alternatives to 130 PD Golf ?

voxpop

Im on the hunt for a new car and I like the feel of the Golfs TDIs with the 130 PD engine. They are quite expensive though and a little samey (Golfs that is). Any alternatives I could be looking at. Btw I should say that its used cars Im looking at.

fletch

Seat Ibiza FR/Sport SE/Skoda Fabia vRS all have the same PD130 engine. Hard to come across though. TMC Skoda in Navan have a Skoda Fabia vRS for sale at the moment.

fletch

Or what about a nice Seat Leon

Henry Ford III

fletch wrote:

Or what about a nice Seat Leon

Foggy day clearly on the photo shoot

A 150bhp "sportscar" - whatever next?

gyppo

150bhp Leon, believe it or not, is not as nice to drive as the 130bhp variant, as it gives you all-or-nothing acceleration due to the turbo lag that goes with the bigger turbo.

The 130bhp engine gives a more uniform power delivery, and makes for a less tiresome drive, as well as being that little bit more economical.

Cyrus

voxpop wrote:

Im on the hunt for a new car and I like the feel of the Golfs TDIs with the 130 PD engine. They are quite expensive though and a little samey (Golfs that is). Any alternatives I could be looking at. Btw I should say that its used cars Im looking at.

unless you do a lot of mileage get the better specced 1.8 petrol gti, pref with leather

bazz26

voxpop wrote:

Im on the hunt for a new car and I like the feel of the Golfs TDIs with the 130 PD engine. They are quite expensive though and a little samey (Golfs that is). Any alternatives I could be looking at. Btw I should say that its used cars Im looking at.

VW Bora is available with the same engines and spec as the Golf assuming you are happy with the more conservative saloon. The Bora is basically a cheaper Golf with a boot anyway.

voxpop

I've read that the GTi are dissapointing plus on the insurance and mpg difference (52 tdi vs 35 gti) the diesel wins.

I've tried looking for Leons of the same spec but they are difficult to find. They all seem to be 1.4s. I think a 1.9 130 Leon would be preferable to a golf anyway. Anyone know how to spot the 130 variant of the Leon over the others ?

My max budget is 14000 but Id like to keep it around the 10-12 grand mark if at all possible.

gyppo

voxpop wrote:

Anyone know how to spot the 130 variant of the Leon over the others ?

White dash clocks, 6 speed gearbox.

fletch

voxpop wrote:

I've read that the GTi are dissapointing plus on the insurance and mpg difference (52 tdi vs 35 gti) the diesel wins.

I've tried looking for Leons of the same spec but they are difficult to find. They all seem to be 1.4s. I think a 1.9 130 Leon would be preferable to a golf anyway. Anyone know how to spot the 130 variant of the Leon over the others ?

My max budget is 14000 but Id like to keep it around the 10-12 grand mark if at all possible.

That Leon has been for sale for a good while now....I'd say he's open to offers if you could find a few more grand.

bazz26

How about a Ford Focus TDCi:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=637679

Doesn't have 130bhp but 115bhp is punchy enough.

Or an Audi A3, same platform as the Golf:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=685358

Cyrus

voxpop wrote:

I've read that the GTi are dissapointing plus on the insurance and mpg difference (52 tdi vs 35 gti) the diesel wins.

I've tried looking for Leons of the same spec but they are difficult to find. They all seem to be 1.4s. I think a 1.9 130 Leon would be preferable to a golf anyway. Anyone know how to spot the 130 variant of the Leon over the others ?

My max budget is 14000 but Id like to keep it around the 10-12 grand mark if at all possible.

its not going to be any more disappointing than the 130, and id imagine its as quick if not quicker, easy remap etc.

both those mpg figures are way off aswell

voxpop

I should have pointed out that i need more than 3 doors. What I want is a car thats nice to drive and has a bit of "go" but isnt overly expensive to run.

Audi A3

I must admit - I havnt even looked at Audis at all - I thought they were more expensive than the equlivent Golf?

Ford Focus TDCi

I was originally going for a Focus, but since driving the Golf I figured that 115bhp Focus wouldnt be as nice to drive as a Golf 130 - maybe Im wrong here ??

