Conference terri::cars_uk

    
    A friend of mine has had a couple of recent Montegos (he still has
    the most recent one) saloons and he is very happy with his. They
    seem to have reasonable performance and he has never complained
    of any unreliability or quality faults.
    
    The Estates have won a number of awards over the last few years
    as the best estate on the market and so, especially as you could
    get a deal from ARG, they would seem to be well worth a look.
    
    Mark

    We used to have one of the first MG Montego's, whent like ** of a
    shovel!, You should be able to get a good deal out of them, as the new
    replacement for the montego and maestro is looming on the Horizon,
    called the rover *00 orwhatever!
    The year, 0r 6 months or so build up to a new model sees lots of free
    goodies being heaped onto the cars, and special editions, in order to
    sell them all. ( montego Countryman  used to be the special estate 	
    think).
    
    Carl.
    

    At the risk of being severely vilified, have you thought about
    the Volvo 240 ?
    
    Mike Day
    

    
    I've had a Montego 1.6L for 2� years and 33000 miles, no problems 
    except for the heater motor dying. I borrowed a Montego Diesel 
    Turbo Estate a couple of months ago to drive from Kent to Geneva 
    heavily laden, and I was quite impressed. It took plenty of luggage,
    it was a bit sluggish to start with (only 3000 miles on it) but after a
    couple of hundred miles at 90-odd mph it started loosening up nicely.
    
    I can't remember the fuel consumption, but it was certainly a lot
    cheaper than the same journey after Christmas in the petrol 1.6L.
    
    Looks nicer than a volvo as well!
    
    Graham

The gear-box is supposed to be a bit of a joke still. Apart from that the
reports I have are good. Some friends of mine have the estate to carry the
six kids around in. It must be cramped, but they tell me that it is a lot
better than the Volvo estate they used to have ...

    The gearbox is apparently different from '89 on, it was alright on the
    Estate I drove, whereas my ('87) saloon box is a bit sticky sometimes (and
    I've treated it so gently as well!)
    
    Graham

    
    In what way is the gearbox supposed to be poor?
    
    When I drove my friend's Montego the gearchange seemed about par
    for a normal saloon (not a patch on the Renault but about 4 million
    times better than the Marcos :^))
    
    Mark

re: .9

Well, I have actually driven a few of these things as hire cars, and
found the gearbox on ALL of them to be bad. I think they were the 1.3
or 1.6 version (don't remember which), so perhaps the 2.0 version has 
a different box.

I found it very difficult to find 3rd, and almost alway went into
5th. I had been told that the box was supposed to be a VW one, but
perhaps that was for the old Montego ...

I must admit that I haven't driven the estate I mentioned earlier, but
the car was bought new in August, so I suspect it could be a pre '89
model.

Perhaps the difference is just that the lever is indirect rather than
direct, but I seem to remember the Escort I had having a good feel to the
gearbox. The Mini I had was also not good ...

Mark

    I was driving a Montego 1.6L estate only last week when I was back in
    the UK (Europcar had run out of Group B cars). The gearbox was fine
    - the car was an F reg., which might make a difference, as a Montego
    saloon that I drove a couple of years back had quite a yucky gearbox.
    They must have improved. I was having no problems finding gears
    (except the occasional lapse when I grabbed the door handle instead
    of the gearstick - well I had been driving on the 'wrong' side of
    the road for the past year!)                           
    
    As for everything else, well, I personally would have opted for
    power steering for improved manoevrability in tight spots (but then 
    maybe that's because I've got used to power steering here in the US) 
    and also perhaps a 2.0 litre engine if I was going to sit lots of 
    people/luggage in it.
    
    John 

    Well, thanks for the thoughts. Sounds like the Montego Estate should be 
    worth investigating then. Now on the subject of Volvos...
    
    I'd LOVE a 240 estate and will seriously investigate but the way things
    are on the car scheme at the moment they may prove expensive, hence the
    Montego thoughts. Incidentally I am a Volvo man having owned three
    140/240 models over the last 14 years and had a company 340 once. We
    currently have an '82 240 of our own. My only negative comment on them
    is that that they ain't what they used to be quality-wise.
    
    Richard
    
    Richard
    

    My near neighbour has had his company Montego for 18 months. It
    has been on the road for approximately 9 months of that period.
    You name it, its probably had a fault with it. To cap it all it
    has had bad rust problems in less than 18 months!
    
