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Year: 2005
List price: €4,500
Owners: 3
Mileage: 179,000km
Engine: 2.0 diesel
Location: Cork
Few estates are as classy as an Audi 'Avant' and there are plenty of A4 Avants around for our €5,000 budget. We've picked a 2.0-litre TDI diesel model with 140hp and in the sportier looking S line specification. Admittedly, the A4 Avant isn't the most spacious in the world, but that's offset somewhat by its good looks and premium image. As with all prestige cars, make sure you get a thorough mechanical inspection.
2 - BMW 5 Series Touring
Year: 2005
List price: €4,900
Owners: 5
Mileage: 241,402km
Engine: 3.0 diesel
Location: Wexford
Just because you need an estate doesn't mean you need to give up on driving fun. The BMW 5 Series Touring is a great option for those that still want to enjoy the drive. This 530d we found, in M Sport specification, is particularly good fun. It has a powerful 3.0-litre straight-six turbodiesel engine and rear-wheel drive so it's fast by any measure. It's not bad on fuel once you take it easy, but the annual tax bill is very high, sadly.
3 - Skoda Octavia Combi
Year: 2007
List price: €4,500
Owners: 6
Mileage: 203,000km
Engine: 2.0 diesel
Location: Kildare
Here's the most sensible estate of the bunch, Skoda's evergreen Octavia Combi. While the Octavia is based loosely on the mechanicals of the Volkswagen Golf, it has an absolutely huge boot, bigger than most other cars' in this feature. It's pretty robust and the 2.0-litre diesel engine mixes economy and performance well. Only thing to watch with this example is the number of owners and the high mileage. Give it a good going over before signing on the dotted line.
4 - Subaru Outback
Year: 2007
List price: €4,700
Owners: 3
Mileage: 221,000km
Engine: 2.5 LPG
Location: Waterford
We've always had a soft spot for the Subaru Outback. It began life as a Legacy Estate, but Subaru realised there was sufficient demand for the ruggedized version with higher ground clearance and all-wheel drive to offer it as a standalone model. This one has been professionally converted to LPG gas, which should keep running costs down a tad. Quality car too.
5 - Volvo V50
Year: 2007
List price: €4,995
Owners: 3
Mileage: 159,325km
Engine: 1.6 diesel
Location: Dublin
We know that Volvo estates have a reputation for being big Labrador carriers suited to expeditions to Ikea, but the V50 is actually quite a compact car, based on the underpinnings of the Ford Focus. Nonetheless, it's a great small family estate, with a usefully sized and shaped boot. More than that, though, it drives well, the 1.6-litre diesel engine is economical and it feels of much higher quality than equivalent models from Ford and Volkswagen.