What would you buy????
Discussion
Hi. I'm going to trade in a 2007 ford focus 2.0 tdci titanium but i'm undecided about what car to get next.
The ones i have been looking at are as follows:
2010 BMW 320d efficent dynamics, 61K, £11000
2010 Honda Civic EX 2.2 cdti, 45K, £10500
2010 VW Passat R Line tdi 110, 30K, £9950
2011 VW Golf GT Tdi 2.0 140, 41K, £11000
They are the ones i most fancy but which one should i go for? Is the extra mileage of the BMW something to worry about? . Im a bit torn between them all so rightly or wrongly i want some more opinions!!!! So what would you buy from that list or is there something i might have missed?
Cheers all.
The ones i have been looking at are as follows:
2010 BMW 320d efficent dynamics, 61K, £11000
2010 Honda Civic EX 2.2 cdti, 45K, £10500
2010 VW Passat R Line tdi 110, 30K, £9950
2011 VW Golf GT Tdi 2.0 140, 41K, £11000
They are the ones i most fancy but which one should i go for? Is the extra mileage of the BMW something to worry about? . Im a bit torn between them all so rightly or wrongly i want some more opinions!!!! So what would you buy from that list or is there something i might have missed?
Cheers all.
In my humble opinion, the best to drive by a country mile is the BMW (before the haters turn up, yes, I've driven all the others including the Focus and that's my honest opinion, there's no doubt in it at all in my mind) - it's got a far lower centre of gravity than the others, stiffer suspension, pedals set up for heel and toe and the bizarrely fashionable 'sit up and beg' driving position of modern cars is optional, plus it obviously has rear wheel drive with the advantages that brings in terms of the layout of the major masses and of course the end the drive goes to, so from the FWD camp it'd take something very special to beat it from a driving point of view (like the hotter versions of the other cars listed for example - Type R etc). Then there's the attraction of 70mpg+ on the motorway (again, before the haters turn up doubting that, my Dad's had one for two years and that's genuinely what he gets at 0.8 leptons).
If I wasn't that interested in driving I'd be comparing the Golf to the Civic - both do their thing supremely well just in different ways, are a bit fresher than the BMW and won't attract the usual BMW hatred on the roads or from work colleagues etc (I actually dread giving people lifts as I get sick of all the anti-BMW comments). The Civic and the Golf are probably my two favourite ordinary everyday hatchbacks. The Civic gets my vote out of the two (I think it's the best standard hatchback out there), but it's purely a matter of taste.
Finally, if you are interested in driving then it'd be well worth your while also looking at some slightly more performance orientated metal for the money - there's quite a lot available for £11k. Sure, the running costs may be higher, but you'll have much more fun.
Regarding the diesel question, do your sums basically and drive both petrol and diesel. You'll find that many manufacturers make really good diesels (BMW for example - they're very revy and produce very reasonable power for the mpg), and some make bloody awful petrol engines, and vice versa, so I'd take it on a car by car basis, rather than a universal diesel vs petrol standpoint. For example, if it was a Civic I'd rather have a petrol engine and if it was a BMW I'd rather have a diesel (unless it's the M3).
If I wasn't that interested in driving I'd be comparing the Golf to the Civic - both do their thing supremely well just in different ways, are a bit fresher than the BMW and won't attract the usual BMW hatred on the roads or from work colleagues etc (I actually dread giving people lifts as I get sick of all the anti-BMW comments). The Civic and the Golf are probably my two favourite ordinary everyday hatchbacks. The Civic gets my vote out of the two (I think it's the best standard hatchback out there), but it's purely a matter of taste.
Finally, if you are interested in driving then it'd be well worth your while also looking at some slightly more performance orientated metal for the money - there's quite a lot available for £11k. Sure, the running costs may be higher, but you'll have much more fun.
Regarding the diesel question, do your sums basically and drive both petrol and diesel. You'll find that many manufacturers make really good diesels (BMW for example - they're very revy and produce very reasonable power for the mpg), and some make bloody awful petrol engines, and vice versa, so I'd take it on a car by car basis, rather than a universal diesel vs petrol standpoint. For example, if it was a Civic I'd rather have a petrol engine and if it was a BMW I'd rather have a diesel (unless it's the M3).
I'm currently driving a 2010 320D efficient dynamics as a company car - at the time of choosing it I had similar choices as those that you are looking to buy. My experience to date is that it is built well, handles ok, is a nice place to sit, is quiet and does everything I need it to.
The three most notable points I can think of are:
TYRES! Useless, great chassis with a good combination of handling and ride but this is ruined by terrible eco tyres that have very low levels of grip in anything other than nice dry stick tarmac conditions!
MPG - Ridiculously good for a larger car. Guilty of trying to weld my foot to the floor most days of the week it is always doing 50 something mpg if your doing a mix of town/a road/dual carriage way/motorway etc. Sat at 0.80 - 0.85 mph for a reasonable journey and she always returns mid 60's mpg. For comparison my old 118d 50ish mpg at that speed with cruise on.
Make sure it has folding seats - dear god its annoying without them!
The three most notable points I can think of are:
TYRES! Useless, great chassis with a good combination of handling and ride but this is ruined by terrible eco tyres that have very low levels of grip in anything other than nice dry stick tarmac conditions!
MPG - Ridiculously good for a larger car. Guilty of trying to weld my foot to the floor most days of the week it is always doing 50 something mpg if your doing a mix of town/a road/dual carriage way/motorway etc. Sat at 0.80 - 0.85 mph for a reasonable journey and she always returns mid 60's mpg. For comparison my old 118d 50ish mpg at that speed with cruise on.
Make sure it has folding seats - dear god its annoying without them!
Edited by seismic22 on Sunday 29th December 18:17
seismic22 said:
TYRES! Useless, great chassis with a good combination of handling and ride but this is ruined by terrible eco tyres that have very low levels of grip in anything other than nice dry stick tarmac conditions!
Front engine, rear drive with low grip tyres? 
Sounds good to me!!?!RobM77 said:
Front engine, rear drive with low grip tyres? Sounds good to me!!?!
Ha! That combination was ok when I had my own mx5, but spanking company car into a ditch or lamp post (admittedly with a bit of right foot!) is not going to down well with the Boss...... Sounds good to me!!?!Whats worse is when you pull out of a busy t-junction, need to give it some welly to make a safe move to the other side of the road and clear oncoming cars and suddenly the traction control kicks in and cuts all power mid manouvre/exit all because the inside wheel is spinning away on its useless michelin eco shoe!
Thanks for all your comments. I fully agree with you ROBM77 i love the driving experience of the BMW and would hope the MPG is as good as is quoted. Hopefully the residuals would be good too when I get rid too. I'm leaning away from the VW's I think now although I love the look of the Passat R Lines. Time for test drive number two I think!
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