Japense or sporty diesel for insurance and more ecnomical

tmboy95

well lads, im driving a g6 corolla at the moment and i plan to keep it till next summer but i want to swap then. il be 18 and on a full license by the time this happens, but anyway i was just wondering what cars would ye think would be economical and cheap to run? ill be driving to college which could be 30 odd miles to the college and another 30 back in the evening. i also might do extra driving at the weekends.
I like jdm but i dont know are they that ecomical at all and might be abit harder to insure. A friend of mine had a civic and he said it pure drank the petrol. or i would also consider a levin.
Diesel speaking, ive taken a liking to seat toledos and heard they are good on diesel. there are some nice ones on donedeal for not too bad money and id say they would be reasonable enough to ensure. Maybe a pugeout 306 d turbo as a fella told me he had one and he was getting 500miles to the tank?:eek: but would it be hard to find a nice one that hasnt been screwed too much and isnt wrecked?
For me now at this stage il just get whatever is lighter on fuel i say??
Id appreciate if ye could tell me what these cars would be like on fuel and what way they are to insure. feel free to make suggestions about other cars too around this area.

JimmyCrackCorn

Sporty and fuel consumption are two things which just don't go together.


I got 29mpg reliably out of an ek4 and about 30mpg out of an ek9 which in my book is great. Forget it in insurance terms.

Rough real world MPG figures can be found on http://www.fuelly.com/car/


I'm afraid you will just have to work out the math on MPG and ring for insurance quotes to see what falls in budget.

tmboy95

thanks jimmy, that website is good i can see what cars like my own are doing mpg wise and was one of the main things i needed. i was thinking about it again today and with the way things are i wont be going near anything like 1.6petrol at the cost of things. even though i adore it would break me. now i was thinking along the lines of a nice diesel, lowered, alloys, tinted windows etc and im be confident enough you could get would, lets just say 110bhp standard and remapped to 130. oh of course it has to be tdi, and a straight pipe to hear her "booo"

fletch

I had a Skoda Fabia vRS for about 5 years....170bhp(130 standard) 400Nm (310 standard) and 50mpg+.
Insurance was very cheap too as mostly grannies drive Fabias....might be worth a look?

CRM Ireland

Sporty and diesel definitely DO go together. Anyone that says otherwise is living in the past and has obviously never driven a powerful modern diesel car.

When I first past my test in 2004 I went and bought a brand new SEAT Ibiza 1.9TDi 100bhp. It was only group 5 insurance out of a possible 20 (Im from Scotland so Im not sure if Ireland uses the same insurance scale) as it was down the lower end of the power scale. It was certainly not a sports car by any means, however it was very torquey and would spin up its front wheels in a heartbeat should I have chosen to be too heavy with my right foot.

As soon as my first year was up and I was claims free I was able to shop around much more for cheaper insurance. I paid 300GBP for an Upsolute chip and it increased the car to 133bhp. This made the car much more responsive and the difference was incredible. They claim it improves fuel economy, but I was constantly driving spiritedly so it was hard to tell if it did improve or not!

One thing about diesels, especially if youre thinking about getting a smaller car, is the weight of the engine. Its a heavy beast to whack on the front of a small car. When I ordered my car, it was 2 weeks until the new registrations came out, so they gave me a 1.2 petrol Ibiza (same car only petrol instead of diesel) as a courtesy car. That little thing was able to change direction much quicker and was so lively on the back roads. When I picked up my own car after two weeks driving the petrol variant, I was excited about the power, but very disappointed in the handling as it tended to understeer a lot, especially in the wet of you even thought about trying to accelerate out of a sharp turn such as a roundabout.

I had already ordered 17" alloys from the garage around the corner, so I only went about 2 miles on the original 14 or 15" steel wheels before changing them to 205/45/17. This made the handling MUCH worse! I ended up getting KW Variant 2 coilovers and that was the one thing that made the most difference to my car. Not only was it no longer looking like a 4X4 (big wheels tend to do that!) but it was much more compliant going around corners.

I was in a SEAT forum, as you do, and we went on road trips and meets etc, even had her rolling road tested on a group meet and it had exactly 133bhp as I had been told I would get from Upsolute. So to sum up my little trip down nostalgia lane, I had what felt like a really nippy car with plenty of power and despite informing my insurance about all the mods, it still didnt put the premium up much as it was originally a group 5 car. I loved it.

My friend in Scotland was just talkng to me 2 nights ago and bought himself a Seat Leon FR TDi (170bhp) to use for work and he loves it. He was shocked how sporty it is, and this is a guy who has had some serious sports cars. Evo 6 Tommi Mak Edition, Evo 6 500bhp, brand new Nissan GTR etc.

People in the UK buy diesel cars because they are much more economical to run, and thats despite the fact that in the UK diesel is a about 5-10p more per litre than petrol. Here in Ireland its even better because diesel is obviously cheaper to buy than petrol. Its a no brainer really.

Ive always wanted a Skyline R32 GTR, I could afford to buy one tomorrow if I wanted to, but I just couldnt justify the running costs of it. As much as I love the sounds of them and get so envious when I see any Jap performance car going past, I cringe at the thought of just hw much of my wages would be used filling it up. Even that simple 5 minute trip to the shop would be expensive.

tmboy95

Thanks fletch, ya i say they would be handy to insure but no offence but i wouldnt like one at all. not my taste.. hard to believe that power from one them cars dou

Thanks for the reply CRM, nice jobs you done to car, looks alot different and nicer from the bog standard ones oh i can definately relate to you when i read "As much as I love the sounds of them and get so envious when I see any Jap performance car going past, I cringe at the thought of just hw much of my wages would be used filling it up". Oh when i see a nice vtec civic or levin 20valve tear by i just love it, but then when i think of the cost it puts me off it..
Well to be honest i wouldnt be looking for a small car, id go for a saloon. I could change my miind now again before the time but id be more focused towards bora, toledo, passat sort of maybe a golf but its not that i dont like golfs, but where i am its just theres so many golfs and audi a4's :O

To be honest im not sure what way insurance works here.. all i know is its not cheap at all! ya if i got a nice tdi under 100bhp stock and be remapped upto 120 or so. id get away with car 110bhp or more on the book id say. Heres what i like, im not buying not and wont be for another few months just looking.http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4109695
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4069374 ,
what ye think?? i dunno its only a notion i have at the moment but if all does go ahead and i got to college il be purchasing.couldnt find any golfs that take my liking but i must admit i like some.

tossy

CRM Ireland wrote: »

Sporty and diesel definitely DO go together. Anyone that says otherwise is living in the past and has obviously never driven a powerful modern diesel car.

When I first past my test in 2004 I went and bought a brand new SEAT Ibiza 1.9TDi 100bhp. It was only group 5 insurance out of a possible 20 (Im from Scotland so Im not sure if Ireland uses the same insurance scale) as it was down the lower end of the power scale. It was certainly not a sports car by any means, however it was very torquey and would spin up its front wheels in a heartbeat should I have chosen to be too heavy with my right foot.

As soon as my first year was up and I was claims free I was able to shop around much more for cheaper insurance. I paid 300GBP for an Upsolute chip and it increased the car to 133bhp. This made the car much more responsive and the difference was incredible. They claim it improves fuel economy, but I was constantly driving spiritedly so it was hard to tell if it did improve or not!

One thing about diesels, especially if youre thinking about getting a smaller car, is the weight of the engine. Its a heavy beast to whack on the front of a small car. When I ordered my car, it was 2 weeks until the new registrations came out, so they gave me a 1.2 petrol Ibiza (same car only petrol instead of diesel) as a courtesy car. That little thing was able to change direction much quicker and was so lively on the back roads. When I picked up my own car after two weeks driving the petrol variant, I was excited about the power, but very disappointed in the handling as it tended to understeer a lot, especially in the wet of you even thought about trying to accelerate out of a sharp turn such as a roundabout.

I had already ordered 17" alloys from the garage around the corner, so I only went about 2 miles on the original 14 or 15" steel wheels before changing them to 205/45/17. This made the handling MUCH worse! I ended up getting KW Variant 2 coilovers and that was the one thing that made the most difference to my car. Not only was it no longer looking like a 4X4 (big wheels tend to do that!) but it was much more compliant going around corners.

I was in a SEAT forum, as you do, and we went on road trips and meets etc, even had her rolling road tested on a group meet and it had exactly 133bhp as I had been told I would get from Upsolute. So to sum up my little trip down nostalgia lane, I had what felt like a really nippy car with plenty of power and despite informing my insurance about all the mods, it still didnt put the premium up much as it was originally a group 5 car. I loved it.

My friend in Scotland was just talkng to me 2 nights ago and bought himself a Seat Leon FR TDi (170bhp) to use for work and he loves it. He was shocked how sporty it is, and this is a guy who has had some serious sports cars. Evo 6 Tommi Mak Edition, Evo 6 500bhp, brand new Nissan GTR etc.

People in the UK buy diesel cars because they are much more economical to run, and thats despite the fact that in the UK diesel is a about 5-10p more per litre than petrol. Here in Ireland its even better because diesel is obviously cheaper to buy than petrol. Its a no brainer really.

Ive always wanted a Skyline R32 GTR, I could afford to buy one tomorrow if I wanted to, but I just couldnt justify the running costs of it. As much as I love the sounds of them and get so envious when I see any Jap performance car going past, I cringe at the thought of just hw much of my wages would be used filling it up. Even that simple 5 minute trip to the shop would be expensive.

Well written post and lovely car,which you obviously like a lot and rightly so.The thing is though anyone who now disagrees with you will be seen as raining on your parade and having a case of sour grapes.So even though i have experience of owning a car with that exact engine,and a remap and brake and suspension upgrades and comparitive experience with more 'sporty' cars i will not disagree with you

I hate the word sporty anyway what does it cover ? to me sporty is a 911,an s2000,an MX5 etc and therefore i've never considered myself to own a sporty car,fast/powerful yes,good handling yes but not really sporty.

