Insigna CDTI 160 v Mondeo TDCI v Passat Bluemotion
Discussion
Continuing my research into a possible family/work car to soak up my new 190 mile round trip (2x a week) commute....fancy a recentish car, max price £7-8K....
These three seem to be good choices, not exciting, but will soak up the miles. Just after feedback from owners and interested in what has gone wrong and what MPG you get on a cruise. Mondeo would be a Mk4 facelifted model, TDCI 140 or 163, the Insigna, 2011/12 preferably SRI model and for my budget I could just about get a B7 (2011 onwards) Passat with the 140 TDI Bluemotion engine.
Quite fancy an auto, so anyone who has owned an auto version of these cars, what was it like.
I'll be honest, I've always found the Insignia to be an attractive car and to offer an awful lot of metal for the money, £7K will get you into a four year old eco flex 163 engined car with £30 per year road tax (for the manual)...just the reliability stories worry me.
These three seem to be good choices, not exciting, but will soak up the miles. Just after feedback from owners and interested in what has gone wrong and what MPG you get on a cruise. Mondeo would be a Mk4 facelifted model, TDCI 140 or 163, the Insigna, 2011/12 preferably SRI model and for my budget I could just about get a B7 (2011 onwards) Passat with the 140 TDI Bluemotion engine.
Quite fancy an auto, so anyone who has owned an auto version of these cars, what was it like.
I'll be honest, I've always found the Insignia to be an attractive car and to offer an awful lot of metal for the money, £7K will get you into a four year old eco flex 163 engined car with £30 per year road tax (for the manual)...just the reliability stories worry me.
Ive had 3 Elites Nav's (160 CDTI) over the past 5 years, approx 250k miles. No probs to write home about apart from sticking rear calipers. 20k miles service intervals. Easy on tyres. Fully loaded specification. Dont always believe what you read online. Some people are just anti-vauxhall. Ive had Vauxhall Company Cars and Vans for the past 15 years and all been very reliable.
Jimbo_888 said:
Ive had 3 Elites Nav's (160 CDTI) over the past 5 years, approx 250k miles. No probs to write home about apart from sticking rear calipers. 20k miles service intervals. Easy on tyres. Fully loaded specification. Dont always believe what you read online. Some people are just anti-vauxhall. Ive had Vauxhall Company Cars and Vans for the past 15 years and all been very reliable.
Thanks for that feedback...Wow, only one person on Pistonheads has run an Insignia/Mk4 Mondeo or B7 Passat...I really had no idea that they were so unpopular amongst petrolheads!!!
I had an insignia on an 09 plate new as a company car, in 100k it broke down somewhere in the region of 24 times, and had to be recovered 8 times for various engine faults, and it felt really tired by 105k and 3 years when it went back. One of my colleagues had an 09 that was similar. Other guys got 11 plates and newer and had very few problems with them and they were much nicer to drive with a few miles on them so i suspect vauxhall started to get their s
t together. Sti 160 is a nice place to sit, sat nav is ste though not as good as a tomtom. The electric handbrakes are utter ste. One of my colleauges ones rolled down a hill and hit an hgv that was going flat out, torn the car in half. I was sitting parked in a pool car, key out, no feet on the pedals reading my ipad, never touched anything or moved and i heard the whirr from the back axle and the handbrake released itself without me touching it. ,
Mondeos have been hit or miss quality wise too.
t together. Sti 160 is a nice place to sit, sat nav is ste though not as good as a tomtom. The electric handbrakes are utter ste. One of my colleauges ones rolled down a hill and hit an hgv that was going flat out, torn the car in half. I was sitting parked in a pool car, key out, no feet on the pedals reading my ipad, never touched anything or moved and i heard the whirr from the back axle and the handbrake released itself without me touching it. , Mondeos have been hit or miss quality wise too.
I've had a Passat 170 for 18mths now. I got the 170 as the 140 was nippy but the 170 is quite nippy and when it comes to overtaking....... Also the 170 had front fogs, in-built sat nav, cruise control etc..
In 18mths I'd put two front tyres on (they were low when I bought her) and just replaced the brake sensor on the rear. Apart from that she's had her service..... That's it.
I can quite comfortably drive 400 miles in a day in her.
In 18mths I'd put two front tyres on (they were low when I bought her) and just replaced the brake sensor on the rear. Apart from that she's had her service..... That's it.
I can quite comfortably drive 400 miles in a day in her.
We have some Mondeos as pool cars, they're a good drive they seem well appointed steer well & from what I've seen they're reliable we had a couple of Passats but DSG issues meant they didn't stay past the warranties. The Mondeos are 2008 & 2009 Titanium X Sports 140/200bhp funnily enough I've always had better fuel figures from the 200bhp version.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
163bhp version
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
163bhp version
Avensis as dreary as it gets but is a reliable appliance.
In 40 years of company cars from Hillman Avengers to Audi A4's the most remembered car for reliability & supreme comfort whilst enduring a bad back was a 1990 Ford Mondeo estate. It did 100k+ miles in the UK & two long trips to France & when it was due to renewal I chose to hang on to it for another year. Having recently hired a top of the range Focus which looked felt & drove as good as any equivalent premium brand if I needed a workhorse Ford would be first on my list.
