Golf GTI has me skint

ppshay

My dearly beloved MKV Golf GTI has to go. I'm putting €80+ petrol into it near enough twice a week. I do the 6-mile run into town and home again 2 or 3 times a day, sometimes more, and do a lot of running around town - taxi-ing for the kids school run and after-school activities.

I would hope to halve that fuel cost at least but don't know what to replace it with. Something that wouldn't be too big a comedown from the GTI.

Haven't checked just yet what it's worth. High mileage at 182km/113km, DSG, all servicing up to date, scuffed alloys. If I could make the saving on the fuel I would be happy enough replace it with something of the same value but ideally would like to put a grand or two in my pocket.

What would you go for?

Mr. Wong

Golf TDI?

Hogzy

€160 in fuel every week :eek:

You must be driving a hell of a lot more than you are letting on? That is a crazy amount even for a GTI. What MPG are you getting?

ppshay

Hogzy wrote: »

€160 in fuel every week :eek:

You must be driving a hell of a lot more than you are letting on? That is a crazy amount even for a GTI. What MPG are you getting?

Well, if I'm not filing her twice a week it's definitely every 10 days.

MadYaker

Hole in the fuel tank?!?! That seems like crazy consumption, even for a GTI.

166man

€160 a week can't be right or there's something wrong with your car or how you drive it. Assuming you got 25mpg, to spend €160 a week you'd have to cover over 500 miles if my maths are correct?

That sounds silly tbh.

willah

A friend of mine just got rid of his mark 4 GTi 1.8t. He was putting €80 a week into that sounds about right to me.

Bpmull

How many km do you get to a full tank of petrol op roughly? This would help determine if there is actually something wrong with your car?

Stheno

willah wrote: »

A friend of mine just got rid of his mark 4 GTi 1.8t. He was putting €80 a week into that sounds about right to me.

OP puts in twice that.

Hogzy

willah wrote: »

A friend of mine just got rid of his mark 4 GTi 1.8t. He was putting €80 a week into that sounds about right to me.

The OP puts in twice that and I would imagine the the MKV engine would be a little more efficient than the older 1.8t

Neilw

ppshay wrote: »

Well, if I'm not filing her twice a week it's definitely every 10 days.

If you're filling twice a week based on your figures that's about €640 a month, every 10 days is a massave difference at about €240 a month, I take it you mean twice every 10 days?

How many miles per week are you doing?

willah

€80 every 5 days. Depending what way it's being driven sounds about normal.

ppshay

I'm getting around 450km to a fill. Doing around 700km per week.

Hogzy

ppshay wrote: »

I'm getting around 450km to a fill. Doing around 700km per week.

Which is about 420miles, if that is 100% urban driving then what you are paying would be about right. If that is urban driving you must almost live in your car. I dont envy you.

MuppetCheck

ppshay wrote: »

I'm getting around 450km to a fill. Doing around 700km per week.

That's about 23mpg given the 55l tank when full driven around town on short spins that's not beyond the realms of possibility.

ppshay

I know, can do my head in sometimes.

Anyone got any decent suggestions for a replacement?

willah

Golf Gtd ,Octavia vrs diesel, seat Leon fr diesel

166man

ppshay wrote: »

I know, can do my head in sometimes.

Anyone got any decent suggestions for a replacement?

Something fuelled by the fuel of the devil anyhow.

Hogzy

ppshay wrote: »

I know, can do my head in sometimes.

Anyone got any decent suggestions for a replacement?

What town/city are you living in? Ill probably get slated for this on a motoring forum but would you consider an electric or hybrid vehicle? They would save you a good bit on costs if urban driving is ALL you do.

A Diesel will save money too but wont save that much when your in a traffic jam all day long.

AlfaZen

Alfa Romeo GT 1.9 JTDm.

45mpg+

Bit down on hp v the GTI but has more torque so around town you wouldn't notice the difference.

Supergurrier

Focus ST you will go from 23-24mpg

If you have a light foot

stimpson

LPG conversion?

Matthewjohn

320d coupe

166man

stimpson wrote: »

LPG conversion?

Would eat into the bootspace of an already relatively small hatchback though no?

Supergurrier

Terraclean *cough*

blindside88

If its all urban short trips don't even consider a diesel as suggested numerous times above. A small engined nippy petrol is what you want. How about a civic or a smaller engined golf?

coolisin

If your urban driving should a diesel be recommended?
Why not get a fiesta or Mazda 2?

MuppetCheck

AlfaZen wrote: »

Alfa Romeo GT 1.9 JTDm.

45mpg+

Bit down on hp v the GTI but has more torque so around town you wouldn't notice the difference.

45mpg around town?

And there will be a noticeable performance difference too.

stimpson

166man wrote: »

Would eat into the bootspace of an already relatively small hatchback though no?

Tank in the spare wheel well and a can of puncture repair stuff.

shinkansen

ppshay wrote: »

My dearly beloved MKV Golf GTI has to go. I'm putting €80+ petrol into it near enough twice a week. I do the 6-mile run into town and home again 2 or 3 times a day, sometimes more, and do a lot of running around town - taxi-ing for the kids school run and after-school activities.

I would hope to halve that fuel cost at least but don't know what to replace it with. Something that wouldn't be too big a comedown from the GTI.

Haven't checked just yet what it's worth. High mileage at 182km/113km, DSG, all servicing up to date, scuffed alloys. If I could make the saving on the fuel I would be happy enough replace it with something of the same value but ideally would like to put a grand or two in my pocket.

What would you go for?

I get about 270 miles on a full tank on my accord, that is entirely city driving.

