Reasonably-priced/ higher end European sedans/saloons

Running into a bit of a wall with my writing (well, more than usual, anyways). I can only paint around the spot so often before it needs to be filled in, so here we are.

Figured I'd pick the brains of the gearheads in the audience... can anyone suggest a reasonably-priced (for sufficiently upper-class values of "reasonable") sedan/saloon/wossname manufactured in Europe? It's my understanding that something with a German badge would be probable, but maybe I'm overlooking something? I admit, my grounding in this area is more than a little weak...

Advice/suggestions are all welcome here... Thank you in advance!

Who's it for? What sort of personality?

Well since I'm watching Top Gear right now and am in a car-ish mood...

I get the idea you're not aiming at Maserati QPs or Porsche Panameras or the like so I'm going to aim a little below the top end.

BMW 5-series or Merc E-class would be the obvious choices. The 5-series would probably be the stereotypically sportier option and the Merc the more comfortable/sensible/Old Man-ish. Audi A6 would be another option, and would probably be my choice of the Germans. If you want an outside contender I'd look at the Jaguar XF (my personal favorite of the lot, it's just cooler and I think Jag do better interiors). Depending on how fast you want it to go just pick a spec.

Again though, I think it depends on the sort of character who's driving it as to what you choose.

The 3rd generation Renault Laguna doesn't look like too bad of a car. It's catagorized in the same class as the A6, so it's got the muscle to get to where you're going pretty fast, and with the option of a turbodiesel engine, she would be easy on the pocketbook as well.

What are your (or your character's) priorities?

• Speed?
  
• Price?
  
• Interior/cargo space?
  
• Something noticeable?
  
• or something inconspicuous?
  

Answer those questions and a solution becomes easier.

If you're looking for an answer that doesn't just toss a bunch of questions back at you...nobody seems to have picked up on Volvo for their OC characters, and the Swedes are making a wide range of pretty cool stuff lately.

Etienne owns a simple Skoda Superb Combi with a 2.0TDI engine.

An inconspicuous car, with a really standard engine (2.0 TDI are the most sold engine here at the moment) that is build that often.
Easy to flee with, cause there are thousands of the same car everywhere.

Are you considering older models as well?

The Ford Sierra Sapphire Cosworth was introduced in about 1990. It's fast, 4 wheel drive, roomy and has 4 doors...important if you need to take a gaggle of cyborgs to a bloody safe-house extermination (better put some plastic on the seats for that job) or to the gelato parlor (better keep that plastic on the seats...someone's liable to drip).



If this car is for John, a Ford (even one produced in Europe) might appeal to his American sensibilities.

saab 95 sportwagon

Sorry! I blame lack of sleep for lack of clarity (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it, dammit! *laughs*)

This would be something more along the lines of a "fleet" option: good mileage, dependable, cheap to maintain... I surmise that the SWA would maintain SOME form of motorpool, outside of the ubiquitous "pizza van" taht could be used to fill a variety of roles.

In this particular example, the car is filling a covert "valet car" option. Usually, in situations like this, I've just gone with "a sporty red 2 door, possibly a Ferrari," or "a sensible-looking 4 door sedan, whose engine sounded rather more ferrocious than your average family day-tripper," but the level of identification that y'all put in your stories is inspiring me to do a little bit more research.

However, all the Googling in the world doesn't really give me context... I need a 4 door with decent space that would go unremarked on pretty much every street in the Central/Western European area - or several such offerings - that meet the criteria above. Saabs or Volvos, now that I think on it, might work, but I don't know how their European maintenance prices are (I know in the States, it's a case of open wallet, take out all of my monies).

Well if it is part of the SWA motorpool, I'd think something like an Alfa Romeo 159:



I could also see something like the BMW 3 Series (say a 330d Diesel):

well if you want a fleet type car then look no further than the Opel Insignia



comes with three years service,is available with a Holden built V6 (256 bhp)

Edit: i think these also have a lifelong warranty,which should help with costs,though i'm not sure bullet damage is covered !

Big fan of the Opel Insignia.



