Mercedes-AMG CLS63 (C218)
And a direct rival for the Golf - both in terms of performance and age - is this hot third-gen Ford Focus. It has even less power than the Golf and nearly three times the mileage, but we can forgive its shortcomings because it has that ST paint finish. It’s also nearly five grand cheaper. Decisions, decisions…
,
Audi RS4 (B8)
Chrysler 300C SRT-8
Sensible options over, we suggest you check out this B8 RS4. We’re surprised these have now started to consistently creep below the £20k threshold because, despite being over 10 years old now, they still look and feel fairly modern. And to drive too, since power is provided by Audi’s typically brilliant 4.2-litre FSI V8 and sent to all four wheels via Quattro.
,
Mercedes-AMG CLS63 (C218)
Mercedes-AMG E63 (W212)
The long, sweeping silhouette of the CLS was always ripe for estate-ifying, and it looks good in the white/black exterior scheme advertised here. But what makes this car particularly tempting is the power: 557 of it, to be exact. And since it’s provided by Merc’s biturbo V8, there’s likely enough torque to single-handedly pull the Infinity Gauntlet off Thanos’ hand.
Audi RS6 (C6)
,
Chrysler 300C SRT-8
You’ll need to compromise a tad on luxury and quality-graded switchgear if you were to opt for a 300C. But what you do get in return for your sacrifice is a Hemi V8 engine, about as much space and comfort as the average room in The Dorchester, and a level of exclusivity that’d elicit automatic entry into the most exclusive nightclubs. Simply put: this thing is cool AF.
,
Mercedes-AMG E63 (W212)
Another big ol’ lump from Stuttgart, but all that means is that it’s well-versed in supplying huge thrills for small investments; provided you wait long enough for depreciation to settle in. That’s precisely the case with this W212-era E63, which is all the car you’ll ever need in exchange for a dinner date above £18,000.
,
Wildcard: Audi RS6 (C6)
Perhaps not as wild as our recent wildcards, since it’s a handsome, usable vehicle that quite easily doubles up as a mountain-pass-monster extraordinaire. This is the second 10-cylinder car featured on this list, and one of them had to fill this position because, well, maintaining an engine this size isn’t going to be cheap. Put up with the maintenance bills, though, and you’ll reap some *big* rewards with the RS6.