Planning to change car in near future(within 2 months) and for the first time looking to buy a diesel as high mileage driver(15k plus).
Why I've waited so long to go diesel who knows?
Anyway, I've tried to whittle down my options tho the waters are being muddied given I find most of the following are due to be replaced:
My choices so far: Fiesta 1.6 tdci, Clio 1.5dci 86bhp, Colt, corsa(torn between 90bhp and greener 75bhp), 207, 1.6tdci focus
Also tempted by polo blue motion.
Most of my choices are supermini I know but Im single, 32 and with the current "big" feel superminis I see no need to spend on bigger models. Although the BMW 1 series is attractive!
I'm hoping to get a 56 or 07 plate as have budget of around £9k to play with.
Anyone with any experience of these cars and could give me pointers please do, or even recommend a diff model!
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you lost me on being 32 and wanting a bmw 1 series
is that a wild card or do you hanker wife and children?
no offence
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I've always found diesel supermini's a bit pointless. If you are only driving around town and not doing many miles a year, a Supermini is a great choice. So why ruin it with a clattery diesel when the fuel savings are minor?
But, if you do 15k+ a year, lots of driving, like yourself then a diesel is a good idea. But a town car? No, surely you'd be better with something more suited to the task of munching those miles?
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The BMW is a wild card. No plans for family and probably way off budget too!
Most of my miles are out of town, a combination of single and dual carriageway, no motorways up in NE Scotland.
I have no desire to go Mondeo size. Keen on being green, good economy and yes low CO2 despite the dubious rating system.
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I have no desire to go Mondeo size. Keen on being green good economy and yes low CO2 despite the dubious rating system.
Aren't those the same things?
Low fuel consumption = green.
From what you are saying, sounds like the only reason you don't want a decent car is as some kind of green penitence
Why would you drive a city car for 18,000 miles/year?
If you want to be green, surely recycling an older car would be a good idea? Old 3-series ?
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My Swift does just fine at 24 000 miles/year. No point getting anything bigger. The current crop of superminis are perfectly sized for one person close to 2 metres tall. Supermini (eg Polo) is a different class to city car (eg Fox).
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The best thing is to try them all pout and see which you enjoy driving most. They all do much the same job - possibly some are better on long runs than others (and long runs are perfectly comfortable in a modern supermini, whatever Michael R says).
You could add the Toyota Yaris and Skoda Fabia to your list - in the case of the Fabia, go for the 1.9 TDI not the 1.4. You could even look for a newish Fabia vRS.
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Try them all out I mean. Aren't typos boring.
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ne scotland 15k 300 miles a week
i would want a spunky petrol
you have the best roads in the country use them before they get camerad to death
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A bigger car, especially diesel, will be quite fuel efficient if it's not stop start traffic. You will probably get better value for money too.
If you have mostly clear roads, then at 15k miles per year petrol might not be the non-starter. I found smaller forced induction petrols quite efficient, e.g. VAG 1.8T.
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Wrong car for wrong job. A diesel city car will be really unpleasant to drive over those roads. You can still get over 40mpg from a decent sized petrol car - though you might not on those roads, and not feel as though you've been battered every time you get out of the car. And not feel as though you have to get out and push it when you reach a hill (note irrational prejudice against small diesel cars which will no doubt cause riot).
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compromise.........Ford Focus
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BMW 1 is super choice when bought in the eco diesel version attracting £35 pa car tax and they really hold their value plus a little bit of class.
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Im with Westpig, Focus = best seller - must be doing someting right!
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I've driven (hired) a Megane with the 1.5 dci 86bhp engine and (test drove) the Focus with the 110 bhp tdci and for the type of journeys you're going to be doing I'd take the more refined Renault engine and suspension albeit in the Clio ( looks a big supermini) which can't be far off the size of the Megane. Sportier drive required? Focus. Fiesta too old and Polo too expensive.
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For the type of roads you mention you want a car than is fun to drive, handles and steers well. I would look as a new Clio 1.5 86, a Focus 1.6 110 or 1.8 115 and a Megane (v-good value) with either the 1.5 or 1.9 engine, all of which can do 60mpg driven gently and average around 50mpg when driven enthusiastically on fast ish A / B roads.
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SEAT Leon diesel? Sporty drive and looks, roomy interior, decent boot, better value than the Golf / Audi A3 on which it?s based. Good fuel economy - my MK1 gets a real (i.e what I?ve worked out, not just cribbed from the dashboard) 49-51mpg on a combined cycle.
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I don't like Diesel engine characteristics, but if you really want one then why not try a Suzuki Swift 1.5 Diesel. You should get a brand new one for your price. I have not driven a Diesel Swift, but the petrol 1.5 is a nice drive with good handling and a decent ride.
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"recommend a diff model"
I've just switched to the dark side and do 23k miles per year.