    He swears he will never touch another Montego, he can't wait to
    get rid of it.

    On the other hand my brother has one, which has been fairly good.
    It was bought second hand so probably most of the faults had 
    surfaced prior to him buying it.

    The gearbox used in the 1989 1.6 Montego's is a Honda design which
    replaced the VW designed box used on both the Maestro and Montego.The
    Honda box is a great improvement over the VW unit.
    
     John

    I hope that you aren't too tall!!
    
    I found that in the hire ones I have had anyone over 6ft has head
    room problems.... their appears to be plenty of legroom, it is just
    the head that keeps hitting the roof.

    Just been in one in Penta, Reading. Certainly the Montego Estate with
    sunroof didn't have much headroom. Still neither has a BMW.
    
    I was VERY impressed with the 2.0 GSI Estate. I have yet to drive it
    though and that's where traditionally I have found Montegos lacking.
    
    Richard

    Richard, I am going through the same pain as you......
    
    Have wife, 4 kids no dog but large caravan.
    
    I did this exercise 2.5 years ago and chose a Renault Savanna GTX.
    
    For:
    Affordable (it cost me only �963/yr and similar vekhicles are still
    under �1500/yr on the scheme)
    All seats face forwards
    third row is more rthan just a padded plank and has decent footwell
    third row seats have lap and diagonal belt
    reasonable economy (I get around 32 on average)
    Performance adequate
    Tows OK (in fact it's an all round better behaved car when loaded
    up to the gunwales than when you are driving solo)
    A proper boot area behind the third row of seats so you don't loose
    the ability to carry luggage and passengers
                                               
    Against:                                   
                                               
    All the local dealers that I have used all exhibit a tendency towards
    total incompetency                         
    Braking is poorly matched to the car (the rear wheels lock up at
    the drop of a hat)                         
    Mine has never run properly on no-lead despite all the official
    mods etc                                   
    Bits keep falling off                     
    Consumption poor when towing (about 22mpg)
    Tinny
    Tacky interior trim
    Seats uncomfortable (lower back trouble from an accident a few years
    ago)
    Grotty radio    
    Really needs abit more wellie to be a tow car for a 17ft 'van
                                                                 
    So what are the alternatives?                                
                                                                 
    Montego Estate                                               
    Peugeot 505 Family                                           
    Citroen CX Safari                                            
    Volvo 240 Estate                                             
    Volvo 740 Estate                                             
    Mazda 626 Estate                                           
    Mercedes Benz 200 Estate  
                                                                 
                                                                 
    Rule the Pug out on the grounds that its very long in the tooth,
    over the 2l barrier and you can count the reliable ones on the fingers
    of one foot from all the comments that have been made to me.
    Peugeot will be bringing out the new 5 seriws in May, but the estate
    will be two years behind
    Ditto the Citroen (except I have not had reports of unreliability.
    The new XM series looks interesting (John Pymm @RKA has taken delivery
    of the first one in the company I believe) but again the estate
    is a long way off.
    The Montego is now worth looking at, but is a mite small for my
    taste.
    The Volvo 240 is now so long in the tooth that it's almost laughable.
    It's also a bit expensive on the go-juice and the third row of seats
    is pathetic. The only people that yopu can put there are trhose
    that you most want near to you... the little ones.
    The Volvo 740 series is over-priced, underequipped and see the comment
    on the 240. It is also a real gutless wonder unless you go beyond
    2L engines and then you still need you own private oil well.
    The merc in its basic form (not even a radio!) and without the third
    seat to boot is over the �19,250 value limit for company car tax
    scales. When I asked the dealer how much a tow bar cost he said
    "�600, sir" withouit even batting an eyelid. So I walked away without
    even batting an eyelid.
    The Mazda has everything going for it, except the dreaded rear facing
    third row of seats and lack of luggage space.
    
    So my short list is the Mazda or (and I can't believe this) another
    Savanna.
    
    A quick check of the cars shows that a Savanna TXE with the family
    pack, decent radio and a few other bits and bobs will be around
    �2100/yr on the scheme. The Mazda will be about the same. The Renault
    has luggage space, forward facing seats, and the local dealer jumps
    to attention whenever I walk into the service dept.
    
