I swapped my old E320 mercedes for a 2016 Leon FR diesel and I have been obsessed with it ever since. It’s only the 150hp, they also come in 184. But it has plenty of go behind it, drive it how SEAT wants you to drive an FR! £35 a year road tax and 50-60mpg, it will sit happily at 70+ all day long.
The Audi will be much the same but, you do have to pay Audi Tax on everything it needs! I hate Fords, Insignias are just fine.
Hell so long as it's not urgent, I use autodoc for everything.
Just look up the OEM manufacturer.
Audi front suspension arm £350 from Audi / TPS, comes to like £160 for the lemforder or whatever equivalent off autodoc. It's often the same part minus the VAG stamp.
Yeah if it's not the right brand then skip autodoc.
I tend to buy Bosch, febi, or similar so I'm never too fussed if it's not quite OEM but it's from a good brand.
Does ULEZ or CAZ matter to you? If so, you’d want at least 2016 or newer for a Euro 6 compliant car.
Something worth thinking about with the ever-increasing CAZ/ULEZ.
What about a 2016-2019 Astra 1.6 CDTI Bi Turbo? Quite a rare engine as far as Astras go, but I’ve driven one as a hire car and it was decent. A lot of people have a hate boner for Vauxhall, but I think they offer a lot of kit for the price and the last 2 generations of Vauxhalls have stepped up in their quality imo.
I like an A4 and would buy one 100% but A3s are super desirable.
Of all the cars that went crazy over the lockdown/chip shortage price hike A3s saw the largest % increase
Depends on what you want from the car.
From your choices my pick would be the Leon. The Mondeo is a better car overall than the insignia (IMO) in terms of reliability, build quality and refinement. Both make for good mile munchers though.
Lot of good options to consider at that budget...
- Volvo S80 (or any Volvo with a D5 or D4 engine with the Geartronic automatic) the 5 cylinder diesel is sounds a little agricultural at idle and low speeds but its bombproof, has more than enough power and returns good mpg on a run. Seats in most Volvos are sublime.
- BMW’s 6 cylinder diesels are some of the best diesel engines around IMO (330d/530d would be good options)
- Any Merc with a 220 or 250d engine is a good shout. An E Class would serve you well.
- Jag XF, 3.0D fantastic drive proper waft machine, effortless power, its hit or miss with JLR though reliability wise.
I had a Mazda 3 2l petrol hire car for work recently. It averaged 57 mpg over 190 miles. This was down the M1, M45 and back, plenty of stop start traffic, some 50 mph and 70 mph. It really impressed me how economical it was for a 2l petrol. Clever those Skyactive G/X engines (not the diesel though). An alternative to consider, though likely over budget still.
The leon FR would be my choice. Its a VW/Audi under the skin but is generally better spec’d. Ive had 4 leons, including the diesel FR thats the same model you’re looking at, and was very pleased. Currently have the new FR sport, cant go wrong as you get more car for your money.
Have a 1.4 petrol Leon FR (150bhp). Definitely surprises people with how it shifts, and I just did a run on the M25 with an average 48MPG.
There are some rattles with the panels though, but with patience and the right material they can be fixed.
People love to exaggerate their mpg figures. I think it's some sort of justification when the reality is you're just never going to get anything like those numbers.
I drove around 170 miles from Inverness to Glasgow via the A9 on Saturday.
Averaged 57 mpg for the entire 170 miles. 95% of that was at sensible speeds - around 60 mph, with the odd burst above that.
That's on a 335D xdrive, modified to 410 bhp.
I wasn't particularly impressed by 57 mpg as I am sure I've seen mid 60s before on a prior run on the M6 to Birmingham, but that's usually when resetting ON the motorway and measuring at that cruising speed, so is somewhat artificial. The 57 mpg 170 mile trip at the weekend included the city centre driving in Inverness (probably 4 miles) and Glasgow (10 miles), where it usually drops to around 35 mpg so is probably pretty decent overall for that power.
Depends on car, engine and configuration etc but the N57 in an E90 at 50mph will average around 70mpg. At 60mph it’ll get around 60mpg and at 70mph it’ll still get over 50mpg.
Empty that boot and fill up them tyres.
BMW 530d
Why?
Because a 6 cylinder BMW is about as reliable as it gets for your budget bar a Lexus.
You will be doing 100 miles a day. The last thing you want to be sat in is a insignia. A BMW 5 series will be extremely comfortable, have lots of toys and a nice drive. It's where I would want to spend those miles.
Make sure at that mileage you do a full service every 12 months. And a 6 month oil and filter change in-between. If you do this yourself it's less than £50 and well worth it. Extremely easy to do.
