RE: PH Blog: all you need
Discussion
Good subject. the 550bhp is too much for 2012. I sold my capable Impreza STI after realising that I havent been flooring it for more than three seconds in the past three months. And back then it was at autobahn. That's kind of sad since the car is not made for the track, its meant to be driven in the normal roads.
I felt sad, I wanted to treat her like it was designed to be treated. For the next 20- minutes of driving in Finnish roads covered in pure snow and ice. I was having a blast.
Chris, a Honda Integra Type-R would also suit your needs. Better steering feel than the EP3, its lighter (1170kg), has 220bhp and one of the best transmissions to use. It even has an LSD as standard.
I felt sad, I wanted to treat her like it was designed to be treated. For the next 20- minutes of driving in Finnish roads covered in pure snow and ice. I was having a blast.
Chris, a Honda Integra Type-R would also suit your needs. Better steering feel than the EP3, its lighter (1170kg), has 220bhp and one of the best transmissions to use. It even has an LSD as standard.
muthaducka said:
I've followed a similar way of thinking although with a slight twist. The more miles I cover, the better it is to have a slower vehicle. This helps distract me from the physical driving experience and stops me getting worked up at all manner of things including poor road surfaces, inconsiderate drivers, fuel economy, getting there on time - all that.
I must say though when I cover so many miles there are inevitable occasions where I can't help but 'give it the beans' trying to get the back end out, setting of like Alonso from the toll on the M6. The limited power saves me here, by the time I've hit the ton I'm bored and that's my speed 'fix' for a bit. In faster cars' I've found myself exploiting the cars performance more often and to greater extends - overtaking more cars, travelling on the motorway as higher cruises speeds - all asking for trouble.
So for me, lower power + high mileage commute = self preservation.
Then weekend toy becomes more enjoyable for the thrill of just driving. Power to weight becomes a bit more important but interestingly I could cope with the same 165bhp / ton in a lighter package - like on a motorbike, caterham or elise or classic car.
Good logic and one I can attest to thinking through with regards to my next commuter vehicle. I just don't feel like dying of boredom.I must say though when I cover so many miles there are inevitable occasions where I can't help but 'give it the beans' trying to get the back end out, setting of like Alonso from the toll on the M6. The limited power saves me here, by the time I've hit the ton I'm bored and that's my speed 'fix' for a bit. In faster cars' I've found myself exploiting the cars performance more often and to greater extends - overtaking more cars, travelling on the motorway as higher cruises speeds - all asking for trouble.
So for me, lower power + high mileage commute = self preservation.
Then weekend toy becomes more enjoyable for the thrill of just driving. Power to weight becomes a bit more important but interestingly I could cope with the same 165bhp / ton in a lighter package - like on a motorbike, caterham or elise or classic car.
gmackay2 said:
sorry i've got to laugh about all this praise heaped on the B5/5.5 Passat's? i've had a couple of them both V6 Syncro's in auto and man, plus drove the 130tdi sport and also a remapped 130tdi sport.
lets cut to the chase here, the Passat is woefull car through corners, even Audi's Quattro system didn't exactly spice things up? the steering is dead, it's too light, and vague.
Ok so now we're on to perceived build quality! hmmm lets look at the Passat weaknesses:
leaks like sieve
eats suspension arms (8 arm design is bloody stupid)
PD TDI's either blow turbos or the NT75 valve qives up which leaves people thinking the turbo has gone
they all like oil and anyone says there's does't? i find hard to believe. especially on long life servicing.
the electrics aren't that great as they get older.
they're noisy, in terms of road noise, the word refined could never be associated with the B5/5.5 plat form
the head lights are like candles (even the £800 factory fit xenons aren't too great either) and if you are luucky enough to have xenons chances are one of the sensors mounted to the front and rear suspension is gubbed so they point down to their lowest setting.
ergonomics are terrible, the door is miles away from the steering wheel
the gear box gate is wide enough to get a Massey Ferguson through
the seat bases are too short and the back rest gives poor support on long journeys
remap the 130tdi to 180 bhp and it's undriveable with the bloody traction control off when pulling out of a junction, although i concede it is alot nicer to drive once its on the move. But puling out on to wet roundabouts quickly!!! ha forget it!
oh but they have blue dials and the diesels do over 50 mpg so they must be good.....
nope sorry guys, what ever floats your boat (quite literly as they are boat like to dive)
but i would not have another thank you. Also the void between say a B5 Passat and A6 C5 (which they share a lot of parts) is huge!!! No comparison interms of actual build quality and refinement. If you want a diesel trundler by an A4 or an A6.