    The Mazda has a bit more oomph (148bhp vs 120bhp) and torque (180ftlbs
    vs130-ish I think), sunroof, decent radio as standard, non crippling
    seats, headlamp wash, and a better apparent quality of build, variable
    intermittent wipe and a washer reservoir that holds more than two
    squitrs and a dribble: the third row of seats face rearwards, but 
    there is a decent footwell and the belts are Inertia reel l&d.
    
    Decisions, decisions........
    
    P.S. The Espace, SpaceCruiser etc. are non runners for me.......        
           
    

    How can you mention the Espace in the same breath as the Spacecruiser?
    How don't know how much an Espace would be on the 'scheme', but
    I would certainly recommend a test drive if price permits. I hired
    one a couple of months ago (at the usual rip-you-off price) and
    was VERY impressed - it quick, very comfortable, easy to overtake
    in (because of the view and the pace), and has PROPER seats for
    ALL occupants (all 7) - which incidentally are removeable and fold
    upable. 

    
    .... but it looks like c**p, the seats are still exhibiting that
    typical gallic shortcoming (too short in the squab), I don't like
    to drive along with my legs dangling down, the demister can't keep
    the windscreen clear with 6 occupants, the way that the interior
    is arranged makes poorer use of the space vis-a-vis luggage carrying
    than ebven the Savanna, you can't see where the corners are for
    parking, the rear view via the mirror leaves alot to be desired
    (and even more hidden), the ventilation/heating system cannot give
    any combination of fresh unheated air and heated air from different
    vents (I don't like hot air on my face at ANY time), and it's made
    by Renault.
    
    Need any more?
    
    P.S. to be fair to it I di borrow a pool Espace for a week about
    a year ago and tried my hardest to like it ...... but failed.
    
    You are right, I shouldn't have mentioned the Espace and Space cruiser
    together, The Toyota adds significantly underpowered to the list
    as well.           

    Have you thought about the Subaru Legacy.
    
    This is Subarus entry into the luxury saloon/estate. It comes either
    with q 1.8 or 2.2 power plant. Permanent 4wd but the consumption is
    good even so. Don't know about towing though. 
    
    I've got some brochures at home.
    
    Rich
    

    The problem with the Espace (on the scheme anyway) is that there's no
    point in getting it unless you have the extra seats and the swivel
    front ones. The cost then really hikes up. Also, I drove one recently
    and was very impressed but somehow I think I'd find it frustrating as a
    company car doing lots of business miles.
    
    
    Richard

huh?

I have an Espace GTS (no swivel seats, and only 5 seats - most of the time only 
four are fitted). I do 50k+ miles per year.

I got the Espace because

(a) I wanted a very big estate (at 108 cubic feet it is unmatched and it has a 
higher load space than any other standard estate too). I have moved house with
it (at one time it had a Fridge, Freezer, washing machine, and numerous other
items in the back.

(b) I wanted flexibility - you can insert anything from zero to five seats in 
any of the five mounting positions in the back.

Yes the swivel front seats are nice, but I don't exactly miss them.

Anyway I await with some interest the introduction of the Matra designed 
Espace II (transverse engine, choice of engine size, diesel option, 
automatic gearbox option) later this year - with the transverse engine it is
going to be even larger inside!

I get a steady 30-33 mpg from it and despite the normally aspirated engine
performance is quite adequate.

/. Ian .\

Re: .17, .18 and others.

I would agree that the Espace is a fine vehicle. I considered it when my
renewal came up last August. I too have four sprogs and a 5.2 metre caravan.
What really eliminated it was its weight, or lack of it. The Espace weighs
less than a ton, I believe, and this would make it lighter than my Swift
Chalenger twin axle 'van, resulting in an unstable speed limited outfit. I
think that the Espace makes extensive use of plastics in the chassis to save
weight, unfortunately this is just what you do not want if you intend to tow
a heavy 'van.

With reference to the self distruct interiors of Renaults - a friend had
a 25GTX which also started to fall apart internally after about a year. Silly
things like switches, door levers, heater controls, trim panels fell
off/stopped working with monotonous regularity. This spoiled what he
considered to be an excellent vehicle - he didn't buy another, he got a SAAB,
I got a Volvo 740.

- John.

    Why not check for, say, a VW bus (turbo diesel or injection variant)? I
    got one under very favourable conditions and wouldn't miss it, anymore.
    They are in about the ESPACE price range, I guess.
    
    And there IS lots of room in there.
    
