Heple

Hi,

I am after a commuting car for around £3k, its needs to be a diesel but i want as much power (lots of torque) as possible. It also has to be fairly big (i.e saloon/estate)

Here a a few ideas i have so far.

A4 2.5 TDI 150bhp
A6 2.5 TDI 150/163/180bhp
Mondeo TDCI 130
Rover 75 CDT 130

Any ideas?

Craig

aggs

Mondeos very good value 2nd hand,due to a lot around, previous posts give a good report for the car.
Would have thought at this price the Audis would be high miles and a bit older, not necesary a bad thing if been looked after.

Jamescsti

I'd go for the Mondeo everytime, but then I bought one!
Mine was £2200 with 80k on the clock, it's now on 105k and still runs perfectly.
Don't know about the rover, but I imagine the Audi's will be older/higher milage for the same money, and not really any better quality

^OPM^

will u get a mondeo TDCI 130 for 3 grand or less tho-thought they would still be above that price?

antz

Hi,

I’ve had numerous oil burners over the years. I stuck to Passats in the main both 90 & 110bhp B5 models. I still know that one of them, a 90bhp has just dome over 200k and has been running on "Bio Derv" for some time.

VW's are Ok, but Passats have a far too complicated front suspension set up that uses numerous alloy wish bones. When they start to wear out (usually the bottom joint first), you get clonks galore...... The came belt is a pain to change as you need to get the complete bumper & front panel away from the front of the engine in order to gain access. Easy once you've done it once, but daunting of you want to look after the car yourself. Servicing is a doddle as all the parts are cheap from German & Swedish or Euro Car parts. You'll get 45+mpg from both engines (AHU code 90bhp & AFN 110bhp).

I recently went over to a Mondeo TDCI 115 and the difference in the common rail engine is like chalk & cheese. The handling is in another league (don’t forget the basic 2wd Jag X type uses a Mondeo floor pan), and Im getting 50mpg, or 600 miles to a tank full.

Heple

There are 8 currently in the trader.

I was edging towards the Mondeo aswell maybe the Rover as they are newer.

But

I like the extra power from the Audi's

Craig

^OPM^

I stand corrected

antz

Rover 75 CDT engine is a 4 cylinder BMW power plant, so lots of potential for chipping etc.

They do get through cam & crank sensors though, woth checking if they have been recently replaced if you rearly fancy one.

Longer term what is going to happen with Rover parts supply, even if the Chinese do start building them again. Probaly won't be an issue for major body pannels etc, but will they bother with minor interiour & electrical parts or just throw in local sourced parts that maybe incompatable with earlier Uk built cars????

Audi 2.5 V6 TDI is a bit thursty, agree lots of tourque, but look at the figures Dragin Performance quote if you fit one of there tuning boxes to a Mondeo 130 (on par with a 3 series 150bhp TD).

Blueblaster

Can I ask why you want a commuting car with "as much power as you can get"? The very nature of commuting means you either spend the whole time in traffic in town or, if you are lucky, sitting in the outside lane at 60-70mph. The amount of power you have won't make a scrap of difference to the drive to work.

I see your current car is an Impreza. You therefore have a practical car. Why not get a supermini diesel for the commute? It'll return much better fuel economy, will be newer and therefore more reliable, be a hatchback and therefore useful for carrying stuff you can't get in your saloon car, be cheaper to service, easier to sell on, easier to drive in heavy traffic and more fun to drive because it isn't a huge barge.

Stop trying to find an economical Impreza for your commute and actually buy the best car for the job.

Heple

Your presuming my commute is into the town center.

It is a 40mile commute with 95% Motoway Driving.I also on many occasions need to fill the car with people,files and equipment etc.

My impreza is by no means a practical car. (Currently only has a drivers seat and is about to get a roll cage, has no sound deadening, straight through 3" exhaust and no carpets, door cards etc)

Craig

Blueblaster

Fair enough, that does change the complexion of things slightly. However, given the age/condition/mileage of the cars you are suggesting I would still go for something smaller that has had an easier life. Chances are something expensive will go wrong with the Audis, if only because they have had a hard life. The Mondeo and 75 will have been hammered to death by reps so could well be a risky buy too. If your budget was slightly higher I would have said you should be able to find a good 'un but for 3 grand you are asking for trouble. I'll be interested to read what you end up with. Good luck.

logiclee

Many Mondeos can be found that have had private owners, the supermarkets are full of nearly new Mondeo's that fall into the hands of a private buyer. I've just picked up a 2001 2.0Ghia petrol for my Father in Law, 1 owner, 60k miles and full main dealer history for £2800. Decent lower spec TDCi's can be found with a few more miles for around £3k but £4k gives you a lot more choice.
Even if the car has been a reps tool they just love motorways, 85mph is only a touch over 2k rpm.

I'd avoid the V6 VAG's if you want economy, a relative has a 2.5V6 TDi Superb and it struggles along in the low 30's with mixed gentle driving. I've heard many comments on the poor economy from the V6's and they dont have that much more torque just more top end power.
The TDCi 130 Ford has 330NM of torque with 360NM available on acceleration. The VAG 2.5V6 160 has 350NM.

The 75 is a good comfortable car but dont expect much in the handling depatment and the boot is an odd shape. The diesel is old skool without a VNT system on the turbo (It's sourced from the old 115bhp 3 series) so it really suffers off boost below 2000rpm where the TDCi Ford and PD130 Vag's pull strongly from around 1500rpm, the old BMW unit also suffers more lag than the modern diesels in the Ford and VW's

Cheers
Lee

Heple

Cheers.

Very informative and helpful - just what i was looking for.

Think i'm defo gonna go for the Mondeo TDCI 130

Craig