Looking for a station wagon for 5,000 euros

As a compact premium station, the V50 has only had the rich and the Ford Focus has also known little competition with its sporty nature. With us, the Seat Leon ST comes up as the main opponent, but that only came in 2013. No, then the bread and butter cars. A lot of European and Asian car manufacturers had such a sober pack mule in their program. We chose an almost forgotten model from this wide range. After all, unknown makes… affordable!

Just good

Chevrolet Nubira Station Wagon 1.8 Class aut.

January 2010

142,294 km

€4.945

Chevrolet Nubira

In the mid 1990s, the budget brand Daewoo came from South Korea. Soon General Motors incorporated Daewoo, after which the models were given the Chevrolet brand name. When Chevrolet – except for the Camaro and the Corvette – then left Europe, the trade-ins quickly ended up in the ramsj corner. After all: unknown makes unloved and therefore cheap. That is also the case with this model. Just think: of our trio clearly the youngest and with the lowest mileage. Moreover, just like the V50, it has had only one owner, who has visibly taken care of it. Such a Nubira may have scored points mainly in the field of value for money and less so in the field of sophistication, after eleven years and almost one and a half tons of kilometers the car looks like new inside and out. That counts for the calculating second-hand buyer. Space seekers who prefer a sober, well-maintained, luxury occasion for a thousand or five are excellently served with this kind of under-the-radar bread and butter cars.

But what is the lack of sophistication? Not so much with the driving itself, where we should note that straight ahead the Nubira feels comfortable, but that (sharp) bends are clearly less for him. Nor is the comfort: the soft, generously sized seats fit well with the chassis, which will particularly appeal to the non-active driver. And not to the equipment, albeit partly. This Class version shares with the V50, among other things, traction control, rear electric windows (in the Focus it is swinging in the back), climate control (manually operated in the Ford), a rain sensor and electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors. In terms of safety, the American South Korean wears the red lantern: no brake assistant, ESP or head/curtain airbags. The gasoline thirst of the 1,800 engine, which is linked to a four-speed automatic transmission, is no longer of this time. The 1.8 requires an average of one liter every 11.4 kilometers. On the other hand, the depreciation is largely behind us and the overall condition of the car also gives confidence that the monthly costs will remain within limits. Do not be misled by the appearance of this Nubira Station Wagon. It may be the smallest in volume, but it is not the tightest on the inside. In this way, the legs in the back of the Nubira are least affected. Just good, that is the overall picture of this occasion.

Smooth freight forwarder

Ford Focus Wagon 1.8-16V Flexifuel Ambiente

January 2008

147,422 km

€5,250

Ford Focus

Would you prefer a pack mule with a more sporty character? Then the Ford Focus Wagon quickly comes into the picture, because compact station wagons with a pronounced lively character were and are sparse. You must be prepared to make concessions. In the case of this Focus, for slightly more money than the Nubira you get a car that has driven about the same number of kilometers, but is also two years older. However, there are plenty of pluses. For starters, the Focus feels much tighter, with better handling and excellent steering and shifting. This makes taking turns a joy. That the functionality has not been lost sight of, shows the luggage space, which with the rear seats folded down offers just over 200 liters more than the V50, which is based on the same model. Speaking of Volvo; Volvo was Ford owned at the time both used cars were produced, which is also reflected in the use of the same power sources. However, there is something special going on with the Focus. This was in fact specially developed to consume bio-ethanol (better known as E85) in addition to regular petrol. Other power units of this Focus generation did not have that option. Now, after so many years, we can conclude that bioethanol never really got off the ground. The number of refueling locations remained limited, the product was considerably more expensive and, moreover, consumption was much higher than on ‘ordinary’ unleaded. The fact that CO2 emissions were nevertheless much lower turned out to be too cold a consolation.

In Ambiente version, the Focus is nicely decorated. One of the two previous owners also had a parking heater installed. This Focus may be two years older than the South Korean, but when it comes to safety, the roles have been reversed. Here, for example, there are head/curtain airbags, while a decent five stars were scored in the Euro NCAP crash test at the time. The Volvo has – of course – also five, the Nubira was not put against the wall at the time. Because the Focus is slightly more expensive than its companions, it is the only one to receive a six-month Bovag warranty. Fine, then that irritating vibration in the accelerator pedal can be solved on delivery that you feel up to your thighs.

Timeless

Volvo V50 1.8 Momentum

May 2005

238,833 km

€4.440

Volvo V50

Prefer chic? That is also possible, but our memory does not reach much further than the Volvo V50 when it comes to a premium station in the compact segment. Volvo has done a good job of creating something stylish. Although the power source and chassis are the same as those of the Ford Focus, the body is really Volvo. Anyone who thinks to have such a brick of yesteryear with the V50 will be disappointed. Although the Swede is narrowly the largest of our trio, you do not see that space in the passenger and luggage compartment. What we do see there is a calm and well thought-out design. Attributes such as a folding partition in the luggage compartment, the floating center console that is still a beautiful and timeless detail, the large seats that guarantee a good seat.

This and the firm, yet calm driving character, you notice that the V50 is cut from a different cloth than its blood brother, while the contrast with the Nubira is even greater. Unfortunately, we also have to make concessions for this mobile piece of prestige. This V50 is in fact three and five years older than the Focus and the Nubira, while the mileage indicates 90,000 more. Volvo’s may have the reputation of lasting an eternity, we can’t just assume that. Look, that after such a long life, wear spots and sometimes cracks appear in the upholstery, that is almost inherent. The V50 cannot do anything about a few dents in the roof that suggest exposure to a heavy hailstorm. No, what worries us the most is the gearbox. Not only does it shift remarkably hard and the clutch shifts lightly again around third gear, when maneuvering at walking pace for photography, the poker sometimes slipped into neutral. That indicates an imminent, potentially costly repair.