Blasphemy!lets cut to the chase here, the Passat is woefull car through corners, even Audi's Quattro system didn't exactly spice things up? the steering is dead, it's too light, and vague.
Ok so now we're on to perceived build quality! hmmm lets look at the Passat weaknesses:
leaks like sieve
eats suspension arms (8 arm design is bloody stupid)
PD TDI's either blow turbos or the NT75 valve qives up which leaves people thinking the turbo has gone
they all like oil and anyone says there's does't? i find hard to believe. especially on long life servicing.
the electrics aren't that great as they get older.
they're noisy, in terms of road noise, the word refined could never be associated with the B5/5.5 plat form
the head lights are like candles (even the £800 factory fit xenons aren't too great either) and if you are luucky enough to have xenons chances are one of the sensors mounted to the front and rear suspension is gubbed so they point down to their lowest setting.
ergonomics are terrible, the door is miles away from the steering wheel
the gear box gate is wide enough to get a Massey Ferguson through
the seat bases are too short and the back rest gives poor support on long journeys
remap the 130tdi to 180 bhp and it's undriveable with the bloody traction control off when pulling out of a junction, although i concede it is alot nicer to drive once its on the move. But puling out on to wet roundabouts quickly!!! ha forget it!
oh but they have blue dials and the diesels do over 50 mpg so they must be good.....
nope sorry guys, what ever floats your boat (quite literly as they are boat like to dive)
but i would not have another thank you. Also the void between say a B5 Passat and A6 C5 (which they share a lot of parts) is huge!!! No comparison interms of actual build quality and refinement. If you want a diesel trundler by an A4 or an A6.
Good article .... have to agree .... sometimes a car with just enough can be great to drive.
On the other hand there is the compromise option. Personally I think the world's best kept secret is the VW Golf GTD DSG (or older GT TDI 170 DSG in my case). I have a S1 Elise for the weekend .... but the Golf still constantly surprises me with respect to it's handling and performance and comfort.
Nicely specced with heated leather, satnav, winter pack, climate, parking sensors. nice big alloys etc it gets close to the ultimate compromise car. There's so much mid range torque that I swear it's quicker than the Elise at some parts of the speed spectrum. Oh .... and between 40 and 60 mpg depending on my mood!
I love it to bits. Can't honestly think what I would replace it with.
On the other hand there is the compromise option. Personally I think the world's best kept secret is the VW Golf GTD DSG (or older GT TDI 170 DSG in my case). I have a S1 Elise for the weekend .... but the Golf still constantly surprises me with respect to it's handling and performance and comfort.
Nicely specced with heated leather, satnav, winter pack, climate, parking sensors. nice big alloys etc it gets close to the ultimate compromise car. There's so much mid range torque that I swear it's quicker than the Elise at some parts of the speed spectrum. Oh .... and between 40 and 60 mpg depending on my mood!
I love it to bits. Can't honestly think what I would replace it with.
what the hell has happened to PH!! first they hire a godlike scumbag journo to jazz up the content who immediately writes articles about horrid volksboxes. Then, totally against character and tradition, the good burghers of PH-land, instead of going for him V8's blazing start muttering in agreement like the Knights who said NEEEEE trying to agree on how many shrubberies they'd like.
Pull yourselves together the lot of you. Ted must be gently rotating in his mansion at the thought of his beloved PH becoming a forum for 1.8 diesel passat enthusiasts!
(before some plonker thinks I'm being serious here and has a pop, this is all a joke)
Pull yourselves together the lot of you. Ted must be gently rotating in his mansion at the thought of his beloved PH becoming a forum for 1.8 diesel passat enthusiasts!
