Looking for a new car - recommendations please
Discussion
As the title implies, I'm in the market for a new car. I've got a new job and it involves doing roughly 90 miles a day, so the more economical the better. I was looking at an Aygo (and the various other versions of that chassis), but the insurance was what got me: it was more for a 08 reg Aygo on insurance than my 2l E46.
What say you guys? Any ideas?
What say you guys? Any ideas?
90 miles a day in an Aygo? I used to go on the odd long journey in mine but every day no way!
Also i assume you will be doing a fair bit on M-way work in that 90 miles, unless you are going to tootle along at 65 your fuel economy will be crap anyway...see the other thread "28MPG from a fiesta 1.25"
Assuming about 20k miles pa, you are well into diesel territory there. VAG 1.9TDi for you my son with 20k mile service intervals
Also i assume you will be doing a fair bit on M-way work in that 90 miles, unless you are going to tootle along at 65 your fuel economy will be crap anyway...see the other thread "28MPG from a fiesta 1.25"
Assuming about 20k miles pa, you are well into diesel territory there. VAG 1.9TDi for you my son with 20k mile service intervals
I commute 100 miles per day and would not do it in an Aygo. My gf's 1.3 corolla costs more to take than my 2.0 golf did a it struggled with hills etc. I've found Golf sized cars to be ok but I'm keen to give something bigger than my Civic a go. You also have to think about what you'd like to spend 2 hours a day sitting in.
currybum said:
I use Fiesta Econetics for my 70 mile commute, easy 70mpg even driving out from central London, comfortable and all the toys you need (Bluetooth, heated windscreen etc).
Not massively exciting but does the job perfectly, without causing any hassle or costing that much.
I'll be honest, I was looking at the smaller cars purely for the low road tax, I hadn't really thought much beyond that at this point. Fiesta is a good shout though.Not massively exciting but does the job perfectly, without causing any hassle or costing that much.
the stigs dad said:
An econobox? Wrong website I think! I'd recommend a dodge viper.
needs must, unfortunately! If you can find me a Viper that I can run for the same as an econobox then i'll gladly change my mind!big_boz said:
90 miles a day in an Aygo? I used to go on the odd long journey in mine but every day no way!
Also i assume you will be doing a fair bit on M-way work in that 90 miles, unless you are going to tootle along at 65 your fuel economy will be crap anyway...see the other thread "28MPG from a fiesta 1.25"
Assuming about 20k miles pa, you are well into diesel territory there. VAG 1.9TDi for you my son with 20k mile service intervals
You assume right about the motorway miles, roughly 35 of the 45 mile journey would be either motorway or dual-carriageway. I neglected the fact that I'd be revving the nuts off of a 1L.Also i assume you will be doing a fair bit on M-way work in that 90 miles, unless you are going to tootle along at 65 your fuel economy will be crap anyway...see the other thread "28MPG from a fiesta 1.25"
Assuming about 20k miles pa, you are well into diesel territory there. VAG 1.9TDi for you my son with 20k mile service intervals
1.9 Golf I presume? Do VAGs not start costing a pretty penny when they push high mileages? I'm a BMW man, don't really have any experience with VWs etc.
hongkongdonkey said:
I commute 100 miles per day and would not do it in an Aygo. My gf's 1.3 corolla costs more to take than my 2.0 golf did a it struggled with hills etc. I've found Golf sized cars to be ok but I'm keen to give something bigger than my Civic a go. You also have to think about what you'd like to spend 2 hours a day sitting in.
I'm just looking to keep the costs down, I wouldn't be going for the lowest spec model anyway so as long as i've got toys etc and it's still not costing too much to run then i'd be happy. Plus, there's always the remap potential with a diesel 
I have a golf 1.9 TDI that I do 30k miles a year in, perfect car for the job.
The VAG 1.9 TDI engine is about as bullet proof as they come; with that amount of motorway driving and that journey length DPF won't be an issue, eventually the Dual mass flywheel will fail but a single mass kit is less than a replacement dual mass flywheel and turbo shouldn't have any issues again due to the length of journeys. Rev the nuts off it occasionally to keep the variable geometry vanes in good order and it'll do starship miles!
The VAG 1.9 TDI engine is about as bullet proof as they come; with that amount of motorway driving and that journey length DPF won't be an issue, eventually the Dual mass flywheel will fail but a single mass kit is less than a replacement dual mass flywheel and turbo shouldn't have any issues again due to the length of journeys. Rev the nuts off it occasionally to keep the variable geometry vanes in good order and it'll do starship miles!
