Petrol Cars

[alansmith7]

Hi All

After thinking whether i should get a diesel car or petrol i have opted for buy a petrol car.

im willing to spend upto 2k and i wanted to get myself a 1.4 litre vehicle, i wanted know which vehicles would you recommended?

i have been looking at volkswagen golf mk4, vauxhall astra

Thanks all

[Shaw Tarse]

Why 1.4?

[alansmith7]

cheap insurance, cheap tax and good on petrol depending on the car.

i would save money by getting a smaller engine

[Ved]

How old are you and what's your driving history? Engine size means very little in terms of cost. What sort of driving do you need it for and what do you want from a car?

[pilchardthecat]

Well you've come to the right place. It's all about fuel economy here.

[kambites]

These days there is less and less correlation between engine capacity and... well anything really. Whilst neither official economy figures not insurance categories are very accurate, both are an infinitely better indication of their respective figures than engine size.

[TooMany2cvs]

For that kind of budget, and with your apparent interest and knowledge in vehicles, get a more knowledgeable friend to help you find a GOOD car, with what it is being of much lower importance.

You're right in the part of the market where relatively expensive mistakes are very easy to make.

[alansmith7]

Ved said:

How old are you and what's your driving history? Engine size means very little in terms of cost. What sort of driving do you need it for and what do you want from a car?

im 28 and ive got a clean license (hopefully it will stay this way)

mainly its motorway but i do drive locally a lot.

i just want something realiable and looks okish

[Shaw Tarse]

Motorway?
Lexus.

[alansmith7]

pilchardthecat said:

Well you've come to the right place. It's all about fuel economy here.

Hope so :-D

[Skodaku]

Skoda Fabia. You could stick to 1.4 and still get a Fabia vRS. On the other hand, the ordinary Fabia is a good workhorse and isn't a bad place to be. Plus, there's lots of choice.

[kambites]

If it's mostly motorway mileage, I'd get something at least Golf sized. If reliable is a priority, I'd probably be looking for something Japanese. Maybe a 1.6 Civic?

[alansmith7]

kambites said:

These days there is less and less correlation between engine capacity and... well anything really. Whilst neither official economy figures not insurance categories are very accurate, both are an infinitely better indication of their respective figures than engine size.

due to the area i live in the insurance is high and therefore a 1.4 would be cheaper insurance

[The Turbonator]

It depends on what your annual mileage is going to be and what kind of driving.

If you're doing a lot of miles on the motorway you'd be best off with a Diesel.

If you're doing a lot of miles around town or not many miles at all you'd be best with a petrol.

[kambites]

alansmith7 said:

due to the area i live in the insurance is high and therefore a 1.4 would be cheaper insurance

Insurers couldn't care less about engine capacity.

Power perhaps, but not capacity. VW have 1.4 engines putting out nearly 200bhp; they ain't going to be cheap to insure just because they're small.

[alansmith7]

Shaw Tarse said:

Motorway?
Lexus.

expensive on insurance

[ging84]

alansmith7 said:

im 28 and ive got a clean license (hopefully it will stay this way)

mainly its motorway but i do drive locally a lot.

i just want something realiable and looks okish

Well then you absolutely do no want a 1.4

[alansmith7]

TooMany2cvs said:

For that kind of budget, and with your apparent interest and knowledge in vehicles, get a more knowledgeable friend to help you find a GOOD car, with what it is being of much lower importance.

You're right in the part of the market where relatively expensive mistakes are very easy to make.

if i was to increase my budget which car would you recommend?

[CPTCar]

kambites said:

These days there is less and less correlation between engine capacity and... well anything really. Whilst neither official economy figures not insurance categories are very accurate, both are an infinitely better indication of their respective figures than engine size.

Agreed - some manufacturers are getting 150-250 bhp out of 1.4-1.6 l engines these days. Extreme examples maybe, but I would definitely lose the 1.4l stipulation and use economy figures as a rough guideline, at least to compare cars to each other.

[fathomfive]

I'd not want to be in a Golf, Focus, Astra or anything that size and budget in a 1.4