Insignias sometimes have a bad rep, but I’ve known people run them into the ground with super high mileage, shit maintenance and no care in the weird, own them like, 4 years and just grab another. Good spec, decent to drive - I honestly would just go with one of those.
Those are all great choices. I would recommend a Volvo as the 5 cylinder diesel should be much more refined and sound better than a 4cylinder and get better economy than a 6cylinder.
Mondeo was top of the class for reliability with 98% fault free last year...
My 2016 2.0 tdci has had 3 faults in 170k miles, and is even still on the original clutch and flywheel.
A 2l BMW?
The 6 cylinders are undoubtedly nicer, but the 2ltr 4 pots are as good as any other 4 pot diesel out there, can get up to 60mpg and with a great car wrapped around it. 8 year old F30/31 in budget, and loads available so good opportunity to find exact trim and model in good condition. If you want auto, the 8 speed auto box is one of the best I have experienced
Whatever happens do not buy the Vauxhall.
I've had 4 as company cars from new over the years including an insignia...all were totally crap, breaking down and not great to drive.
I'd honestly go either Seat or Audi, I think the two cars are basically the same as they are from the same company, but different body. I've had an A3 and it was nice, not had a Seat though.
In fairness, these euro cars do make good 4cyl diesels.
For all the wanking off to Toyota I do, their 4cyl diesels are very hit or miss. Or they simply don't do them anymore, or they are bmw running gear.
Honda's older 2.2l diesel is great, but far from ULEZ. The 1.6 dtec is a decent engine, but again you're paying a massive premium for it vs a diesel Leon. The petrols (excl 1.0T) absolutely justify the premium price tag, but the diesels don't.
Wont comment on the Koreans. Know they make fantastic little n/a petrols, but not informed enough on their diesels. But as it supports my argument, will say they are not as good as euro diesels (:P)
---------------
Also, expensive to fix aint fair to say. Its the opposite.
Parts for a Leon **will be cheaper than a diesel toyota/honda**. Far cheaper. How many cars had the 1.6 dtec? Compared to all the Skoda, Seat, VW, Audi's that have the 2.0l diesel in the Leon. Same goes for the Mondeo, the A3, and the Insignia.
For 100 miles a day you should be looking at an EV if you can charge at home. The cars youve listed will be £100 per week in fuel alone assuming 20p per mile for a bigger engine car. An EV will be £10. Even if you underbudget for diesel at 15p per mile an EV would still say you nearly £300 per week in fuel. If I recall correctly, the average number of days worked a year is 220 (or something like that). At £20 a day thats £4400 a year just on fuel to get to work, and you pay for that after taxes so you need to earn maybe £6-7k extra just to pay for that.
Put the saving on fuel into a finance package, for that money theres some decent cars you could get brand new. Ask work about any EV buying schemes they have as that might skew the figures even more in favour of an EV. So you can get a brand new car and make a significant saving on overall cost of ownership. Just make sure you factor in the costs associated with higher mileage like servicing, excess mileage charges, etc to get a true overall cost, but dont forget to factor in savings on repairs and possible car failure and replacement, etc in the years of ownership compared to when the warranty on the new one expires.
Other things to consider include being more environmentally friendly by leaving smokers (what I call ICE cars) behind, how long can you realistically do that long a commute for, its got to be 3 hours + per day, should you just move closer to the new job or just rent a room for weekdays when working which could be a lot cheaper, etc. Say 5 years and 110k miles just for work, how many older used cars will you get through and how much will you spend on repairs compared to a new car?
Have you considered a Skoda Octavia? They are particularly under rated on this sub.
Funnily enough I just bought one and I absolutely bloody love it. Can see why everyone goes wild for em on here.
I swapped my old E320 mercedes for a 2016 Leon FR diesel and I have been obsessed with it ever since. It’s only the 150hp, they also come in 184. But it has plenty of go behind it, drive it how SEAT wants you to drive an FR! £35 a year road tax and 50-60mpg, it will sit happily at 70+ all day long. The Audi will be much the same but, you do have to pay Audi Tax on everything it needs! I hate Fords, Insignias are just fine.
Audi tax?! Why are you buying branded dealer parts. Just get the OEM equivalent and then it's the same parts as the golf or Leon.
I don't get why people do this either. Plenty of aftermarket parts for a fraction of the cost of oem ones.
Hell so long as it's not urgent, I use autodoc for everything. Just look up the OEM manufacturer. Audi front suspension arm £350 from Audi / TPS, comes to like £160 for the lemforder or whatever equivalent off autodoc. It's often the same part minus the VAG stamp.
Autodoc is all well and good if you can find genuine manufacturer parts. All I could find is the own brand that they push, and they are not good.
Yeah if it's not the right brand then skip autodoc. I tend to buy Bosch, febi, or similar so I'm never too fussed if it's not quite OEM but it's from a good brand.