Nick1point9 said:
I have a golf 1.9 TDI that I do 30k miles a year in, perfect car for the job.
The VAG 1.9 TDI engine is about as bullet proof as they come; with that amount of motorway driving and that journey length DPF won't be an issue, eventually the Dual mass flywheel will fail but a single mass kit is less than a replacement dual mass flywheel and turbo shouldn't have any issues again due to the length of journeys. Rev the nuts off it occasionally to keep the variable geometry vanes in good order and it'll do starship miles!
+1The VAG 1.9 TDI engine is about as bullet proof as they come; with that amount of motorway driving and that journey length DPF won't be an issue, eventually the Dual mass flywheel will fail but a single mass kit is less than a replacement dual mass flywheel and turbo shouldn't have any issues again due to the length of journeys. Rev the nuts off it occasionally to keep the variable geometry vanes in good order and it'll do starship miles!
Not run a TDi golf im an audi man, last A4 1.9TDI was mapped to 160 took it from 80k to 140k (mostly on 100% bio diesel), consistently did better than 50MPG alot of the time better than 60, servicing is about £180 every 20k miles (sometimes more as its variable) Turbo might need a rebuild sometime north of 100k but is about £500 so not too bad, otherwise bullet proof.
Oh and no dodgy plastic swirl flaps to worry about like on a BMW Derv.....
Edited by big_boz on Thursday 15th November 22:55
Disco You said:
90 miles a day... 21k per year... In an aygo? You need your head seeing to.
yeah my bad, clearly I was going full retard, and everyone knows you NEVER go full retard.Nick1point9 said:
I have a golf 1.9 TDI that I do 30k miles a year in, perfect car for the job.
The VAG 1.9 TDI engine is about as bullet proof as they come; with that amount of motorway driving and that journey length DPF won't be an issue, eventually the Dual mass flywheel will fail but a single mass kit is less than a replacement dual mass flywheel and turbo shouldn't have any issues again due to the length of journeys. Rev the nuts off it occasionally to keep the variable geometry vanes in good order and it'll do starship miles!
The VAG 1.9 TDI engine is about as bullet proof as they come; with that amount of motorway driving and that journey length DPF won't be an issue, eventually the Dual mass flywheel will fail but a single mass kit is less than a replacement dual mass flywheel and turbo shouldn't have any issues again due to the length of journeys. Rev the nuts off it occasionally to keep the variable geometry vanes in good order and it'll do starship miles!
big_boz said:
+1
Not run a TDi golf im an audi man, last A4 1.9TDI was mapped to 160 took it from 80k to 140k (mostly on 100% bio diesel), consistently did better than 50MPG alot of the time better than 60, servicing is about £180 every 20k miles (sometimes more as its variable) Turbo might need a rebuild sometime north of £100k but is about £500 so not too bad, otherwise bullet proof.
Oh and no dodgy plastic swirl flaps to worry about like on a BMW Derv.....
VAG it is then from the sound of things! Thanks for the input guys, it's good to hear these things from people who do the sort of mileage i'm looking at.Not run a TDi golf im an audi man, last A4 1.9TDI was mapped to 160 took it from 80k to 140k (mostly on 100% bio diesel), consistently did better than 50MPG alot of the time better than 60, servicing is about £180 every 20k miles (sometimes more as its variable) Turbo might need a rebuild sometime north of £100k but is about £500 so not too bad, otherwise bullet proof.
Oh and no dodgy plastic swirl flaps to worry about like on a BMW Derv.....
And i couldn't agree more about the swirl flaps, what a daft idea.
Boring EcoBox?
I have just bought a Nissan Note 1.5DCi for my wife.
£30 road tax, Getting 59mpg on the Isle of Wight (indicated, not measured brim to brim yet) (so not long eco Motorway driving), loads of toys, sat nav (tekna or n-tec spec) bluetooth, auto everything, climate, parking sensors, leather.
Its a little rattley, a little plasticky but I am hoping being a Nissan will last a long while.
The engine is not that powerful (86GHP and 145 torque) but can provide useful pull.
Mike
I have just bought a Nissan Note 1.5DCi for my wife.
£30 road tax, Getting 59mpg on the Isle of Wight (indicated, not measured brim to brim yet) (so not long eco Motorway driving), loads of toys, sat nav (tekna or n-tec spec) bluetooth, auto everything, climate, parking sensors, leather.
Its a little rattley, a little plasticky but I am hoping being a Nissan will last a long while.
The engine is not that powerful (86GHP and 145 torque) but can provide useful pull.
