What car - Fun, 40+mpg and under £3k
Comments
-
Toyota Starlet Glanza or GT Turbo. 1.3, about 40mpg, and with a little boost increase 160bhp in something the size of a large matchbox. I was thinking about one of these to replace the 17mpg the current motor cripples me with, but I'm not sure I can live with all the scoops and vents. Not be the cheapest if it goes wrong, but it will be fun.0
-
Briggo wrote:They dont make ST's in the new model Mondeos, the top spec is now the Titanium X, the 05-57 Mk3 was the last and only diesel ST version.
I do love my ST diesel though, pulls extremely well and the handling is spot on for fun country roads
You'd be hard pushed to find one for under £3k I should think.
Top is titanium X Sport 0 -
E39 5 series Beemer, prefebaly M sport . Great cars and fantastic looking!0
-
Saab 93 TiD. Quick, fun and frugal. Mine has over 220,000 miles on the clock and runs sweet as a nut. Does 48mpg (2.2 engine) and has a cavernous hatchback not a miserly boot. I have seen 700 miles out of a tank of diesel on a few occasions.
The Saab also looks the dogs plums in SE trim, unlike e.g. a Mondeo. Personally I'm amazed that people are pushing them - I have driven loads of them as hire cars and found them so boring. The interior is plastic hell. Still, OK for a few hours of motorway bashing so its whatever floats your boat, I guess. No procurement guy ever got fired for buying Mondeos or Vectras and Ford/GM have sold gazillions of them so they must do something right.0 -
mintedox wrote:Thewaylander wrote:mintedox wrote:Vectra SRI 1.9tdi is a fun drive. Nice enough place to be sat in, good power and fun in the twisties.
Would have one over a mondeo.
Terrible chassis, and drives like it on jelly
Not at all, had mine around 8 months and totally enjoyed it. Had an 05 mondeo tdci estate before it which was a very good car but a little boring, the vectra was a better drive.
Your mental,
Widely accepted in the industry as possibly one of the worst cars in its class 0 -
Plenty of good car's out there, but i personaly stay well clear of anything french, as they tend to be poorly built, and avoid any vauxhall like the plague as they totally lost their way after the nova/cavalier era, and both of these comment's are based on year's of driving company car's.
Ford mondeo tdci, any of the Vag group diesel range would be my choice.
My wife drive's an A4 1.8T avant sport, it's now 12 year's old and still drives better than most of the newer vauxhall/french thing's.
Volvo's are great but thirsty, Saab's are nice, even if they are built on the crappy vectra chassis, but the interior makes up for that fact.2009 Rockhopper Comp0 -
Yeah I agree on avoiding anything Frech after a string of repairs needed on the Mrs's Clio. I've been driving old BMWs for a few years and now have an Audi A4 Avant '02 TDI Quattro Sport, which I love and have had no real issues! A non quattro version will be well over 40mpg and about your budget! (edit: Just realised that the OP has probably got this sorted by now lol)0
-
I'll +1 the Golf Mk4 TDI.
I've got a 2003 130bhp one, and it's a great little car.0 -
I had a vectra, the steering rack fell to bits.
I had a focus estate diesel and the fuel pump died (very expensive repair, make sure you get the common rail type not the direct injection if you go for a focus diesel).
I've now got a Golf estate bluemotion, mpg is excellent and nice to drive. It's the new shape 2010 model. Can't comment on the older ones.0 -
If you're after something small, I'd recommend considering a Ford Fiesta. Mine does about 42mpg, and I can get my Trance in the back with the front wheel off. I find it quite nippy and nice to drive too!0
-
The old shape Seat Leon was based on a Golf - chassis, engines and sus I believe. Supposed to return better mpg, be just as solid and is a better looker than the MK4. That's what I'd have. I tempted a Fabia VRS for a while but it's the worst interior I've ever seen... Focus 1.6 TDCI is the obvious choice though, there doesn't seem to be a box it doesn't tick.0
-
Apart from when you drive it you sit on top of it instead of in it, and it has the suspension inplated from a blomonge! For some reason the press love it though????bluechair84 wrote:The old shape Seat Leon was based on a Golf - chassis, engines and sus I believe. Supposed to return better mpg, be just as solid and is a better looker than the MK4. That's what I'd have. I tempted a Fabia VRS for a while but it's the worst interior I've ever seen... Focus 1.6 TDCI is the obvious choice though, there doesn't seem to be a box it doesn't tick.
I have a new shape Leon FR TDI, its still based on a golf, but the MK5, it handles well, has fantastic brakes but as i have the 550 version, the suspension and chassis from the touring car set up (so the blurb says) i think it was just a ploy from a dentist to get you to spend more on fillings that have been rattled out?
I get loads of different cars through work (as hire cars) as we have company renaults, which break down (see surrender) as their french. One of the best cars, spec and fuel wise i've had in recent times was a C'eed, god it had nasty seats and terrible interiour, but everything worked, everything was in the right place, a decent sized boot and if it didnt look so gash i would consider one
0 -
The new shape Seats are bloomin gorgeous too0
-
You must be AmericanlannieB wrote:Diesel engines are more fuel efficient than gasoline engines, but few companies offer them.
Bikeradar is predominantly a British website and is the webspace for a few British magazines published by the same company... In Europe, all companies produce diesel engined cars, some of these outsell their petrol equivilent. Most people are buying diesel cars these days and trying to sell a petrol second hand is nigh-on impossible. Even many of our 'sports' cars are diesel powered, Citroen VTS, Skoda VRS, Audio S-Type (i think). America has been slow to catch-on to this because traditionally, cars from other countries don't compete well with the patriotism associated with buying a Chevy Truck, so European thinking has never caught on. The VTS I mention in 1.6 guise will get 55 of your US MPG (but not on US fuel which has a lower octane than ours). 0 -
Volvo S/V40 diesel sport spec, look sweet in my opinion and a bit more interesting than the run of the mill mondeo/vectra etc
Can't think of much I despise more than a vectra, such a dismal car with it's dodgy seats, wallowing suspension and haphazard interior0 -
VWsurfbum wrote:Apart from when you drive it you sit on top of it instead of in it, and it has the suspension inplated from a blomonge! For some reason the press love it though????
The Focus? I've just bought one in 1.6 tdci estate guise and I think it handles like a dream! So much better than my Peugeot! It reeaally drives through corners rather than flounder around them. Mine's only the 90bhp version but I might drop in a CAI to eek out something extra. With more power it would be a terrific blast. But I know what you mean about sitting on top, it does feel high up. Like old Marin FSs used to. It gets me 57mpg on the work run (a-roads) too so I'm very happy.
And erm... what happened to LannieB?? Or was I imaging a conversation with him?0 -
LOL i think he realised he woke up on the wrongside of the pond and deleted himself?0
