gav888

Hi all,

I currently own a E36 325 coupe, and want to get a car that is nice and is also cheaper to run.

Ive got some ideas, VW B5 Passat 1.8t, MK4 Golf GTI 1.8T, Audi A4 1.8T, all pretty much the same thing i guess, but which one, also some of the V6 or PD diesels are nice .

I like saloons, but also like the 3 door golf?? looks classey but sporty and i like the interior and sportyness of the A4 and golf but like the passat with 18" wheels looks well classey

My main musts are:

Handling, (uprated suspension and 18" wheels will be fitted).
MPG, at least 34mpg.
0-60, 9 sec will do, not fussed, so all of the above are quick enough!!

So, has anyone owned any of them and have any advise, im kinda banging my head against a wall at the moment as they all have plus and minus points!!!!

Thanks in advance

G

16vmarc

How about the Audi 1.8T Quattro Sport? Theyre 180bhp.

gav888

yep, v nice, but there over £5,000 so outta the question....

john banks

Octavia vRS is quite good, wife has one. Cheap as chips, out the box it is quite a good car on the stock 180 BHP 1.8T, stock 17s & suspension, brakes are grabby like all VAGs, but they work well. Handling is good for a VAG product. "Best hot VW product" according to Evo magazine. I quite like the Skoda image as well

I drove it for 40 mins tonight as hard as the wife would tolerate and it averaged 32.5 mpg. Has decent spec as standard - half leather, 17" alloys, CD changer, climate, only option we have is cruise control. Remaps to 220 BHP for about £400.

gav888

yeh there nice too, seen a black one, nice!!! but again you wont get one for my budget sadly!!

dba

forget the Mk4 1.8T Golf,you won't get anywhere near 34mpg and the handling is soggy at best,although better than the equivalent Audi

best bet at that price is an early Skoda vRS,as already mentioned.they leave the equivalent Golf/Audi for dead and the handling is vastly superior.But again,you won't get better than 30mpg unless you drive a bit pouffy

brianpat

I had a vRS for about a year, and it was excellent - very refined and composed, with all the bits you could want - 6 CD, 17 Alloys, Climate etc etc.

Consumption averaged over the year at 34.8 mpg. Obviously this involved some rapid and not so rapid usage. On a motorway run would average 40mpg.

Brian

Edited to clarify which car I was commenting on - the Octy vRS

prelude

i agree i have a golf as well as the scoob, and it is a 1.8 t gti .
It is a great car to drive and has all the kit on it climate etc.., it wouldnt win a high speed handlin comp, but thats not what they are made for so thats fine with me.
Also they are very tuneable . ie i started with a remap and got 200bhp , add in a slightly different turbo and a few little bits and ya have 250bhp. and lots of fun .

Dan

gav888

if the Vrs does 30mpg, doesnt a accord type r do that???

dba

I didn't get any higher than 30 mpg int he 1.8T,i suppose it depends on how you drive

imo,the handling was comparatively poor,compared to the next few cars i had,a saab,Impreza and now a Mk 5,

jonc

Well if you are gonna sort the supension out anyways, what about a Audi A4 2.5V6 TDI quattro. Chippable to around 200 bhp and return at least 45mpg of spirited driving

16vmarc

I was referring to the A3 btw, forgot to say!

gav888

yeh, had thought of this, but again too much money

dba

as i said,for your budget,there is only one car,the Skoda RS,mpg is around 32,and the handling is a million times better than a Mk 4 Golf

jonc

Whats your budget?