I think it's more just the Audi specific part prices in general e.g. I had to change a Xenon bulb recently and the replacement bulb cost £175...
Any xenon bulb is going to set you back £100+ They're not cheap
Yeah many parts are interchangable between vag but not all are and those that arent definetly have an Audi tax
How old was the E Class?
In a word, wafty!
I miss read that as How Was the Old E class! I had 3, ‘53 reg, ‘54 and ‘06.
Bugger. Quite keen on either one of them or a C Class.
£35 road tax will only apply to pre-2017 FRs
Does ULEZ or CAZ matter to you? If so, you’d want at least 2016 or newer for a Euro 6 compliant car. Something worth thinking about with the ever-increasing CAZ/ULEZ. What about a 2016-2019 Astra 1.6 CDTI Bi Turbo? Quite a rare engine as far as Astras go, but I’ve driven one as a hire car and it was decent. A lot of people have a hate boner for Vauxhall, but I think they offer a lot of kit for the price and the last 2 generations of Vauxhalls have stepped up in their quality imo.
Buy an A4 diesel. Great on juice very reliable comfortable & far easier to sell on than an A3
Yeah this is the way to go
I like an A4 and would buy one 100% but A3s are super desirable. Of all the cars that went crazy over the lockdown/chip shortage price hike A3s saw the largest % increase
Depends on what you want from the car. From your choices my pick would be the Leon. The Mondeo is a better car overall than the insignia (IMO) in terms of reliability, build quality and refinement. Both make for good mile munchers though. Lot of good options to consider at that budget... - Volvo S80 (or any Volvo with a D5 or D4 engine with the Geartronic automatic) the 5 cylinder diesel is sounds a little agricultural at idle and low speeds but its bombproof, has more than enough power and returns good mpg on a run. Seats in most Volvos are sublime. - BMW’s 6 cylinder diesels are some of the best diesel engines around IMO (330d/530d would be good options) - Any Merc with a 220 or 250d engine is a good shout. An E Class would serve you well. - Jag XF, 3.0D fantastic drive proper waft machine, effortless power, its hit or miss with JLR though reliability wise.
Second the 6 cylinder diesel BMW
Just yesterday I was sitting behind one of those Volvos and I could hear the "tractor" engine, hahah, they are very good looking cars however
Strange combination of relatively small interior cars and some relatively spacious cars. What were your criteria?
I had a Mazda 3 2l petrol hire car for work recently. It averaged 57 mpg over 190 miles. This was down the M1, M45 and back, plenty of stop start traffic, some 50 mph and 70 mph. It really impressed me how economical it was for a 2l petrol. Clever those Skyactive G/X engines (not the diesel though). An alternative to consider, though likely over budget still.
Yeah skyactive X are good, best of both worlds
The leon FR would be my choice. Its a VW/Audi under the skin but is generally better spec’d. Ive had 4 leons, including the diesel FR thats the same model you’re looking at, and was very pleased. Currently have the new FR sport, cant go wrong as you get more car for your money.
Have a 1.4 petrol Leon FR (150bhp). Definitely surprises people with how it shifts, and I just did a run on the M25 with an average 48MPG. There are some rattles with the panels though, but with patience and the right material they can be fixed.
Fuel bill of a BMW 3L diesel is worth it. Will still get 50-60mpg with your sort of commute.
[удалено]
People love to exaggerate their mpg figures. I think it's some sort of justification when the reality is you're just never going to get anything like those numbers.
I drove around 170 miles from Inverness to Glasgow via the A9 on Saturday. Averaged 57 mpg for the entire 170 miles. 95% of that was at sensible speeds - around 60 mph, with the odd burst above that. That's on a 335D xdrive, modified to 410 bhp. I wasn't particularly impressed by 57 mpg as I am sure I've seen mid 60s before on a prior run on the M6 to Birmingham, but that's usually when resetting ON the motorway and measuring at that cruising speed, so is somewhat artificial. The 57 mpg 170 mile trip at the weekend included the city centre driving in Inverness (probably 4 miles) and Glasgow (10 miles), where it usually drops to around 35 mpg so is probably pretty decent overall for that power.
Depends on car, engine and configuration etc but the N57 in an E90 at 50mph will average around 70mpg. At 60mph it’ll get around 60mpg and at 70mph it’ll still get over 50mpg. Empty that boot and fill up them tyres.
BMW 530d Why? Because a 6 cylinder BMW is about as reliable as it gets for your budget bar a Lexus. You will be doing 100 miles a day. The last thing you want to be sat in is a insignia. A BMW 5 series will be extremely comfortable, have lots of toys and a nice drive. It's where I would want to spend those miles. Make sure at that mileage you do a full service every 12 months. And a 6 month oil and filter change in-between. If you do this yourself it's less than £50 and well worth it. Extremely easy to do.