(before some plonker thinks I'm being serious here and has a pop, this is all a joke)
Having a regular daily drive & a toy is the solution. Firstly, for most people, the daily drive to work the supermarket or doing the school run is unexciting & yields few chances to do anything fun. Roads are busy, you have you child in the car etc. Plus for those of us with a reasonable commute, something cheap to run, comfortable, quiet, easy to drive and dull preserves the pennys in our wallets & points on the license. My A6 Avant is happy at 75-80 any faster and it kind of tells me that it really can't be bothered. But it'll do that speed all day, with a car full of people, towing bikes to races on a trailer etc.
The other advantage of a regular car is that when you do step into your weekend toy, the power feels incredible the steering, brakes & noise engulf you. If you use the toy everyday you become numb to it, the interior smells of yesterdays McDonalds breakfast from the services on the M1 not of the expensive car cleaning stuff you used the previous Saturday.
I'll be sticking with a diesel estate & a toy for a while.
The other advantage of a regular car is that when you do step into your weekend toy, the power feels incredible the steering, brakes & noise engulf you. If you use the toy everyday you become numb to it, the interior smells of yesterdays McDonalds breakfast from the services on the M1 not of the expensive car cleaning stuff you used the previous Saturday.
I'll be sticking with a diesel estate & a toy for a while.
Spot on Chris.I just never thought I would here from you!!!!
Yes for specific journeys on known roads at specific times (i.e. having some fun) road conditions in 2012 mean that almost every time it takes me 50% longer to cover the given route than it did in 204bhp 911 in 1985.
Yes I have nice toys but they are increasingly irrelevant.
Fact is there are so many gizmos on cars now that an educated gorilla can try to drive (too) fast until the laws of physics take over.An A4 has bigger tyres than that 1985 911 !!!
Best fun (not on a track) these days has to be the basest model of any small hatch and trying to maintain momentum on a challenging road
Yes for specific journeys on known roads at specific times (i.e. having some fun) road conditions in 2012 mean that almost every time it takes me 50% longer to cover the given route than it did in 204bhp 911 in 1985.
Yes I have nice toys but they are increasingly irrelevant.
Fact is there are so many gizmos on cars now that an educated gorilla can try to drive (too) fast until the laws of physics take over.An A4 has bigger tyres than that 1985 911 !!!
Best fun (not on a track) these days has to be the basest model of any small hatch and trying to maintain momentum on a challenging road
What u want is a mk1 focus diesel estate (just like mine) not as fast as the passat in standard form but they handle well, have brilliant steering, cost less to service and do 60mpg. Iv just added an mr2 roadster to the line up as the m5 completely undrivable at the moment for some budget fun motoring.
Biker's Nemesis said:
There's nothing wrong with having a sensible everday car, only those in the hard of thinking dept would disagree.
Ah, but what constitutes "sensible"? My car's around 300bhp/ton, but it's totally docile and has an auto box...so is as happy crawling along at walking pace all day as it is going quite a bit faster. So in my book it's a sensible everyday car.
gmackay2 said:
sorry i've got to laugh about all this praise heaped on the B5/5.5 Passat's? i've had a couple of them both V6 Syncro's in auto and man, plus drove the 130tdi sport and also a remapped 130tdi sport.
lets cut to the chase here, the Passat is woefull car through corners, even Audi's Quattro system didn't exactly spice things up? the steering is dead, it's too light, and vague.
Ok so now we're on to perceived build quality! hmmm lets look at the Passat weaknesses:
leaks like sieve
eats suspension arms (8 arm design is bloody stupid)
PD TDI's either blow turbos or the NT75 valve qives up which leaves people thinking the turbo has gone
they all like oil and anyone says there's does't? i find hard to believe. especially on long life servicing.
the electrics aren't that great as they get older.
they're noisy, in terms of road noise, the word refined could never be associated with the B5/5.5 plat form
the head lights are like candles (even the £800 factory fit xenons aren't too great either) and if you are luucky enough to have xenons chances are one of the sensors mounted to the front and rear suspension is gubbed so they point down to their lowest setting.