@Cyrus
With the Golf Gti vs Tdi - Im just going by what the reviewers say when it comes to the GTi, also the mpg figures are straight from parkers.co.uk - which I expect get them from the manufacturers so are probably a bit high

gyppo

regarding the mpg figures.

35.8mpg appears to be the combined fuel figure for the golf, real world motoring could see something like 33mpg.
As regards 52mpg combined for the tdi, I used to average 56mpg per tankful in day to day motoring (in a Leon 130tdi).

So a difference of 20mpg between the two cars is a reality.

Cyrus

voxpop wrote:

I should have pointed out that i need more than 3 doors. What I want is a car thats nice to drive and has a bit of "go" but isnt overly expensive to run.




I must admit - I havnt even looked at Audis at all - I thought they were more expensive than the equlivent Golf?



I was originally going for a Focus, but since driving the Golf I figured that 115bhp Focus wouldnt be as nice to drive as a Golf 130 - maybe Im wrong here ??

@Cyrus
With the Golf Gti vs Tdi - Im just going by what the reviewers say when it comes to the GTi, also the mpg figures are straight from parkers.co.uk - which I expect get them from the manufacturers so are probably a bit high

the gti got bad reviews because they expected it to be better than a normal golf (like the mkv gti) in effect the mkiv was just a normal golf, higher spec with a quick engine, just like the pd130. so, unless you really want a diesel they are the same car, gti will prob be better specced and at least as fast, and you have more of a choice

prospect

*Cough*

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=611853

Cyrus

nice car but out of budget by 6-8 k

unkel

prospect wrote:

*Cough*

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=611853

Not so easy to convince the seller he should take a third of that price to suit voxpop's budget

Edit, damn. Cyrus beat me to it

maidhc

I drive a car identical in most ways to the Focus TDCI on the link (except i bought it for far less, with lower miles, 18 mths ago... )

Most people on forums seem to say there isn't a huge difference between it and the PD130 in the Golf. It handles better though, and is far quieter and more refined. It looks much better too.

It isn't a "fast" car by any means, but you can certainly make good progress, and overtake quite safely.

fletch

So voxpop, what's it to be?

voxpop

Eh Im even less sure now what I want.

I definitely want to get a reasonably "fast" car and Ive almost completly ruled out petrol just because I can only see petrol prices going up. Im leaning towards Seat Leons with the 130BHP engine and have broadened my search to include the North which seems to have a bit better selection of decent spec Leons although VRT is a killer!
Im also going to give a Focus a test drive and a 130bhp Passat and see how they feels (not really pushed on the Passat to be honest but if the price is right, maybe a good choice?).

galwaytt

Had a 130 Passat Tiptronic - never got more than 38mpg out of it.

Re: Ford - I got a price last week to remap that 1.8Tdci from 100 to 140 bhp for Eu600. Told I would get +10%mpg over std too........I got two prices, from two co's, for two brands, and all profess it easy to extract more power with no economy penalty from the Tdci range.....mmmmm

Cyrus

generally its true :eek: unless you rag the car all the time a remap will increase poor and consumption

maidhc

galwaytt wrote:

Re: Ford - I got a price last week to remap that 1.8Tdci from 100 to 140 bhp for Eu600. Told I would get +10%mpg over std too........I got two prices, from two co's, for two brands, and all profess it easy to extract more power with no economy penalty from the Tdci range.....mmmmm

According to FFOC.co.uk the TDCi does not respond very well to tuning. In fact numerous people have the honesty to admit they can't see a huge difference between the car before and after!

Try getting a friendly ford mechanic to put the 115bhp map on the car. The engines are essentially the same.

voxpop

so is it cheap and easy to remap a standard 100bhp tdci to the 115bhp version. The 115bhp version are a little scarce

bazz26

I thought the 100bhp 1.8 litre diesel engine in the Focus MkI was non common rail technology and not just a detuned version of the 115bhp TDCi?

maidhc

bazz26 wrote:

I thought the 100bhp 1.8 litre diesel engine in the Focus MkI was non common rail technology and not just a detuned version of the 115bhp TDCi?

Nope. Same engine, and mechanically identical (although it does have a few different part numbers for some things). The 90bhp has a plain DI head though.

It is easy to remap the Focus to 115 but Ford don't allow it be done because it would mess up their business model a bit.