Changing from a Polo GTI to a diesel

Kemik

Kemik

Kemik

Soldato
Joined
7 Nov 2005
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Widnes
Hi all,

I recently bought a house and have been driving a lot more than I previously did. Therefore it's unfortunately time to move down the car ladder from an '11 plate Polo GTI to a diesel to save on fuel and monthly financing costs.

My budget is approximately £12,000 and I'd prefer (but not vital) to have a DSG/similar gearbox. Size wise I was perfectly happy with a Polo/Fiesta size but could go up to something like a 2.0L Golf. The big thing is to try and keep a bit of power while getting good MPG. Moving from 7 seconds 0-60 up to 10 seconds would be too much of a difference. If the MPG doesn't go up much from the ~35mpg I achieve at the moment then there's no point either.

Thanks
 
diesels are more expensive to buy than petrol cars, diesel as a fuel costs more to buy per litre. I think you should do some cost comparisons to see if it really would save you that much.. Options - go for a Seat/Skoda (lower cost than vw/audi) and get a cupra tdi ? Excel is your friend.
 
So what you're saying is that you want pretty much the exact same car you currently own, but for it to be more econimical?

I thought those twin charged 1.4 engines were good for 40 MPG if driven sensibly?

What is your annual mileage?
 
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gigeorge said:
diesels are more expensive to buy than petrol cars, diesel as a fuel costs more to buy per litre. I think you should do some cost comparisons to see if it really would save you that much.. Options - go for a Seat/Skoda (lower cost than vw/audi) and get a cupra tdi ? Excel is your friend.
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True on both points, but the 320 mile round trip journeys back home would feel a lot better on the wallet if they were half the price :D

Cupras are fudge ugly :( Cheers for the suggestion though.

wingman said:
So what you're saying is that you want pretty much the exact same car you currently own, but for it to be more econimical?

I thought those twin charged 1.4 engines were good for 40 MPG if driven sensibly?

What is your annual mileage?
Click to expand...

Yeah, if you could just rip out my 1.4 engine and replace it with the 2.0L diesel I'd be grateful ha. Obviously that's not going to happen though.

Urban driving I'm getting about 33mpg. If I drive back home up the M6 I can get about 44mpg.

It's a bit difficult to predict my mileage at the min but about 10k miles? I reckon fuel alone would save me £700 a year. £12k car would save me about the same in payments so total saving is £1,400 a year. Adds up.
 
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Diesel is only better on economy on long haul trips if you are planning on doing lots of small trips petrol is generally on par or slightly better than diesel.

The best way to get better economy is to change your driving style. I have a 1.6 crdi Kia ceed eco model and if I drive at the speed limit in 4th i can get around 50 mpg if I drive slight over the limit in 3rd iy goes past 2000 rpm the 16 valves kick in and now I am doing 20 mpg if that.

Mythbusters have proven that there are no gadgets to vastly improve economy just you.
 
Stick with a petrol, 10k miles is nothing. I would be pretty happy with a 7 sec petrol car getting 44mpg on the motorway.
 
I was looking at Suzuki Swift's with my Nephew last week and the Swift 1.3 DDiS is definitely worth considering if your looking for something with a little punch and ridiculously low running costs.

The dealers are running a VAT free offer until the end of September and a brand new top of the range Swift SZ4 DDiS is £12,600!
 
For 10k a year its really not worth it, especially when you have a pretty economical car as it is. A lot of people with a 2.0 diesel will struggle to average more than 45mpg..

If you want to save money sell the polo and get something for 5k not on finance/a lot less finance.
 
Maybe it would be better switching to something like the 1.0L Fiesta Zetec S then? They're fairly nippy and Parkers quote 65 MPG. My grandad gets vouchers so my old Zetec S cost about £100 a month less than what I'm paying at the min.
 
If you're doing 10000 a year..

Petrol priced at 137.9 doing 35 mpg = £1788
Diesel priced at 142.9 doing 45 mpg = £1441

=£330 saved a year.

That's purely fuel costs.


10000 is nothing; going from 35 to 90 mpg is only ~£1000
 
Surely your current car is worth less than £12k? If you want to save money, sell the Polo and get something for >£5k, otherwise it's a pointless excercise.
 
It sounds to me like you've already got a fairly ideal car in that Polo...

Why spend £12k in order to "save" money? Paradox?
 
This is just rubbish as a plan i'm afraid

On average there are also far more pitfalls in terms of running costs in a modern diesel anyway + the cost in changing car + add in the fact it will not be as much of a performer and its a lose lose.

Owning a car costs money period. Your car costs are not "high"
 
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Kemik said:
Maybe it would be better switching to something like the 1.0L Fiesta Zetec S then? They're fairly nippy and Parkers quote 65 MPG. My grandad gets vouchers so my old Zetec S cost about £100 a month less than what I'm paying at the min.
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you need to consider how much the car will depreciate. Buying a 1.0L Fiesta that does 55mpg and saves £100 a month sounds good but it's drop in value will probably out way the savings for 3 years.
 
Plus that ecoboost engine isnt actually as MPGGGGG as made out, And if you owned one after a polo gti you would realistically be caning it everywhere and achieving about 36mpg at best
 
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