Long story short. We owned an E240 estate for 6 years and loved it. But it rusted a lot and we always fancied something with more power, yet the same practicality.

My wife always joked that she'd like the E55 estate. Same practicality, but a hell of a lot more power and rather Q-car-ish.

So I looked. A lot. I paid a deposit on one, but it turned out to be not as described (I was working in Australia at the time and this model was in Stockport), so lost that. Then I saw another one and it was rusty and we thought we could save it, but it was VERY rusty... And then, the day after seeing that one (by this time I was back in the UK), this one came up. So I lost another deposit (I felt sorry for the chap as it wasn't his fault I found another), but this other one was very rust free and 63,000 miles from new. Almost very nearly immaculate.

It's now used daily, but loved and cosseted when my other cars allow me to spend time with it.

Yes, it's quick. No, it doesn't drink fuel at anywhere near the rate you'd think. Yes, the electrics aren't up to much. No, it's not built like a biscuit, but it could be better in some areas. Yes, it will powerslide in the wet with TC on.

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Your wife has great taste! I also love the Q-Car thing. In fact, I considered an E500 estate, AMG or somesuch before settling on the L322. My dog, a rottie, needs something with plenty of headroom. 2003 4.4 HSE Epsom Green / Sand. Lovely!

I'm fortunate in that my wife is also a petrolhead, but she is mildly more sensible than me in that she can hold onto a car for ages whilst I'm adddicted to buying them regularly.

That said, we have a good selection these days and it's becoming harder to improve other than just buying newer.

The E55 has a very compliant ride that I understand isn't as harsh as an M5's, although I cannot comment personally. I just love its muscular performance. Very quiet and unassuming at low speed and you'd never know what's under the bonnet. But open the throttle more and you get the very briefest of pauses and then it wakes up.

We often get BMW-ists and GTI-ists overtaking (or trying to) it, believing it's just another slow Merc estate being driven by an OAP. It's one of those cars where you have to know what to look for to differentiate it from other models. The Avantgarde badges can confuse many, so I've discovered. Si. <This is my name.

I eat rat poison.

A man ain't truly been insulted until he stands buck naked in front of a woman and she didn't even notice. Or care.

Having had 2 E34 M5's over an 8 year period, its excellent to have a nice pokey unassuming car to drive around in. I also had a 3.9 RR Classic at the same time, so covered all bases, to me, anyway.

I must admit to being more of a BMW man, but if you want a fast estate, they were a bit late coming to the party.

I had a brand new Audi RS6 V10 Avant for an afternoon a couple of years ago, and with 570 odd bhp and an auto box, it was very much "point and press".

Other than the rusting ones, I'd image ithe E55 AMG estates are a very enjoyable car to own.

I like the wheels.........

Mark 2011 Range Rover Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8

Previous cars :
2003 Range Rover Vogue TD6
1999 Discovery Td5 ES
1995 BMW M5 3.8 6 speed
1992 Range Rover 3.9 Efi Vogue
1992 BMW M5 3.8
1988 BMW 735i SE
1989 Ford Sierra XR4x4 2.9i
1981 Ford Fiesta Supersport

Last edited by mjdronfield on 16th Jul 2012 2:40pm. Edited 1 time in total

Always liked them myself, and looks like a great example in the best colour...