utaka

now that i have finally come to terms with the fact my spec c has been totally dedicated to motorsport i need a new daily driver.
unlike before i now travel a lot for work and for time attack etc so i dont think another subaru would be practical. here are my requirements

four days week i have to travel to commute to swansea from chepstow 3hr round trip usually stuck in trafic for ages both ways nearly 200 miles

i need to be able to tow the car and trailer to track days

take myself and partener to time attack

drive 6 hr round trip to scoobyclinic at least once a month

must perrfom well

good fuel consumption

reliability so i get to places without breaking dow especially with trailer in tow and the amount of miles it will have to do

and comfort, has to be a nice place to be as i will be in it so much

budget max 8k

any pics or suggestions welcome i am 25 by the way so a citroen bx will not do

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Mitsubishi shogun 2.8TD would be my suggestion, or an Izusu trooper 3ltr td.

Tony

scoobycab

sounds like you'll be wanting a diesel volvo of some sort or 5 series!!

Mark'sWRX

Mazda 6 diesel estate. If I ever grow up, that's what I'll get.

Mondeo (old shape) ST diesel is also a decent and good value motor.

Not too sure about their towing abilities, though.

stoneface

iTrader: (6)

Bm 530d

scoobycab

parkers guide will give you a good indication to towing weights, but ideally something rwd or 4wd!

RB5 Boyo

Both very good 4x4's, but if you buy the Mitsubushi be prepared for hefty fuel bills. A friend of mine bought one, a minter from Japan....it was that bad on diesel that he sold it within a month!!

Toyota Hilux's are also a very good 4x4, and if you get a crew cab you have the best of both worlds (pickup/car type), but maybe with your long journeys of 200miles+, a 4x4 wouldnt be your best bet, the journey could maybe a little bouncy for some

What about one of the older Saab's, the 9000's are a brilliant car and the turbo ones are quite fast and give good fuel econemy....they're also very strong and can do many miles if kept well serviced etc. You will get a really good 9000 Aero 2.3T for well under your 8K budget too:

Saab : saab 9000 aero 1996

rpsxr

man you were just a few minutes quicker!!

i was gonna say:

vectra 3.0cdti (which i got) or saab 9-5 3.0tid. same engine and more parts. will be very comfy cruiser, not amazingly quick, but still goes.

or, if thats not fast enough... i've been looking in the last few days at saab 9-5 aero's and they're fast! (250bhp) and economic! (makes big difference between manual and auto) good value for money aswell as they come standard with loads of goodies to keep you occupied on your journeys!
anyway hope that helps.

rgds Robert

bunsofsteeeel

iTrader: (1)

a gas coverted mercedes ml430 v8 around v plate onwards my brother was at mercedes (service) awhile back in the snow and they needed to move an slr inside and the new ml 4matic thing couldn't pull it so they asked if they could use his it did it no probelm and they knocked 100 quid off his bill, it will do 600 miles when full of gas and petrol and looks classy with 20" kahns onit and very reliable my brother put 70k in 3yrs no probs with it!

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Your going to need something with a braked towing weight of 1600ish kg's (car 1400kg approx and 200kg trailer), thats most cars out of the question so 4x4 or van and both will be a bit hefty on diesel (but not as bad as a petrol scoob

Tony

utaka

it better be a lot less than 1400kgs ill be totally gutted if not. mate weve cut most of the car away( loads more than in photos those are still to come) the only weight is the roll cage and engine diffs and gearbox
was thinking of mondeo st220 or a newish volvo or a 330 d beemer estate
dont want a shogun a van anything like that. what about an audi estate?

rpsxr

used to have a beemer (2005 model 330d). great in the dry; loads of power and insanely quick!! however, as soon as it became damp or worse, there wasn't any traction whatsoever. so might be a problem too if towing. good economy tho!

audi diesel quattro would probably be good! a8 4.2 tdi (prob not in budget!)

rgds Robert

Mark'sWRX

I only got high 20s mpg from one. Barely better than my WRX. Nice enough car, but I know which one I prefer.

subaru-impreza-2000

Gas converted cars are prefect for daily drivers

utaka

right im short listing if a mondeo is as bad on fuel as a scoob ill just get either another sti, a hawkeye wagon, an audi estate or a 330d estate, shall i just get another scoob the comuting fuel would kill me though sureley sense says an estate man my head is gonna explode, i gotta buy it soon aswell

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

You should be able to find the tow weights here Tow Cars - Find Tow Weights and Car Specs
If your trailer is unbraked then its going to be a good 5-600kg's less, but you will have to check with the manufacturer on that (as well as confirming with them on the braked weights, but the trailers can weigh 2-400kg's)

Tony

utaka

nice one thanks

utaka

bttt

BedHog

Just traded my Scoob in for a Civic i-CTDi. 140BP and 53.5 combined MPG.

