The Car Advice Thread • Non-Gaming • Travel • Eurogamer.net

Armoured_Bear 17 Jul 2018 22:38:06 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years ago

Couldn't find a relevant thread so here we go....

I'm looking for a new motor to replace my ancient Saab 9-3, I'm looking for something a bit smaller, more modern and economical with some of the save advantages. I've almost saved up enough so starting to try different cars.

Requirements

- Very comfortable on long journeys
- Enjoyable to Drive
- Luxurious Interior
- Decent power/economy balance
- Petrol
- Reliable
- 2-5 years old,
- Less than 50,000km
- Memory Seats (gf and I drive equally and it's been a godsend in the Saab)

At the weekend we tried a Volvo V40 Sport 200 (Manual) and a Mercedes A200 AMG Line (Auto).
Really liked the Volvo, fantastic dash, great seats and lovely to drive.
The Merc was fine although didn't click with us quite as much but the auto gearbox was fantastic.

Looking to try an Audi A3 although they're much less pretty than the two above and a Merc GLA.

What else?
Mazda 3 - Looks ok, will be reliable but interior feels not as nice.
Golf - No cheaper than an A3 here.
BMW 1 Series - Need an AWD for winter here and only come in diesels except the 135i which is a bit thirsty.
Seat Leon/Ford Focus - ok but not as pretty inside or out.
Mini?

Any advice much appreciated.

retro74 17 Jul 2018 22:40:57 3,798 posts
Seen 15 hours ago
Registered 13 years ago

There’s a thread for this I’m sure

I drive a Golf R Estate and a Renault Clio Trophy, both are 5/5 cars but the Golf is better as a daily

Had an Audi before though and they are a class above from my VW

Fake_Blood 17 Jul 2018 22:48:40 11,093 posts
Seen 17 hours ago
Registered 12 years ago

Model 3

Armoured_Bear 17 Jul 2018 22:54:22 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years ago

Fake_Blood wrote:
Model 3

They're not available yet.

Fake_Blood 17 Jul 2018 22:55:38 11,093 posts
Seen 17 hours ago
Registered 12 years ago

Focus is about to update bay the way.

bladdard 17 Jul 2018 23:00:28 1,393 posts
Seen 11 hours ago
Registered 12 years ago

@Armoured_Bear Golf TSI but you’ll need a decent spec to get leather and memory seats. The Mazda 3 is excellent too and comes with some pokey but frugal engines but I don’t think it has memory seats.

Armoured_Bear 17 Jul 2018 23:02:41 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years ago

Fake_Blood wrote:
Focus is about to update bay the way.

I just had a look, looks pretty good tbh.
Maybe the next car

fontgeeksogood 17 Jul 2018 23:02:49 12,913 posts
Seen 5 months ago
Registered 3 years ago

Get one with a Technogel headrest, they really are a godsend in summer

Armoured_Bear 17 Jul 2018 23:05:15 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years ago

bladdard wrote:
@Armoured_Bear Golf TSI but you’ll need a decent spec to get leather and memory seats. The Mazda 3 is excellent too and comes with some pokey but frugal engines but I don’t think it has memory seats.

Something like this?

Armoured_Bear 17 Jul 2018 23:05:31 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years ago

fontgeeksogood wrote:
Get one with a Technogel headrest, they really are a godsend in summer

If only that were possible.

Armoured_Bear 17 Jul 2018 23:34:01 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years ago

neyla12 wrote:
They're not available yet ?

Not in Europe.

freddymercurystwin 18 Jul 2018 02:17:47 2,825 posts
Seen 13 hours ago
Registered 17 years ago

My tip, avoid anything that's not a proper manual if you want to keep it for a long time.

macmurphy 18 Jul 2018 04:17:07 4,447 posts
Seen 14 hours ago
Registered 14 years ago

Frogofdoom 18 Jul 2018 07:52:35 17,973 posts
Seen 9 hours ago
Registered 9 years ago

Oh you will be going on the list for that.

Deleted user 18 July 2018 08:13:29

Armoured_Bear wrote:
BMW 1 Series - Need an AWD for winter here and only come in diesels except the 135i which is a bit thirsty.

3-series maybe? AWD is available starting with the 320, and I think all your other requirements are met too

Fake_Blood 18 Jul 2018 08:24:40 11,093 posts
Seen 17 hours ago
Registered 12 years ago

There’s going to be a new 3 series before the end of the year too.

Armoured_Bear 18 Jul 2018 08:24:41 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years ago

DrStrangelove wrote:

Armoured_Bear wrote:
BMW 1 Series - Need an AWD for winter here and only come in diesels except the 135i which is a bit thirsty.
3-series maybe? AWD is available starting with the 320, and I think all your other requirements are met too

Cheers.
Yeah, I was hoping for something a bit smaller but may be worth a look.

lordofthedunce 18 Jul 2018 08:41:07 775 posts
Seen 11 hours ago
Registered 12 years ago

Slightly off-topic: If you're buying VW group car a couple of years old it'll have no warranty left, should anything go wrong you'll be left in the lurch. Also, avoid VW group cars which had the emissions "fix" a couple of years back (although these are diesels) as performance is meant to be worse after the engine remapping.

Armoured_Bear 18 Jul 2018 08:51:02 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years ago

lordofthedunce wrote:
Slightly off-topic: If you're buying VW group car a couple of years old it'll have no warranty left, should anything go wrong you'll be left in the lurch.