A Vauxhall Omega (German not UK built) was superb, but a diesel auto Vectra that went like the clappers did blow its turbo but was otherwise reliable & still looked & drove like new after 150k miles.
You will detect I'm no badge snob & have 'genuine' friends & business colleagues who didn't & don't judge me by the car I drive.
In 40 years of company cars from Hillman Avengers to Audi A4's the most remembered car for reliability & supreme comfort whilst enduring a bad back was a 1990 Ford Mondeo estate. It did 100k+ miles in the UK & two long trips to France & when it was due to renewal I chose to hang on to it for another year. Having recently hired a top of the range Focus which looked felt & drove as good as any equivalent premium brand if I needed a workhorse Ford would be first on my list.
A Vauxhall Omega (German not UK built) was superb, but a diesel auto Vectra that went like the clappers did blow its turbo but was otherwise reliable & still looked & drove like new after 150k miles.
You will detect I'm no badge snob & have 'genuine' friends & business colleagues who didn't & don't judge me by the car I drive.
Weren't the Avensis supposed to have a terrible diesel which is the reason Toyota now puts BMW engines in it's diesels, but in the interests of fairness here's a couple.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
Did 4000 miles in an avensis d4d 12 plate, hired from when it had 800 miles on it. Only did 37mpg, seats were too hard and i coulnd't get comfy, interior felt cheap, and it was gutless, overtaking was a struggle.
Never seen a 1990 mondeo, i thought that would be a sierra, did mondeos not come out on a late k? My n plate mondeo was the best motorway mile muncher ever, like sitting in your favourite armchair.
Never seen a 1990 mondeo, i thought that would be a sierra, did mondeos not come out on a late k? My n plate mondeo was the best motorway mile muncher ever, like sitting in your favourite armchair.
Pacman1978 said:
Op can I ask, did you consider/discount the Avensis?
The Avensis seems seldom mentioned anywhere on PH. Is there any particular reason for that?
The Avensis in my budget would be the 2.2 diesel late 2000s....I think it looks very bland indeed and isn't trouble free. Know two people who had D4D Avensis who had huge bills. One had the gearbox go at 80,000 miles...£800 bill. Other one the turbo went think, making it uneconomic to repair....The Avensis seems seldom mentioned anywhere on PH. Is there any particular reason for that?
The three cars I have listed are the quintessential popular larger family saloons and very popular, so plenty to choose from. Personally I like the Mazda 6 having owned one for nearly 3 years, but the "rising diesel level" on the 2.2 puts me off it a bit.
I drove an Insignia on a 600 mile round tripand felt quite uninspired by it. Very capable car but not exciting. Massive wheels wrecked the ride. It was hire car the company had for a few months from new and in that time it was probably on a 1000 miles a week.
All was ok until engine light came on and we swapped it for another.
About same time I did the same trip in a Passat albeit a little older than what you are looking at. Felt agricultural but solid. Newer engines are probably better.
For my own car I ended up on a Mondeo titanium x sport 2.2. Cracking car with no issues in the last two years apart from a split turbo hose which was an easy fix.
To be fair I would have been happy with a Passat or Mondeo but there were more Mondeos about. Passat hold their value a little better and the interior in my opinion is a little lower spec.I think you do get a little more for your money in a Mondeo.
My money would be on a 2.2 Mondeo or a 2.0 if mpg is a concern. My car on 80k will do 40mpg regardless of how it is driven or how loaded it is. I hear that 2 litres are a lot better for only a little less power. Watch for creaks and groans in suspension. Titanium spec worth it. Heated and cooled leather seats if you can get em are good.
Yet another view for you.
Excuse typos. Written on a phone and can't be arsed to check it.
All was ok until engine light came on and we swapped it for another.
About same time I did the same trip in a Passat albeit a little older than what you are looking at. Felt agricultural but solid. Newer engines are probably better.
For my own car I ended up on a Mondeo titanium x sport 2.2. Cracking car with no issues in the last two years apart from a split turbo hose which was an easy fix.
To be fair I would have been happy with a Passat or Mondeo but there were more Mondeos about. Passat hold their value a little better and the interior in my opinion is a little lower spec.I think you do get a little more for your money in a Mondeo.
My money would be on a 2.2 Mondeo or a 2.0 if mpg is a concern. My car on 80k will do 40mpg regardless of how it is driven or how loaded it is. I hear that 2 litres are a lot better for only a little less power. Watch for creaks and groans in suspension. Titanium spec worth it. Heated and cooled leather seats if you can get em are good.
Yet another view for you.
Excuse typos. Written on a phone and can't be arsed to check it.
Another vote for the Mondeo 2.2 TDCi Titanium X Sport (although I haven't driven the other cars in your list). Soaks up the miles. I got mine remapped last year, pulls like a train while still maintaining the economy.
In the 18 months I've had her outside of servicing I've had a change of glow plugs and replacement of a rear calliper as the only two issues.
In the 18 months I've had her outside of servicing I've had a change of glow plugs and replacement of a rear calliper as the only two issues.
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