My fellow relixians... I'm considering replacing my current set of wheels in about 6 months or so (nothing definate as of yet), so I'm working out what sort of car to aim for - hence coming here asking for recommendations on what to save up for. A little about my wants and background first I've decided I'm not a fan of the newer bubble shaped cars and neither is my wallet. Cars of the 90's look better IMHO, so that's the timeframe I'd like to stick with. Insurancewise I can't go overly high - I may be 23, but I've only been driving for 2 and a bit years. Looking at group 9 insurance at the most. Distance travelled is about 25,000 per year, so I want something fairly bulletproof, and economical. Currently I drive a '96 VW Polo and while it's comfy, the acceleration (0-60 in 14.4s) and boot space is a tad lacking. Estimated budget will be £1200 - £2000. Although I say 6 months, if I saw a really good offer, I might be able to find the money from somewhere. Likewise if I don't I could always hold out a bit longer. Currently I'm thinking about getting on the lookout for either of the below: MK3 VW Golf. Either the 1.6L petrol or the 1.9TDI Phase 2/3 Peugeot 306 D-Turbo (Either the original engine, or the HDi) Any of you had experience with the above, or can you recommend me something else from the same era? Features I'd like: - Electric Windows - PAS Other features that would be nice but not essential: -Aircon -ABS Muchos Gracias!
Have you ruled out something bigger? 25,000 miles is a fair annual mileage, larger cars tend to be more comfortable. You could get a mk2 Ghia X mondeo with all the trimmings for that money, or a similarly specced vectra/406/citroen. If you look hard enough you could pick up a mk3 mondeo for £2k. The 130bhp 2.0 derv is group 9 and gets to 60 in about 9.5s. The boot is huge.
An audi A3? Good looking and german engineering = win? A quick look on autotrader shows a few good looking specimens albeit ones with 100,000+ mileage but they are £800-2000 so within your price range.
if you go for a 306 D-turbo dont get the HDi there pants. I had a 306 D-turbo and my missus has got a HDi, and while hers was nicer to live with (mainly because mine was 5 years older) the engine in mine was much better, When i let the bora go im seriously considering a D-turboS if i can find one with lowish miles.
In the light of Rogans first post: Get a BMW 760iL. It's longer, faster and more powerful than all those mentioned.
I've not ruled out the larger cars. Just trying to get the balance between size and efficiency. A Mondeo wouldn't be too bad - it would probably take me a while to get used to the jump to something that bit (largest thing I've ever driven is a Golf). Any idea on the mpg / speed of them? @woof82 /Win. Although if I did wind up with a Volvo, it would probably be the V40
I have never really understood why some people are so afraid of driving "large" cars. When driving on normal roads there really isn't much of a difference. (Unless we are talking about cars longer than 5,5-6 meters). The only difference is how difficult it is to park if you have to bark in really tight places, but then turning circle matters more. My old Merc 190 were a bit larger than the normal "small car", but the turning circle were ridiculously small, so parking was never a problem. I think i would have more problems in a tiny front wheel drive car. Anyway, going for a larger car is a bit of a waste if you never plan on transporting anything or anyone. A larger car will often be a bit wider, so you get more space for you arms and shoulders. You really have to try out cars to figure this one out.
The size thing is easy. In normal driving there is no difference. I drive a mk3 mondeo which is a little bigger, I'm averaging 50 mpg mixed town/rural driving at the moment with the tdci 130 engine, 0-60 is 9.5 seconds which doesn't make it a quick car, but its enough for safe overtaking. A 2 litre petrol or common rail turbo diesel should see you to 60 in around 9-10 seconds in a larger car. The 1.8 derv mk1/2 mondeo is a little slower at around 12 seconds, with a book mpg of 46. Another thing that has popped into my head whilst writing this is the mk3 cavalier. The 1.7TD Isuzu engine (make sure you get the right one) is pretty much bombproof, and easily tuned if you fancy some more poke. If you decide you don't like the larger cars then you could pick up a 2.0 petrol Focus Ghia within budget aswell.
Group 9 is extremely low/not many cars in it. Is it in the 50 Groups of insurances you are looking at?
Not sure I get where you're coming from but it only goes up to Group 20? 9 is more than adequate and a fairly decent benchmark for a car of that type...
No it doesn't, it now goes up to group 50. http://www.thatcham.org/research/index.jsp?page=33 http://www.autotrader.co.uk/EDITORIAL/CARS/news/new_insurance_groups_introduced.html
Yeah, most people still use the 20 group system though. They're quite viable as points of discussion. Many cars aren't even allocated a number on the 50 point system, so you have to use the 20 point one for them... Though having a Subaru Impreza WRX STi at the same place as a Lamborghini Reventon is kinda dumb...
Cars are grouped by their risk to others aswell as their value. The impreza is no less capable of killing someone or causing harm to property than the lambo.
But a new fromt bumper, 2 side wings, a slam panel and 2 headlights will be So much cheaper to replace on an Impreza as opposed to a Lambo.
My bad - Hadn't even heard of the new system! Sorry about that. Does make more sense to have more finely tuned categories though.
