Not yet sure - New Purchase

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Tue 9 Mar 2021 11:56
Not yet sure - New Purchase - JJG-m

Hi everyone,

Just looking for a bit of advice. Looking to upgrade my current car, currently driving an Automatic Juke Nismo RS and in need of something bigger due to my family growing.

I want to have something that is shifty, but also reliable and relatively decent on fuel as my Nismo RS does about 33MPG on a good day!

I have three options currently with I'd say up to £18,000 to play around with.

Option one is a 2014 onwards Audi Q5, 2 litre diesel S-Line plus.

Option two is a 2014 onwards BMW X3 likely 20D M sport.

Option three is a 2016 onwards BMW x1 20D M Sport.

My wife has an obsession with Audi's of which, I'm not the biggest fan however I don't mind the Q5, it's a lot slower than the X1 and X3 pushing 0-60 in 9 seconds, the X1 is the fastest by quite a bit to be honest and obviously had the facelift in the back-end of 2015 so I'd say it's a lot more with the times tech and interior looks wise.

I would obviously intend to map the Q5 however even with a stage 1 map it's only as fast as the X1 standard!

The last issue is fuel economy, my little Nismo RS is only a turbocharged 1.6 so does empty my wallet every other day, don't get me wrong I'm not looking for ridiculous figures, just something that is efficient, but also allows me to still have a bit of fun.

From my research, it seems the 2 Litre Q5's are averaging around 35MPG, which in my own personal opinion, isn't great considering the X3 is a very similar spec and gets you around at least the 40MPG mark.

So yeah, I'm completely stumped and cannot make up my mind, I haven't driven any of the three yet however I have heard nothing but good things from X1 owners and mostly good regarding the other two.

Any thoughts and advice or opinions are more than welcome as I'm ripping my hair out!

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Tue 9 Mar 2021 12:33
Not yet sure - New Purchase - Avant

I'd have a Skoda Octavia vRS estate in front of any of those (indeed I did - three of them in a row). Just as fast, more economical and you'll get a newer one for the same money. And lots more room than there is in the Juke.

Also think - is your annual mileage (in normal times) high enough for a diesel? At the age of Audi and BMW you're looking at, there's a good chance that a diesel could go expensively wrong. The petrol Octavia vRS will do 40 mpg on a long run, and if you need an automatic it has the more durable wet-clutch DSG.

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Tue 9 Mar 2021 12:46
Not yet sure - New Purchase - JJG-m

Thank you! Octavia VRS has always crossed my mind to be honest, I am a big fan.

I'd say I do about 15,000 miles per year, give or take! Reliability is quite a big thing for me hear, of which I haven't heard many bad things about the X1 with the facelift being a lot newer than the other 2, the Audi I've heard i'm treading on egg shells a little so I am starting to steer away from that despite the mrs's love for them!

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Tue 9 Mar 2021 13:22
Not yet sure - New Purchase - sammy1

The X3 with autobox would be my choice. High driving position, goes well, steers and handles well for what it is and is also very comfortable. Fit and finish is what you would expect of a quality car like BMW. MPG is nearer 35 in real world

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Tue 9 Mar 2021 17:25
Not yet sure - New Purchase - Terry W

Faster, larger and more economical are mostly mutually exclusive goals.

Large and heavier needs more power and fuel to move.

Faster needs light weight and aerodynamic efficiency - not often found on SUVs and 4x4s

More economical = light weight + aerodynamic efficiency.

Fun often comes from driving a car close to its limit, not just faster.

You need to decide what you really want or need - large, fast, economical fun cars are rare

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Tue 9 Mar 2021 17:53
Not yet sure - New Purchase - badbusdriver

I would obviously intend to map the Q5 however even with a stage 1 map it's only as fast as the X1 standard!

Obviously, who indeed could possibly live with a 9 second 0-60 time...........

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Wed 10 Mar 2021 13:45
Not yet sure - New Purchase - Engineer Andy

I would obviously intend to map the Q5 however even with a stage 1 map it's only as fast as the X1 standard!

Obviously, who indeed could possibly live with a 9 second 0-60 time...........

I never understand people who buy a moderately quick car then map it, rather than buy the faster version. Presumably they won't be telling their insurer or get it serviced at a main dealer/original if still under warranty, given doing so will jack up the running costs and possibly invalidate their warranty (even one when buying second hand).

A member on the Mazda3 forum site wanted to do this with a secondahand gen-3 car in 120PS Sport form. It would provide no more power/torque/real world performance than a 165PS Sport version.

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If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?