If not, what's the nearest one?
Economical - 50MPG or so (combined cycle).
Cheap - 5K
Quick enough when needed - 0-60 in 8-9 or thereabouts (doesn't need to be fast).
Reliable.
Basic.
My old car will be recycled soon. I'll need another!
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Second-hand diesel Octavia :-)
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My VW Bora 130 TDI Highline is all that and more.
edit
Except it,s not basic in spec.
Last edited by: MrTee43 on Wed 7 Apr 10 at 16:45
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>> My VW Bora 130 TDI Highline is all that and more.
The acceleration time seems to be about 12 seconds, though (from Autotrader) - is this true?
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Forget the 0 to 60 time which is actually less than 12 secs, but feel the torque when on the move.
It's like, one second your here, put your foot down and next second you are way ahead.
Don't beleive me ? try one.
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>> Forget the 0 to 60 time which is actually less than 12 secs but feel
>> the torque when on the move.
>>
>> It's like one second your here put your foot down and next second you are
>> way ahead.
>>
>> Don't beleive me ? try one.
I suspect your Bora is quicker than that. Our Golf has the same engine and gearbox, weighs about the same (much the same car), and its book time is 9.3 seconds. Even this doesn't do justice to the feel of the car though.
Couldn't agree more about the performance. It's a fabulous engine, and will crack a genuine 60 mpg on a run if you're careful with it, with 50 mpg "without trying".
0-60 will never show a diesel in its best light because of the way that ultimate (peak) power is limited by the lack of revs, but the 310Nm of torque is within a whisker of a Focus ST or an Astra VXR! In real world driving, it is proper hot hatch quick, and the way it can push you back in the seat with under 2000 RPM on the dial still makes me grin.
Rough and gruff, but you can't have it all. ;-)
Last edited by: DP on Sat 24 Apr 10 at 09:43
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I'd buy a Vectra 150 (1.9), but the reliability seems poor. Does the Octavia have the same engine?
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Earlyish BMW 325 tds? They didnt come over-equipped but were quite quick.
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You did not mention how big you want.
There are plenty of small petrol cars (eg. Suzuki Swift) which achieves ~45 MPG and ticks all other boxes.
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Another vote for getting the best Skoda Octavia diesel £5K will find.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Wed 7 Apr 10 at 18:37
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It doesn't really matter, somewhere between Mini and Vectra C.
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>> I'd buy a Vectra 150 (1.9) but the reliability seems poor. Does the Octavia have
>> the same engine?
No. The Octavia has a VW engine, the Vectra a fiat engine.
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Another vote (predictably) for the Octavia: but a Focus or Mondeo 2.0 TDCI would do most of it for you too. If 'quick enough' implies 'fun to drive' I wouldn't go for any Vauxhall.
Japanese? You need a diesel to get 50 mpg andf there are too many horror stories of ageing Jaanese diesels.
Best bet - something with the VAG 1.9 TDI 130 bhp engine. A Golf would be fine but you'd get a newer Octavia (or perhaps a SEAT) for your budget.
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I'd have thought that overtaking acceleration would be more useful than 0-60 figures. I test drove an Octavia 1.9 D with 104 bhp and that seemed to me to be more than adequate. My present car has a Toyota 2.2 diesel and it can really shift when necessary.
Overall I'd agree with other posters that the Skoda would probably be best.
CM
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Perhaps I should revise the question. I'm having some trouble finding suitable vehicles.
>> Economical - 50MPG or so (combined cycle).
>> Cheap - 5K
Generating 150-ish or more BHP.
Does that help?
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2002-3 seat leon 130 bhp diesel
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 23 Apr 10 at 17:18
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Zero , the clue was in the "150bhp or more" :)
And is this where I get a smart answer that everyone who had one of these then chipped it to 170bhp??
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Anyone who uses the 150bhp is not going to get the 50mpg.
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I've just found a lovely little site - I wonder whether it's accurate:
www.whatmpg.co.uk/Fast%20but%20economical.html
Links to details of:
Model Gearbox Urban EXtra Urban Combined 0-62 top speed bhp c02 IG Tax Band
which is what ISTR asking for in another place (although this isn't *quite* what I wanted, it's getting there).
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Look FT, you are asking for the earth.
Yes you can get 150bhp and 50mpg, but at 5 grand? it will be a nackered shed.
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I know it's a difficult one. I have looked at the BMW 320d, but there're reports of DMF issues, etc., etc. - just like Vauxhall Vectras.
Argh!
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All of these seem to suffer from lots and lots and lots of problems with failrd DMFs, swirly things, RGRs, oil pumps, and so on. BMWs, Vectras, Astras, Audis, etc. etc. Yet they sell! Is spending the odd thousand or so on repairs rather often seen as acceptable/normal these days? I am beginning to despair.
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if you want 150 bhp+ thats the price you pay
do you really need it?
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I want something that'll shift, as in the OP. I only changed the question since it seems to be very difficult to answer in its' original form. Less than 150BHP would be OK, as long as it's *quick* (0-60), which is not the same as "fast" (top speed). Could be anything from a small sized car upwards, but it's got to fit my budget, which is comparatively small (but comparatively big for me!), and be economical. If the thing's going to shed bits and pieces along the road, or explode every year or two, leading to huge expense, then that's no good either.
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If you want 50mpg and qucik 0-60 it has to be a diesel and it will have a DMF. If you only have 5 grand to spend its gonna be an older one.
You cant afford what you want. Either to buy it or run it.
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>> I want something that'll shift as in the OP. I only changed the question since
>> it seems to be very difficult to answer in its' original form. Less than 150BHP
>> would be OK as long as it's *quick* (0-60) which is not the same as
>> "fast" (top speed). Could be anything from a small sized car upwards but it's got
>> to fit my budget which is comparatively small (but comparatively big for me!) and be
>> economical. If the thing's going to shed bits and pieces along the road or explode
>> every year or two leading to huge expense then that's no good either.
>>
What about maintenance budget ? As mentioned above, cars with that kind of power also produce a fair amount of torque which can shred driven tyres. How do you feel about replacing a pair of tyres every 12 to 15k miles possibly less if you get addicted to the acceleration ?
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I don't mind about the tyres - it's the £1,000 to fix bits that have blown up that I don't want!
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*everything*s got a failed DMF these days
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Something teenagers do Martin. Remember ?
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Don't really get this one. If you're really and truly going to use the 150hp you'll do extremely well to get 50mpg, as Zero said earlier. Why do you need such a powerful engine? If it's a diesel you're after, torque is at least as important to the equation. I said earlier that a 1.9D rated at 104hp will pull an Octavia estate along very nicely indeed. Which of the suggested alternatives in the messages above would you go for, assuming that you can't get a car that meets all of your targets?
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>>0-60 in 8-9 or thereabouts (doesn't need to be fast).
>>
0-60 is the wrong measure, 8 ish secs is actually quite lively and the 6 ish secs that my Focus ST is supposed to do it in is very rapid, however despite having a 0-60 time closer to 10 secs the Mondeo TDCi feels pretty quick on the road because it pully so strongly in each gear wafting past slower traffic rather than the more frantic down two gears of something like, say, a Type-R that will do 60 is 7 secs though does nothing below 5000 rpm.
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Do you mean 0-60 or one of the more often used 30-60 or 50-70 ?
Diesels show badly in the 0-60 because they are slow 0-5. They generally perform well once moving.
Try a Diesel Octavia Vrs - 50mpg when you want it, 170 bhp. Not sure what the prices are like.
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Does this car exist? - Dave_