    Alternatively yours,
    
    Chris

    RE-1 
    >WHY NOT GET A VW BUS..
    
    If you look at the car scheme quotes, the vw is the lowest quote on
    there, apparently there is no extra cost on top of the suppliment.
    
    Looks like value to me!
    
    Carl_whos_a_bit_biast_cos_he_owns_2_VWs_at_the_moment.
    
    

    re .25
    
    The VW's shown on the scheme are the basic Van i.e. driver and front
    passenger seat only and no windows behind the front doors. They
    are supposed to be used by Service engineers who work on terminals
    and PC's and the like and are sometimes taken as Logistics hack
    vehicles.

    I thought I saw the VW van going for about �260.00 total lease cost.
    
    Think I might get a couple and rent them out!
    
    Mark.

I think �262 is a magic number in car fleet. Most of the cars with bogus prices
in the VTX used to have either 0 or 262 as their price...

Jc

    the VW Van is around �4000 a year for non-supplement holders.
    
    Grant

How did we get onto VW Transporters in the Montego note?

As explained in an earlier reply, the vans are delivery vans - however they
are not basic. They have 5 speed boxes, good stereos, cloth seats, r w/wipe, 
heated rear window, expensive alarm system - none of these come with the basic
transporter.

I bought one second-hand off the lease scheme 2� years ago. It then cost
�2,700 pounds (46,000 miles). I went around to Richard Holdsworth camper 
conversions in Woodley and had windows (and later an elevating roof) fitted.
I also bought all fittings - bed, fridge, cooker, sink, cupboards, galley unit,
roof and siding material and fitted them in (lots of holes to drill in the 
bodywork!). About 70 hours of work.

Total cost was �5,500 - and it was a lot of fun doing it. I reckon that I could
sell it today for between �7-8,000. Since I bought it, I've had to buy some new
tyres; otherwise it just goes and goes and goes (78,000 miles now).... It is 
great for a family - getting away for a spot of site-seeing or walking over 
the weekend; something that I do a lot over the summer months.

Steve

    Careful with the VW bus denominations:
    
    Over here, you have the "Transporter", which is the cheapest variant,
    coming in all sorts of configurations: windows or no windows on the
    side, seats or no seats in the rear, separated front seats or front
    bank, etc...
    
    Then comes the "Caravelle": various degrees of luxury, up to a rolling
    meeting room outfit.
    
    What is called "Van", is a preconfigured Camping Bus sort of variant:
    unfoldable roof, fridge, table, foldable rear seats/bed.
    
    Four engine variants: plain diesel (ca. 50hp), plain fuel (ca. 77hp),
    turbo diesel (ca. 80hp), fuel injection (ca. 120hp). You should really
    be talking to a VW dealer for details. Find out what model is being
    referenced by the lease rate you have on your lists.
    
    Detailingly yours,
    
    Chris

    Well .... as a 316i driver .... I had a Montego 1.6L as a hire car
    last week and my impression of the car - YUCK!
    
    I appreciate your dilemma though .... :-)
    

    Well I got a Montego and I'm quite pleased with it. One thing
    though....
    
    
    Wind Noise - This is an estate with built in roof rack rails. There
    seems to be excessive wind noise from the sun roof. Well its certainly
    affected by slight adjustments of the sun roof although not possible to
    eliminate completely. I have been in a Montego saloon where this noise
    is not present. So the question is....
    
    Anyone else got similar experience of estates? Is it the roof rack or
    the sun roof? Can it be corrected if the latter?
    
    The reason I hesitate to blame the sun roof is that quite often the
    airflow over cars can exhibit strange effects which apparently are not
    related and secondly this noise increases dramatically in a cross wind.
    
    Richard

     <<< Note 920.33 by LARVAE::BRIGGS "They use computers don't they?" >>>
                                -< Wind Noise >-

>    Anyone else got similar experience of estates? Is it the roof rack or
>    the sun roof? Can it be corrected if the latter?

I think its the roof rack ... I have a 1.6L saloon and I borrowed an estate
a few months ago, the estate was much noisier because of the rack.

Graham

    
    Although the roof rack does make some noise I have now diagnosed the
    main offender as the sun roof. It is poorly fitted and you can actually
    move it forwards and backwards and expose daylight at either end when
    its supposed to be closed. This also changes the wind noise (although
    you cannot eliminate it).
    