ergonomics are terrible, the door is miles away from the steering wheel
the gear box gate is wide enough to get a Massey Ferguson through
the seat bases are too short and the back rest gives poor support on long journeys
remap the 130tdi to 180 bhp and it's undriveable with the bloody traction control off when pulling out of a junction, although i concede it is alot nicer to drive once its on the move. But puling out on to wet roundabouts quickly!!! ha forget it!
oh but they have blue dials and the diesels do over 50 mpg so they must be good.....
nope sorry guys, what ever floats your boat (quite literly as they are boat like to dive)
but i would not have another thank you. Also the void between say a B5 Passat and A6 C5 (which they share a lot of parts) is huge!!! No comparison interms of actual build quality and refinement. If you want a diesel trundler by an A4 or an A6.
Bizarrely for me that's part of the appeal. I like something that's wallowly, makes it more interesting to drive quickly (you are right, it is like driving a boat, especially with the smallest alloys of the range and high profile tyres). I like the gear shift. Not because it's good, because it isn't, but I like the wide gate. And yes, I like the blue dials lets cut to the chase here, the Passat is woefull car through corners, even Audi's Quattro system didn't exactly spice things up? the steering is dead, it's too light, and vague.
Ok so now we're on to perceived build quality! hmmm lets look at the Passat weaknesses:
leaks like sieve
eats suspension arms (8 arm design is bloody stupid)
PD TDI's either blow turbos or the NT75 valve qives up which leaves people thinking the turbo has gone
they all like oil and anyone says there's does't? i find hard to believe. especially on long life servicing.
the electrics aren't that great as they get older.
they're noisy, in terms of road noise, the word refined could never be associated with the B5/5.5 plat form
the head lights are like candles (even the £800 factory fit xenons aren't too great either) and if you are luucky enough to have xenons chances are one of the sensors mounted to the front and rear suspension is gubbed so they point down to their lowest setting.
ergonomics are terrible, the door is miles away from the steering wheel
the gear box gate is wide enough to get a Massey Ferguson through
the seat bases are too short and the back rest gives poor support on long journeys
remap the 130tdi to 180 bhp and it's undriveable with the bloody traction control off when pulling out of a junction, although i concede it is alot nicer to drive once its on the move. But puling out on to wet roundabouts quickly!!! ha forget it!
oh but they have blue dials and the diesels do over 50 mpg so they must be good.....
nope sorry guys, what ever floats your boat (quite literly as they are boat like to dive)
but i would not have another thank you. Also the void between say a B5 Passat and A6 C5 (which they share a lot of parts) is huge!!! No comparison interms of actual build quality and refinement. If you want a diesel trundler by an A4 or an A6.
My current Civic is 1.25 tonnes and 160hp so 128hp/ton. Most of the cars that I look at as a replacement weigh nearer 1.4 tonnes so would need 230hp to match the 165/ton requirement. I'm thinking that 180hp would be enough for me, particularly if it has decent torque (diesel or petrol turbo), but that seems to hit a gap in the market.
The closest I can find is the Mazda3 2.2 diesel with 185hp. However, I am concerned regarding the reports of DPF troubleas and the associated oil contamination with this engine. I would also prefer a petrol. Any suggestions? Perhaps I should start a 'what car' thread!
The closest I can find is the Mazda3 2.2 diesel with 185hp. However, I am concerned regarding the reports of DPF troubleas and the associated oil contamination with this engine. I would also prefer a petrol. Any suggestions? Perhaps I should start a 'what car' thread!
Gridl0k said:
You've left noise out of your equation - it's much easier to drive at 10% without regretting your purchase if it's making a nice woofling V8 noise, or you can hear the chargers working 
Skoda Fabia vRS, by the way, with the twin charger engine - 1.4 but a sense of occasion!
What mpg are you getting with this chap? At some point wifey's diesel Furby vRS is gonna need changing Skoda Fabia vRS, by the way, with the twin charger engine - 1.4 but a sense of occasion!
