New Car - 4-5k

Ricochet J · 16 Jul 2010 at 22:44

DiamondMark said:
Been a lot of debates about this on here, but unless you are doing some galactic mileage do consider a petrol.

Can people stop saying this? It's these kind of comments which one person hears, tells his aunty Peggy who insists her husband buys a diesel TDCI Focus, and then start to complain when they're not getting "mileage".
In a diesel I can go from my house to the market 1/2 mile away, everyday a billion times and rack up "galactic mileage". It will not make it substancially more economical than a petrol. This only works if you're doing motorway / A road driving.

Styles · 16 Jul 2010 at 22:44

Ricochet J said:
I'd cross the 3 series off your list unless you can foot any unexpected bills. A £5k Passat is dull to drive. A 2.0L Vectra is dull to drive. I'd be inclined to look more into the Accord.

Is the Passat a good car though? I'm not looking for anything exciting, just something for carting the family around in

Howard · 16 Jul 2010 at 22:48

Ricochet J said:
A £5k Passat is dull to drive. A 2.0L Vectra is dull to drive.

So? It's a family car, not a weekend toy. Handling isn't a priority. That said, I wouldn't buy the Vectra, but not because of this, because they're inferior in other ways such as build quality, reliability and ergonomics.

Ricochet J said:
Can people stop saying this?
In a diesel can go from my house to the market 1/2 mile away, everyday a billion times and rack up "galactic mileage". It will not make it substancially more economical than a petrol. This only works if you're doing motorway / A road driving.

What? It's quite clear that he, and everyone else means long distances up and down the motorway and not driving to the shops 20 times a day :rolleyes:

Styles said:
Is the Passat a good car though? I'm not looking for anything exciting, just something for carting the family around in

It's a well built, decently equipped car that doesn't necessarily offer as much "car for your money" as something like a Mondeo or an Accord or a Mazda 6, which would be my suggestions

mjt · 16 Jul 2010 at 22:50

Ricochet J said:
Can people stop saying this? It's these kind of comments which one person hears, tells his aunty Peggy who insists her husband buys a diesel TDCI Focus, and then start to complain when they're not getting "mileage".
In a diesel I can go from my house to the market 1/2 mile away, everyday a billion times and rack up "galactic mileage". It will not make it substancially more economical than a petrol. This only works if you're doing motorway / A road driving.

What? Diesels are more economical around town that petrols too :confused:

Go and look at some urban figures for a petrol and a diesel, and report your findings.

**** it, I'll do it for you..
2003 Mondeo 2.0 petrol: 22 mpg
2003 Mondeo 2.0 TDCI: 35 mpg

DM · 16 Jul 2010 at 22:50

Ricochet J said:
Can people stop saying this? It's these kind of comments which one person hears, tells his aunty Peggy who insists her husband buys a diesel TDCI Focus, and then start to complain when they're not getting "mileage".
In a diesel I can go from my house to the market 1/2 mile away, everyday a billion times and rack up "galactic mileage". It will not make it substancially more economical than a petrol. This only works if you're doing motorway / A road driving.

But in reality people dont do that, you clock up "galactic" miles on motorways in 95% of situations.

If i were you i would have a drink and calm down.

Ricochet J · 16 Jul 2010 at 22:50

Howard said:
What? It's quite clear that he, and everyone else means long distances up and down the motorway and not driving to the shops 20 times a day

Well no it's not quite clear is it? Otherwise I wouldn't have commented on it. The point is people hear "galactic mileage" and automatically believe a diesel is a best bet when in fact style of driving the key.

Howard · 16 Jul 2010 at 22:54

Ricochet J said:
Well no it's not quite clear is it?

Except it is. For the second time.

And for people such as taxi drivers who *would* do 40,000 "local" miles per year, they all drive diesels as well. I wonder why? Because they're more economical than petrols, shock horror.

mjt · 16 Jul 2010 at 22:57

Diesels are MUCH more economical around town than petrols and that's a fact.
So diesels could well make sense if you're mainly doing town driving.

I've been doing around 700 miles a month since the new year, of which a good 75% is town driving. I'm averaging around 38 MPG, which is pretty poor, but I have a heavy foot.
If I had a petrol then I'd be spending a damn sight more than what I'm spending now on fuel!

As for the OP, it's a shame you're put off by the Saab's interior. Check out the 9-5 though. Massive and the interior is a lot nicer than the 9-3 in my opinion.