I think Diesels can certainly be fast but the are all 3.0 or above and come in large executive cars so are not sporty by nature.

dar83

Diesel and sporty do not go together. Unless you're talking in the realms of 335d and even that would possibly be the only 'sporty' one you'd ever find. A 1.X diesel is never sporty, even remapped.

Torquey maybe, sporty no.

Supergurrier

I would just buy a Toldedo/Leon/Octavia 1.9 tdi and get it remapped, sporty it won't be but right now your priority is having safe and comfortable transport for uni, i know if i had my current car when i was in uni i would have been upside down in a ditch inside a week.

JimmyCrackCorn

Off topic thread post split

tmboy95

Thanks lads, ya i was actually looking at an octavia too to be honest. Ah like im after getting bit more information too from talking to people and the people here helped too so i now have a better idea Thanks again everyone

Mully_2011

Your going to college get a clean standard 206 hdi or 1.5 dci clio cheap to run tax and insure.Those Modified VAGs and 306s you see running around are the biggest buckets of ****e going

JimmyCrackCorn

Mully_2011 wrote: »

Your going to college get a clean standard 206 hdi or 1.5 dci clio cheap to run tax and insure.Those Modified VAGs and 306s you see running around are the biggest buckets of ****e going

While harsh, it is a valid point. Iv spent allot putting modified cars right after having a load of fun finding faults and poor work.

Speedy199

tmboy95 wrote: »

thanks jimmy, that website is good i can see what cars like my own are doing mpg wise and was one of the main things i needed. i was thinking about it again today and with the way things are i wont be going near anything like 1.6petrol at the cost of things. even though i adore it would break me. now i was thinking along the lines of a nice diesel, lowered, alloys, tinted windows etc and im be confident enough you could get would, lets just say 110bhp standard and remapped to 130. oh of course it has to be tdi, and a straight pipe to hear her "booo"

Please for the sake of humanity, if you do get a diesel do not put a straight through pipe on the car. Ruins the car and engine and black smoke coming out the back isn't too applealing either.

tmboy95

Well if im happy with the way its sounding with some bit of a boo i wont go near putting a straight pipe. I see where you are coming from dou, i can say i have seen shocking examples of this done.. the sound, is just terrible.
Well even dou a clio or 206 may be cheap to run, i still wouldnt fancy them to be honest. Sorry if i take abit to reply lads, flat to the board with school these days!

tossy

tmboy95 wrote: »

Well if im happy with the way its sounding with some bit of a boo i wont go near putting a straight pipe. I see where you are coming from dou, i can say i have seen shocking examples of this done.. the sound, is just terrible.
Well even dou a clio or 206 may be cheap to run, i still wouldnt fancy them to be honest. Sorry if i take abit to reply lads, flat to the board with school these days!

How's school going ? i'd say you are not flat to the board enough,time to put the foot to the back of the headlight and get some lift out of those books lad!

Mully_2011

tmboy95 wrote: »

Well even dou a clio or 206 may be cheap to run, i still wouldnt fancy them to be honest. Sorry if i take abit to reply lads, flat to the board with school these days!

I'm in my last year of college trust me man you'll want something that costs feck all to tax insurance service etc to be 100% honest your probably better off without the car.

Sell the corolla and use the funds to be monged and cover a gym membership (trust me you'll want the gym membership)

JimmyCrackCorn

tossy wrote: »

How's school going ? i'd say you are not flat to the board enough,time to put the foot to the back of the headlight and get some lift out of those books lad!

I'm sure all the words in there are English but the rest is a mystery

13spanner

For college myself and the sister went halves (We're both in Limerick, made sense) on a 2007 Corolla van. It's not sporty, only quick up to third gear, but the 1.4 D4D is ok on diesel and hasn't failed us yet.

My best was from home in North Clare, to Belfast via Dublin, back to Dublin, and then as far as Limerick on 1 fill of diesel couldn't beat it like!

tmboy95

Corolla van.. what a car. i was gonna buy a older one of them just a g6 corolla came up cheap. Oh i wouldnt say no to one of them ya i heard they are meant to be unreal light on fuel! Il agree they are hard to beat, i could see a D4D as a possible future car maybe alright. There are some reasonabley enough priced ones on donedeal too and there only gonna get cheaper

GEasy

I had a diesel corolla van. Not even in the realm of slightly quick but a ran of diesel fumes! Never any problems with it either

Rodin

Mazda 6 sport diesel. 185 bhp. 0-60 in 8.3 50mpg

GEasy

Rodin wrote: »

Mazda 6 sport diesel. 185 bhp. 0-60 in 8.3 50mpg

Think those diesels give trouble? I know the petrols are bullet proof.

EDIT: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055621785

tmboy95

hmmm mazda doesnt look too bad infairness. Hi with the tax after going up in the budget and im sure the price of fuel will, maybe id lean towards a van as i could tax it for the cheaper rate (350euro odd cause im a farmer). Ill have to see what way things go but god ya i know heaps of people driving all year corolla vans and not one bad word to say about them.

Rodin

LakesKeane wrote: »

Think those diesels give trouble? I know the petrols are bullet proof.

EDIT: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055621785

The 1st generation apparently did.
The 2nd I've not heard a problem with.