Jimbo
gmackay2 said:
sorry i've got to laugh about all this praise heaped on the B5/5.5 Passat's? i've had a couple of them both V6 Syncro's in auto and man, plus drove the 130tdi sport and also a remapped 130tdi sport.
lets cut to the chase here, the Passat is woefull car through corners, even Audi's Quattro system didn't exactly spice things up? the steering is dead, it's too light, and vague.
Ok so now we're on to perceived build quality! hmmm lets look at the Passat weaknesses:
leaks like sieve
eats suspension arms (8 arm design is bloody stupid)
PD TDI's either blow turbos or the NT75 valve qives up which leaves people thinking the turbo has gone
they all like oil and anyone says there's does't? i find hard to believe. especially on long life servicing.
the electrics aren't that great as they get older.
they're noisy, in terms of road noise, the word refined could never be associated with the B5/5.5 plat form
the head lights are like candles (even the £800 factory fit xenons aren't too great either) and if you are luucky enough to have xenons chances are one of the sensors mounted to the front and rear suspension is gubbed so they point down to their lowest setting.
ergonomics are terrible, the door is miles away from the steering wheel
the gear box gate is wide enough to get a Massey Ferguson through
the seat bases are too short and the back rest gives poor support on long journeys
remap the 130tdi to 180 bhp and it's undriveable with the bloody traction control off when pulling out of a junction, although i concede it is alot nicer to drive once its on the move. But puling out on to wet roundabouts quickly!!! ha forget it!
oh but they have blue dials and the diesels do over 50 mpg so they must be good.....
nope sorry guys, what ever floats your boat (quite literly as they are boat like to dive)
but i would not have another thank you. Also the void between say a B5 Passat and A6 C5 (which they share a lot of parts) is huge!!! No comparison interms of actual build quality and refinement. If you want a diesel trundler by an A4 or an A6.
I dare say myself and just about everyone else thinks this is completely wrong!lets cut to the chase here, the Passat is woefull car through corners, even Audi's Quattro system didn't exactly spice things up? the steering is dead, it's too light, and vague.
Ok so now we're on to perceived build quality! hmmm lets look at the Passat weaknesses:
leaks like sieve
eats suspension arms (8 arm design is bloody stupid)
PD TDI's either blow turbos or the NT75 valve qives up which leaves people thinking the turbo has gone
they all like oil and anyone says there's does't? i find hard to believe. especially on long life servicing.
the electrics aren't that great as they get older.
they're noisy, in terms of road noise, the word refined could never be associated with the B5/5.5 plat form
the head lights are like candles (even the £800 factory fit xenons aren't too great either) and if you are luucky enough to have xenons chances are one of the sensors mounted to the front and rear suspension is gubbed so they point down to their lowest setting.
ergonomics are terrible, the door is miles away from the steering wheel
the gear box gate is wide enough to get a Massey Ferguson through
the seat bases are too short and the back rest gives poor support on long journeys
remap the 130tdi to 180 bhp and it's undriveable with the bloody traction control off when pulling out of a junction, although i concede it is alot nicer to drive once its on the move. But puling out on to wet roundabouts quickly!!! ha forget it!
oh but they have blue dials and the diesels do over 50 mpg so they must be good.....
nope sorry guys, what ever floats your boat (quite literly as they are boat like to dive)
but i would not have another thank you. Also the void between say a B5 Passat and A6 C5 (which they share a lot of parts) is huge!!! No comparison interms of actual build quality and refinement. If you want a diesel trundler by an A4 or an A6.
You've obviously owned a bad one, there's nothing in it quality wise between a c5 a6 and a b5/5.5 passat, well apart from a badge and the fact the passat is a little more nimble(in equal sport trim) and a couple MPG better off, I guess both from being a few KG lighter.
interesting comments about the e39 528. i do agree with what your getting at chris but i happen to own a e39 528i and my bother has a f10 520d company car we have had lots and lots of races and the 528i wins every time. from a standstill to 120 the 528i will pull about 2 car lengths ,3rd gear pull 528i wins again .
the 520 is twice as good on fuel though lol
im just sayin lol
the 520 is twice as good on fuel though lol
im just sayin lol
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