Mike
AlanBeard said:
Disco You said:
90 miles a day... 21k per year... In an aygo? You need your head seeing to.
yeah my bad, clearly I was going full retard, and everyone knows you NEVER go full retard.Nick1point9 said:
I have a golf 1.9 TDI that I do 30k miles a year in, perfect car for the job.
The VAG 1.9 TDI engine is about as bullet proof as they come; with that amount of motorway driving and that journey length DPF won't be an issue, eventually the Dual mass flywheel will fail but a single mass kit is less than a replacement dual mass flywheel and turbo shouldn't have any issues again due to the length of journeys. Rev the nuts off it occasionally to keep the variable geometry vanes in good order and it'll do starship miles!
The VAG 1.9 TDI engine is about as bullet proof as they come; with that amount of motorway driving and that journey length DPF won't be an issue, eventually the Dual mass flywheel will fail but a single mass kit is less than a replacement dual mass flywheel and turbo shouldn't have any issues again due to the length of journeys. Rev the nuts off it occasionally to keep the variable geometry vanes in good order and it'll do starship miles!
big_boz said:
+1
Not run a TDi golf im an audi man, last A4 1.9TDI was mapped to 160 took it from 80k to 140k (mostly on 100% bio diesel), consistently did better than 50MPG alot of the time better than 60, servicing is about £180 every 20k miles (sometimes more as its variable) Turbo might need a rebuild sometime north of £100k but is about £500 so not too bad, otherwise bullet proof.
Oh and no dodgy plastic swirl flaps to worry about like on a BMW Derv.....
VAG it is then from the sound of things! Thanks for the input guys, it's good to hear these things from people who do the sort of mileage i'm looking at.Not run a TDi golf im an audi man, last A4 1.9TDI was mapped to 160 took it from 80k to 140k (mostly on 100% bio diesel), consistently did better than 50MPG alot of the time better than 60, servicing is about £180 every 20k miles (sometimes more as its variable) Turbo might need a rebuild sometime north of £100k but is about £500 so not too bad, otherwise bullet proof.
Oh and no dodgy plastic swirl flaps to worry about like on a BMW Derv.....
And i couldn't agree more about the swirl flaps, what a daft idea.
So,German diesel is the way forward,bigger the better! On the motorway my big fat unaerodynamic Chrysler is more economical than the family Fiat500 (38 mpg vs 34mpg according to trip computers)
infradig said:
You do know it only takes about an hour and a £10 kit off eBay to do away with the flaps on a 320d ? I do about 3 or 4 times your proposed mileage,currently in a Chrysler 300 but in the past have run both BMW and Merc diesels the worst I've had is a e39 turbo blow at about 200k which cost about £400 for a recon by TurboTechnics. I've also had a couple of 1.9 VAG Tdi's and neither cost anything in 120,000 miles each.
So,German diesel is the way forward,bigger the better! On the motorway my big fat unaerodynamic Chrysler is more economical than the family Fiat500 (38 mpg vs 34mpg according to trip computers)
yup, i'm fully aware of how to blank off swirl flaps, but as my E46 is a petrol, it's not something i've ever needed to do So,German diesel is the way forward,bigger the better! On the motorway my big fat unaerodynamic Chrysler is more economical than the family Fiat500 (38 mpg vs 34mpg according to trip computers)
after all that i've read here though i certainly agree on the big German diesel side of things thoughStescoG66 said:
Have you tried the mito or Giulietta 1.6 diesels? £35 road tax and eckynomickle too
To be honest, i was aiming for something a little older than that (and the mito is a bit of an uggo)How much you want to spend, my mate has just told me he is after getting rid of his 56 plate Golf 1,9TDI S (105BHP) in the near future as he needs an estate. Its in Black 5dr, got R32 Wheels on it, but fret not its not been buggered about with it just had them on when he got it, 70k miles FSH, decent car.
big_boz said:
How much you want to spend, my mate has just told me he is after getting rid of his 56 plate Golf 1,9TDI S (105BHP) in the near future as he needs an estate. Its in Black 5dr, got R32 Wheels on it, but fret not its not been buggered about with it just had them on when he got it, 70k miles FSH, decent car.
Hmm, it's tempting but I was looking a little older than that, maybe the last MKIVs or early MKVs. Has he a price in mind?
How about Fabia vrs, I used one to do my driving test 6 years ago and ever since wanted one... so I have one! 1.9tdi 130bhp with remap 180bhp very fun little car, comfortable, nice interior, very good handling ,mine with remap does 55-60mpg on the motorway, get 65 miles for a 10er, good all rounder! Pick one up on a 04-05 plate 3k reliable cars... what you recon?
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