Hey all, sorry to grace you with another whatcar thread - but i'm at loggerheads and could do with some outside advice. I'll try and summarise so i dont bore you.
- Currently drive 2003 T3 1.6 petrol toyota corolla
- Thinking of changing for something more sporty and thrilling
- But i do 15k annual mileage and thats just for work (if had something more thrilling would probably do more)
- Thinking fast diesel, something sporty looking, under £500 to insure cheapish road tax (if there is such a thing :) )
Cars i would love given my 17k budget and maybe taking out a little finance
- 2ndH Audi RS4 (dream car) very impractical on fuel, tax and insurance :(
- 2ndH Audi S3 : same deal as above :(
- Ariel Atom : hah shall we move on
- Honda s2000, love this but probably similar to run as S3
Cars on my shortlist - with my mini review
- Toyota Auris T180 : Can get it new, goes like absolute stink, prob fastest hatchback diesel, hothatch type performance and cheap to buy and run in comparison to other; however not really as sporty as the rest
- Audi A3 170ps (not sure what trim) : Would pay extra for Audi (not keen on VW's) but i couldn't get this new and 2ndH 170ps' are as rare as rocking horse poo. Looks nice all round, rather sporty, just very decent car but would cost more than toyota and not as fast.
- Seat Leon FR : Sporty inside and out, same engine so as quick as Audi but not toyota. Some skimping on interior and quality but better value then the VW's.
- Honda Civic Type-R : The petrol oddball on my list but would save a bucket of cash, have a car i've always liked but have to settle for a 04 model, higher running costs not to mention fuel.
Cars i sort of discounted based on manufacturers i'm not keen on
- Ford / Citroen / vauxhall / VW / renault
- Honda (New) Civic : Guy opposite has one, design when new was wow thats pretty nice but now its just the same old new honda civic, very odd and spacey.
So i'm left thinking, do i go for diesel, shall i buy new (depreciation i hate that word) or just forget and enjoy, shall i consider another car or shall i just stick with my trusty run of the mill car that has never let me down and is stupidly cheap to run.
:D
cheers
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Audi is just a Golf underneath it all, so why not a Golf TDI 170 and have a holiday with the cash you save over the price of an Audi, not that a Golf is cheap.
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Audi is just a Golf underneath it all>>
There's a little bit more to it than that...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Have you tried an Auris T180? I had a 2.0 D4D on 48-hour test and got rather fond of it - so the Auris in general I thought is a good car and better than the road tests imply.
I also had a run in a 180 and it was certsinly fast enough for me - though not enormously more so than the 2.0. It had less turbo lag than the 2.0, and it didn't have the sudden onrush of power that the Golf TDI 170 (and presumably the A3, Leon and Octavia) suffers from.
So it depends what you mean by sporty! If you haven't already tried a 180, have a go in one - it might suit you.
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Yes i had a decent drive of the T180 and its very quick - better than the VW engines i drove in the Audi and the Leon. I drove the 2.0d Auris too and i do see where the extra speed is in the T180. The T180 is a very sporty drive and easily the fastest in the diesel hatchback range. It just lacks visual sporty touchy like a nice rear spoiler, sporty exhaust and subtle body kit like the leon FR has. Not that it is bad.
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Leon is also a golf i think? And i like that better
In a way i'd rather have a rather new Audi A3 170ps than a golf. Didn't think the golf shape / look and interior was anything special really, driven a lot by sales reps too and usually driven badly. Audi just had nicer touches and the golf is going to be replaced this year i think.
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Skoda Octavia vRS TDi with the 170 bhp VAG diesel...?
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Questions you need to ask yourself is, will you weaken to the temptation to speed as a result of having a more powerful car ? If so and you get caught speeding what will be the consequences ? Also consider there are life and death choices to be made in choosing a fast car. If in doubt go for a safe choice and opt for a less powerful car and save a few thousand £ and give the cash to feed some starving children.
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>>Also consider there are life and death choices to be made in choosing a fast car.>>
I'm at a loss to understand this statement and, indeed, your first paragraph.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Octavia VRs is a very good suggestion - i hear nothing but good things about that motor, i hope i am not classed as a badge snob but i still feel a bit funny about the skoda name. I will def drive one.
With regards to speeding and faster cars etc - i'm a big beliver in safe driving and try and do so at all costs - touch would no points on my license and never been stopped in all the many years i've been driving. I like to have fun within the speed limit and when it is safe to do so. I used to have a supercharged CTS (partly why i want a diesel this time as petrol fun is £££ in fuel) that was quick. Yes you can get suckered into going too fast when you first get the car but you sense up and stay within the limit. I just enjoyed the acceleration out of corners and braking into them (when safe to do so). I dont zoom around county lanes in the peak district like some at a tonne plus i just like hard acceleration 40 -> 60 out of them therefore diesel is good for me.
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sry about my spelling - its a bit late and no edit feature :p
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I have a 56 plate Leon FR TDi - now on 9k miles. It's a good car, if you can live with the slightly plasticky interior, the firm suspension, and the power delivery - it's not as all and nothing as some have said, but certainly needs to be above 1500rpm whereas my wife's 140 TDi goes nicely from 1000rpm up (neither as flexible as my old 110TDi non-PD however at low revs).
I suspect, if your mileage is as high as you say, a lot of it might be on the motorway, in which case you may want to consider something with a cushier ride than the Leon - my wife's Octavia is always our choice for a long motorway jaunt for this reason. What the Octavia VRs will not give you is the excellent standard kit the Leon FR has - you will have to delve into the options list in a way that I didn't on my Leon, which I picked up for £16k new.
