Recommend me a smallish capacity turbo petrol car under 20k
Discussion
Goedenavond all,
I currently own a 2010 1.7 CDTI Astravan. My circumstances changed quite considerably over this past 12 months and I no longer need a van and I don't do any significant mileage now either (just under 6000 miles in the past 12 months).
I have a bit of a dilemna because I've driven diesels for that long now that I love the lazy driving style of bumbling about between 1500-2000rpm (mine is remapped), however I am fairly clued up on modern diesel engines, their common faults and how they are totally not suited to the sort of mileage I am now doing. And of course once you factor in the difference between diesel and petrol prices plus also the fact that diesel engines aren't any more economical than petrol engines when they're not up to temp, it really is completely pointless me having a diesel vehicle.
I drove a friend's naturally aspirated Civic VVT-something recently and it annoyed the hell out of me having to have the rpm needle off the end of the dial before it delivered any punch. In fact I hated it. I want that low down "punch" that I'm used to, and a NA petrol isn't going to do that for me, hence my dilemma.
So I've been trying to search out smallish capacity petrol engines with a blower on them, but I also want reliability and sensible mpg (ideally min 30mpg round town driven very sensibly, and min 40mpg at 80-85mph on a motorway).
At the moment, the Peugeot RCZ 1.6 200THP has captured my attention and having read actual owner's real life mpg figures for it they're within scope and thus far has an excellent reliability record too. But they're £20k ish and that's really at the very max of my budget. £10k would be better.
I have also been reading about the VW Audi group 1.4 and 1.6(?) turbo petrol engines but it seems on every forum I go on all I find are endless threads about replacement engines and other such horror stories that doesn't make for pleasant reading.
The Mini's don't appeal to me at all (I'm aware that the RCZ uses the same basic lump as the Cooper S).
Are there any other makes and models that I should be considering, folks?
Thanks.
I currently own a 2010 1.7 CDTI Astravan. My circumstances changed quite considerably over this past 12 months and I no longer need a van and I don't do any significant mileage now either (just under 6000 miles in the past 12 months).
I have a bit of a dilemna because I've driven diesels for that long now that I love the lazy driving style of bumbling about between 1500-2000rpm (mine is remapped), however I am fairly clued up on modern diesel engines, their common faults and how they are totally not suited to the sort of mileage I am now doing. And of course once you factor in the difference between diesel and petrol prices plus also the fact that diesel engines aren't any more economical than petrol engines when they're not up to temp, it really is completely pointless me having a diesel vehicle.
I drove a friend's naturally aspirated Civic VVT-something recently and it annoyed the hell out of me having to have the rpm needle off the end of the dial before it delivered any punch. In fact I hated it. I want that low down "punch" that I'm used to, and a NA petrol isn't going to do that for me, hence my dilemma.
So I've been trying to search out smallish capacity petrol engines with a blower on them, but I also want reliability and sensible mpg (ideally min 30mpg round town driven very sensibly, and min 40mpg at 80-85mph on a motorway).
At the moment, the Peugeot RCZ 1.6 200THP has captured my attention and having read actual owner's real life mpg figures for it they're within scope and thus far has an excellent reliability record too. But they're £20k ish and that's really at the very max of my budget. £10k would be better.
I have also been reading about the VW Audi group 1.4 and 1.6(?) turbo petrol engines but it seems on every forum I go on all I find are endless threads about replacement engines and other such horror stories that doesn't make for pleasant reading.
The Mini's don't appeal to me at all (I'm aware that the RCZ uses the same basic lump as the Cooper S).
Are there any other makes and models that I should be considering, folks?
Thanks.
ejenner said:
Nobel M12. It's just a 2-seater and available for less than 20k
Ha, it's funny you should mention that as I was looking at them for sale recently having seen the new one on Top Gear the other week! Unfortunately the mpg fails my requirements and it needs to be something somewhat more 'sensible' than that.6000 miles a year suggests to me that you should buy a V8.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3559117.htm
Even if it only does 15mpg combined you'll still only spend and extra £1000 on petrol based on 6000 miles a year, so actually this is the cheap option.
Man Maths is excellent.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3559117.htm
Even if it only does 15mpg combined you'll still only spend and extra £1000 on petrol based on 6000 miles a year, so actually this is the cheap option.
Man Maths is excellent.
DS3 is something I hadn't considered actually. Seen them about but didn't know what they were! It's a bit of a boy-racer car from the pics I've seen though. Might have suited me 15-20 years ago, but not so sure now.
TT just 'nah' and a friend of mine had an Ibiza Cupra 1.8T on a Y-plater with no end of ECU and engine related issues so not keen to go down that route.
Perhaps a better question should be what small turbo petrol engines exist (within last 5 years) and what cars can they be found in? There doesn't seem to be a huge choice unless I'm not looking well enough. Something like the 1.6 200hp in the RCZ would be great, but just not in the RCZ.
