Advise on what fun fuel efficient car to buy?

B

blanc

Registered User
Messages
32
Hi All,

I am looking for advise as to what car to buy. I am in my early 20s and have had fast cars before, vrs, cupra which i sorely miss. I have been driving a a3 1.8 petrol for the last 8 months and really hate the car. I have a baby on the way in July and I race motorbikes so I need something safe and able to tow a large trailer.

I do 40k miles per year so am looking for something friendly on the pocket with a bit of grunt. Heres the bad bit...I only have about 14k to spend.

I have toyed with the idea of a 01+ freelander hardback td4...any suggestions?

Kind Regards

Steve
 
Hi all,

Thanks for the replys. The a3 is a three door and really only suitable for 2 people.Being a passanger is tough. It has no storage, drinks fuel, very plain but in saying that she has been very reliable..so in that regards I cant fault her. I have a bad back(car accident) So need a good seat with lumber support which my a3 does not offer.
 
I love the look of an Alfa..but ive heard horror stories with regard to reliability. Can anyone comment on a diesel Alfa? I would probably go for the 156 saloon if i thought it was reliable in diesel.
 
Most of the problems with Alfa relate to their electronics....so that aint gonna change just because its a diesel. They are great looking cars though.
Fuel economy and performance rarely go hand in hand...
I am amazed at your annual mileage. Another consideration with a older used car and high milage is servicing and maintenance costs.
Given your mileage, how long do you plan to keep the car?
If not that long, then I might consider an 1999/2000 BMW 3 series 2l diesel
 
Yes I was considering that myself but price seems to vary hugely..spec levels are VERY poor.
 
I suppos the good thing about them is that there are so many on the market, so if you are prepared with the research on them and check on spec, then you might find a good one. With FSH, should do more miles for you yet.
 
Cheers for all the help. I really love the Alfa with leather in diesel form..the 3 series or gt tdi..5door. Any other suggestions? Volvo s60 d5 in from uk?
 
blanc said:
Hi all,

Thanks for the replys. The a3 is a three door and really only suitable for 2 people.Being a passanger is tough. It has no storage, drinks fuel, very plain but in saying that she has been very reliable..so in that regards I cant fault her. I have a bad back(car accident) So need a good seat with lumber support which my a3 does not offer.
Click to expand...

blanc said:
I love the look of an Alfa..but ive heard horror stories with regard to reliability. Can anyone comment on a diesel Alfa? I would probably go for the 156 saloon if i thought it was reliable in diesel.
Click to expand...

Blanc, I hired one of these on holiday a few years ago, it was the 2.4 JTD, with TI sports suspension. This is a fantastic engine, 170 bhp, it was a great car, but I seem to remember it being a bit nose-heavy. It converted me to diesel, I never would have considered diesel before.

The one I had was an 03 or an 04, the facelift model, the older 2.4 JTDs had 150 bhp (I did a bit of sniffing around on them after I got home...).

If you can stomach the tax bill, how about one of these:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=699564
plenty of fun if you get a manual one and good mpg on a long run...

Bootdog
 
the mazda6 gets great reviews re handling and the 2l diesel with 136bhp is economical

re your bad back check out
[broken link removed]
better than ruling out cars based on poor seats
 
what do people think of the 406 coupe 2.2hdi? would it be reliable for those amount of miles? mpg? comfort?
 
The current motoring EVO magazine has does a comparison with a Primus with a Panda 100HP (1.4 Petrol). But a Panda isn't going to big enough for a baby and all the luggage that comes with. That said I bought a saloon for my other half to carry the minime and they prefer to cram into a tiny micra than use the bigger car. Easier to manoever in tight places like car parks etc.

IMO Honda's are very fuel efficient for petrol performance cars. They also have an excellent Accord Diesel but thats out of your budget. The automatic choice would be a VAG diesel of some sort but while they have power/torque/economy none of them handle that well IMO. You'd get a high miler BMW diesel for that budget though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top