AlfaZen

MuppetCheck wrote: »

45mpg around town?

And there will be a noticeable performance difference too.

Official stats for GTI 35mpg combined v Alfa 45mpg combined. I'm getting 47mpg in mine but my 40km comute is 25km motorway and 15 city.

GTI 280Nm v Alfas 330Nm torque

GTI 0-100kms in 6.7s v The Alfas 7.9s

Not much real world difference in the performance with the Alfa is 100kgs lighter.

MuppetCheck

Diesel will suffer from more noticeable lag, and it won't approach 45mpg entirely city driving.

AlfaZen

MuppetCheck wrote: »

Diesel will suffer from more noticeable lag, and it won't approach 45mpg entirely city driving.

It will still get a lot more mpg than the OPs GTI which by your calculations is getting 23mpg.

Lag isn't that noticeable in the multijet and can be eliminated with an adapted driving style, plus when the turbo does kick in who doesn't like that sensation?

Plus the Alfa will turn more heads than a GTI.

Marcusm

Mr. Wong wrote: »

Golf TDI?

On lots of short runs, that would be madness.

ppshay

I love the GTI, but it has to go.

Going to be a sad driver potting around in a 1.4 or 1.6 focus or similiar, which is what it looks like it'll have to be in order to make the saving I need.

Henry Ford III

Why not rethink the seemingly non stop urban driving you do?

Ded_Zebra

Can't believe no one has suggested it yet.


Mad Lad must be offline:p

ppshay

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Why not rethink the seemingly non stop urban driving you do?

Live in a town with no public transport so not much choice really.

ppshay

Thanks for the advice. The comments re: diesel were good to hear because all I have been hearing was that I should go that way.

tossy

ppshay wrote: »

I'm getting around 450km to a fill. Doing around 700km per week.

Hogzy wrote: »

Which is about 420miles, if that is 100% urban driving then what you are paying would be about right. If that is urban driving you must almost live in your car. I dont envy you.

450km's is around 270 miles which sounds spot on for a GTI with alot of urban driving.

cpoh1

A hybrid is the way to go with all those short journeys and you will be doing the rest of us a favour by keeping another polluting diesel off our roads.

tossy

I'd have a GT TDI RS4 R8 S5 TDDCI HDI big dirty smoking cooing 'felt spec diesel over a hybrid any day

MuppetCheck

AlfaZen wrote: »

It will still get a lot more mpg than the OPs GTI which by your calculations is getting 23mpg.

Lag isn't that noticeable in the multijet and can be eliminated with an adapted driving style, plus when the turbo does kick in who doesn't like that sensation?

Plus the Alfa will turn more heads than a GTI.

To eliminate lag on a diesel you will be driving on boost for the majority of the time. No doubt it will give better mpg than the Golf, but not the 45mpg you first stated when used the same as the Golf. Diesels really aren't much more economical than a petrol when used around town, you get a rougher idle and they take longer to heat up. That's before you take into account DPF's and then DMF's from constant clutching etc.

I'd be putting my money in a lower capacity petrol tbh.

Saab Ed

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4545122



Cheap fuel bills, sporty credentials, avoids sitting in the first cousin of a John Deere and you don't have to spend your trip to work in a fridge Prius. :cool:

listermint

Hi OP,

Dont get rid of your love.

Buy this. And use the GTI for the weekends.

BluE-WinG

I'd do an LPG conversion if you want to hold on to her.

Thats what I did to my Audi A4 1.8T cab - Now costing 40e a week instead of 75e a week in petrol

No loss of power, and the same feel as before too. Best thing you can do to the old 1.8 Inefficient engines.

AlfaZen

AlfaZen wrote: »

Plus the Alfa will turn more heads than a GTI.

No it won't, a Golf GTI is well a Golf GTI probably the worlds favorite and best loved hot hatch, its going to get much more nods of approval than an Alfa GT, not that the Alfa GT isn't a nice car also just doesn't have the pedigree of a GTI.

Not saying the OP shouldn't change his car, I'm just referring to your comment.

My mpg goes to the absolute dogs in city driving (manual mkV GTI) so the op's figures are very believable. You need to change, its crazy spending that sort of money on fuel.

listermint wrote: »

Hi OP,

Dont get rid of your love.

Buy this. And use the GTI for the weekends.


http://uk.protectyourbubble.com/uploads/images/Bicycle_Insurance/img_trek15triple__1_.jpg

Not much good for bringing kids places and to school etc which I imagine accounts for a lot of his driving.

Redsoxfan

I have an Alfa GT 1.9 JTD for five years now and wouldn't recommend it to the OP as:

(a) a city driver - it's a bit of a pig when crawling through traffic in all honesty (and my car is regularly serviced and has been remapped); and
(b) it's not practical for ferrying around kids - in fact any coupe/3 door simply isn't.

I love the car, but it is not what the OP should be looking at as a replacment for their Golf Gti.

listermint

Hannah Elegant Venom wrote: »

Not much good for bringing kids places and to school etc which I imagine accounts for a lot of his driving.

Sell the kids.


This is a motors forum

tossy

BluE-WinG wrote: »

No loss of power, and the same feel as before too. Best thing you can do to the old 1.8 Inefficient engines.

Bit harsh on the 1.8T no ? I have a 1.8T S3 which is almost directly comparable to the MK5 GTI and fuel consumption figures would be near on identical,considering the S3 is quattro that's not bad for an old inefficient engine

listermint

listermint wrote: »

Sell the kids.


This is a motors forum

Yes it is a motors forum, so why suggest a push bike.