Another help me decide a car thread

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Tue 24 Jun 2014 14:19
Another help me decide a car thread - balleballe

I'm after a similar sized car to my current Mazda 3 Saloon, ideally petrol as i do a few short journeys a week and annual mileage of around 14k

With my current 2 litre Petrol Mazda I get around 25mpg around town and 40ish on a long motorway Journey. I would like to improve on these by 20% while still having around 150bhp as I currently do.

Reliability is key for me which is why I tend to stick to Japanese manufacturers. If buying New - I can get it on the company. If buying private i've got around 7k to spend

I ideally want a new mazda 3 Saloon/fastback but they only do the 165ps engine in the hatchback, which is a deal breaker for me.

Any suggestions?

Edited by balleballe on 24/06/2014 at 14:22

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Tue 24 Jun 2014 18:16
Another help me decide a car thread - Sulphur Man

I think you'll struggle to stay with petrol, stay with 150bhp, and gain 20% real world economy improvements. One of those requirements may have to give....

Totally agree with you on staying Japanese/Far East though!

If you're looking for an economy improvment, then dropping the bhp requirement might bring the improvement.

Maybe the Toyota Auris Hybrid, either hatch or estate? You'll see a definite economy boost, but the CVT and powertrain will not feel like 150bhp...

I like the Toyota Avensis Tourer a lot. Massively underated car, especially the 1.8 Valvematic petrol with the M Drive autobox. That can do 30-40mpg all day, once warmed up. Ultra reliable too.

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Tue 24 Jun 2014 19:19
Another help me decide a car thread - skidpan

Simple decsion, get a Seat Leon 1.4 TSI or if you want something a little larger gat a Skoda Octavia 1.4 TSi. If you want an estate both are the same size near enough.

Had my Leon 1.4 TSi for 12 months now. The genuine average calculated from the distance covered and the actual fuel purchased is 45 mpg. In town it does about 40 mpg but on a long run we have seen as much as 53 mpg.

All this from a 1.4 petrol with 140 bhp. And it prforms better than any diesel I have ever owned.

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Thu 26 Jun 2014 11:24
Another help me decide a car thread - balleballe

I know VAG's general reliability is pretty average

How about with this particular engine though? Was this the engine that won 'lemon of the year' or something along those lines, or was that another one of theirs?

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Tue 24 Jun 2014 22:47
Another help me decide a car thread - Avant

Totally agree with Skidpan: I was thinking about the VAG 1.4 TSI engine as soon as I read your original post.

If reliability is key, and a Leon, Octavia, Golf or A3 are available to you as company cars, go for one of these so that you get a new one. Because the A3 holds its value better than the others, if your company leases its cars the cost of an A3 may not be much more.

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Wed 25 Jun 2014 01:47
Another help me decide a car thread - SteveLee
Shame the PSA group don't sell a saloon with their 150bhp 1.6 THP engine in the diesel obsessed UK.
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Thu 26 Jun 2014 11:30
Another help me decide a car thread - balleballe

Is that the one they made with BMW?

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Fri 27 Jun 2014 02:05
Another help me decide a car thread - SteveLee
Yes - the one that can eat timing chains unfortunately - shame coz it's a cracking engine. BMW's superior German engineering managed to turn a basically unburstable PSA engine into a ticking time-bomb. (BMW were responsible for the valvetrain) I would hope the problem is fixed by now!
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Fri 27 Jun 2014 10:45
Another help me decide a car thread - balleballe

Everything made in Europe seems to be made with the 'bottom line' being the most important thing. I'm sure BMW know perfectly well how to make the engine unburstable, but it would cost them more and then their/PSA's garages cant make as much money on you when you come in with a broken engine

Thats why I want to try and stick to Japanese if I can. Yes, they may not have 'soft touch dashes' but thats fine. I'd rather have a mechanically sound car rather than one with a soft dash that I wont be touching anyway unless I have a crash.

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Thu 26 Jun 2014 11:29
Another help me decide a car thread - balleballe

It would probably be the leon due to it's looks. I see little point in spending an extra 4-6k for the Audi badge when they are pretty much the same car

I would want to keep it for a good while or until it starts giving me problems. so if it performs well during the 3 years, I might just pay the balloon payment to keep it.

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