Next car? 435d, S3, Golf R, Focus RS, a45, AMG CLA 45

[Thomas812]

Hey all,

I am currently thinking about my next car and have a few in mind that are just about in budget. I currently drive a ford fiesta ST-2 which is real nice, and I love it however I'm after something a little faster in the future.

Currently, I am looking at:

BMW 435d - 313bhp & 630 Nm (464 lb.ft) - 0-60 in 4.7s
Audi S3 - 310bhp & 380 Nm (280 lb.ft) - 0-60 in 4.6s
Golf R - 300bhp & 380 Nm (280 lb.ft) - 0-60 in 4.9s
Focus RS - 350bhp & 474 Nm (350 lb.ft) - 0-60 in 4.5s
Merc AMG a45 - 375bhp & 475 Nm (350 lb.ft) - 0-60 in 4.2s
Merc AMG CLA 45 -375bhp & 475 Nm (350 lb.ft) - 0-60 in 4.2s

All of the above are AWD, which I am looking for in my next car and all have relatively close 0-60 times. My question is which one should I go for? (Not to worry about price at this moment)

I'm looking for a fast, comfortable and decent sounding car, with a nice interior and for it to look mean. Personally, I am draw towards the 435d as the torque is madness and it will "pull" nicely, whilst looking aggressive. Not only this, but the MPG is very good reaching up to 50mpg combined which I will need as I drive 350+ miles a week.
I'd be going for 2016-2018 most likely, or potentially a brand new one on PCP / HP finance if I find the right deal.


If all of these cars were to have a drag race, which would win? (in order)
If all of these cars were to have a rolling race, which would win? (in order)
Which have the best features stock etc..?

I'd most likely remap the car to make the performance even better, so will be interesting to see.

Any advice is awesome, as I am kind of lost and don't want to regret my decision later on in the line!


Thanks,
Thomas.

[JWH]

Forgive my directness but how old are you and what proportion of your take home income will be spent on this car?

[Belle427]

If you want an interesting sounding car then skip all of the above and look at an Audi RS3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&amp...

[Jag_NE]

Your mileage would make me go for the diesel.

[Deep Thought]

Jag_NE said:

Your mileage would make me go for the diesel.

+1

350+ miles a week in any of the others will get tiresome very quickly.

[Driver101]

50mpg combined is a big ask out of any car if you also want it to go fast. The only car that is genuinely comfortable and able to get anywhere near that will be the 435d.

The Mercs and the Focus you'll be lucky to be mid 20s average with the Golf and S3 slightly better.

The Focus is manual gearbox only. It does have an impressive 0-60mph time, but it's slow for 350bhp on the move.

[kalniel]

Consider an S4? TDI should up the mpg compared to the petrol rockets.

[Dave Hedgehog]

the A45 will smash your spine and do 25mpg if you drive like a granny, the CLA45 will make the A45 ride seam like its gliding on air (the GLA45 is the one to pick as a daily but still gets low mpg)

if you want to win drag races get an RS3, not much will touch one off the line in launch mode

the dull oil burner does seam to be what you need



if you want to go hyper fast and pay 1.4p a mile in fuel costs get a Tesla

Edited by Dave Hedgehog on Monday 3rd February 10:50

[ZX10R NIN]

Budget always makes a difference so you need to workout what you actually want to spend because people can't give realistic recommendations if you don't know what you want to spend.

I'd be going for a diesel with your annual mileage as people don't tend to like high mileage (in terms of year vs mileage) performance models it hurts their depreciation more so than a quick diesel would get my vote but there are a lot of them.

[Ash170990]

Focus Is probably the slowest, but would be the one i'd choose, the others are just a bit dull. Mate used to have a golf R (DSG) and it was crazy fast, but once you get over that it was a bit boring. Same with the A45, drove one of those and both cars just feel a bit too good which imo makes them boring.

[Thomas812]

JWH said:

Forgive my directness but how old are you and what proportion of your take home income will be spent on this car?

I am 21, which in the UK will be a nightmare to get insured on most powerful cars like an RS3 mentioned below, so those types of cars will have to wait. I've gotten quotes for all of the ones I mentioned and they're just about low-enough for me to purchase them. My budget is probably £30,000 or £500 a month, however most of these cars are a lot lower than that if we're talking 16-18 plates.

