Hi all, I am preparing to sell my RB5 soon as my daily commute will go from a 2 mile cycle to a 60mile round drive. Question is what next?! Budget will be around £4000ish and mpg can't be below 30. So far I have been thinking bmw 320d/330d, golf mk5, volvo s40/s60, fabia/octavia vrs, and honda s2000 as a wild card! Space and number of seats etc is no issue although I would like to be able to use a bike carrier. Any suggestions and pros/cons welcome!

 

I've got an S2000 and it's great fun, but you will struggle to get 30mpg out of one! I get around 28mpg. I don't normally travel further than 20 or 30 miles at a time, most journeys are more around 10 miles or so I guess. This is with a moderate amount of Vtec fun.......

Can't help with any other car on your list sorry.

 

I did test drive an s2000 a few weeks ago and loved it! I would love one and will hopefully own one some day but it may not be the best option for a 60mile motorway daily commute. Insurance is high too at circa £900 for 16000mile per annum (I'm 25).

 

Golf MK5 GT TDi will old its money, An altenative is a Jetta just the same car but with a boot & cheaper

 

Got a Fabia VRS and a 330d - both get hammer on the m'ways and I would recommend both 100% although for £4k it would have to be the Fab!

 

Brun, how much quicker does the 330d feel compared to the vRS?

I'm thinking more in gear 30 - 70 hard acceleration on a motorway type of scenario rather than traffic light grand prix.

Is it like night and day?

 

Fabioso; vaguely similar comparison is my old 150bhp Astra diesel compared to the 335d.

Like a black hole compared to the light emitted from a nuclear explosion.

 

I've just picked up a Mk4 Golf Gti tdi 25th Anniversary edition and have been very impressed with how it drives and gives a great MPG return too depending on how I drive I will see 50+ mpg it has 150 bhp as standard and remapped it will see 200bhp with bags of torque too!

 

It does feel like night and day - and I imagine the Fab wouldn't see which way the BM went

 

Just to add - the BM is the first car I've driven since selling the Scoob 5 years ago which gives gives you a similar shove in the back!

 

We have a 2007 330D M sport automatic that the Missus uses and tbh I find it pretty boring to drive, its big and heavy and much more of a motorway car. I think the 1 series is a better option if you are thinking of going BMW but try both and see which suits your needs more

 

The S2000 is a briliant car, better than the Porsche Boxster S I ahd before it, but it really is not the most practical of beasts and isn't that great on the juice.

Anyway that's irrelevant as this is SN Other Marques so the question is which model of BMW you will be advised to get!

 

Mine is the M'sport auto too. I mainly use it on the M'ways which is is best for although on the twisties it does chuck about quite well and feels very planted. The biggest problem with the Fab is that it's very nose heavy and under steers for fun. My Fab has 178k (feels every bit as tight as the 56 plate VRS with 53k miles that we sold for the BM) and has been a motorway car since 29k miles. If my daily commute was not the 80 mile round trip that it is i would throw some money at the suspension as it desperately needs it.
Only problem with the 1 Series is the lack of 6 pot diesel - which without, i never would have bought the 3.
Just as an aside, i'm averaging 39 mpg and on a recent 500 mile round trip i saw a (calculated) 41.5 mpg, if i had been steady away at 70mph (i wasn't even close) then i think 44-45mpg is possible.
The Fab is doing 44-45mpg (again not hanging around) but in warmer weather sees 48-50mpg

 

I find my 335d SE an absolute hoot to drive and will never buy a FWD car again. Mind you, it does have proper steering unlike almost all of the rest of the E9* range. Makes a big difference.

 

Cheers guys this is good stuff!

I do quite fancy a beamer! I think the 320d would probably be the more realistic option at the moment though, I'm not too fussed about outright power, as long as it handles well. Being rwd are bmw's easy to get the tail out or are they too electronically aided? If so is there any way to disable stability control etc. ? I hate understeer with a passion! Would have to be a manual too, got to love a bit of heel and toe.

That mk4 golf anniversary looks smart, I bumped into another RB5 owner once and got talking - he had previously owned an anniversary and loved it to bits! I've kind of always been put off mk4 golfs though due to average handling/excitement reviews, does the anniversary have many extras to the usual gti's to make it stand out?

Is there anything else I should be adding to my list? Series 1 Elise's tick the economy and excitement boxes but are still a bit out of price range for a semi decent one

 

Had an S2 Elise too ;-)
34 mpg

 

I missed my Impreza terribly once I sold it and ended up buying another four months later.

I would recommend getting a cheap second car, you can pick up an oil burner for a decent amount. Something like a Seat or Golf TDi would be a good bet.

However if you really are going all-out sensible and replace the RB5 I have to say the 320d is a cracking car, my sister had one and although I found it painfully slow it was an utterly brilliant real-world car. Just don't take it out when it snows!

 

I've just picked up a 03plate 330d m sport tourer 6 speed manual, been flat out using it car hunting over the weekend for a friend and was getting 45+ with the cruise set to 90 most of the trip, to say I'm impressed is an understatement, it's not a bad place to be tbh on long trips, and its great for my spaniel, I can just throw her in the boot and be on my way

Still not a patch on my scoob tho

 

Fabioso - did you a vid. It was held at 30mph in 4th and I floored it. Kicked down to second and away it went

 

I run a 2002 330d sport saloon, cruise, split rear seats mapped to 245bhp/500nm and it averages 44.8 mpg, they are a great all rounder and wipes the floor with any golf for steering feel and all round ability, well the mk4 anyhow the mk5 golfs are supposed to be good but they are still front wheel drive!

The later e90 330d's are 240bhp standard and map to 290bhp, it would be a no brainer for me!