A 'what car' thread that must be under 170 g/km...

[Matt UK]

The company give me an allowance, but there are rules... They are terrible rules IMO, but I'm not prepared to find new work because of them, so let's work with what we've got.

Here is some criteria:
I do 110 miles a day on M25 and A roads.
Car needs to be comfy and have a bit of poke.
Car must be less than 2 yrs old / 20,000 miles when purchased.
Being a bit tight, I'm prepared to shell out £20,000 to buy
Company insure it - so not a consideration for me
Fuel consumption not an issue either
Must be under 170 g/km and less than 3,000cc
The wife has the Lexus RX bus, so doesn't need to be big.
The Caterham is in the garage, so driving thrills not a major draw on this car.
Petrol or diesel - I'd prefer petrol, but not if a diesel was considerably nicer to drive.

The default answer I think is a BMW 320d.

The crying shame is that my old 2002 BMW 530i was absolutely perfect for this sort of journey, but alas not an option this time round.

What would you go for and why? What hidden gems are out there that fit within these rules?

[kambites]

Why a 320d rather than a 330d?

[Matt UK]

kambites said:

Why a 320d rather than a 330d?

Well, I reckon I'd have to spend more than £20k to get a sub 2yr / 20k car.

[ejenner]

Could get a 335d and have it mapped?

[kambites]

Ah I'd missed the 20k miles bit. That makes it harder.

[George H]

Golf GT TDI?

[mgroadster]

Golf Diesel.

[Matt UK]

George H said:

Golf GT TDI?

Yes, that is a good call.

The VAG 2.0 tdi and BMW x20d engines are the easy choices. They are default. And there is nothing wrong with them at all for the usage I plan.

These are good, predictable fall-back options that will blend in / get lost in the car park. But I'm looking to see if there is anything else out there that sneaks though the criteria.

[chrisispringles]

BMW 320d is a good shout. Some other options are:

Audi A5 1.8 TFSi

BMW 123d

Ford Mondeo 2.2 TDCi

Jaguar X-type 2.2d

Mercedes C250 CGi

Skoda Octavia vRS TDi

Volvo V50 D5

HTH.

[BlueJazz]

If it doesn't have to be practical, how about a MINI or Honda CRZ?

[Vee]

ejenner said:

Could get a 335d and have it mapped?

Aside from that having stopped being funny about 2 years ago, did you even read his emissions requirement ?

[the-photographer]

Some (lots) would say boring... but you can have a 59 plate GTI with your criteria.

• Petrol, petrol, petrol
• Sorry cant have DSG, too much co/2
• MK6 is very refined on the motorway, mega seats, nice interior
• But, possibly too boring (lump in all the derivatives VRS/FR/Cupra/A3)

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3016211.htm 11,000 miles, £20,000 with lots of toys (they are also available from dealers around that price, but thinking about it, even a private sale will have one year's warranty left...)

Edited by the-photographer on Saturday 16th July 20:38

[PigFilth]

Out of interest, why 170g/km and not the usual 160g/km ?

[Woody]

VW Golf GT TDi - get the 170bhp version though.
Had one as my last company car - frikin' brilliant!
Went quite well at the 'Ring too......

[Skellen]

IMHO 1 series diesel is a nice choice. We had a similar situ for the Mrs and had a 120d with some nice toys. Is was perfectly quick and once the RFT were ditched rode well. I've heard the later 120s and the 123s are even better.

[matt21]

I have just switched my 2000 530iA SE LPG for a 6mth old Cooper S with all the toys, nav, heated leather, bluetooth, adaptive xenons headlights, DAB + the usual extras for well within your budget.

Its 136g/km and returning 40+mpg so far. Its fun, its fast and its actually pretty comfy - although not in the E39 league.

Only downside is the ride is a bit crashy on B-roads, but I blame the runflats, and once worn they will be swapped.

Why buy a diesel when you don't have to. Some good petrols mentioned above and the engine in this mini is a cracker!

[Matt UK]

chrisispringles said:

BMW 320d is a good shout. Some other options are:

Audi A5 1.8 TFSi

BMW 123d

Ford Mondeo 2.2 TDCi

Jaguar X-type 2.2d

Mercedes C250 CGi

Skoda Octavia vRS TDi

Volvo V50 D5

HTH.

All good suggestions, thanks

[Matt UK]

BlueJazz said:

If it doesn't have to be practical, how about a MINI or Honda CRZ?

Never tried a Bini so I may book a drive - may bit a bit small though.

CRZ - interesting choice, but MPG/taxation/BiK benefits would be lost on me.

[Matt UK]

the-photographer said:

Some (lots) would say boring... but you can have a 59 plate GTI with your criteria.

• Petrol, petrol, petrol
• Sorry cant have DSG, too much co/2
• MK6 is very refined on the motorway, mega seats, nice interior
• But, possibly too boring (lump in all the derivatives VRS/FR/Cupra/A3)

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3016211.htm 11,000 miles, £20,000 with lots of toys (they are also available from dealers around that price, but thinking about it, even a private sale will have one year's warranty left...)

Edited by the-photographer on Saturday 16th July 20:38

Golf GTI is an excellent find - thank you, Sir!

[snorkel sucker]

I wish I had 170co2's to play with... My limit is 130 - much harder!

I dont think you have mentioned budget anywhere (sorry if I have missed that though) but if I were in your shoes I would seriously consider an Alpina D3. A seriously cool car, and the new engine should make it plenty real world quick.

ETA yes you do state a budget ... £20k. Sorry! Scrap my suggestion!