Am I crazy to want to change car??

[SeanyK]

Hey folks,

My car has been away for the last 3 weeks getting an aircon problem sorted (warranty for previous repair) - and yes I know, 3 weeks! I'll be getting it back next week.

Anyway, in the meantime i've had a 2011 Vauxhall Corsa, 1.2 to be specific! It's not a bad car by any means, not something i'd buy though.

...Basically, im enjoying the cheap motoring! I've been getting about 340-350 miles to £50.

The problem with it, is it's too slow, not that I want to race everywhere, but for things like overtaking it is near enough impossible to safely do.

So the dilemma is this, I know when I get the GTI back next week i'll love it again, but I guess I was looking now for something a bit cheaper to run, a bit newer (GTI is 2005)

I've looked at possible replacement cars, having owned a grand total of 5 SEAT's I do like their range, however not sure of moving to a Leon, im not fully sold on their looks / interior.

Audi A3's are another choice, albeit slightly boring cars, a lot of the company cars where I work are A3's.

BMW 320d,325d, 330d were another choice but the high cost of buying, and they are actually too big for me, I prefer hatchbacks (1 series is far too ugly though!)

A Diesel may be the obvious choice, but having owned a MK4 1.9PD Ibiza Cupra TDI (160hp) it was dreadful, clattering noisy engine and tank-like driving experience (lasted 2 months before I sold it), but I think that was the 1.9VAG TDI engine that was the culprit mostly - although having previously owned 3 of the MK4 Petrol 180 Cupras, It was possible I was just bored of those cars in general.

The real choices come down to;

Mazda 3 2.2D 185 (Random choice - but I actually think the newer Mazda3's look really nice, quite a rare car too)

VW Golf MK6 (1.4TSI or GTD)

The problem with the Golf's are they are so expensive to buy! The Mazda can be had for 17k brand new and includes a shedload of options like heated seats, MFSW, Cruise etc as standard, the Golf's a lot more and has bare options to start with.

In fairness, i'd be looking at a 2009-ish car, maybe 2008 (Which rules out MK6 Golf), if I was lucky a 2010 plate, but that's unlikely.

Ahhh it's a dilemma! I bet when I get the GTI back next week i'll forget all of this for a couple of months!

This is all a contradiction in itself in the respect that by buying another car i'll end up having to pay extra ££ for a year or so anyway! Which could be paying the petrol bill on existing car!

[apollo13]

Hi Sean,

Why not go for a GT TDI? You could go for a cheaper low spec model and carry over all your mods, get 50+mpg and still have some decent 'poke'??

Probably sell your GTI or PX with little or no outlay dependand on year?

[Ifti]

I went through the same. Change in circumstances meant I was on the road a lot more for work. Ended up selling my ED30 and getting a Golf Bluemotion!!
From one extreme to the other!!

Although I miss the power of the ED30, and I 100% understand what you mean about overtaking etc!, Im happy with the Bluemotion because of the amount Im saving!

I got 260 miles to £60 in the ED30 and was spending £50-60 a week at least on fuel.
Same amount in my Bluemotion and I get 700 miles and spend £60 every 2.5 weeks! Approx 70-80mpg on a run, and 50-60mpg around town!

Miss the ED30 greatly, but with the amount Im saving Im still happy to potter along to work and back rather then race there!

[h4rdy]

I have thought about getting a complete sh*tbox which is mechanically sound i.e a low mileage 10-15 year old golf etc etc.

Stuck in traffic most of the time and when I am not, I can't be bothered as tired from work.

Luckily I only have to fill up once a month so not so much an issue but its on my mind.

Greeners had a nice anniversary mk3 a while back could be an idea.

Pay some debts off!!!

[SeanyK]

Hi guys, good replies thankyou,

Lee > I have thought about that mate, still a good shout, and am adding that to the options now! :)

The bluemotion is a good car, but yeah you sacrifice the pace for the mpg, I generally drive my GTi like it's a 1.2 most of the time, I don't hammer it along, the only times I need the power is for overtaking on country roads etc.

