1. A Seat Leon. 2. Skoda Fabia vRS. I still want one, but not sure
The 1.9 Tdi engine are no where h=nera as refined as the Focus TDCi or Renault DCi's.
3. A Renault Megan diesel. Probably the only car I could afford new as the car supermarkets are full of them. Just a bit concerned about Renault reliability although it ticks all the
boxes for safety and is a little bit quirky.
Excellent car, full of character, not at all flimsy as Espada suggests, very safe, fun to drive. You might struggle to get a new one, perhaps a basic 1.5 DCi 3dr though a nearly new 1.9 might be a better bet if you want a pretty quick car.
4. Another Polo, probably of the shape before the current one, with the cheeky little grill. Might be a bit small for what I need now though, and I can't afford the GT!
Again that (reletively) rough 1.9 diesel, little character, not much fun to drive.
5. A Mk4 Golf Tdi - surely if I get one of the last ones to be made they will have ironed out any of it's faults? Just a bit reppy and boring though.
Better bet than the Polo though yet again that 1.9 diesel, again not much fun to drive though good and solid.
Focus TDCi, great fun to drive, inspiring handling, refined punchy engine, perhaps make it more individual with a set of alloys.
Clio DCi 1.5 100, very nippy, refined and economical diesel, new Clio due so deals to be had, good safety rating.
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I can explain the three-door thing. PG is convinced that if she has a 5 door car she instantly ceases to be a young, care-free and fun-loving wee girlie and will become a Woman Of Responsibility, sending signals of impending childbirth and too any eligible males in the vicinity.
Me? I think she's daft as a brush and should really reconsider on the 3 door thing.
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Why are people so obsessed what others think about them to the extent that they'll base their car purchase on this? 3 doors 5 doors who really cares what 'signal' it sends out?
I buy cars becuase I like them not becuase of what other people I don't even know and will never meet might think about me or what message they send out. You are going to pass up some great cars here simply becuase you must have a 3 door. Sounds rather daft, to be quite honest.
I wonder what sort of message a young lad in a Mondeo sends out anyway, I must remember to think about that if I ever find myself bored enough to care ;)
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Might I also suggest you avoid VW group cars if a P reg Polo is 'starting to feel its age'? I'd personally want something thats built well enough that it doesn't feel its age so soon.
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Might I also suggest you avoid VW group cars if a P reg Polo is 'starting to feel its age'? I'd personally want something thats built well enough that it doesn't feel its age so soon.
9 years isn't bad going for a small car, it's not just that things have worn out but new cars have moved on in terms of how quiet they are inside etc.
Option 2: turn the radio up, seems to work for all the Corsa boyz around
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Why are people so obsessed what others think about them to the extent that they'll base their car purchase on this?
Perhaps because you don't want to spend £10,000 on something that'll have people laughing at you as you drive?
Whatever the reason, it's quite common and has a very real effect on resale values so ignore it completely at your own risk.
One easy example is paint colour, I'm sure a lipstick-pink Polo is worth about 20% less than a silver or dark blue one even though they drive the same.
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To be fair to VW, P reg is hardly young to be feeling it's age.
My P reg 3 series is starting to show that it's getting on a bit if you look at certain aspects, it still drives fantastically though and has one of the best feeling gearchanges of any car I've driven, but wouldn't say it feels as good as the day it was made.
For my two pence I would say get a Leon TDi, it looks nice, drives like a Golf and is just a generally good car. I sold a friend one a year ago and he's quite happy with it still.
But, failing the Leon, I would look at a Focus 3 door TDCi, I know they are like hen's teeth to find in 3 door form, but they look the business, especially if you fit a bigger set of wheels, they drive superbly well around the corners and they have loads and loads of pull if you get the 115.
Blue
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a) As safe as possible
4 star NCAP and airbags all over the place
b) Supremely reliable, I can work call out as part of my job so can't afford to be without my car.
Never had a problem with mine in 30,000 miles and owners club website doesn't see many owners with major problems.
c) Probably diesel, given the amount of miles I do.
Yes and 50+mpg, 25,000 miles/2 year servicing
d) That little something that makes it stand out.
Very exclusive, not something you see in every car park
Only problem is it's 5 door, but consider an Audi A2 TDi SE.
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avoid the Renault
consider some "japanese" type cars, although many are built elsewhere these days
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How about any of the following:
Alfa 147 jtd.
Toyota Corolla.
Focus
Mini Diesel (bit rough but quite cool)
Not new but cheap enough and will all feel like a helluva lot more car than a clio or a fabia.
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"Only problem is it's 5 door, but consider an Audi A2 TDi SE."
I thought of this when I suggested an A3, but the A2 TDI only has 75 bhp which Polo Girl might find a little slow. But it does have more exclusivity as (rather like the A-class Mercedes) it's expensive to buy new do there aren't so many of them about.
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>> Why are people so obsessed what others think about them to the extent that they'll base their car purchase on this? >> Perhaps because you don't want to spend £10,000 on something that'll have people laughing at you as you drive?
True if we are talking about chosing between a lime green Trabant, a Corsa with Neons and a Ferrari 360, but 3 and 5 door version of run of the mill small diesels?
I cannot imagine anyone who would actually laugh at somebody driving around in a 5 door Golf yet think 'wow, thats cool' if they did the same thing in a 3 door.
Can you?
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Perhaps it's more to do with how the car makes you feel, rather than how others look at it? 3 door cars look (a bit) sporty, 5 door cars look practical. Residuals are also affected depending on the car, 5 door GTis used to be lower valued than 3 door ones.
I was (badly) trying to say that people are complex, and let lots of things rule their decisions, good sense being only one of them!
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If you ever drive around with mates (especially girl mates in my experience) i'm fairly confident they'd prefer you to have 5 doors!
I've had a sporty 3 door 306 and a practical 5 door Escort, and whilst male friends admired the 306 more, girl friends and my girl-friend prefer the Escort with easy-to-get-into-in-a-ladylike-manner 5 doors and non-sports seats (which are great once you're in them but you do have to kind of 'fall' into them!).
On the make and model choice, i'd go for the Leon TDi 130 - you could always chip it if you wanted to get FR diesel performance.
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PG. Sticking to your shortlist and criteria, my very subjective choice (in order) would be:
1. Megane Diesel - assume new shape? 3 door looks better than other variants IMO.
2. Seat Leon - used tdi would be fine & you may find that the fuel saving will allow you to spend a little more upfront.
3. Fabia - sorry but still has the Skoda name and not as good as the above.
4. Polo - too small. Surely not ideal on a long run?
5. Golf. Dull and questionable reliability. Not as good as VW would have you believe.
Recommend that you try to test drive all of them - then follow you heart!
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I had a Leon TDI 110 for a pool car for a (too short) while. I can highly recommend it! Went like stink, sipped fuel, good to drive. The only downsides were a very firm ride, and the red backlighting on the instruments I couldn't get on with - make sure you can check in the dark you can live with this.
My mate had a Golf TDi for a while. Very flabby was his assessment after his A4 - OK on the straight, but didn't want to go round corners.
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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Leftfield choice.....
Fiat Stilo JTD 115 3-door?
I like the styling, found the Stilo a better drive than a 156 Sportwagen, should be cheap.
Oops, just re-read the bit about reliability...
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