1.6 Petrol or 1.9 TDI for our needs?
Discussion
I’m after a little advice please. What would suit our needs best?
I’ve just sold a Skoda Octavia VRS TDI 170 as it was a little nice to be used for what we were using it for. We plan on replacing it with another car, cheaper, but that offers the same or similar fuel economy. My TDI VRS returned a long term average of 42 MPG using the iPhone app at each fill up.
My drive consists of a country lane run into work, 5 miles each way. It’s often slow with school traffic and buses, but in the summer the road is empty and we have a nice quick drive to work. We often run down to Cornwall, 400 miles return, and up to London, 200 miles return so it must be economical for those trips too.
As far as I can see we have two options…
1. VAG or similar 1.9 tdi estate. Bit boring, dated, expensive to insure.
2. Honda or similar 1.6 petrol. Newer, girlfriend prefers it (it will be her car really) and cheap to run.
Now which would offer the best economy for my type of driving. Mostly short runs, town traffic when we go to Bournemouth etc. but also return good MPG on the motorway. I’m aware petrol is of course a bit cheaper and I prefer petrol engines, so I’m swaying towards the Honda. Would economy in the Honda be similar to the Octavia or noticeably worse?
It must be able to take a roof rack with my bikes, windsurf or kayak on so the estate with roof rails is best, but probably a bit overkill for the two of us. I can clamp a roof bar kit onto the 5 door Civic easily.
Thanks for any help,
Dan
I’ve just sold a Skoda Octavia VRS TDI 170 as it was a little nice to be used for what we were using it for. We plan on replacing it with another car, cheaper, but that offers the same or similar fuel economy. My TDI VRS returned a long term average of 42 MPG using the iPhone app at each fill up.
My drive consists of a country lane run into work, 5 miles each way. It’s often slow with school traffic and buses, but in the summer the road is empty and we have a nice quick drive to work. We often run down to Cornwall, 400 miles return, and up to London, 200 miles return so it must be economical for those trips too.
As far as I can see we have two options…
1. VAG or similar 1.9 tdi estate. Bit boring, dated, expensive to insure.
2. Honda or similar 1.6 petrol. Newer, girlfriend prefers it (it will be her car really) and cheap to run.
Now which would offer the best economy for my type of driving. Mostly short runs, town traffic when we go to Bournemouth etc. but also return good MPG on the motorway. I’m aware petrol is of course a bit cheaper and I prefer petrol engines, so I’m swaying towards the Honda. Would economy in the Honda be similar to the Octavia or noticeably worse?
It must be able to take a roof rack with my bikes, windsurf or kayak on so the estate with roof rails is best, but probably a bit overkill for the two of us. I can clamp a roof bar kit onto the 5 door Civic easily.
Thanks for any help,
Dan
I would have said the car you just sold and look after it so it doesn't get trashed.
Anyway, considering your mileage and commute then go for the Civic, sounds like thats your preference anyway.
It will still do 40mpg on a run and maybe mid 30's on your commute.
Solid reliable car that won't let you down and has a great reputation.
BTW whats your budget?
Anyway, considering your mileage and commute then go for the Civic, sounds like thats your preference anyway.
It will still do 40mpg on a run and maybe mid 30's on your commute.
Solid reliable car that won't let you down and has a great reputation.
BTW whats your budget?
Total annual mileage?
I would say a newer, non turbo-charged car would likely make more sense.
Useful comparison system here ref fuel:
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-16...
I would say a newer, non turbo-charged car would likely make more sense.
Useful comparison system here ref fuel:
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-16...
I did 10,000 miles in the Octavia over a year. It will probably be lower in the new car as that will now be split between two cars.
Reason for selling it was it was getting damaged by windsurf and kayak kit a bit too much and it was too nice for that. I'll be replacing it with a sports car and a cheap economical car.
Budget = £20,000 for sports car, £3,000 ish for cheap runaround car.
PS. The Skoda was fantastic and I loved it!
Reason for selling it was it was getting damaged by windsurf and kayak kit a bit too much and it was too nice for that. I'll be replacing it with a sports car and a cheap economical car.
Budget = £20,000 for sports car, £3,000 ish for cheap runaround car.
PS. The Skoda was fantastic and I loved it!
I already have several other threads running!
Main limiting factor is it will be living on the road, rather than a drive or garage. It's a quiet cul-de-sac, not a through road, but I still don't want anything too flashy.
Currently looking at SLK 55 AMG, Z4M, Boxster S (the usual 3!), Maserati Gransport (want it, but can't really stretch to one) and others. Really fancy the V8 noise from the AMG, so I think that will win.
Main limiting factor is it will be living on the road, rather than a drive or garage. It's a quiet cul-de-sac, not a through road, but I still don't want anything too flashy.
Currently looking at SLK 55 AMG, Z4M, Boxster S (the usual 3!), Maserati Gransport (want it, but can't really stretch to one) and others. Really fancy the V8 noise from the AMG, so I think that will win.
TDI for your needs. Remap it for more power and better MPG.
My tdi was far better for short journeys, i do a 6 mile journey daily to the post office and back and the petrol 1.8t passat hasnt warmed up by the time i get home compared to the diesel.
after 6 miles the petrol does around 9mpg and the diesel around 25mpg.
My tdi was far better for short journeys, i do a 6 mile journey daily to the post office and back and the petrol 1.8t passat hasnt warmed up by the time i get home compared to the diesel.
after 6 miles the petrol does around 9mpg and the diesel around 25mpg.
In the end, this is what we bought...
Honda Civic by danyeates, on Flickr
Lovely car! In budget, 35,000 miles, 2004, full Honda service history and looks brand new! Not even any stone chips! So pleased with it, didn't think ou could get a decent sized car with so few miles for this sort of money! The only downside is the engine is quite loud on the motorway. It revs quite high, but it's not really a problem for us as we rarely do motorway runs.
Honda Civic by danyeates, on Flickr
Lovely car! In budget, 35,000 miles, 2004, full Honda service history and looks brand new! Not even any stone chips! So pleased with it, didn't think ou could get a decent sized car with so few miles for this sort of money! The only downside is the engine is quite loud on the motorway. It revs quite high, but it's not really a problem for us as we rarely do motorway runs.
excel monkey said:
Looks nice. I had an EP3 Civic a couple of years back. Everyone knows about the Type R, but the ordinary 1.4 and 1.6 models were decent as well. Noticed the twin exhaust - is that a 1.6 Sport?
Thanks. Actually it's an SE, but it was fitted with the sport grille, bodykit and exhaust at the dealership when it was new. It has the white dials too, not sure if that's standard. This was a lot cheaper than a real Sport, but looked the same! Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff