Fast but econimical thoughts

Caporegime
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This may be a little way off but it is nice to think about it and wanted to gauge some opinions to go with my musings!

I have currently put in an offer for a house (first house) which is going to mean an extra 10 miles each way for my commute to work. This isn't as silly as it sounds though because it technically will take around the same time, maybe 5 mins each way more because it is straight up a dual carriage way A road instead of winding through narrow lanes and through towns/villages..

Anyway, I currently drive a 2.0TFSI 2006 Octavia VRS which I have had for a year and a half now. I have been thinking that after getting on the property ladder is sorted I may soon fancy getting something quicker. However, with this extra mileage I am starting to worry whether that will be possible without spending too much on fuel! My dream of getting something faster and it not being a financial burden may go out of the window with this move!

The Octy is pretty good with fuel and on a decent run 35mpg+ is easily doable. I was just wondering if there are any cars out there that will be noticeably faster and more fun but still return the same if not better economy? I would have thought for this that going diesel may be the only way but I would love a straight 6 BMW of some description and I have read they can be pretty frugal.

Budget I expect will realistically be around the 10k mark ( maybe more, but can't say for 100% at the moment until this house business is sorted)

I would welcome any ideas or potential cars that may fit the bill! To put it simply, something faster and maybe more fun than my Octavia but with similar running costs considering the longer journey.

P.S. I still want something fairly practical so as much as I would love a Z4 or a 350z, it would be a no.
 
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If you want to go faster without spending £££ why not remap your existing Octavia? They map fairly well and might fill that speed fix :)

Diesel is pointless for an extra 20miles a day, you will end up spending so much more money on it away from fuel, the fuel costs more and it would only take one vaguely complicated fault with the engine to wipe out any savings you might have made. 35mpg real life is pretty good from a decent performance car :)

.... http://www.mybluefin.co.uk/curves/skoda20tfsi.pdf 250bhp isn't to be sniffed at!
 
If you want to go faster without spending £££ why not remap your existing Octavia? They map fairly well and might fill that speed fix :)

Diesel is pointless for an extra 20miles a day, you will end up spending so much more money on it away from fuel, the fuel costs more and it would only take one vaguely complicated fault with the engine to wipe out any savings you might have made. 35mpg real life is pretty good from a decent performance car :)

.... http://www.mybluefin.co.uk/curves/skoda20tfsi.pdf 250bhp isn't to be sniffed at!

I have thought about this but I think part of me does fancy a change of car as well. I think the Octavia VRS is a great car, but I have only ever had front wheel drive hatchbacks so that is why I am drawn to a nice BMW of some description.

Remapping would be the cheapest solution though I will give you that!
 
In a word, no

You're just not going to get something significantly quicker that's better than, or tbh probably even as god on fuel

A 330 won't feel much quicker in most situations whilst a 335 will definitely want to be coupled with warranty whilst obviously costing more to buy.

Neither are likely to be better on fuel, might get closer tho
 
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[TW]Fox;25812555 said:
An extra 10 miles?

Thats.. nothing?

At 30+mpg its not even 2 quid is it?

just over 10 miles each way so about 21miles a day in total extra I think.

Then there is the fact that all our family will take a bit longer to get to so I reckon I will be doing more like 15k miles a year + rather than the under 10k that I do now.
 
You won't really notice it tbh, probably talking an extra 70ish a month.

If you're going to change anyway then by all means go for something you fancy, but the likelyhood is everyday running costs will be a bit higher along with any additional purchase price.
 
Ultimately just be honest - if you've set your mind on a BMW/Audi/VW/Merc 3litre, then just go and get one. Everyone can think of 101 reasons why you should and why you shouldn't, but at the end of the day, it is your cash and you have to be happy with it.

I didn't find the BMW diesels to feel 'petrol' fast from the driver's seat, as it is a wave of torque and you are braced with the steering wheel to some degree (some CoG too, perhaps?).
However, after being a passenger in my car I can attest to the car feeling fast in that seat. From driver's seat the only indication you get of the speed is the speedo zipping around and the ability to pass other vehicles effortlessly at all speeds. I guess the best way of describing it is the car delivers performance without shouting about it (exhaust/engine).
 
Ultimately just be honest - if you've set your mind on a BMW/Audi/VW/Merc 3litre, then just go and get one. Everyone can think of 101 reasons why you should and why you shouldn't, but at the end of the day, it is your cash and you have to be happy with it.

Exactly .... for every reason we give you to keep the Octy your thinking of reasons not to ... it sounds like youv set your heart on a new BMW so go get one .... an R plate 5 series was the best car I ever owned so grab yourself a new car.
 
The only reason not to buy a 3 litre BMW is that £10k doesnt buy a really nice one. Let me quantify that - I don't mean condition wise, I mean a decent car. It's too much for the E46 or the E39, which were both great. It's too little for the F30 and the F10, which are both great. So you end up with an E90 or an E60. Which is a real shame.
 
[TW]Fox;25813200 said:
The only reason not to buy a 3 litre BMW is that £10k doesnt buy a really nice one. Let me quantify that - I don't mean condition wise, I mean a decent car. It's too much for the E46 or the E39, which were both great. It's too little for the F30 and the F10, which are both great. So you end up with an E90 or an E60. Which is a real shame.

What is wrong with an E90 when compared with the older or newer 3 series models?
 
Exactly .... for every reason we give you to keep the Octy your thinking of reasons not to ... it sounds like youv set your heart on a new BMW so go get one .... an R plate 5 series was the best car I ever owned so grab yourself a new car.

Indeed.

Would you say it is realistic to expect similar fuel economy from, for example, a 330i (E90/E92) compared with my Octy VRS?
 
The prefacelift one just looks crap, the interior is very dull unless you get the Navigation system which gives you IDrive which makes the dash look better but on the pre facelift cars is hopelessly dated. The interior quality isn't what you'd expect either. Just a dissapointing effort, IMHO.

A well specified facelift E90 might be nice. But good luck finding one of those.
 
[TW]Fox;25817912 said:
The prefacelift one just looks crap, the interior is very dull unless you get the Navigation system which gives you IDrive which makes the dash look better but on the pre facelift cars is hopelessly dated. The interior quality isn't what you'd expect either. Just a dissapointing effort, IMHO.

A well specified facelift E90 might be nice. But good luck finding one of those.

[TW]Fox;25817918 said:

Thanks. That is a shame about the E90's, although surely it would at least be a step up interior/quality wise when compared with my current car (which to be fair actually isn't all that bad...for a Skoda!)/

I guess my thinking is that the only other option is something else from the VAG range like a Leon Cupra or something like a mark 2 Mazda 3 MPS but then they will be pretty much the same experience as what I currently have but with just a little more oomph ( and I think the Mazda is pretty rubbish on fuel).

Do you know much about the 1 series coupe? I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea but I have always thought it was a great looking car. Looks like a 135i would be out of budget but a 125i might be doable. Only 20 horses more than my VRS but at least it would be different.
 
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That's not a facelift car.

Cars with the N53 engine are the more economical ones but what you gain in economy you lose in reliability as they are complex engines sadly. Most of the post 57 plate cars had the newer engine.

The older engine is less hassle.
 
[TW]Fox;25852633 said:
That's not a facelift car.

Cars with the N53 engine are the more economical ones but what you gain in economy you lose in reliability as they are complex engines sadly. Most of the post 57 plate cars had the newer engine.

The older engine is less hassle.

To be honest, if i was to get one, i was considering putting the BMW warranty on it anyway so the loss in reliability might be worth it for the extra economy.

Would you say that with the pre-N53 engines, there is less cause to have a warranty?
 
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