    So the question is can ANYTHING be done about a poorly fitting sun
    roof?
    
    Richard

    
    
    Anyone know what the continental equivalent of the Montego 1.6L is ??
    I've been trying to get some insurance in france, and they all seem 
    to say it doesn't exist !!! Options are 1.6HL or 1.6SL . Anyone in the
    know ???
    
    Nik.

    Wouldn't have thought it mattered too much; they all have the same
    engine and running gear - the only difference is tinsel. The SL is
    probably closest.
    
    Steve

    
    But Nik, even in France you'll need to pass a driving test first... :-)
    
    Nigel

    S'funny. The latest editioon of L'Automobile has the Montego 1.6L
    listed. Tell your insurance company to look under ROVER.
    
    Ken

    
    
    Yo Nigel,
    
    Been there, seen it, done it, been there, seen it.... waited, going
    back .... You must've heard the tragedy tales by now :-(
    
    Nik. 

    'er indoors has been hinting for the last three years that she would
    like some practical wheels to carry kids and shopping in, so I'm
    considering a sechondhand Montego Estate to fit the bill.
    
    My reasons for looking at the Montego (apart from insanity), include
    the additional row of seats, the fact that it will only be used for
    short journeys, and the fact that with the incredible amount of
    knocking the Montego takes they should be very cheap to obtain
    secondhand!
    
    So I have two questions:
    
    1) Which models of the Estate had the extra seats, what engine sizes
    came with them, and what combinations are available?
    
    2) What problems should I look for on the older secondhand models?
    
    tnks,
    
    JK

    Forget the third row of seats, John. BL (or whgoever it is now)
    assumes that if you want to carry 6/7 people, then by definition you
    don't want to carry any luggage/shopping etc. The "seats" are a farce
    and only suitable for small children. That place is not exactly where
    I would want to have smallish kids at the best of times (even including
    the arguments of the inherent safety factor in rear-facing seats).
    
    Decide whether you really do need the extra seating and if you do look
    at alternative estates. If you don't, then the Montego fares reasonably
    well in the functional mobile stakes.

    >1) Which models of the Estate had the extra seats, what engine sizes
    >   came with them, and what combinations are available?
    
    The rear-facing occasional seats (kids < 7 stone) are an option
    available on all 1.6, 2.0 and 2.0TD estates. 1990 Models are LX
    (was L), SX and GTI. They are thrown-in as part of the package on the
    COUNTRYMAN special edition. Note pre-1990 model didn't have electric
    windows/sunroof, but check car price guides. 
    
    >2) What problems should I look for on the older secondhand models?
    
    Go for the 2.0 Turbo Diesel (Perkins), most folk I talk to don't seem
    too impressed with the petrol engines.
    
    I think there were some gearbox problems on the early models (5-6 years
    ago?) 
    
    Have a look at mine to see how it goes togethor!
    
    Mike

Well, last time we were in the UK, we hired a Montego from Avis (at the 
amazingly low DEC rate :-) ) and got the top-of-range for the price of a
group A (nice!).  Anyway, we found the car VERY comfortable, highly
responsive and surprisingly flexible enginewise (it was a 2 litre job).
The only complaint we had was that the sunroof was a little awkward to
operate, but I'm used to electric ones, not the manula kind :^)

All in all, a really nice car.  I would consider buying one.

Brian

    I've driven three different Montege 1.6L hire cars. I was impressed
    with all three. Probably because as they were an Austin Rover car I
    expected them to be real dogs and they weren't. I preferred them to 
    a 1.8L Sierra by a long margin. Incidently, I also drove a brand new
    Golf hire car and the damn thing broke down. So much for "there's 
    nothing in life as reliable as a Volkswagen".
    
    
    Jerome.

    
    re .last
    
    You cannot be serious? :-)

        
    Steers like a bus....
    
    Stupid columns stalks....
    
    Seats with NO lateral support....
    
    Rubbery gearchange....
    
    NO headroom....

    You like it? 
    
    

    I didn't say I like them, just that I was impressed with them. Firstly
    because I thought they were going to be absolute rubbish, and secondly,
    because they are  IMHO much better than the equivalent Ford offering.  
    Having said that I prefer Cavaliers to Montegos. I wouldn't buy any of
    these cars though. I'll stay with the GTE for the time being thank you
    very much  :-)
    
    
    Jerome.

re.47:

Sounds like a Nissan. This is the Montego topic.