If you're not worried about the badge and what others think, how about a Signum? I've just got a 3.0 CDTi Design (pre face lift) with an autobox and it is a dream for motorway miles. Might be bigger than what you are planning?
It has all the toys (but not Sat Nav being pre-face lift) is really comfortable and returns 40 - 45 miles per gallon when driving within the law.
Granted, it's not everyone's taste but it does the job I ask of it very well.
TT.
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Top Turkey - the fastest hands in Brum
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My wifes just collected her long awaited fiesta 1.6tdci & very impressed, had a 1.4tdci for 2 years & 25k miles before that with 100% trouble free motoring. 1.6 very spritely & returning 60 mpg & £35 road tax. very quiet in comparison with 1.4. Fine on a long motorway drive . Room for 4 adaults as well. Comfortable & cheap servicing.
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I too can recommend the PSA/Ford HDI 110 - available in all manner of cars - and can be had in Band B VED (£35) states of tune. This engine is equally happy in town or on the open road and it's easy to see how they churn out a million a year!
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Like Avant, says, try them. Your tastes will be different to those of other people.
Personally, on my limited experience, I'd go for the Fiesta 1.6 Tdci. I've driven the Tdci engine in its 110 bhp form, and it is a great engine. I've driven the Fiesta with the 1.25 petrol engine, and really like its handling and steering.
But you may be different.
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Another wildcard for you a Honda CIvic IMA. Very green, nice interior, cheap to tax and fuel and CG free.
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15k isn't high milage is it? I do just under 25k and I was only borderline for diesel making sense when I got the Golf last year.
That said.. the Fabia vRS is great fun :)
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My mileage of 15k is for work only! Add on a few k for pleasure and it stacks up.
Many of my miles are in heavy traffic although there are stretches of long open road.
Keen to know where I can get an eco BMW 1 series for my budget tho!
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In your position, I would be out looking for the latest, lowest mileage Fabia vRS my £9k would buy.
I struggle to put into words just how much admiration I have for this car. It's fast, well put together, handles tidily, sips fuel unless you're driving it hard, and holds its value well. Frugal and efficient around town, and astonishingly quick and entertaining outside it. A friend has one, and it will return a genuine 55 mpg in "real world" conditions when driven sensibly, although it will drop into the high 30's when used hard. The performance from that punchy diesel engine in the light shell has to be experienced to be believed though.
The Volkswagen PD engine has a good reputation for reliability and longevity in 130PS guise as long as it's serviced correctly, and doesn't seem to have the same penchant for springing crippling bills on owners like common rail diesels can. It's rough and noisy, but who cares when it's this quick and frugal?
Go drive one.
Cheers
DP
--
04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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Thanks folks for all the replies, loads of good advice and ideas.
Choice List is growing now tho haha
Loads of test drives ahead I think!
But anyone with more "wildcards" ownership experience etc keep posting as its all useful stuff
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Based on over 10 years diesle driving, I am now very fussy about noise vibration and harshness and largely sold my A5 TDI because - around town - it was so uncomfortabley noisy in queues and at lights. Fine for motorways.
So be very careful. What may appear accpetable on a warm sunny day is not on a cold winter's evening when you are tired, the car is cold and you are stuck in a jam. I will not buy a VAG diesel again for that reason. And early 1.4tdi Fiestas were as bad imo.
As you grow older, these things matter - a lot!:-)
Always drive one when cold into a congested street and see if you can live with it...
madf
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IMO a VAG diesel is best avoided until they go common rail. Low speed refinement is way behind the pack now. They are, however, very economical and torquey.
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Based on over 10 years diesle driving I am now very fussy about noise vibration and harshness
I was irritated by a bit of NVH at about 2000 revs in the Clio 1.5 dCi 68.
See www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=46...2
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Whilst I would agree that the VAG PD diesels (versions without Lanchester balancer shafts) are now on the rough side as other designs have evolved, their economy and performance is not to be ignored. Serviced as required, they give very little trouble.
Having driven lots of different ones, I would judge the longitudinally mounted installations to be smoother and quieter than the transverse versions, even allowing for the fact that the transverse cars are smaller. Also, seemingly identical engines (down to the ident letters on the cambelt covers) can be very different in terms of noise and refinement. The quietest one I've driven was in a big Skoda and pulls it around with real grunt.
659.
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I think I have two opposite NVH extremes as far as four pot diesels go.
In fact, the Mondeo's engine is losing what little bit of decorum it had as it ages. There are all sorts of odd vibes appearing that never used to be there, including a particularly annoying one around 3,000 RPM that makes the dash buzz. Unfortunately, that's around 85-90 in top.
Stereo up!
The only time the Renault engine is anything other than quiet and super smooth is during the first mile or so from a stone cold start. Otherwise it's just a quiet engine in its own right.
Cheers
DP
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04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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