Help me pick a diesel

Soldato
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Hi there,

Looking to trade in my 2010 1.6 petrol a3 for something diesel. Fancy a change but looking for lower monthly repayments and better economy overall (I get30/40mpg in the Audi) My preferred budget is 7000-9000 max. Maybe slightly more at a push.

So far Iv been thinking of;

Mazda 3 2.2 150
Octavia vrs tdi 168
Golf tdi?
Seat lion fr

Mpg, safety, boot space are all important to me, whilst still being reasonably quick. I just can't decide on one.

Any suggestions?
 
Always go with an Octavia VRS - love mine and it eats the miles.

This is the one I'm leaning towards because I like the subtle look of it. Good balance of power/practicality/economy. Problem is finding one in my price range that's still in decent condition. Also It has the size advantage on the rest but lower mpg.
 
Never got on with the VAG 2.0 TDI personally (even although I currently have one). But plenty have. Always struggled to get much more than 40 mpg out of them. And most people I know struggle to get more than this too. Only ever heard of the fabled 50+ mpg figures, from these engines, on the internet. Certainly don't hold out for a 170 BHP if fuel economy is what you're looking for.

All that being said, I'd probably go for the Octavia also out of your list.
 
Hi there,

Looking to trade in my 2010 1.6 petrol a3 for something diesel. Fancy a change but looking for lower monthly repayments and better economy overall (I get30/40mpg in the Audi) My preferred budget is 7000-9000 max. Maybe slightly more at a push.

So far Iv been thinking of;

Mazda 3 2.2 150
Octavia vrs tdi 168
Golf tdi?
Seat lion fr

Mpg, safety, boot space are all important to me, whilst still being reasonably quick. I just can't decide on one.

Any suggestions?

I would probably go for the Octy out of those. Budget should get a decent Mk2 facelift.
 
Never got on with the VAG 2.0 TDI personally (even although I currently have one). But plenty have. Always struggled to get much more than 40 mpg out of them. And most people I know struggle to get more than this too. Only ever heard of the fabled 50+ mpg figures, from these engines, on the internet. Certainly don't hold out for a 170 BHP if fuel economy is what you're looking for.

All that being said, I'd probably go for the Octavia also out of your list.

I regularly get 50+ mpg (probably around 55mpg max) out of mine. Yours must be broken.
 
I regularly get 50+ mpg (probably around 55mpg max) out of mine. Yours must be broken.

All 4 I've had? Doubtful. I suspect you're using "on a run" figures too, as is so popular on here, where I consider "average" figures to be the true indication. I mean, I CAN get 50+ mpg on a run in my 530d, but I would in no way consider it to be a 50 mpg car. It's a 40 mpg car, just like all my VAG 2.0 TDI's have been (except the 177 BHP which was worse).

I suspect there are probably good ones and bad ones out there. And I have probably been unlucky in getting bad ones.

In all fairness to my latest one, the 2007 Alhambra, I have only done one tank so far, and it did get 42.7 mpg (calculated, 39.8 mpg indicated), which is decent enough considering the official figure of 41.5 mpg combined. But I'll leave actual judgement until it's had at LEAST 4 full tanks through it to see how it averages out in reality (so over around 2200 miles or so).

But yes, even after all that, out of that list, I'd still pick the Octavia. And aim for the VRS model.
 
Bit of an odd one, but maybe a Skoda Fabia 1.6L diesel 5-door?
Not one I'd have considered myself, but it seems to tick a lot of boxes. 70mpg is apparently quite a reasonable expectation and when you push it, it moves a lot quicker than I certainly expected.
 
Bit of an odd one, but maybe a Skoda Fabia 1.6L diesel 5-door?
Not one I'd have considered myself, but it seems to tick a lot of boxes. 70mpg is apparently quite a reasonable expectation and when you push it, it moves a lot quicker than I certainly expected.

There are plenty small cars with small diesel engines that do "70mpg" - none of which would be nice places to do 20k miles a year in though
 
Looking to trade in my 2010 1.6 petrol a3 for something diesel. Fancy a change but looking for lower monthly repayments and better economy overall (I get30/40mpg in the Audi) My preferred budget is 7000-9000 max. Maybe slightly more at a push.

Do you like your A3? If so then why not get a 1.4TFSI A3, better fuel economy than your 1.6, whilst having slightly more power (and Diesel like turbo delivery), and cheaper VED.

The same 1.4T engine can be found in VW Golfs, Skoda Octavias or Seat Leons, if you fancy a bit of a change, but sticking with the same overall platform as the A3.
 
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