Help choosing new company car

keio

Hi Guys,

I am due to place an order to get my company car replaced at the end of this month but wanted to get some advice from others on here regarding the choices.

The company has gone all eco friendly this year and so has restricted the emissions and engine size of the cars available on thier list. However a few other conditions exist:
- All cars must be diesel or hybrid
- Cannot have an engine size greater than 2.0L.
- Maximum price of 27,875.

The list is as follows:
- Toyota Avensis D4D 2.0ltr
- VW Golf TDi
- Skoda Superb Greenline
- Skoda Octavia
- Honda Civic 1.4 Hybrid

As I play golf I have decided against both theVW Golf and the Honda Civic as the boot space in both cars are just not big enough and it's too much hassle having to put the seats down everytime I want to go play a game of Golf.

I have viewed the remaining three cars and am probably stuck between the Superb and the Avensis. While the Superb is very spacious and very well kitted out (especially when you add in a few extras) the one real concern i would have is that the engine is just too small for the size of the car and can seem very pedestrian at times. However the Avensis is smaller, not as well kitted out but is defintely a lot quicker than the Superb.

By the way I don't really car about brands I just want a car that i will be comfortable in and able to enjoy driving for the next 3 or 4 years.

Any suggestions on which car to pick?

Padraig Mor

Personal opinion and all that but the new Avensis makes my skin crawl - possibly the most hideous car released recently. Superb with as many options as you can get away with is what you want (can you get the 2.0 TDI for your money?).

crosstownk

Is the Citroën C5 an option? It's a 1.6HDi (110HP), a smashing looking car, tax band B, €26,100 at the moment (€27,100 with factory navigation). I do in excess of 1,000km a week and find it very comfortable. Plenty of standard equipment like cruise control, bluetooth, MP3 player and RCA iPod connection.

I get fuel consumption around 5.0l/100km which gets me about 1200km for a €65 tank full.

baziragi

Superb all the way no doubt what a car

TheAceFace

I'd stay away from the Superb, practical and all but ugly as sin.

Also it's only 105bhp which is far too little for the size of the car. It also uses the noisey smell 30 year old VAG Pumpe Duse engine.

I 2nd the above opinion on the C5, 1.6hdi has 110 bhp and is a smaller in comparison so it'll feel far quicker, plus it's quite a nicely styled car.

As it's a company car you won't have to worry about the C5's poor residuals.

faigs

I agree think the C5 is a much better option, looks better, more powerful and a very comfy drive. The superb looks like an old man with a pipe and white beard should be driving it

Shane732

What about an Alfa 159? If your not worry about the residual sale value of the car then surely you have to consider the 159....

159 1.9 JTD developing 120 or 150 BHP depending on the version. I suppose it's not going to set the world alight but it'll get you to 60 in under 10 seconds.

vectra

keio wrote: »

- All cars must be diesel or hybrid
- Cannot have an engine size greater than 2.0L.
- Maximum price of 27,875.

Could you squeeze an Octavia Vrs Tdi from a dealer for that price?

TheAceFace

Shane732 wrote: »

What about an Alfa 159? If your not worry about the residual sale value of the car then surely you have to consider the 159....

159 1.9 JTD developing 120 or 150 BHP depending on the version. I suppose it's not going to set the world alight but it'll get you to 60 in under 10 seconds.

The cheapest new diesel 159 is around the €30k mark, plus a diesel Alfa is a sin:mad:

R.O.R

Is €27,785 a list price restriction, a cost price restriction or a BIK value restriction?

Do emissions have to fall under a certain level too, or is it just max engine of 2.0?

Do you have a restricted list of manufacturer's to choose from, or is it free choice?

Octy VRS comes in under €27,785 list. Octy 2.0Tdi Elegance is quite a bit under.
There is a special edition Alfa 159 for fleets only that comes in under budget, whether they are still available or not though is another thing.
Passat 1.6Tdi Comfortline has aqequate performance and comes in under budget in flat black.
Superb 2.0Tdi 140 comfort squeezes in under budget, but only in non-metallic Blue and doesn't have quite as good a spec as the Greenline.

It would be an Octy VRs for me with that budget.

Redsoxfan

Only the newest 159 diesel (2.0 as opposed to 1.9, which I haven't seen for sale over here) will fall into tax bands A-C for tax and BIK purposes (once you go outside Band C, your BIK increases) and due to the residuals, will not be economical to lease. The OP may not have to worry about the residuals, but I can't see the company taking the hit either.

I'm also guessing when the OP says 'list' they are restricted to the cars listed.

veetwin

TheAceFace wrote: »

plus a diesel Alfa is a sin:mad:

I thought it was the opposite nowadays with nobody buying petrols apart from the bottom of the range 1.6. The diesels are highly regardad.

keio

R.O.R wrote: »

Is €27,785 a list price restriction, a cost price restriction or a BIK value restriction?

Do emissions have to fall under a certain level too, or is it just max engine of 2.0?

Do you have a restricted list of manufacturer's to choose from, or is it free choice?

Octy VRS comes in under €27,785 list. Octy 2.0Tdi Elegance is quite a bit under.
There is a special edition Alfa 159 for fleets only that comes in under budget, whether they are still available or not though is another thing.
Passat 1.6Tdi Comfortline has aqequate performance and comes in under budget in flat black.
Superb 2.0Tdi 140 comfort squeezes in under budget, but only in non-metallic Blue and doesn't have quite as good a spec as the Greenline.

It would be an Octy VRs for me with that budget.

Thanks for the reply:
- The 27,785 is a cost price restriction that the company put on the car.
- The maximum allowable CO2 emissions are 140g
- The list is fixed as I said earlier i have a choice of the following:
1 Toyota Avensis D4D 2.0ltr;
2 VW Golf TDi
3 Skoda Superb Greenline
4 Skoda Octavia
5 Honda Civic 1.4 Hybrid

keio

Thanks for the replies; some good information.

I took the Avensis for a test drive this evening after work and was actually very impressed. I presumed it'd be fairly boring but it was actually very enjoyable and quicker than I thought. Although the boot is fairly small especially in comparison to the Superb.

The model / version I was looking at was the Avensis strata which had a lot better spec as standard than i would have expected from Toyota. They are also now coming with cruise control, metallic paint and bluetooth all included which was not there at the start of the year. However the dealer did say the price had gone up a bit but is still under the maximum price level.

Definitely think I am swaying towards the Avensis at this stage especially as no dealer in the country seems to have the Superb greenline available for a test drive.

Shane732

keio wrote: »

Thanks for the reply:
- The 27,785 is a cost price restriction that the company put on the car.
- The maximum allowable CO2 emissions are 140g
- The list is fixed as I said earlier i have a choice of the following:
1 Toyota Avensis D4D 2.0ltr;
2 VW Golf TDi
3 Skoda Superb Greenline
4 Skoda Octavia
5 Honda Civic 1.4 Hybrid

In that case I recommend you walk

Drummerboy08

The Avensis wont be comfortable over the next 3/4 years - they're brutal. The Skoda would be the choice of the bunch, but take a look at the VRS Octy too.

You could always try a Laguna if your left with no options....

ION08

Out of your list i personally would go for the Golf Tdi. It's the best looking out of the bunch imo, comfortable yet dynamic enough. Folding down the rear seat to accomodate golfing gear isn't the most difficult of tasks in fairness but that's just me. If I genuinely needed something bigger then I suppose I'd go for the avensis. I think the Superb is a horrendous car.. but that's probably because im still in my 20s!