thanks all, after looking more on the internet, here in Ireland the most popular
is the 1.5 tdci very few 2.0 tdci other than the st version which is out of my price range.
The 1.5 tdci is a bit too gutless for me. I intent to hold onto if for 2-3 years max.
I always assumed that that type of box would be good for 200k with good servicing.
I'd be very wary of the 1.5 diesel (I think those earlier referrring to the '1.5' were referring to the turbocharged petrol engine) as it apparently is a variant of the infamous 1.6 'diesel of doom' which had many reliability woes (aside from any DPF issues) across many makes of car that used them (Ford, Volvo, PSA, Mazda) and still do use the newer variant.
You may find it difficult to find a decent driving and reliable mid-sized car with a diesel auto, as the more reliable ones normally aren't what you'd call 'drivers cars' or visuallay appealling (the Civic) and most of the others suffer from reliability issues or poor customer service (relatively speaking). This is especially true given how many makes have been using twin clutch gearboxes to overcome the significant power/torque loss when using a 'conventional' torque converter auto box.
A former colleague was in a similar position to you (he had a 2.0TDCi [manual] Mondeo company car that was on its last legs, but wanted an auto to make the driving experience easier [he does 40k+ miles a year]) - he didn't like the Passat estate (and he'd have to get an older one as they were [at the time, before the recent price drops] much more expensive and might've been affected by the dieselgate issues as well as having a DSG gearbox), and so settled on a manual 1.6TD Hyundai i30 (previous model) estate hand-me-down from another colleague (only owned for a short time, he got a colleague's car who was leaving) which gave a decent drive (perhaps because it was smaller and newer than his battered Mondeo) if not spectacular.
One report on the 'Good and Bad' section of the i30 (2012-17) review of (manual) gearbox failure. It (and I'm sure, the new one, when it arrives in estate form) will come with a DCT for an auto box - they seem to have less reliabilty issues than the likes of the DSG and Powershift, though I suspect it helps that because far less are sold in the UK. At least if its serviced correctly and on time the 5yr unlimited (Hyundai) / 7yr 100k mile (KIA) warranty should cover those problems (check with them, especially if you get a second-hand one as it may have missed a service by more than the qualifying time/mileage).
25k miles a year is right on the bubble for the changeover from petrol to diesel (between 20-25k miles a year) to make it economically viable (not accounting for any requirement for towing or carrying other heavy loads regularly), so you may find one of the better (as long as its proven) mid-sized turbo-petrols (1.5T Ford or 1.4TSi/1.5TSi VAG [not the twin charger or any chain cam older ones] as examples) if you can stand running a manual, which, of course, would be more fuel efficient than an auto, and not that much different in mpg to that of a torque-converter diesel auto, perhaps better in the wallet once the difference in fuel cost and potential DPF issues in the future were taken into account. The VAG engine especially is, unless ragged, very fuel efficient and many regulars here often speak of getting an average of nearer the 50mpg mark.
Best of luck.
|
