New Car Advice

dutopia

I'm thinking about a new car or maybe a 1-2 year old used.

Minimum engine: 1.6 - petrol or diesel
Auto Transmission
0% finance option would be a bonus
Decent boot space

I'm thinking, Hyundai i30, Kia C'eed, VW Golf.

I was also looking at the Kia Sportage, but the price difference between the manual and auto transmission is mental!

Budget around 25k-30k.

Any recommendations?

bazz26

You will get the Golf in 1.4 TSi 150bhp Highline with DSG for about €30k. Highline is a decent enough spec in it and I think VW are still throwing in the Tech Pack for free on them. Seat Leon which is pretty much the same car as Golf but cheaper would be available in 2.0 TDI FR 150bhp DSG for similar money. The i30 and Ceed in petrol form are mostly entry level spec assuming dealers can get you one. Mazda 3 would be another option but not sure how available the diesel auto is to dealers.

VW Bank were doing great finance deals before Christmas to get order books filled for the new year but not sure if they are still running them, shopping before Christmas was really the time to look for this.

Bpmull

The golf highline 1.4 tsi 150bhp is what I'd go for they are a serious car in everyway great spec, good power, dsg gearbox is one of the best auto gearboxes and very low if not 0% finance on them at the minute. Iirc op you have an auto focus and don't do much mileage annually so no point in looking at diesels although maybe I'm mistaking you for someone else.

MuppetCheck

How long are you keeping the car? There's also a Leon FR 1.8tsi petrol that can be had with a DSG gearbox and a slightly better chassis than the lower powered cars and slightly better spec too. Will lose more money on resale though.

If you can get a Golf delivered before March you you'll also get the tech pack free - reversing camera and nav being the good bits.

Casati

Skoda are running 0% on the Octavia, and also are running some cheap option packs. The 1.2 TSI DSG is a nice combo and can be got for well under 25k.

The Yeti is also an option but finance is 3.9% I think, and it will retail around 30k with that engine

dutopia

bazz26 wrote: »

You will get the Golf in 1.4 TSi 150bhp Highline with DSG for about €30k. Highline is a decent enough spec in it and I think VW are still throwing in the Tech Pack for free on them. Seat Leon which is pretty much the same car as Golf but cheaper would be available in 2.0 TDI FR 150bhp DSG for similar money. The i30 and Ceed in petrol form are mostly entry level spec assuming dealers can get you one. Mazda 3 would be another option but not sure how available the diesel auto is to dealers.

VW Bank were doing great finance deals before Christmas to get order books filled for the new year but not sure if they are still running them, shopping before Christmas was really the time to look for this.

Golf is looking like a good option.

The C'eed and i30 would be the 1.6 Diesel as that's the version with auto transmission.

I didn't know before Christmas was the best time to look, still it seems they're still doing the tech pack deal.

dutopia

Bpmull wrote: »

The golf highline 1.4 tsi 150bhp is what I'd go for they are a serious car in everyway great spec, good power, dsg gearbox is one of the best auto gearboxes and very low if not 0% finance on them at the minute. Iirc op you have an auto focus and don't do much mileage annually so no point in looking at diesels although maybe I'm mistaking you for someone else.

You're not wrong! Wow, amazing how you remember that.

dutopia

MuppetCheck wrote: »

How long are you keeping the car? There's also a Leon FR 1.8tsi petrol that can be had with a DSG gearbox and a slightly better chassis than the lower powered cars and slightly better spec too. Will lose more money on resale though.

If you can get a Golf delivered before March you you'll also get the tech pack free - reversing camera and nav being the good bits.

Thanks, Golf is looking good.

I had a look at the Leon there, man that's a boring looking car IMO.

josip

Octavia will be a little cheaper than a Golf, like for like.
Bigger boot on the Octavia but the Golf suspension is better.

finalfurlong

Yeah agree with that.Only 2 areas octavia is different to Golf is the octavia getting the torsion beam suspension instead of the multi link set up in golf and also more soundproofing in golf.In fairness day to day no major handicap although you do notice more basic suspension on some of the rougher roads.

Murt10

According to the blurb....

The Auris Touring Sports is a estate with a difference in that it is the first car of its type to be offered with Hybrid Synergy Drive® in addition to petrol and diesel engines. Smooth, aerodynamic and athletic on the outside, it is comfortable, spacious and with versatile fold-flat seating on the inside.

Priced from €28,235 and it will hold its value like nothing else


Link http://www.trmash.ie/pages/new-car-details/auris-touring-sports/index.json

Gael23

Take a look at the Octavia TSI. Very similar to the Golf but with a bigger boot ad physically bigger car.