TT just 'nah' and a friend of mine had an Ibiza Cupra 1.8T on a Y-plater with no end of ECU and engine related issues so not keen to go down that route.
Perhaps a better question should be what small turbo petrol engines exist (within last 5 years) and what cars can they be found in? There doesn't seem to be a huge choice unless I'm not looking well enough. Something like the 1.6 200hp in the RCZ would be great, but just not in the RCZ.
All that jazz said:
DS3 is something I hadn't considered actually. Seen them about but didn't know what they were! It's a bit of a boy-racer car from the pics I've seen though. Might have suited me 15-20 years ago, but not so sure now.
TT just 'nah' and a friend of mine had an Ibiza Cupra 1.8T on a Y-plater with no end of ECU and engine related issues so not keen to go down that route.
Perhaps a better question should be what small turbo petrol engines exist (within last 5 years) and what cars can they be found in? There doesn't seem to be a huge choice unless I'm not looking well enough. Something like the 1.6 200hp in the RCZ would be great, but just not in the RCZ.
you must have to have a permatan if you buy a TT. That brand just hasn't worked. Don't know why, the way the car is seems to be fairly sound. TT just 'nah' and a friend of mine had an Ibiza Cupra 1.8T on a Y-plater with no end of ECU and engine related issues so not keen to go down that route.
Perhaps a better question should be what small turbo petrol engines exist (within last 5 years) and what cars can they be found in? There doesn't seem to be a huge choice unless I'm not looking well enough. Something like the 1.6 200hp in the RCZ would be great, but just not in the RCZ.
nonuts said:
Why are you worried about fuel economy if you're about to spend £20k on a car? Spend £10k on an M3 / M5 and have £10k to spend on Fuel which will be a lot more than £6k miles worth!
Well that's just stupid, obviously. It's the same reason why people go out and buy a new car with reasonably decent economy rather than buying a £100 80s V8 and using the money they've saved on fuel. 
All that jazz said:
nonuts said:
Why are you worried about fuel economy if you're about to spend £20k on a car? Spend £10k on an M3 / M5 and have £10k to spend on Fuel which will be a lot more than £6k miles worth!
Well that's just stupid, obviously. It's the same reason why people go out and buy a new car with reasonably decent economy rather than buying a £100 80s V8 and using the money they've saved on fuel. There are many reasons why someone who has a budget between £10-20K would be massively better off buying a car that does 10mpg for the lower end of their budget rather than the full £20k on something that does 40mpg.
omgus said:
All that jazz said:
nonuts said:
Why are you worried about fuel economy if you're about to spend £20k on a car? Spend £10k on an M3 / M5 and have £10k to spend on Fuel which will be a lot more than £6k miles worth!
Well that's just stupid, obviously. It's the same reason why people go out and buy a new car with reasonably decent economy rather than buying a £100 80s V8 and using the money they've saved on fuel. There are many reasons why someone who has a budget between £10-20K would be massively better off buying a car that does 10mpg for the lower end of their budget rather than the full £20k on something that does 40mpg.
omgus said:
<insert not sure if serious .jpg here>
There are many reasons why someone who has a budget between £10-20K would be massively better off buying a car that does 10mpg for the lower end of their budget rather than the full £20k on something that does 40mpg.
But if I wanted some old sThere are many reasons why someone who has a budget between £10-20K would be massively better off buying a car that does 10mpg for the lower end of their budget rather than the full £20k on something that does 40mpg.
tbox that does 10mpg then that's what I would have asked for. I want something new or nearly new that is petrol, has a blower, has decent power and has a sensible mpg. If the VAG TSFI(?) engines weren't so unreliable then something like that would be perfect.All that jazz said:
But if I wanted some old stbox that does 10mpg then that's what I would have asked for. I want something new or nearly new that is petrol, has a blower, has decent power and has a sensible mpg. If the VAG TSFI(?) engines weren't so unreliable then something like that would be perfect.
Okay, however if you're buying a NEW car why do you give a stbox that does 10mpg then that's what I would have asked for. I want something new or nearly new that is petrol, has a blower, has decent power and has a sensible mpg. If the VAG TSFI(?) engines weren't so unreliable then something like that would be perfect.t whether it's reliable or not? It will be covered for at least the next 3 years and you are saying you're not doing a lot of miles anyway?
Something to bear in mind with these cars is that they don't get anywhere near the manufacturer's MPG figures. Honestjohn are collating data on it so it would be a good idea to check the information on your choices if it is an issue for you.
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/
Based on what you've said I reckon something with the VAG TSFi lump will be closest in feel to what you're looking for, but it'll need a test drive to confirm.
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/
Based on what you've said I reckon something with the VAG TSFi lump will be closest in feel to what you're looking for, but it'll need a test drive to confirm.
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