Small engine auto, are they ok?
Discussion
IMO no.
Test driven a few new small diesel autos and they all were a let down, mrs didnt like them either.
We got an older 3.0tdi auto and the money we would have spent on depreciation more than covers the extra fual and maintenance.
Maybe our expectations were too high but they are still more sluggish than manuals, and these new 8 speed autos just dont seem anymore refined than an 10 year old 6 speed auto.
Test driven a few new small diesel autos and they all were a let down, mrs didnt like them either.
We got an older 3.0tdi auto and the money we would have spent on depreciation more than covers the extra fual and maintenance.
Maybe our expectations were too high but they are still more sluggish than manuals, and these new 8 speed autos just dont seem anymore refined than an 10 year old 6 speed auto.
Not sure what your budget is but consider the 1.4 or 1.5 TFSI in VW Group cars (Skoda / SEAT etc) - they can be quite pokey when needed but economical when just pottering about. They use ACT (Active Cylinder Technology) and switch off 2 of the cylinders when just tootling along - incl at motorway speeds under light loads.
I have had a couple of the DSG versions as hire cars and seemed to be getting 45 to 50 MPG from them.
Appreciate you are doing decent miles and DPF shouldnt be an issue but if something in the next few years affects diesel prices, you wont be affected.
I have had a couple of the DSG versions as hire cars and seemed to be getting 45 to 50 MPG from them.
Appreciate you are doing decent miles and DPF shouldnt be an issue but if something in the next few years affects diesel prices, you wont be affected.
I'd say that if you're getting a diesel surely the best thing would be to get one with an auto. At least you won't have to keep changing gears yourself to keep in the power band.
I hired a small diesel engined 2006 at Easter and it was a PITA with a manual. It was forever either dropping off the bottom of the power band or running out of puff at the other end.
I hired a larger-engined 500X in August and it wasn't so bad but still that had that iritiating nothing-surge-nothing power delivery.
Trying to modulate it all the time with gear changes and throttle adjustments was tiresome.
I find it the same as a passenger in manual diesel car. It's almost impossible to drive them smoothly in stop start conditions.
I'd get a conventional or DSG auto all day long.
I hired a small diesel engined 2006 at Easter and it was a PITA with a manual. It was forever either dropping off the bottom of the power band or running out of puff at the other end.
I hired a larger-engined 500X in August and it wasn't so bad but still that had that iritiating nothing-surge-nothing power delivery.
Trying to modulate it all the time with gear changes and throttle adjustments was tiresome.
I find it the same as a passenger in manual diesel car. It's almost impossible to drive them smoothly in stop start conditions.
I'd get a conventional or DSG auto all day long.
Will this be in addition to the E or in replacement? Small autos are fine these days but if you are considering selling the car you have to gain possibly 15mpg but lose space and practicality I don’t think I would bother. Running costs will reduce by about 30% but at what cost to everything else that’s important
DoubleD said:
A large car is only important if that is what you need
They are 1. Safer - if rear ended you have the whole estate to crush through before getting to rear seats let alone the front seats. Loook at that hoffiric crash on the A34 small car squashed to nothing
2. It’s a luxury car too loads of extra kit you’d not have on a lesser car
3. Seat comfort will be massively higher on the E class
4. Depreciation will be vastly lower.
5. Better the devil you know especially at the £7k mark.
6. It’s more environmentally friendly to run a car for as long as possible maximising the energy it used to create it in the first place.
7. You could remap it - and map it for more economy
Welshbeef said:
DoubleD said:
A large car is only important if that is what you need
They are 1. Safer - if rear ended you have the whole estate to crush through before getting to rear seats let alone the front seats. Loook at that hoffiric crash on the A34 small car squashed to nothing
2. It’s a luxury car too loads of extra kit you’d not have on a lesser car
3. Seat comfort will be massively higher on the E class
4. Depreciation will be vastly lower.
5. Better the devil you know especially at the £7k mark.
6. It’s more environmentally friendly to run a car for as long as possible maximising the energy it used to create it in the first place.
7. You could remap it - and map it for more economy
DoubleD said:
Maybe. But like I said, a large car is only important if you need a large car.
But if you already have it then it’s a different question you can live with the “large car” aspect as motorway driving and frankly any road driving makes no difference - you’ve lived with it so could live with it some more. A small car doing 25k a year - small in my eyes is VW Lupo BTW - would be hell.
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