In the respect of the Corsa, it's too slow for that, but ironically, once your on the move on the motorway was more than quick enough (actually pretty rapid for a 1.2 lol)

A cheaper, older car, WOULD in theory make sense, however with me it doesn't, as i'd end up spending loads on it, modifying it! I thought that a while back, and brought a 2002 Ibiza Cupra (from a 2007 one) to save money, and ending up spending £3k in mods within 5 months  Then sold it and bought another 2007 model! 

Having a DSG now, I did think i'd be addicted to DSG's only, but after a few weeks of manual driving, I could go back to that quite easily.

[Saint Steve]

Buy an Hyundai, and you'll have a had job to modify it

Haven't driven the ed30 for 3 days until this morning.

Enjoying seeing my £20 of unleaded do over 200 miles so far lol

Using a manual in a car for 5 years of dsg is somewhat strange.. Miss my multifunction steering wheel and flappy paddles

[Edition30]

I recently bought a 1.2 2010 Corsa. Lacks greatly in power. Its been passed off to the mother soon anyway.


Another vote for a Diesel here, you could get some decent power whilst retaining good mpg.

[Janner_Sy]

my 1.4TSI vRS manages 48mpg on the motorway and high 30s arund town, with very high 20s/low 30s when driven hard.  45 litre tank of fuel and 380 miles out of a tank around town and 485 miles on the motorway with the fuel reserve still not used.

thats with 180hp as well.  stuff getting a diesel when a petrol can be so good on fuel,

[Eddie-NL]

my 1.4TSI vRS manages 48mpg on the motorway and high 30s arund town, with very high 20s/low 30s when driven hard.  45 litre tank of fuel and 380 miles out of a tank around town and 485 miles on the motorway with the fuel reserve still not used.

thats with 180hp as well.  stuff getting a diesel when a petrol can be so good on fuel,

I had a test drive in one of these, and I was thrashing the guts out off it and the trip computer was still showing 33mpg
Nice car

[SeanyK]

Another option appears to be

Audi A3 1.8 tfsi (2008+)
or
A3 1.4 tfsi

Both seem to get ~40mpg +

Vrs is a choice but like the Ibiza cupra I'd prefer to stick with VW or Audi for the interiors.

[Janner_Sy]

Polo GTI then as that has the twincharged 1.4TSI

[SteveP]

Another option appears to be

Audi A3 1.8 tfsi (2008+)
or
A3 1.4 tfsi

Both seem to get ~40mpg +

Vrs is a choice but like the Ibiza cupra I'd prefer to stick with VW or Audi for the interiors.

In the real world the 1.8TFSI doesn't get over 40mpg, the Mrs had one and at best it got 36mpg.

[Homer]

Having had mostly petrol cars most of my life when I went from a 1.7 petrol to a 1.6 diesel I noticed a big difference in cost- diesel worked out a lot cheaper. I now have the use of two cars, one is a 1.9 diesel (150BHP) and obviously the GTI. The diesel gives a lot more mileage and saves me a lot of money when doing a lot of driving. The point is with diesels you can drive at high speeds or low speeds your MPG wont be that affected in comparison to a petrol car. On the GTI when I put my foot down you can almost see the petrol needle get lower each minute lol. So my advice it you want a lot of MPG and want to save money then get a diesel in my opinion, these days you can get diesels with decent horsepower as well.

The flip side is that I have never owned a diesel that I have enjoyed to drive in comparison to my petrol cars. In fact I had actually started to hate driving and wondered why I use to miss driving when I was on holidays. It took getting the GTI to make me fall in love with driving again. However if cost is the main issue then I would definitely advise on a diesel.

[B3n]

Another option appears to be

Audi A3 1.8 tfsi (2008+)
or
A3 1.4 tfsi

Both seem to get ~40mpg +

Vrs is a choice but like the Ibiza cupra I'd prefer to stick with VW or Audi for the interiors.

+1 Wicked cars its what ill be getting next when i get some money back in the bank

[Edition30]

A petrol will never return as much as a diesel unless you drive it very boring. I seem to remember Red Robin putting up a review of when he borrowed a 1.4TSI and it returned similar figures to the GTI. So unless you drive below 2k RPM and at 30 everywhere I would go for a diesel. Wont feel guilty if you have a little spirited drive in it either.