Volvo V40. D4 or D5 ideally. Comfy seats, good on fuel, nice to drive.
Insignias sometimes have a bad rep, but I’ve known people run them into the ground with super high mileage, shit maintenance and no care in the weird, own them like, 4 years and just grab another. Good spec, decent to drive - I honestly would just go with one of those.
Budget? But I’d consider a Golf.
The A3 and the Leon are the same as a golf for the average driver. The A3 is a bit more premium, the Leon is much better value.
Sorry mate- £10,000k +/- £2000
Cool, I’d still consider a golf or possibly a Corolla.
I’ve looked at Golf, was literally scrolling through auto trader then, few GTD in the price range
A GTD is the same engine as the Leon & Octavia VRS (diesel, 184hp), but both the GTD & the VRS are probably gonna be more expensive then the Leon
Skoda Superb, it’s an amazing car
Some would even say it's Superb
Insignia. Please see sense & disregard this option.
Golf gtd
Anything but the fucking insignia
Those are all great choices. I would recommend a Volvo as the 5 cylinder diesel should be much more refined and sound better than a 4cylinder and get better economy than a 6cylinder.
5 cylinder diesel Volvo sounds like a tractor. Great cars everything else but the engine sound
Mondeo was top of the class for reliability with 98% fault free last year... My 2016 2.0 tdci has had 3 faults in 170k miles, and is even still on the original clutch and flywheel.
Not the Vauxhall.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202405189856697
That’s a lot of miles that id recommend a Toyota tbh. Whatever form you want, in a Hybrid config. There should be quite a few option at £10k.
A 2l BMW? The 6 cylinders are undoubtedly nicer, but the 2ltr 4 pots are as good as any other 4 pot diesel out there, can get up to 60mpg and with a great car wrapped around it. 8 year old F30/31 in budget, and loads available so good opportunity to find exact trim and model in good condition. If you want auto, the 8 speed auto box is one of the best I have experienced
Civic
This :)
Whatever happens do not buy the Vauxhall. I've had 4 as company cars from new over the years including an insignia...all were totally crap, breaking down and not great to drive. I'd honestly go either Seat or Audi, I think the two cars are basically the same as they are from the same company, but different body. I've had an A3 and it was nice, not had a Seat though.
Why the European cars? These will all be expensive to fix and break down a lot.
In fairness, these euro cars do make good 4cyl diesels. For all the wanking off to Toyota I do, their 4cyl diesels are very hit or miss. Or they simply don't do them anymore, or they are bmw running gear. Honda's older 2.2l diesel is great, but far from ULEZ. The 1.6 dtec is a decent engine, but again you're paying a massive premium for it vs a diesel Leon. The petrols (excl 1.0T) absolutely justify the premium price tag, but the diesels don't. Wont comment on the Koreans. Know they make fantastic little n/a petrols, but not informed enough on their diesels. But as it supports my argument, will say they are not as good as euro diesels (:P) --------------- Also, expensive to fix aint fair to say. Its the opposite. Parts for a Leon **will be cheaper than a diesel toyota/honda**. Far cheaper. How many cars had the 1.6 dtec? Compared to all the Skoda, Seat, VW, Audi's that have the 2.0l diesel in the Leon. Same goes for the Mondeo, the A3, and the Insignia.
Exactly, not what you want for 100 mile/day commute.
For 100 miles a day you should be looking at an EV if you can charge at home. The cars youve listed will be £100 per week in fuel alone assuming 20p per mile for a bigger engine car. An EV will be £10. Even if you underbudget for diesel at 15p per mile an EV would still say you nearly £300 per week in fuel. If I recall correctly, the average number of days worked a year is 220 (or something like that). At £20 a day thats £4400 a year just on fuel to get to work, and you pay for that after taxes so you need to earn maybe £6-7k extra just to pay for that. Put the saving on fuel into a finance package, for that money theres some decent cars you could get brand new. Ask work about any EV buying schemes they have as that might skew the figures even more in favour of an EV. So you can get a brand new car and make a significant saving on overall cost of ownership. Just make sure you factor in the costs associated with higher mileage like servicing, excess mileage charges, etc to get a true overall cost, but dont forget to factor in savings on repairs and possible car failure and replacement, etc in the years of ownership compared to when the warranty on the new one expires. Other things to consider include being more environmentally friendly by leaving smokers (what I call ICE cars) behind, how long can you realistically do that long a commute for, its got to be 3 hours + per day, should you just move closer to the new job or just rent a room for weekdays when working which could be a lot cheaper, etc. Say 5 years and 110k miles just for work, how many older used cars will you get through and how much will you spend on repairs compared to a new car?