Howard · 16 Jul 2010 at 22:59

I think town driving MPG is all to do with how you drive. If you drive smoothly and look ahead etc instead of roaring right up behind someone and slamming on the brakes in traffic, don't nail it from lights etc, you can get reasonable figures

mjt · 16 Jul 2010 at 23:02

Definitely, if I didn't drive like my hair was on fire then I know I'd consume less fuel, but it's boring

However, there's not a lot you can do about red lights every few hundred yards.

FWIW, my mum's V50 has averaged 24 mpg over 20,000 miles (albeit over 5 years) and I've never seen her go over 3,500 rpm.
Granted on such pathetically low miles it's almost irrelevant, but there is a clear difference.

Ricochet J · 16 Jul 2010 at 23:03

Howard said:
Except it is. For the second time.

And for people such as taxi drivers who *would* do 40,000 "local" miles per year, they all drive diesels as well. I wonder why? Because they're more economical than petrols, shock horror.

Taxi's operate on a rolling continuous basis. Around here by the time a taxi driver has switched his engine off, he's got a call for his next fare. It's economical in that sense.

Not once in this thread did I say diesels are not more economical than petrols.

mjt said:
**** it, I'll do it for you..
2003 Mondeo 2.0 petrol: 22 mpg
2003 Mondeo 2.0 TDCI: 35 mpg

Again, not once in this thread did I say diesels are not more economical than petrols. :confused:

However ask yourself, how often do you achieve quoted figures?

DM · 16 Jul 2010 at 23:05

Ricochet J said:
Taxi's operate on a rolling continuous basis. Around here by the time a taxi driver has switched his engine off, he's got a call for his next fare. It's economical in that sense.

What on earth are you on about? How is that any different from you going to the sweet shop 547 times a day? Or any other short trip.

mjt · 16 Jul 2010 at 23:07

Ricochet J said:
Not once in this thread did I say diesels are not more economical than petrols.

You didn't but you did say that weren't substantially more economical.
I beg to differ.

Ricochet J said:
However ask yourself, how often do you achieve quoted figures?

Extra urban, very rarely as I don't have the patience to sit at the limit on cruise control for hours on end.
Urban, bang on.

s0ck · 16 Jul 2010 at 23:11

TS7 said:
Replace Vectra with Mondeo. For a £5k budget I wouldn't even entertain the thought of one.

can get a facelift sri 150 diesel for this money which is exactly what i'd get at this budget. could prolly get a nice dmf exploding mondeo too though...

Chives · 16 Jul 2010 at 23:14

s0ck said:
can get a facelift sri 150 diesel for this money which is exactly what i'd get at this budget. could prolly get a nice dmf exploding mondeo too though...

lol

Ricochet J · 16 Jul 2010 at 23:15

DiamondMark said:
What on earth are you on about? How is that any different from you going to the sweet shop 547 times a day?

That's precisely it thought isn't it?

The OP is not a taxi driver! Taxi drivers get decent mileage because they continously drive all day with a warm engine. It's continuous driving.

OP will use the car go shops twice a day and the odd motorway journey!

DM · 16 Jul 2010 at 23:16

Ricochet J said:
That's precisely it thought isn't it?
The OP is not a taxi driver! Taxi drivers get decent mileage because they continously drive all day with a warm engine. It's continuous driving.

OP will use the car go shops twice a day and the odd motorway journey!

And that's why im suggesting he gets a petrol.

Anyway sod it, i promise not to use the term "galactic" any more

Kappa · 17 Jul 2010 at 10:01

Ricochet J said:
A £5k Passat is dull to drive.

I'd go for a Passat, they're not that dull to drive, the chap has a baby, would he REALLY be racing around on B roads?

They're pretty quiet inside compared to the others too.

[TW]Fox · 17 Jul 2010 at 10:52

What a stupid debate.

Diesels are more economical than petrols in each circumstance, like for like, end of.

Where it becomes murky is that often when you look at the mileage you do they are not sufficiently more economical for the saving to justify the choice of car.

Doing 25mpg around town (A 2.0 Mondeo does more than 22!! My 3.0 5 Series does that!) sounds bad on paper but if you pop into town and pack every single day, say 5 miles each way, thats so little mileage even a full tank in a petrol Mondeo lasts you a whole month!

Styles · 17 Jul 2010 at 21:35

What about the Volvo S60? Any opinions?