Help me change car

Diagro

Diagro

Diagro

Soldato
Joined
3 Jun 2012
Posts
11,265
Hey

Finally managed to get the loan I wanted at the right % interest, so i have £6k to spend on a car.

I so far have looked at an Alfa Romeo Giulietta 2.0 170 Lusso, i had a look at this car because it was 1mile away at a well known local dealer and priced at £5500 for a 2011 plate 90k miles example.
The Problem is, it felt slow, no where to rest my left foot when on the motorway and the A pillars were too large.

I have had a look at the Seat leon FR 2009's, they interest me greatly but unfortunately the closest one is 90 miles away, simply too far.

Does anyone have any recomendations for me in based on the following spec.

£ Between 5-6k
45Mpg+ mixed driving
0-60 in less than 8Seconds
<5 years old
Hatchback or coupe


It seems I am asking the impossible, and thus far the alfa and the leon are the only two I have found that fit the above, apart from the leon breaking the budget slightly.

I'm coming from a Clio 172, So dont want to loose the performance i am used too, yet need to get more miles down for the £££ i am spending on fuel, I did 14k miles last year and based on my figures I can save £950 in fuel per year, That may not seem much but it does add up. (plus i would like a less bumpy ride and all that jazz)

SO is there anything out there that i have missed?

I made a post a while back and thought i decided on a Leon, But they all were out of my price range and the bank refused my loan back then. SO here i am again :)
 
iaind said:
This is completely unreasonable and unrealistic when looking for a car
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Ok I meant that its too far to go and look at a car, I dont have the time for a 180Mile round trip that may be a waste of time. Let alone the £35 in fuel to do so

Its not too far to go and BUY one though
 
keep 172 for now

no point to change to dfferent hot hatch car to save money.

if you want save money on fuel. get 1 litre or diesel car

i drive fabia vrs, the way i drive, i get about 32mpg. i think you'll be extremely disappointed with mpg if you went got leon FR
 
wesley said:
keep 172 for now

no point to change to dfferent hot hatch car to save money.

if you want save money on fuel. get 1 litre or diesel car

i drive fabia vrs, the way i drive, i get about 32mpg. i think you'll be extremely disappointed with mpg if you went got leon FR
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Its not all about saving money wesley, i want a change, and i want a car thats newer, somewhere i can drive to work in that wont hurt my back on every bump. (broke it 2 years ago)

The savings on fuel are a large bonus tbh and something i welcome with open arms.
 
The 172 is fairly decent on fuel if driven carefully. It's unlikely that you'll find a £6K diesel that will match it for performance and give substantially better fuel economy.
 
melchy said:
The 172 is fairly decent on fuel if driven carefully. It's unlikely that you'll find a £6K diesel that will match it for performance and give substantially better fuel economy.
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Does about 31Mpg or 25 if driven hard.

I dont want it to match the performance, just be close ish.
hence the 8seconds 0-60.
 
you obviously decided you want to change the car.

£5-6k wont get you anywhere to be honest.

keep 172 and save up more £££ for better car
 
you obviously decided you want to change the car.

£5-6k wont get you anywhere to be honest.

keep 172 and save up more £££ for better car
 
If you want good MPG, I think Wesley's right.

You could get a 1.4/1.6 diesel hatchback, or say a 1.25 petrol Picanto and then you'll get 45+. On a motorway run my 1.4 diesel Fiesta could get c. 58 if I really, really pushed it.

Neither are going to be <8 seconds to 60 though. Mind you, a Picanto is pretty nippy given how little they weigh. And you could probably get one 3 years old with another 4 years of warranty on your budget.
 
Jim99 said:
If you want good MPG, I think Wesley's right.

You could get a 1.4/1.6 diesel hatchback, or say a 1.25 petrol Picanto and then you'll get 45+. On a motorway run my 1.4 diesel Fiesta could get c. 58 if I really, really pushed it.

Neither are going to be <8 seconds to 60 though. Mind you, a Picanto is pretty nippy given how little they weigh. And you could probably get one 3 years old with another 4 years of warranty on your budget.
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Real world tests show the Alfa doing 47Mpg and the Leon doing 43mpg. Both cars fall within my range. So its possible to find the car i want...
 
You're in a difficult position in terms of finances and what you seem to want.

Pretty much no 4 banger diesel is going to feel anything like sprightly enough if you're looking at overall performance vs the little Clio. That leaves more powerful 5 or 6 cylinder units which I don't personally think will deliver the mind of mpg benefits you seem to be after nor will you get a particularly good one for the money.

The sacrifice will have to either be performance or fuel type by the sounds of things
 
Hmmm corsa vxr money. 1.6 turbo which which can get 40mpg.

Astra vxr i got 31mpg over 15k miles of motorway and thrashing it everywhere and I did thrash it. Not gunna handle like your 172 though.
 
Diagro said:
that wont hurt my back on every bump. (broke it 2 years ago).
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isn't this going to be an issue? Any warm-to-hot hatch will have a stiff-ish ride.

so, it's likely a toss up between a sporty car with less MPG and a firmer ride than you want, a slower car or something way more than your budget... (or a lot older than a 2010 plate)

*edit* I was behind a Seat Ibiza Bocanegra yesterday that looked v funky as I'd not seen 1 before, so did a quick google when I got to a pc - only a 1.4, so "might" return ok MPG when careful but still 180bhp... cheapest I can find on Pistonheads is 7.5k, so as before, you might struggle with your budget.
 
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Rybo89 said:
Hmmm corsa vxr money. 1.6 turbo which which can get 40mpg.

Astra vxr i got 31mpg over 15k miles of motorway and thrashing it everywhere and I did thrash it. Not gunna handle like your 172 though.
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Corsa is a bit of side step from a Clio Sport though. Probably more power, but less handling characteristics. Can see it being just as much fun as the Clio. The Clio will do 38mpg~ at 70mph on the motorway too.

What about saving a bit more and a decent Octavia VRs?
 
I've heard good things about the VRS series :)

I'm currently hunting for a 2.2 diseasel Civic, but your <5 years old requirement will see you spending far more than your budget for a civic that age.

Drove a 2.2 diesesel Mazda 3 sport 185bhp version, felt extremely sluggish.

The absolutely horrendous interior on the Seat offerings of the FR's seriously puts me off them.

Brothers missus just went from a clio 172 to a 10 plate Corsa VXR and wishes she'd never sold the clio

As others have said you need to relax your requirements
 
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