I've also been a fan of the Citroën C6:

For utility work (transporting gear, cyborgs, lawn equipment) the stuff in the Workday Vehicles thread will do just fine. For the kind of jobs you're talking about I'd think a variety of cars would be more useful than buying a big lot the same model.

Confiscated Padania vehicles perhaps? I see extra work on the schedule for Allison and the Bomb Squad Girls...

Amelia: (sniffing around the raised Seat Leon) I am detecting significant quantities of military-grade explosive hidden in the frame rails.

Allison: Okey-dokie, I'll fire up the gas-axe and cut it out of there!

---

Across the compound...

Ferro: Uh-ho...it's happening again.

Jean: What's happening?

Ferro: You know that tingling sensation I get right before some really expensive disaster occurs?

Jean: Oh shit...

VW Jetta or Passat and the Audi A6are two German ones that come to mind. The others I would agree on except for the BMW 318. Much better to go with the BMW 325 or even a low end 500 series.

all this talk about an Italian government dept lead me to google the subject,it makes interesting reading

reference the article - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d8ad0f7c-5cec-11df-bd7e-00144feab49a.html#ixzz1Gi0ssBgv

Attempts to cut Italy’s bloated state spending were fine as long as the target was ordinary civil servants and recalcitrant trade unions, but Renato Brunetta, minister for public administration reforms, is facing a tougher task in persuading ministries and local governments to cut back their vast fleets of official limousines.

Sleek Maseratis, costing more than €150,000 each, are a daily sight outside Rome’s ministries, part of an armada of what the media says totals more than 626,000 official cars – more than 10 times the number in France, Germany and the UK – and an increase of 50,000 over the past three years

Prime Minister Pisano: "Damn it, Michele. You're setting a bad example showing up at all these government functions in a new Ferrari or Lamborghini each time! Now even the most junior ministers demand at least an E-Class or 5 Series!"

Michele: "Says the man who tools around in a half-million Euro Rolls-Royce."

Kara (to the PM): "Uh, the kid's got a point there."

PM (to Kara): "Stop encouraging him!"

Officer_Charon wrote:This would be something more along the lines of a "fleet" option: good mileage, dependable, cheap to maintain... I surmise that the SWA would maintain SOME form of motorpool, outside of the ubiquitous "pizza van" taht could be used to fill a variety of roles.

In this particular example, the car is filling a covert "valet car" option.

In that case, I'd back the Alfa 159. Why? They seem to be the standard-issue Italian "fleet" saloon car... kinda like Commodores/Falcons/Camrys over here. Moreover, they seem to be operated by at least three of the Italian National law enforcement agencies, which would make it easy to to "loose" a couple assigned to the Carabinieri, Polizi or Guardia di Finanza. Conversely it'd be just as easy to slip them back into one of their assigned motorpools for routine servicing, or even rotate them out so no one car was missing for an extended period.

It also neatly comes in a diesel for low running costs. Honestly I wouldn't be concerned about running costs, running a European car in Europe I imagine is a lot cheaper than running one in the US or Australia. I have no real evidence to back that up though except that our rental in England was a VW Passat. Though that's considered a higher end car here, it was filling about the same bracket that a Commodore or Falcon would in Australia (read: nothing special).

I know a few people have also hypothesised that FIAT Puntos are used, which share all the benefits of the Alfa and are probably even more inconspicuous as a normal family hatchback.

Otherwise, for being inconspicuous outside Italy, I'd back Elfen's suggestion of the VW Passat.

Yeah, but you're not going to use a Punto as a "valet car." *grins*

I'm glad you mentioned that about the Alfa, because that's the one I was leaning towards anyways... it helps to have a plausible reason for it.

One of my chiefest complaints about unmarked vehicles is that they're always so OBVIOUS, especially once you start learning what to look for. They ride different, they tend to be heavily tinted, and sometimes look drastically out of place (Ours, for example, tend to be Ford Tauruses, which is a joke, because all the thuglets know to look for them). Having a variety to choose from in the motor pool would definitely help to offset that...

I thank y'all for giving me such a broad palette to work with - it's probable that most of the vehicles mentioned here will find a place in my writings in this capacity sooner or later. Thanks!