Belle427 said:

If you want an interesting sounding car then skip all of the above and look at an Audi RS3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&amp...

I do love the RS cars aswell as the M BMW's, however for insurance purposes, I won't get covered for much less than £7000 so I'll have to wait

Driver101 said:

50mpg combined is a big ask out of any car if you also want it to go fast. The only car that is genuinely comfortable and able to get anywhere near that will be the 435d.

The Mercs and the Focus you'll be lucky to be mid 20s average with the Golf and S3 slightly better.

The Focus is manual gearbox only. It does have an impressive 0-60mph time, but it's slow for 350bhp on the move.

Exactly. That's the main reason I'm drawn towards the 435d if I'm honest. Filling up a full tank more than once a week will be a big ouch to the bank and probably wont be worth it.
Thanks for the advice aswell!

kalniel said:

Consider an S4? TDI should up the mpg compared to the petrol rockets.

Good advice, it is better MPG so I will look into them.

Dave Hedgehog said:

the A45 will smash your spine and do 25mpg if you drive like a granny, the CLA45 will make the A45 ride seam like its gliding on air (the GLA45 is the one to pick as a daily but still gets low mpg)

if you want to win drag races get an RS3, not much will touch one off the line in launch mode

the dull oil burner does seam to be what you need



if you want to go hyper fast and pay 1.4p a mile in fuel costs get a Tesla

I believe the mercs share the same engine if I'm not mistaken? So both incredibly fast, as you said. I think the A45 is the clear winner in a race (?) but for the low MPG I will be spending so much £££ filling up.
I'd love a Tesla, but maybe in the future.

ZX10R NIN said:

Budget always makes a difference so you need to workout what you actually want to spend because people can't give realistic recommendations if you don't know what you want to spend.

I'd be going for a diesel with your annual mileage as people don't tend to like high mileage (in terms of year vs mileage) performance models it hurts their depreciation more so than a quick diesel would get my vote but there are a lot of them.

I totally agree, above I mentioned roughly £500 a month would be my budget, however these cars are lower than that - I can get a 435d for £350 a month with a decent deposit, which is more appealing aswell as I wont be spending so much £££ filling up the tank as it has high MPG.

Ash170990 said:

Focus Is probably the slowest, but would be the one i'd choose, the others are just a bit dull. Mate used to have a golf R (DSG) and it was crazy fast, but once you get over that it was a bit boring. Same with the A45, drove one of those and both cars just feel a bit too good which imo makes them boring.

Focus the slowest? Wow, I thought it'd take the golf R and S3? But i'm probably wrong. I do love the focus though.. But the low MPG really is a shame and the lack of a nice interior also puts me off.

[Dave Hedgehog]

Thomas812 said:

Focus the slowest? Wow, I thought it'd take the golf R and S3? But i'm probably wrong. I do love the focus though.. But the low MPG really is a shame and the lack of a nice interior also puts me off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m62NJftSS7g

what about a M135 or M140i, they get reasonable MPG on a cruise?

[cerb4.5lee]

Although I do prefer petrol I think I'd be going with the 435d with the miles you do. The 435d should easily give you over 40mpg. I did 70k miles in a 640d(same engine as the 435d) and that returned 40mpg overall.

The 435d/640d offer a nice performance and economy mix I reckon. They even sound decent from inside with the piped in noise though the speakers.

[AmosMoses]

At that mileage i'd take the 435d, it'll do the best MPG and more importantly will be a lot comfier.

[IanJ9375]

Driver101 said:

50mpg combined is a big ask out of any car if you also want it to go fast. The only car that is genuinely comfortable and able to get anywhere near that will be the 435d.

The Mercs and the Focus you'll be lucky to be mid 20s average with the Golf and S3 slightly better.

The Focus is manual gearbox only. It does have an impressive 0-60mph time, but it's slow for 350bhp on the move.

You'll not get 50mpg out of it without driving like a saint - over 120k we avg 45mpg in our 330d mostly motorway miles driven by the other half who doesn't drive spiritedly to be fair to her, expect closer to 40mpg with 435d imho

Weirdly I get 25mpg avg out of the RS since it was mapped

[ZX10R NIN]

For me these would be where I'd be looking to spend my money.

