Call me a girl but....

[xyphod]

I'm about to opt for a company car. (I do big company miles)
We have a flex bens which is large enough to lease a company car, before tax and vat. So a car costing £450 a month to lease with full maintanance costs would cost me just £270 + Company car tax a month.

Now I'm a sucker for soft tops, but have a wife and two kids so 4 seats are needed.
However money is tight so I need to keep the costs as low as possible.
So the choices are quite narrow, i.e.
Audi A3 cab 1.6TDI 13% company car tax rate
VW EOS 1.4 TSI 17% company car tax rate
BMW 118d 18% company car tax rate.

My heart say BMW 118d (look good rear wheel drive and is the quickest)
My mind say EOS (hard top better for long runs, no leaks)
But my wallet (and wife) says Audi A3 (nice inside but looks crap with the roof up but quicker than the eos and slower than the BM).

So what would you go for. And don't suggest a pug 307. Yuck!

[jagracer]

Girl

[balders118]

NOT THE AUDI. The convertible is hideous! seriously seriously ugly car. I like the eos, and the BMW so I guess I would toss up pros and cons. I reckon i'd end up in the 118.

[djt100]

EOS is ugly so people will laugh at you for driving one.. and a 1.4 for big miles ????

[The Wookie]

xyphod said:

My mind say EOS (hard top better for long runs, no leaks)

Erm, by all accounts that's a heavily flawed assumption

[xyphod]

The problem is about £100 a month between the Audi and the BM. The EOS being in the middle.
My thinking is also the diesel will be better for the commute and the roof is less likely to go wrong compared to the EOS

[tomwoodis]

The Eos also has a non existent boot when you put the roof down if that's of any concern.

The space you are left with is also impossible to load anything into. Probably not of massive concern though if you are using it predominantly for work.

[xyphod]

Come on BWM please produce a 116d cab at the 13% tax bracket.

[sday12]

Ge t the bimmer, but they are all pretty st.

[Devil2575]

If money is tight and you do big miles then get something else like a Mondeo TDCI

[anonymous-user]

The Wookie said:

xyphod said:

My mind say EOS (hard top better for long runs, no leaks)

Erm, by all accounts that's a heavily flawed assumption

Hmm, i don't think the OP knows much about the EOS then!

[idge]

fem

[Zad]

Wow, they really don't like you do they? I'm not massively keen on Beemers, but in this case I think anything but the BMW would do my head in after a month or so.

[8400rpm]

Guy at work had an Eos, he got rid after about 6 months as he was pissed off with taking it in for warranty work. Turned out the warranty work was due to the seals leaking like a sieve, and then when they finally fixed the leaks, wind noise howled like a banshee.

If money was tight, I wouldn't consider going for a soft top just to scratch the itch.

[havoc]

8400rpm said:

If money was tight, I wouldn't consider going for a soft top just to scratch the itch.

This.

You'd probably be as well off, financially, getting a diesel hatchback on the company and a cheap £2k MX5 for the days when it's just you (or the missus) and insuring it on a limited-miles classic policy.

[Justin-W]

I think I'd rather have a standard VW Golf if this is the case,
sounds like either way your gonna end up with a blan car so how about a Focus or a Civic?

[anonymous-user]

I suppose it depends on whether or not the A3 is an S Line or not really. That could swing it.

[Don]

havoc said:

8400rpm said:

If money was tight, I wouldn't consider going for a soft top just to scratch the itch.

This.

You'd probably be as well off, financially, getting a diesel hatchback on the company and a cheap £2k MX5 for the days when it's just you (or the missus) and insuring it on a limited-miles classic policy.

This.

The does-it-all car is always very, very compromised. Get a hack that will do the commute and the family miles and an MX5 for a hoot.

Trust me on this: the wife and I ran just a TVR Chimaera and a Porsche Boxster S for a while. It meant that neither of us ever had to do without a special car on the day we wanted it. Sounds good, yes? Except it's LIMITING. Now we have a cheapo hack to eat up crappy miles, take stuff to the dump, and park in dodgy places we can enjoy the sports cars all the more - because they stay special.

[Mr2Mike]

Diesel convertible - two words that should never be next to each other.

[Ricky_M]

Have you tried fitting anything in the back of a 1 Series? Its not easy, I had a 5-Door Hatch and rear legroom was awful, I'd imagine the Convertible would be even worse.