Avoid the Auris as the Auto box is useless. i30 want bad but you pay a penalty in fuel economy and road tax.

Bpmull

ryanf1 wrote: »

Take a look at the Octavia TSI. Very similar to the Golf but with a bigger boot ad physically bigger car.

Not saying the octavia is a bad car but the golf is far far nicer inside and significantly quieter. But the octavia is cheaper and has the big boot. I suppose it's a good idea to test both out and see. But afaik once you spec up an octavia and put a dsg in it its not much cheaper than an equivalent golf. Octavia's aren't the good value they used to be with the older model now that was a good value but with the new model the price was jacked up 5k euro.

Gael23

Bpmull wrote: »

Not saying the octavia is a bad car but the golf is far far nicer inside and significantly quieter. But the octavia is cheaper and has the big boot. I suppose it's a good idea to test both out and see. But afaik once you spec up an octavia and put a dsg in it its not much cheaper than an equivalent golf. Octavia's aren't the good value they used to be with the older model now that was a good value but with the new model the price was jacked up 5k euro.

Agreed, and if it was me Iwould go with the Glf hands down, just if you want a more spacious boot then the Octavia is worth a look. I was disappointed with the Octavia, my grandparents went to buy one with a 131 plate at the time were not impressed and so went straight off and bought a Golf DSG TDI. The Octavia wasn't suitable for them for lots of reasons but mainly it was the price. Also I think its too large for its class, much bigger than its predecessor.

I would look keenly at the 1.2 TSI in the Golf, the 1.6 TDI is amazing but hard to justify the premium price.

AMKC

What about an Opel Astra,Honda Civic or a Peugeot 308 which is a very classy car. No harm looking at them anyway see what you think of them.

markjh

Picked up my new Golf last week... Highline is the way to go with 1.9% interest. Exceptional finish quality. Would definitely recommend.

colm_mcm

Murt10 wrote: »

Priced from €28,235 and it will hold its value like nothing else

At least they're up front about it!

Gael23

markjh wrote: »

Picked up my new Golf last week... Highline is the way to go with 1.9% interest. Exceptional finish quality. Would definitely recommend.

I believe you get paddle shift with the high line DSG which would be nice.

MuppetCheck

Bear in mind the Octavia has really been built down to a price. It's not a vaguely fair-ish comparison compared to the current Golf in the way the old one was.

It's like they made it deliberately worse than they should have and have lost a place in the pecking order as a result. Paint quality in particular is poor.

AMKC

MuppetCheck wrote: »

Bear in mind the Octavia has really been built down to a price. It's not a vaguely fair-ish comparison compared to the current Golf in the way the old one was.

It's like they made it deliberately worse than they should have and have lost a place in the pecking order as a result. Paint quality in particular is poor.

That is exactly what has happened but its not Skoda's fault its VW. They own Skoda and were not happy with the huge amount of success Skoda were having way more than they ever anticipated. So they decided to not let Skoda get some of the latest tech as soon as they did before and cut back there funding a bit too and told them they were building there cars to good.
You would think they would be happy but they were worried that Skoda were and had taken some of there sales and would take more in the future.

JohnBoy26

finalfurlong wrote: »

Yeah agree with that.Only 2 areas octavia is different to Golf is the octavia getting the torsion beam suspension instead of the multi link set up in golf and also more soundproofing in golf.In fairness day to day no major handicap although you do notice more basic suspension on some of the rougher roads.

The golf gets the torsion beam suspension as well on lower spec models. Like the golf the Octavia gets indepent suspension on higher spec cars.

colm_mcm

AMKC wrote: »

That is exactly what has happened but its not Skoda's fault its VW. They own Skoda and were not happy with the huge amount of success Skoda were having way more than they ever anticipated. So they decided to not let Skoda get some of the latest tech as soon as they did before and cut back there funding a bit too and told them they were building there cars to good.
You would think they would be happy but they were worried that Skoda were and had taken some of there sales and would take more in the future.

Curious as to how that got back to you?

road_high

Sat in a new Octavia estate (mid spec one) there recently and what struck me was the noise and how desperately the car needed a 6 speed box. Very unrefined for a car these days.

finalfurlong

Agree re the need for 6th gear.I have the 1.6 and used to have the 6 speed avensis 2 litre.I found it hard to get used to especially on motorway driving.There is a 6th gear on the octavia 2 litre 150 bhp and its supposed to be far better sorted.However they are rare 2nd hand in Ireland but if Im sticking with octavia when upgrading,I am strongly thinking of getting a 2 litre in England where they are far more plentiful.

bazz26

Had a loan of a MkVII Golf 1.6TDi last year, drove it from Belfast to Limerick and back. The lack of a 6th gear and the fact it didn't have cruise control made that journey almost hell.