E350 Coupe AMG Line these will give a real world 47mpg with a mixed commute, with a map you'll see over 50mpg

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

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

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

A5 S Line/Black Edition

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

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

BMW wise I'd look at a 640d before the 435d just because it a nicer more place to be & they hold their money a little better due to not being as common.

640d M Sport this does hurt MPG slightly by dropping to a real world 44mpg (again a map will improve this) but it would be worth it for the nicer interior.

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

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

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

435d M Sport + with Pro Nav

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

M Sport

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

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

[Pica-Pica]

IanJ9375 said:

Driver101 said:

50mpg combined is a big ask out of any car if you also want it to go fast. The only car that is genuinely comfortable and able to get anywhere near that will be the 435d.

The Mercs and the Focus you'll be lucky to be mid 20s average with the Golf and S3 slightly better.

The Focus is manual gearbox only. It does have an impressive 0-60mph time, but it's slow for 350bhp on the move.

You'll not get 50mpg out of it without driving like a saint - over 120k we avg 45mpg in our 330d mostly motorway miles driven by the other half who doesn't drive spiritedly to be fair to her, expect closer to 40mpg with 435d imho

Weirdly I get 25mpg avg out of the RS since it was mapped

I get 44mpg long term from a 335d. Rarely see below 42 on medium length trips.

[IanJ9375]

Pica-Pica said:

I get 44mpg long term from a 335d. Rarely see below 42 on medium length trips.

Even BMW's own figures suggest about 5mpg drop between the 330d and the 335d, they did when I was speccing ours back in 2015 at least - I can't comment on your driving but I'd expect a 335d to have done no more than 40mpg for us on our usage

What's a medium length trip for you? Most of our miles were bashed out doing 160 mile round trip along the A55/M56

[Pica-Pica]

IanJ9375 said:

Pica-Pica said:

I get 44mpg long term from a 335d. Rarely see below 42 on medium length trips.

Even BMW's own figures suggest about 5mpg drop between the 330d and the 335d, they did when I was speccing ours back in 2015 at least - I can't comment on your driving but I'd expect a 335d to have done no more than 40mpg for us on our usage

What's a medium length trip for you? Most of our miles were bashed out doing 160 mile round trip along the A55/M56

Medium length would be 20 plus one way. Minimum is usually 10 miles one way, the last mile would be free-flowing urban. Then regular 10+ trips. Very little town driving. Driving style? Brisk, always set at speed limit plus the usual fine-free margin, occasional overtakes where others won’t, and reading the road ahead so I minimise braking. Funny you should mention the A55/M56 ( and A494), a regular run for me (some cheap-ish Shell fuel along there too). Today’s fill-up, brim to brim was 42mpg. My target is 10 mile per litre, so adding 52litres, I aim to see over 500 miles on trip-meter. To be honest, it has been so consistently between 42 and 45, over three years, I only measure it when I try something different like BP Ultimate (tried it twice, not seen any benefit).

Edited by Pica-Pica on Monday 3rd February 15:38

[IanJ9375]

Pica-Pica said:

Medium length would be 20 plus one way. Minimum is usually 10 miles one way, the last mile would be free-flowing urban. Then regular 10+ trips. Very little town driving. Driving style? Brisk, always set at speed limit plus the usual fine-free margin, occasional overtakes where others won’t, and reading the road ahead so I minimise braking. Funny you should mention the A55/M56 ( and A494), a regular run for me (some cheap-ish Shell fuel along there too). Today’s fill-up, brim to brim was 42mpg. My target is 10 mile per litre, so adding 52litres, I aim to see over 500 miles on trip-meter. To be honest, it has been so consistently between 42 and 45, over three years, I only measure it when I try something different like BP Ultimate (tried it twice, not seen any benefit).

Edited by Pica-Pica on Monday 3rd February 15:38

Sounds like your driving might be gentler than ours, although she does run it in Eco Pro but I'd suspect it's over the "suggested" speed most of the way lol

Ours gone and now replaced with a 330e which is returning 51mpg on avg