which diesel hatch?

v_man

v_man

v_man

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Joined
21 Dec 2004
Posts
580
Location
London
Right guys, I was wondering whether you can help me out on this one. I’m going to be starting a new job in January that will involve me driving 90 miles a day. However the job also requires international travel, so there will be days / weeks where I won’t use the car. Nonetheless, I’m going to need a diesel for my daily commute :eek:

Now my requirements are as follows (in this order):
- Hatchback
- Economical
- Reliable
- Comfortable

Living in London, there’s simply no need for a big car. My last 3 cars have been saloons, and to be honest I miss having a hatchback. My budget is £14k tops.

I haven’t yet look at / test driven any cars, but so far I’ve thought about an Audi A3 2.0 TDi:
audieb4.jpg


Seat Leon 1.9 Tdi Cupra:
seatcb9.jpg


and a BMW 1 series 120d:
bmwel7.jpg


Should I be considering a Japanese car as well for ultra reliability? Help me out here guys...
 
i would go for the audi. You will get more Leon for your money but they are not as nice imho. Also i think the 2.0 engine is a lot nice to drive than the old 1.9 (only driven 2.0 140 and 1.9 130 though)
 
To be honest I really like the look of the cupra. It's cheaper, looks better and more fuel efficient, so why choose an Audi over it if they're pretty much the same car? (playing devils advocate here)
 
v_man said:
To be honest I really like the look of the cupra. It's cheaper, looks better and more fuel efficient, so why choose an Audi over it if they're pretty much the same car? (playing devils advocate here)
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True, you hold a very good point. I love the looks of the cupra too.

Just personally id have the audi, but theyre both very similar.

I suppose at the end of the day it would also depend on the price of each example.
 
Mr Jack said:
Skoda Fabia vRS for the win.
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You may well be right! Had a go in one of these earlier on during lunch and boy was I impressed. Wasn't expecting it to be as fast and comfortable as it was, and apparently cheap to buy / run as well! What is the general consensus on these machines?
 
Jumped up Polo. It's the new 306 DTurbo. A quick scan of the Fabia forums shows most of the drivers under the impression they have some sort of diesel powered Porsche.
 
what did the vrs handle like?? i've heard there crap but i like them cars and they unbelievably cheap to insure
 
Mr Jack said:
Skoda Fabia vRS for the win.
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Got one for my 85 mile daily commute. Remapped to 180bhp with an uprated clutch. The midrange acceleration is very good for what it is (and can embaress a lot of normal cars), but it's fairly dull to drive and certainly isn't a drivers car. It's not the amazing hot hatch that has enough torque to turn the world backwards like some owners might tell you. It's really not the best place to spend 2 hours a day in either.

If you want a small nippy Skoda Fabia with nasty white seats that does an easy 45mpg, go ahead and buy one. If you want something thats comfortable to spend 2 hours a day in, or that's a rewarding drivers car, look elsewhere.

I can't afford to replace it just now, but I'll be looking for something bigger later next year, more along the lines of an Octavia vRS TDi, Mondeo ST TDCI or perhaps a 3 litre diesel BMW.
 
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not a 1 series, there's no room int he back or the boot because there's a diff there.

out of the bmw the seat and the audi, i'd say the audi anyday

but i'd take a golf over an audi, because they're the same only with less badge-related-markup =p
 
[TW]Fox;10614679 said:
A quick scan of the Fabia forums shows most of the drivers under the impression they have some sort of diesel powered Porsche.
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We do!:D

As has been said, the mid-range is pretty good. The lump of iron in the front doesn't do the handling any favours.

That said I'd take mine over my brother-in-laws Ibiza FR any day of the week.

Oh, and I like the seats!:p
 
Seat Leon Cupra.

I never even thought about a Leon when I brought my last car, then one popped up 2 miles away so I thought what the heck and went to check it out....brought it there and then! Great cars, and the 1.9 (assuming its 150 like mine) is great. Fast and economic.
 
Ben M said:
but i'd take a golf over an audi, because they're the same only with less badge-related-markup =p
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Yes because the only difference between a golf and a Audi is the badge markup. :rolleyes:

If you are even remotely thinking about a Audi A3 then forget the fabia vRS.

The Fabia is a good little car (I owned one for about 8 months) however if you are thinking of a Audi A3 then tbh I wouldn't bother with a vRS.

One thing I will add with reference to the Audi 2.0TDI is make sure you test drive more than one.

My dad just picked up a 2007 A3 2.0TDI sportback and the engine feels (and sounds) very rough compared to the Octavia 2.0TDI sport it replaced (despite the engine being the same)
 
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oweneades said:
Yes because the only difference between a golf and a Audi is the badge markup. :rolleyes:

If you are even remotely thinking about a Audi A3 then forget the fabia vRS.

The Fabia is a good little car (I owned one for about 8 months) however if you are thinking of a Audi A3 then tbh I wouldn't bother with a vRS.

One thing I will add with reference to the Audi 2.0TDI is make sure you test drive more than one.

My dad just picked up a 2007 A3 2.0TDI sportback and the engine feels (and sounds) very rough compared to the Octavia 2.0TDI sport it replaced (despite the engine being the same)
Click to expand...

To be honest, thinking about it, the fabia does actually tick all the boxes without breaking the bank, leaving me with enough money left over to spend on other things.

Although nice, finding an A3 to my liking will stretch my budget too much as a lot of autotrader searching today has proved.
 
Off the topic (ish), for those who have a vrs, what is the standard 8 speaker sound system like?
 
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