The 1.6 TDi is now revised and has 120bhp and a 6 spd gearbox, no idea when the Octavia will get it though and it's possible they will continue to sell the 105bhp 5 speed along side it.

josip

finalfurlong wrote: »

Agree re the need for 6th gear.I have the 1.6 and used to have the 6 speed avensis 2 litre.I found it hard to get used to especially on motorway driving.There is a 6th gear on the octavia 2 litre 150 bhp and its supposed to be far better sorted.However they are rare 2nd hand in Ireland but if Im sticking with octavia when upgrading,I am strongly thinking of getting a 2 litre in England where they are far more plentiful.

2 litre on order for end Jan delivery to replace current 1.9
I thought the 1.6 was getting bogged down during the test drive so went up a few ccs.
Vrs outside budget tho

Casati

AMKC wrote: »

That is exactly what has happened but its not Skoda's fault its VW. They own Skoda and were not happy with the huge amount of success Skoda were having way more than they ever anticipated. So they decided to not let Skoda get some of the latest tech as soon as they did before and cut back there funding a bit too and told them they were building there cars to good.
You would think they would be happy but they were worried that Skoda were and had taken some of there sales and would take more in the future.

What latest tech is not available on the Octavia versus the Golf??? I dont think this post has any basis to be honest. The Octavia is built on the same platform, with same engines and transmission etc. The recently launched Fabia tells the same story and comes with some new petrol engines not available on the Polo

Skoda operates as a public company in its own right (with one shareholder) Its 'funding' does not come from Volkswagen but from the revenue generated from its own sales, trade credit and loans it has received from the market. To claim Volkswagen has cut back on funding shows lack of knowledge as to the funding arrangements of the company.

dutopia

Just to come back to this for a moment, I don't know much about engines but generally, the larger the engine the more power, right?

How does the 1.4 TSI ACT BlueMotion generate more than the 1.6 TDI and the same as the 2.0 TDI (150hp / 110kw)?

Edit: Sorry I forgot to say what car! The Golf Highline

bazz26

No, power varies between different engines and is not exclusively dependent on cubic capacity (engine size). Small capacity engines that have forced induction (turbo, supercharger) can be more powerful than larger capacity normally aspired engines.

The 1.4 TSi has 150bhp which is the same as the 2.0 TDi but alot more than the 1.6 TDi. How that power is delivered can be different between different engines too.

noelf

Casati wrote: »

What latest tech is not available on the Octavia versus the Golf??? I dont think this post has any basis to be honest. The Octavia is built on the same platform, with same engines and transmission etc. The recently launched Fabia tells the same story and comes with some new petrol engines not available on the Polo

Skoda operates as a public company in its own right (with one shareholder) Its 'funding' does not come from Volkswagen but from the revenue generated from its own sales, trade credit and loans it has received from the market. To claim Volkswagen has cut back on funding shows lack of knowledge as to the funding arrangements of the company.

Adaptive cruise control on a skoda octavia €780 on a golf i bought €180 .. and i think it is standard now

colm_mcm

noelf wrote: »

Adaptive cruise control on a skoda octavia €780 on a golf i bought €180 .. and i think it is standard now

That's not 'not available' though
In the context of vw not fitting equipment/introducing new tech to skodas

noelf

colm_mcm wrote: »

That's not 'not available' though
In the context of vw not fitting equipment/introducing new tech to skodas

But their charging skoda customers a arm and a leg to have it also interiors are a step down on vw .. skoda has to play second fiddle to vw ??

colm_mcm

I'm sure there are examples of stuff that's cheaper to get on skoda than vw though.
You're kinda right though, but I think they're right to chase different customers and offer different flavours. The car enthusiast in me hates deliberate dumbing down of cars though.

JohnBoy26

The Golf is a lot better looking than the Octavia too.

colm_mcm

That's not too difficult though.

JohnBoy26

colm_mcm wrote: »

That's not too difficult though.

Indeed it's not

dutopia

bazz26 wrote: »

No, power varies between different engines and is not exclusively dependent on cubic capacity (engine size). Small capacity engines that have forced induction (turbo, supercharger) can be more powerful than larger capacity normally aspired engines.

The 1.4 TSi has 150bhp which is the same as the 2.0 TDi but alot more than the 1.6 TDi. How that power is delivered can be different between different engines too.

Good to know, thanks!