Why is there no warranty?

dominalien 18 Jul 2018 08:55:05 10,703 posts
Seen 1 hour ago
Registered 15 years ago

A Mazda CX-5? It's about as big as a Focus.

If that's too big, maybe a CX-3, but I don't know it well enough to tell if it ticks all your boxes.

Edited by dominalien at 08:56:29 18-07-2018

lordofthedunce 18 Jul 2018 09:08:38 775 posts
Seen 11 hours ago
Registered 12 years ago

Armoured_Bear wrote:

lordofthedunce wrote:
Slightly off-topic: If you're buying VW group car a couple of years old it'll have no warranty left, should anything go wrong you'll be left in the lurch.
Why is there no warranty?

Standard warranty is 3 years/36000 miles. Clutch is 6 months. DSG clutch on smaller VW engines is has been known for problems.
If I was going to buy a 2-5 year old car it wouldn't be a VW group car! Obviously interior and driver appeal is high for VW, but I'd say Honda, Toyota etc are better buys at 3+ years old. Hyundai and Kia have 5/7 year warranties.

Armoured_Bear 18 Jul 2018 09:09:14 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years ago

dominalien wrote:
A Mazda CX-5? It's about as big as a Focus.

If that's too big, maybe a CX-3, but I don't know it well enough to tell if it ticks all your boxes.

Cheers.

Deleted user 18 July 2018 09:25:39

lordofthedunce wrote:

Armoured_Bear wrote:

lordofthedunce wrote:
Slightly off-topic: If you're buying VW group car a couple of years old it'll have no warranty left, should anything go wrong you'll be left in the lurch.
Why is there no warranty?
Standard warranty is 3 years/36000 miles. Clutch is 6 months. DSG clutch on smaller VW engines is has been known for problems.
If I was going to buy a 2-5 year old car it wouldn't be a VW group car! Obviously interior and driver appeal is high for VW, but I'd say Honda, Toyota etc are better buys at 3+ years old. Hyundai and Kia have 5/7 year warranties.

Haven't had one myself, but I've also read and heard a lot about problems with VW engines and transmissions. Cam chains, TSI engines, DSG etc. For all the great driving characteristics, finish, comfort etc. there often seem to be reliability issues where it hurts most. "I wouldn't want a VW again" is something I've heard pretty often from acquaintances. Cars with lesser reputation like Ford and Opel/Vauxhall seem to be more robust in this regard.

freddymercurystwin 18 Jul 2018 09:52:27 2,825 posts
Seen 13 hours ago
Registered 17 years ago

I have a 5 year old golf diesel (bought two years ago), avoided the DSG as mentioned already, been good as gold and a plenty of clever little features, on 70K now. I keep cars for about 8 years or until they become too expensive to keep going, I didn't get a golf before this one and regretted it for 8 years though I did have one before that last one. I know plenty of people who have stuck with VW's for decades, I think generally VW cars are still largely pretty good (there are well know to be a few duds in the range) but really this is not the best forum for finding a car!

Deleted user 18 July 2018 10:29:11

Armoured_Bear wrote:

DrStrangelove wrote:

Armoured_Bear wrote:
BMW 1 Series - Need an AWD for winter here and only come in diesels except the 135i which is a bit thirsty.
3-series maybe? AWD is available starting with the 320, and I think all your other requirements are met too
Cheers.
Yeah, I was hoping for something a bit smaller but may be worth a look.

As a (very happy) 3 touring owner I can tell you they're not really that big

Was initially going for a 5 series but decided against it in the end, and glad I did as the size and utility of the 3 is perfect for my needs (single couple with the odd couple of passengers, and occasional big shop/bulky transport where the estate factor comes in handy).

Mine is 5 years old, and even with the (super smooth) 8 speed gearbox and RWD I had no problem driving through snow covered Austria during the last winter (although didn't try going up skiing slopes either).

Very fuel efficient (doing 1000km+ with one tank is possible) although it's the Diesel and I have to say with the laws changing everywhere (incl bans) my next car won't be a Diesel unfortunately - shame as it's a rock solid engine (2l) and despite 160k+ on the clock still feels and drives like a new car.

Armoured_Bear 18 Jul 2018 10:45:20 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years ago

KnuttinAtoll wrote:

Armoured_Bear wrote:

DrStrangelove wrote:

Armoured_Bear wrote:
BMW 1 Series - Need an AWD for winter here and only come in diesels except the 135i which is a bit thirsty.
3-series maybe? AWD is available starting with the 320, and I think all your other requirements are met too
Cheers.
Yeah, I was hoping for something a bit smaller but may be worth a look.
As a (very happy) 3 touring owner I can tell you they're not really that big Was initially going for a 5 series but decided against it in the end, and glad I did as the size and utility of the 3 is perfect for my needs (single couple with the odd couple of passengers, and occasional big shop/bulky transport where the estate factor comes in handy).

Mine is 5 years old, and even with the (super smooth) 8 speed gearbox and RWD I had no problem driving through snow covered Austria during the last winter (although didn't try going up skiing slopes either).

Very fuel efficient (doing 1000km+ with one tank is possible) although it's the Diesel and I have to say with the laws changing everywhere (incl bans) my next car won't be a Diesel unfortunately - shame as it's a rock solid engine (2l) and despite 160k+ on the clock still feels and drives like a new car.

Cheers but my gf is a bit nervous driving in the snow so it's FWD+Winter Tyres at a minimum. I know modern RWD cars have improved a lot but I'd rather be safer than sorry with her.