A cheap remap gets 192 BHP and better fuel economy :-)

utaka

wont pull a car and trailer though will it?

jrrs1

this will do you nicely!....

mvm imports : AUDI ALLROAD 2.5 TDI Quattro Tip Auto 2002

180bhp standard although some engines had the 163bhp version... you would need to check. Either way a £250 remap will see you get about 200bhp out of it..
Audi relaiability, 4x4, ideal for towing, in your price range and a good looking motor with a fine ride (air suspension) and good looking interior, diesel engine good for 200k+ and you should get a combined mpg of round 28-32, rising to mid/late 30's on long runs..

ScoobyNoobie

I was just about to say Audi allroad but was beaten to it.
We used to have one, air suspension is bar far the best option for towing as no matter whats on the hitch the car stays level.

The auto box in the 2.5tdi isn't that nice, alot of noise and not alot of action.
28-33mpg is about right.
If you can bare a manual in traffic it would be a better option, quicker and more economical.
We had ours re-mapped, it went to about 220bhp, and was a bit quicker, but the auto box left it feeling not a huge amount different.
Quattro is unreal for wet/gravelly or snowy roads though
Towing stats for Allroad
Max Towing Weight (braked) 2100 kg
Max Towing Weight (unbraked) 750 kg

2nd to the Allroad would be a 3/530d estate auto. Fast, economical, comfortable and good for towing, but may be a bit low slung with alot of weight on the hitch.
Towing Stats for 330d
Max Towing Weight (braked) 1800 kg
Max Towing Weight (unbraked) 750 kg

utaka

after looking around i have found out today that companies are hiring tow cars with their trailers. i phoned 1 company today i can get a 20006 shogun with tow bar collect on friday return on monday for £165 with insurance and they will do me a deal on that as i will be hiring it a few times. i know a few people with trailers so ill either have to borrow or hire one for testing and track days. this allows me to get a smaller more economical car for my long journeys instead of a big estate
im hoping scoobyclinic will bring the car to time attack/scoobysprint rounds, they are giving me time attack support so id imagine thats that covered at least

ScoobyNoobie

Thats not bad.

But i suppose you need to weight up the amount of times a year your gona spend that 165 and how many miles your gona do Vs the average of 5-10mpg better your "economical" car will do over the allroad, 330d etc.

So for economy......I have a 120d M sport. It returns 40 when driven hard and I have seen over 50mpg once or twice on long runs. Both those figures are quoted after a Dyno proven re-map to 218bhp and a little over 500NM of torque. No thats not a mistake i said 500Nm or 400lb-ft so its fun to drive too!
Been mapped for nearly 2 years now, and i've about 70,000miles on it (2005 one) and its still going strong with no trouble.

utaka

funnily enough i was looking at one of them
i would imagine i would use the shogun hire say a maximum of 15 times a year plus whatever discounts i can wangle, maybe som advertising space on my time attack car mite claw back a few pennies

ScoobyNoobie

Alot of people seem to hate it or say its ugly, to be honest i think in M-sport guise with a nice set of rims its a lovely lookin car.
I have driven A3's golf GTi's and 3/5-series's but i still love how the 1 drives and after 2 years am not bored of it. Its small enough and hard enough that you can still throw it around the with a bit of a "go kart" feel to it. The only thing i would say is if your very broad the sports seats will be 2 narrow, and if you want something plush you'll find the suspension too hard. Oh and forget about buying run flats if your coming to change tires, they are rubbish compared to a normal set.

15 times by 165 adds up to an awful lot of diesel if you were to just buy something that does 33-35mpg on long runs......and a 330d should see a little over 40mpg on long runs.

utaka

my sister had a black 2 litre they jury is out for me on the way it looks but what i do know is they are very good cars . ill have a chat with scoobyclinic see what else i can arrange as that will dictate the car i buy. bloody track cars

ScoobyNoobie

I'm in the same sort of dilehma now 2.

I race motocross and have an 05 VW caddy that i've got to sell. Given too much trouble the last few months.

I have an open bike trailer to bring bike behind the 120d but don't like doing that as everyone can see what you've got and you can't even stop for a **** without worrying it'll be nicked.

So now wondering whether to just get another old van purely for going to the races, or buy an ifor williams "box van" style trailer for about the same initial price as the old van.
It'll give less trouble, but won't have the same space for gear.
Also those trailers are a bit hard to hold onto also unless they are kept well out of sight of potential thieves!

utaka

if i buy a tow car i wouldny bother buying a trailer, hopefully i can sort something out with kev when i go to scoobyclinic as im going to need to get this sorted asap. my car is dead so need to get a new one soon

utaka

if i buy a tow car i wouldnt bother buying a trailer, hopefully i can sort something out with kev when i go to scoobyclinic if not i think i will just hire a trailer when i cant borrow one im going to need to get this sorted asap. my car is dead so need to get a new one soon