Another 'What Car' thread
Discussion
PH'ers,
As always, i'm forever browsing the Classifieds & the Autotrader, it's becoming borderline obsession now.
However i don't actually know what i want..
My history of cars is, a 1,2ELX punto & my current 'Daddy Wagon', which is a 1.6 Petrol.
About the fastest thing i've 'driven' is my old dears 118D, so i'm not a fast car person.. yet, although i've had sports bikes for the past 5 years or so. (Although i'm not expecting anything bike quick)
Being over 25 & having a couple of years NCB insurance should be a bit more reasonable.
I don't need anything as big as the Scenic, but i do need something with 5 seats!
The only car that's sticking in my mind at the moment is an Alfa GT Coupe 1.9JTD version, aswell as the obligatory 3 series diesel.
I'd like something returning a realistic combined 35+ MPG as the Scenic is pretty poor IMO.
I've also a budget of about £6K & would like something that's not going to bore me to death after 2 weeks.
As always, i'm forever browsing the Classifieds & the Autotrader, it's becoming borderline obsession now.
However i don't actually know what i want..
My history of cars is, a 1,2ELX punto & my current 'Daddy Wagon', which is a 1.6 Petrol.
About the fastest thing i've 'driven' is my old dears 118D, so i'm not a fast car person.. yet, although i've had sports bikes for the past 5 years or so. (Although i'm not expecting anything bike quick)
Being over 25 & having a couple of years NCB insurance should be a bit more reasonable.
I don't need anything as big as the Scenic, but i do need something with 5 seats!
The only car that's sticking in my mind at the moment is an Alfa GT Coupe 1.9JTD version, aswell as the obligatory 3 series diesel.
I'd like something returning a realistic combined 35+ MPG as the Scenic is pretty poor IMO.
I've also a budget of about £6K & would like something that's not going to bore me to death after 2 weeks.
The Alfa diesels are fairly insipid. It's a GM unit made by Fiat and used by Saab (1.9TiD) and Vauxhall (1.9CDTi). I had the Astra 150bhp for a while and it's fine for a diesel but still a clattery four pot with a power band of about 4rpm. Six pot diesels are the only ones to consider (or above) IMO.
I'd go with the BMW suggestion but if you want something a bit more fancy looking, consider a petrol Alfa.
I'd go with the BMW suggestion but if you want something a bit more fancy looking, consider a petrol Alfa.
I would'nt say i do a lot of miles, but the Scenic is pretty pants, (circa 34) if i'm careful, mainly around town and a bit of DC, commute is about 10 miles each way, but i'd say i do about 10-12000 a year...
I'm just paranoid about the whole Alfa reliability which is the niggle in the back of my mind putting me off!
I'm just paranoid about the whole Alfa reliability which is the niggle in the back of my mind putting me off!
Not being a BMW nut, can you tell me in Lehmans terms what a E46 330I is?
Is that a 3 series / what year?
I certainl can't question the BMW reliability, my old mans had them for the past 20 years or so, he's only ever had a problem with 1, a turbo on a 5 series, continual problems, although it meant when he got his new 5 series with the M package on it it was heavily discounted to 'keep him'.
Is that a 3 series / what year?
I certainl can't question the BMW reliability, my old mans had them for the past 20 years or so, he's only ever had a problem with 1, a turbo on a 5 series, continual problems, although it meant when he got his new 5 series with the M package on it it was heavily discounted to 'keep him'.
lawrence567 said:
Not being a BMW nut, can you tell me in Lehmans terms what a E46 330I is?
Is that a 3 series / what year?
I certainl can't question the BMW reliability, my old mans had them for the past 20 years or so, he's only ever had a problem with 1, a turbo on a 5 series, continual problems, although it meant when he got his new 5 series with the M package on it it was heavily discounted to 'keep him'.
Not sure in Lehmans terms, but in laymans terms Is that a 3 series / what year?
I certainl can't question the BMW reliability, my old mans had them for the past 20 years or so, he's only ever had a problem with 1, a turbo on a 5 series, continual problems, although it meant when he got his new 5 series with the M package on it it was heavily discounted to 'keep him'.
it would be an approx 1999-2004, 6 cylinder, 3.0 litre, petrol, BMW 3-Series. 230BHP, 0-60 around 6 sec, 155MPh top speed. The one I had (manual) did approx 26-27 MPG on average with a mixture of town/motorway driving. Nice car, quick enough, lovely engine, pretty reliable. Had it for approx 80K miles.I'm in a similar position - considering a GT (currently have a n E46 328i)
I'm going to go against the grain and say buy the Alfa. I've driven a couple and it's a lot more special than a BMW, in the sense that it has exotic looks, it's rarer and i think you'd feel a sense of occasion every morning when you drive it, even consdering technically it's something that's fairly dull on paper - a FWD, diesel, hatchback!
If handling and performance (in that order) are top of your list then a BMW will not disappoint although don't think that a BMW will necessarily be more reliable, plus it will cost more to run i.e parts/servicing - simply based on experience!
It is a heart vs head choice.
I'm going to go against the grain and say buy the Alfa. I've driven a couple and it's a lot more special than a BMW, in the sense that it has exotic looks, it's rarer and i think you'd feel a sense of occasion every morning when you drive it, even consdering technically it's something that's fairly dull on paper - a FWD, diesel, hatchback!
If handling and performance (in that order) are top of your list then a BMW will not disappoint although don't think that a BMW will necessarily be more reliable, plus it will cost more to run i.e parts/servicing - simply based on experience!
It is a heart vs head choice.
I'd check the rear seats on cars and go from there. Many of these cars have 3 seat belts but the middle seat is little more than a humpy perch as the seats either side are sculpted. Assuming you give a toss about passenger comfort. A RWD car will also tend to have a drive tunnel for the middle passenger to get the hump about.
I had to buy a Mondeo to get decent rear seat room for 3.
I had to buy a Mondeo to get decent rear seat room for 3.
andye30m3 said:
Could you get away with a hatch back?
Something like the clio 182 (and possibly the 197) return good MPG without the potential bills associated with some modern diesels, also great fun to drive.
If I didn't need to tow I'd have another as an everyday run around.
My brother's 197 is struggling to get in to the 30s at all and even on a 300mile motorway trip he only got 28mpg. They are high geared though. Something like the clio 182 (and possibly the 197) return good MPG without the potential bills associated with some modern diesels, also great fun to drive.
If I didn't need to tow I'd have another as an everyday run around.
andye30m3 said:
Could you get away with a hatch back?
Something like the clio 182 (and possibly the 197) return good MPG without the potential bills associated with some modern diesels, also great fun to drive.
If I didn't need to tow I'd have another as an everyday run around.
+1 It's my fun and commuter. 38mpg on the mway and a hooligan when I want.Something like the clio 182 (and possibly the 197) return good MPG without the potential bills associated with some modern diesels, also great fun to drive.
If I didn't need to tow I'd have another as an everyday run around.
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