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Questions you need to ask yourself is will you weaken to the temptation to speed as a result of having a more powerful car ? If so and you get caught speeding what will be the consequences ? Also consider there are life and death choices to be made in choosing a fast car. If in doubt go for a safe choice and opt for a less powerful car and save a few thousand £ and give the cash to feed some starving children.
Please explain this complete drivel!
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I think the "uder £500 insurance" will probably rule out a lot of those you've mentioned...I pay that for a 2.4 Accord and that's only in group 14 (clean licence, full NCB, grumpy old man).
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My insurance is pretty cheap - The T180 is 320, Audi under 500 and Leon too. Even the Type-R was 520 odd. I would just be the more powerful petrol cars that would be 500+.
All in all quite happy with the insurance unless i got for a s2000 or s3 :)
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No mention yet of an Impreza? With a new [possibly to be unloved] shape imminent, there'll be some good deals around on new and used. Ignore the turbo rockets and insurance will be fine too.
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I think the "uder £500 insurance" will probably rule out a lot of those you've mentioned...I pay that for a 2.4 Accord and that's only in group 14 (clean licence full NCB grumpy old man).
I think you're getting ripped off. I've got 3 years licence, 3 years NCB, age 24, and pay £700 for group 16 (2.5 Turbo Volvo S80).
By the time I'm a grumpy old man with 9 year's NCB I wouldn't expect to pay more than half that.
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I created a quick grid using the Motor Match function, specifying all cars between £15k and £17k and tweaked a few other specs - may be interesting for you; honestjohn.dealdna.com/grid.cfm?gridkey=21e23248.
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Nice! That grids really useful cheers for that, think i'm going to be playing with that for the next hour or so :)
I never considered the imprezas - problem is they provoke all the chavvey boys in their nova's and saxos :P
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like a kid with a stick near a beehive
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Personally I'd discount the Type-R for your mileage. Might be cheap to buy (and insure, in your case) but the servicing will be pricey, plus they are pretty heavy on tyres and the tracking has a habit of going off every few thousand miles.
Chap I knew had one and complained bitterly about the tyres and tracking issues; I personally can also vouch for the fact that my own very ordinary Civic was expensive to service. They are enormous fun to drive but ride is rock-hard.
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Cars i sort of discounted based on manufacturers i'm not keen on - Ford / Citroen / vauxhall / VW / renault
Wot, no Astra VXR?
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oodles of power but dont they suffer with lots of torque steer? Probably too costly to fuel too :(
I'm running out of ideas - i keep getting drawn back to the toyota t180, seems to be great all round, fastest, cheap to run, v.reliable, good cruiser, good handling... but the leon FR has some sweet sporty touches i really like that the T180 doesnt really have and the audi, well just an audi a very good very nice looking car all round.
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oodles of power but dont they suffer with lots of torque steer?
That's 'cos it's got some oomph. It's just what you get... quite fun, really...
Probably too costly to fuel too :(
Combined 30+MPG. More on a run, or if you drive "sedately".
I'm running out of ideas - i keep getting drawn back to the toyota t180 seems to be great all round fastest cheap to run v.reliable good cruiser good handling...
Pffft! What is it, 60BHP less, 20MPH less, 0-60 2 whole seconds less? Does it actually *cost* less, too, I wonder? Why not buy a van?
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Buy a nice Mundano or Vectra for £6k ish, Spend the rest on a midlife crisis.
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Have a good run in a Leon and make sure that you can live with the sudden surge of power that (I presume) it has in common with the Golf - you may of course like it.
Also are you happy with your Toyota dealer? - they are generally better than SEAT dealers and my local one (Octagon of Bracknell) is excellent - family-owned, naturally.
Ultimately which do you think you'll enjoy driving more? In the long run, for me at least, that would count for more than sporty touches.
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I guess in a way i just wished the T180 had more sporty touches because it is so quick. I did enjoy driving it more. It has a linear petrol like power delivery and the 410nm of torque gives you similar squirts of power than the Leon does. The T180 glides and cruises so well at speed i enjoy that more.
Based on your principle i would go for the T180. Having said that i'm still trying hard to find an Audi :)
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Buy the S2000 and never look back :)
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The problem with the Auris is it just looks so dull. A real Eastborne Special and a worthy succesor to the Corolla.
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But dont you think most hatchbacks look dull? I mean the ford is such a bog standard looking car, same can be said for the astra, megane, mazda 3, even the BMW 1 series and i dont like the crazy civic and another one is the c4 that just tries to be different. The only ones that really appeal to me are the Leon FR and the Audi A3. The golf is probably one of the better looking ones but only slightly. When your talking hatchbacks they are run of the mill cars. The Auris to me is just one of them, just like the others, not sporty, not saloon executive.
I just think its swings and roundabouts.
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Infact some cars really get me - like the VW R32, superb piece of kit, v.thrilling but its just a golf with a jetta face and dual tail pipes.
.*********
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The forum killed my whole paragraph. {actually the swear words you used killed the whole paragraph - DD}
Which is said... To get anything truely good looking you have to dig deeper. Audi / BMW and then the sports car variety. Even then my dream car the RS4 and even the A3 aren't that distinctive - they just happen to look very good in the first place.
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Well briers, what's it doing to be then ? Oh and what colour ? Some cars are more colour sensitive than others.
How about giving making a short list and then giving one or two a test drive to help you decide ?
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Ah yes - sorry for swearing, i notice it is the policy of this forum not too swear :(
In terms of cars i think its still going to be my top 3
T180 in black
A3 SLine 170ps in black or blue
Leon FR in black but i like Yellow too
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