MK7 1.4 Golf alternatives - Page 1 - Car Buying

sharepointalex

Original Poster

135 posts

128 months

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Wednesday 20th February 2019

The time has come to replace the Mrs' trusty 1.2 2006 Polo so we've been looking at used MK7 1.4 TSI golfs.

Just been out to test drive one (2015) plate and she didn't find it very nippy - not surprising as she's been driving my 335 more recently! wink

She wants a GTI but I think they'll be out of our price range realistically - cheapest I've found is £14k for a 35k miles 2014 plate....

So far I'm thinking possible alternatives that may be a bit nippier are -

Seat Leon 1.4 EcoTSI FR (148hp over the Golf's 122)
BMW 118i (138hp) - being a BMW driver myself i'd like an all BMW household! but we have a child seat to get in and my experience of 1 series' so far is that there isn't a lot of room in the back...
Audi A3 however I hate the look of the newer one

Any others I might've missed? I feel like the Leon and the BMW are going to feel nippier than the golf however I personally thought the Golf was nippy enough - guess she is spoilt now!

aaron_2000

5,407 posts

104 months

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Wednesday 20th February 2019

How about a Golf GTD? Are they in range?

S54Love

155 posts

105 months

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Wednesday 20th February 2019

Possibly a Mazda 3? https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
The 165ps models come absolutely loaded, and has more power than the 1.4 Golf. However, it doesn't have a turbo, so even though it has more power it may still feel slower.

Alfahol Addict

1,373 posts

186 months

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Wednesday 20th February 2019

Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.4 150/170 or 1.75 235/240 bhp.

SkodaIan

914 posts

106 months

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Wednesday 20th February 2019

Can't the Golf be had with the 150bhp 1.4TSI as well which is found in the Leon? Leon's aren't bad, but my wife's 64 reg one has a fair few rattles from the interior trim now which I find really annoying.

Don't ignore the 'obvious' options of the Focus and Astra as well. Both can be had in a 1.6 turbo petrol, which would be quicker than the 122 bhp Golf without going into the hot hatch category. The quicker petrols are fairly rare though in comparison to the truck loads of 1.6 diesels so may be tricky to find.

If you wanted something really unusual, there's the Nissan Pulsar 1.6 DIG-T. Probably the cheapest option if you can find one, and the quickest on paper too.

ZX10R NIN

29,873 posts

146 months

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Wednesday 20th February 2019

sharepointalex said:

The time has come to replace the Mrs' trusty 1.2 2006 Polo so we've been looking at used MK7 1.4 TSI golfs.

Just been out to test drive one (2015) plate and she didn't find it very nippy - not surprising as she's been driving my 335 more recently! wink

She wants a GTI but I think they'll be out of our price range realistically - cheapest I've found is £14k for a 35k miles 2014 plate....

So far I'm thinking possible alternatives that may be a bit nippier are -

Seat Leon 1.4 EcoTSI FR (148hp over the Golf's 122)
BMW 118i (138hp) - being a BMW driver myself i'd like an all BMW household! but we have a child seat to get in and my experience of 1 series' so far is that there isn't a lot of room in the back...
Audi A3 however I hate the look of the newer one

Any others I might've missed? I feel like the Leon and the BMW are going to feel nippier than the golf however I personally thought the Golf was nippy enough - guess she is spoilt now!

lornemalvo

3,813 posts

89 months

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Wednesday 20th February 2019

The Skoda Octavia has the 14 tsi (now 1.5), but with a higher power output. They are apparently quite nippy, and the boot is enormous. I never understood why they put a less powerful version in the Golf

sharepointalex

Original Poster

135 posts

128 months

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Thursday 21st February 2019

ZX10R NIN said:

Cheers! There's quite a few I hadn't considered!

On the basis of your recommendations we went out and test drove the Kia - sadly the OH didn't like it and said it was too harsh a ride - I did explain to her that most hot hatches (or a warm hatch as the Kia is known) will be the same!

Think she is too used to the adaptive suspension in mine now - argh!!

I'm not really keen on touching Ford, Vauxhall or any french car sadly - currently debating a GTD maybe now...

sharepointalex

Original Poster

135 posts

128 months

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Thursday 21st February 2019

Too many of you to quote individually but thanks all for your help!

It's looking like it will be a Golf - maybe we might try the new 1.5 engine as you guys mentioned above but i'm keen to buy used and that engine is relatively new...

I would have got the 1.4 TSI 150hp but that engine is apparently not good...

As mentioned above, now thinking maybe a GTD - she is used to the torque of the 335 so maybe this makes sense. The only thing is she mostly does town driving with occasional motorway trips so don't know if a diesel is really wise?? And there's diesel gate but that being said that's not going to be for a long time!

aaron_2000

5,407 posts

104 months

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Thursday 21st February 2019

A GTD gives you an excuse to rag it on a run every so often.

robinh73

1,231 posts

221 months

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Thursday 21st February 2019

I have had a Seat Leon 1.4FR 150hp for about 7 months now and love it. It is surprisingly nippy, pretty good on fuel and does pretty much everything I need really. Build quality is good, it sits very quietly and comfortably at motorway speeds and is even actually quite fun on flowing A roads when you want it to be.

sharepointalex

Original Poster

135 posts

128 months

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Thursday 21st February 2019

robinh73 said:

I have had a Seat Leon 1.4FR 150hp for about 7 months now and love it. It is surprisingly nippy, pretty good on fuel and does pretty much everything I need really. Build quality is good, it sits very quietly and comfortably at motorway speeds and is even actually quite fun on flowing A roads when you want it to be.

She's going to drive a friends 1.4FR at the weekend to see what she thinks, they are very good so still a contender!

ZX10R NIN

29,873 posts

146 months

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Thursday 21st February 2019

sharepointalex said:

She's going to drive a friends 1.4FR at the weekend to see what she thinks, they are very good so still a contender!

Not sure how much you want to spend but also lookout for the 2.0T Infiniti Q30 205 these are basically a last gen A Class Mercedes (Running gear Electronics Seats etc) in disguise they're hard to find but worth a look if you see one for sale.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

You can extend the Manufacturer's Warranty on the one above the ride is softer than the A Class.

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Friday 22 February 08:09

codenamecueball

718 posts

110 months

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Friday 22nd February 2019

The Seat Leon can also be had with a 1.8 ~180hp powerplant.

jamei303

3,043 posts

177 months

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Friday 22nd February 2019

V40 T4 is also 180PS and the opposite of a harsh ride.