I’m a bit surprised at this because wagon (especially fast or cheap wagon) sales are still pretty good in Europe. The US crossover phenomenon has already taken root, and I’m sure it’s dented wagon sales, but I’m struggling to think of a manufacturer that loses money on them.

The 156 estate/wagon is the used car bargain of the moment in Europe. They’re worth next to nothing and currently sell for around $1000-$1500 in really nice condition.

They were vastly improved after the facelift a few years ago (2014?), but the original model was a bit of a crock.

Some cars can survive bring taken out of their natural habitat of the Cotswolds and the Lake District on a rainy summer’s day but, tell me.. honestly.., which of these looks the happiest?

Frameless doors are, obviously, de rigeur for convertibles and many coupes have them too. It’s the 4-door cars, such as the Legacy, I was referring to but it does appear there are more on the market than I thought.

I concur.

Let me consult my engineering Magic 8-Ball and I’ll get right back to you...

It’s not going to be cheap, not even in Europe, where we tend to order our cars from the factory, rather than buying what the dealer has in stock. I’m quite certain that with the engine you’d want, the interior you’d want and a few choice extras, this will be impingeing on BMW/Mercedes territory.

Sadly, you’re right. There’s nothing currently in the range that would tempt me away from the Ford equivalent but this is better looking than the Mondeo, internally and externally.

You are, of course, absolutely right.

For a 40mph impact on a car that’s probably at least a decade old, that’s a superb tick in the box for safety.

If you can find one, a 4th-generation Subaru Legacy (as advocated at the top of the comments) will save you a lot of money over a new car and last 250,000 miles+ if you look after it. The estate (sorry, wagon!) has excellent visibility and anything with a longroof is going to be better in that regard. Built up to…

Hard-top convertibles are one of those designs that will give you ten different responses if you ask ten different people. Some come out of the factory absolutely perfect and stay that way forever, but most don’t, judging by the feedback. I do bear in mind that people tend to post their negative experiences rather…

I don’t think there is a ‘process’ as such. The ‘grey’ system came about due to some horrific abuse staff and commenters got on another Gawker blog but the worst I’ve seen here is the occasional decline into name-calling when the 14 year olds descend into a slanging match about vehicles they don’t own!

As an aside, here’s the US brochure. Looking at it, you’re absolutely right - the Spec B came with the 2.5. The 3.0 is there, but only with an auto box and without the suspension upgrade.

-15 is just on the wrong side of chilly, and not cold enough to stop silicone treatments working. Essentially what it does is repel any moisture trapped between the glass, the door and the seal, so ice just simply cannot form. You’d have to get a hell of a lot colder for silicone to stop working.

I found a good quality silicon spray helped with the winters and, even though the UK is viewed as the land of eternal rain and fog, it’s a very temperate climate in that we don’t get extremes of temperatures.

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I think it was not that they ‘could add’ but more that they ‘had to add’ extra bracing/metal into the roofline for roll-over crash protection and side-impact protection. For the latter scenario I believe frameless doors are actually less likely to warp beyond the point of being un-openable but that’s anecdotal.

Heh, yes, even the Legacy’s doors sound pretty tinny and rattly when you close them but that’s easily fixed with a roll of Dynomat. Still, not something you should be expecting to do on a car that costs as much as the A7...