/Dave :-)

    I've driven a montego, and must admit, I quiet liked it. The only bug
    in my mind is the dammed drivers seat has no height adjustment. I'm six
    foot somthing, and find I have to drive, a: with the sun roof open, or
    b: lying flat !!!. If i have to hire a car, I now have to ask for
    anything but a montego.

    
    I've driven a Montego too.
    
    It was just another saloon really. No different from a Sierra or 
    Bluebird, really.
    
    Mark
    
    

    
    
    The Montego is a pile of steaming
    

I drove a Montego for about 3 months. I hated the headlamp switches
and wiper switches on the stalks. I also hate the outward appearance 
of the car, but after driving a belmont for a year and a half before that,
I quite liked it. I wouldn't but one though. I think they're the sort of cars
you buy when you get a lump sum retirement payout.


Ian

	Well, I have a Montego, and I think it's great.

	I test drove loads of 1.8 and 2.0L cars before I made my choice.
	( I had a 2.0l MG mestro before this, and a Peugot before that)

	It was one of the few that had enough leg-room for me, I have no trouble
	with the sunroof, the 2.0lGTI is very lively, it is a largish car and a
	very comfortable drive.
	Driving to Warrington and back in the same day, with a 6-hour meeting
	(and before the M40 was opened) was not a strain as the driving is so
	comfortable.

	Heather

    
    Well, here we are three years after my base note when I was reluctantly
    forced down a Montego Estate route through no other reason than
    practicality. I ended up getting a 2.0SL estate with the third row of
    seats. I didn't even test drive it because I knew this was the 'right'
    car to get and that if I drove it I'd be put off (especially after a
    BMW!). So how has it fared? Well I hate to say it but I almost ordered
    another. I didn't because seeing as its a company car that would be
    boring wouldn't it! So here's some top level views...
    
    Reliability - If you can accept that a short circuit battery at 35,500
    miles is not the fault of the car then its been 100% reliable (and I
    mean 100%). Never failed to start first time. It has been more reliable
    than either my BMW 3 series or Volvo 340 before. Both these had
    significant faults in the first 30,000 miles.
    
    Maintenance - Every 12,000 miles means at 37000 its just overdue for
    its 3rd visit to a garage. My previous BMW and Volvo easily scored double
    on this!
    
    Economy - Good (30-33) for an estate that's either going round town or
    loaded up on long journeys.
    
    Performance - Goes well but does not encourage driving hard because
    engine is very noisy when pushed hard.
    
    Finish - The real down side. Suffers from poorly implemented trim. I've
    suffered a number of plastic bits dropping off. Starting to see some
    minor rust blemishes.
    
    Design - Superb. As a design exercise I cannot fault it. If only BMW
    had built it. I think it was designed as a poor mans Volvo estate. It
    has so much in common with regard features.  Everything is in the right
    place. Yes, the two stalks are a bit naff in design but that really is
    the ONLY thing that I find irritating inside. Externally I think the
    estate is a very attractive car. One design flaw is small fuel tank
    (10.5 gallons).
    
    To drive - Well, its a lovely driving position with a very deep
    windscreen and everything to hand. Holds the road well but beware
    putting your foot down. Lots of directional torque and wheel spin
    moving into 2nd is easy (quite apart from 1st!). It's quite noisy at
    speed (wind noise) due to poor fitting windscreen and sunroof (see
    comments on trim).
    
    Service - Utter rubbish. Fortunately its only had to go into a garage
    twice and thank God for that. All these glossy Rover ads count for
    nothing when you get the type of service I experience in certain Rover
    dealerships. As a matter of fact, the response I've had when
    investigating replacing the car with another Montego has been abysmal.
    Rover didn't deserve my custom 3 years ago and they still don't (and
    they're not getting it either).
    
    Yes, over the three years 'Matilda' has earnt her place in the family
    (alongside our own Volvo 240) and we'll be sorry to see her go. The
    replacement has to have the 3rd row of seats. As I said at the start, I
    managed to get quotes for a Volvo Estate, Mazda 626 Estate and a diesel
    version of what I've got now. I'd really like a Volvo but can't justify
    the cost. So, to go for something different it had to be the Mazda but
    I honestly came within a hair's breadth of getting another Montego.
    
    Richard