taffyboyo

should have about 13k to spend, not sure I want to spend it all on one yet though,

there are some bargains to be had with the bora, are they as good as a golf or not?

Leon, looks ok its just the whole seat thing that might put me off, my sister had a v reg ibiza a couple of years ago and inside was not a nice place to be in, are they a lot better built these days?

Audi, my favourite out of the bunch, but is the engine a lot better in the first 3 choices, and decent second hand a4's cost a packet, so it would slightly older and probably a few more miles!

any other contenders I should be thinking of, needs to be 4 or 5 dr, 1x wife & 2 x kids.

lowlander

Out of the cars listed I would be tempted by the Seat. They are very well engineered and the interiors are better made these days. Test drive them all and see which one suits you best.

As an aside I would also go and drive a Mondeo TDCi 130. Some people don't like the image but in terms of value for money, engineering, build quality and riving dynamics I reckon they are exceptionally good. You can get a TDCi130 zetec (with stadnard sports suspension), less than 1 year old for 10K.

All the best.

Martin.

Andy Tang

iTrader: (3)

http://revolution.seat.co.uk/ - £13700 for a brand new Seat Leon Cupra TDI 150

Funnily enough I've just bought a VAG TDI 150.

I couldn't find a Leon within my £10k budget.
I didn't like the Bora (as I wanted a commuter car, not a family car so I didn't need the extra boot space)
I settled on a Golf (and the boot will take the pushchair and a travelcot), but I got a bargain.

2003, 52-reg, 67k, full VW history, 5 door, 18" RS4 alloys, light smoke tints, climate, in Jazz Blue for £8.5k.

Not bad when you have a look at what TDI 150 are available for less than £10k.

NotoriousREV

The Bora is just a Golf with a boot. They are cheaper than the Golf spec for spec but arguably the styling is bland and they don't share the Golf's image. For me, this was a good thing.

My mum has a 5 year old Seat Cordoba and the interior looked nice when she bought it, but it looks terrible now and didn't stand up to family use very well. The rest of the car is sound, though. I think Seat interiors have moved on somewhat now, though.

blip

Test drove a Leon FR 150 at the weekend. Was sure it was the car for me until I actually drove it. On anything other than smooth roads the ride is terrible. Too firm/harsh, not enough suppleness. Made me want to slow down at speeds that in the scoob I would have been on auto-pilot.

And it's not just because I have been spoilt by the scoobs ride, I test drove a MkV Golf last year and that would run circles around the Leon AND my scoob in the ride department!!

Andy Tang

iTrader: (3)

http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=484331

sgcooby

You will obviously get a newer car for your money if you go for either of the others over the A4 plus they have the more powerful version of the PD engine. The 130bhp version is still a cracking engine and very easily remapped. You wont get anything like the interior of the A4 in anything else in this comparison and to be honest there are not many other cars in any class that have as nice an interior as the A4 and they ceratinly wont be as well built. My previous car was an A4 and my Dad has had 3 and the interior quality and finish is on a different level to other cars. I have never heard even a slight rattle or squeek even over the roughest surfaces and have heard several similar stories from the 7 work collegues who also now own A4's. (One reason i changed mine.) The rest of the VAG cars have good interiors but not in the same league as the A4. My old golf had quite a few rattles which drove me nuts and my S3 (same dash as leon) was the rattliest car ive owned. Although the A4 you are considering is a bit older, it is without doubt one of the best built cars i have ever been in or owned. Taking interior space into account as well, then again the others cant compete with the A4 as its in the next class up so has significantly more room. There is another thread on at the moment about the differences between the VAG 130 and 150 engines and there are a few posts which actually claim that the 130 engine is better for every day driving as the 150 engine seems to be tuned to operate higher up the rev range which is better for all out performance, however I dont think that in reality there would be much between them.

Andy Tang

iTrader: (3)

There thread is here: http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=478703

I chose the 150 over the 130, as I knew I would chip the car. The differences such as a FMIC and stronger internals swayed me towards the 150.

taffyboyo

I couldnt posibly get a yellow car, I just couldnt do it

thanks for reply's, I am really tempted by the A4 sport, maybe the avant one, but imaculate low mileage (below 30k) examples are very few and far between, unless I have about 17k to spend on one, which I dont
I might get lucky though, I usually do

mad555

iTrader: (1)

130 PD TDI Passat Sport with siw speed box have one for nearly 2 years with no problems at all.

taffyboyo

mad I had a passat a couple of years ago, it was the 1.8t one and I didnt get on with it at all , so I doubt I could get another,

what about the vauxhall diesel 1.9 150bhp either the astra or more likely a vectra?

Darren 01

Got a leaflet from SEAT last week - SEAT LEON FR150TDI £13500 OTR. This is with the old Cupra R bodykit and wheels... Top deal if you ask me.