UKC

I want to get rid of our diesel golf estate. It's just not the right car for us, we need to do more city driving and short trips than its delicate dpf and egr system can cope with... also I no longer believe they're cleaner, which I used to. Also VW lied, which I don't like.

But.. we need a big car for mountain trips and going away with our little one.

So I'm thinking of a petrol estate! I don't care if the fuel costs are a bit higher if I don't have to pay 1000s for emissions system repairs. Am I insane? Are other diesels more usable/reliable and less demanding about driving type? What models are worth considering? Budget 8k or so second hand.

Any experiences of thoughts appreciated.

Thanks
Mike

Ps. Before anyone suggests it I'm not going to do anything dodgy to dpfs or any other part of the emissions system!

In reply to minimike:
I had a petrol Vectra estate, it was a good car. Never had a problem with it other than usual maintenance items as it got older. Only did about 35 to the gallon though.

I think I would be more inclined to buy petrol at the moment if hybrid wasn't affordable.

In reply to minimike:

I did briefly consider an outlander phev, but it wasn't quite the car I wanted at the time, and was bloomin' expensive, so I wound up with another diesel. I think the most important thing is to remember that the lowest emissions are if you leave the car at home, so I've tried only to use the car for longer journeys and do as much local stuff by bus or on foot. Oddly enough, it's rare that bicycle is the best option for around town

In reply to minimike:
Whilst I didn't need an estate, I was making a similar decision a couple of years ago. Opted for a MK3 Seat Leon with a relatively small turbocharged petrol engine. Mainly urban driving with some longer trips I average over 50 to the gallon and its pleasant enough to drive.

Obviously it's basically still a VW if that is an issue.

They call the estate the ST, you can probably find a 2014 model for under £8k.

In reply to minimike:

I rented a 1.0l Focus Estate Ecoboost in Spain, it wasn't as spacious as my MK1 Focus estate (2002, and still gives me 37MPG) but not far off, and that 1l turbo engine was rather impressive. Revved up very freely, had plenty of go for pulling away fast and got 45ish MPG, and would probably get higher if you tried really hard. As those engines are so light the handling was brilliant too, very light and easy to change direction in.

In reply to minimike:
How long do you intend to keep it no where do you commute to? Manchester are talking about introducing higher parking charges for diesels, if it goes ahead you'd imagine other cities will follow suit.

In reply to minimike:

I like dual fuel, petrol/lpg vehicles, cheap as chips to run.

My Astra van cost me £2900+vat, done 100k in it, saved me over £5000 in fuel costs already. A bit of a no brainer.

Not that many about though, I usually source through fleebay, buying " factory converted " models, a lot easier for insurance and annual certification hassle.

Had several Vectras and Astras over the years, the Astra has been far better. Not sure if this is because of a different conversion or that I started deliberately running at least 10% of miles on petrol to warm up and treat the engine to the petrol additives not in the gas. I think the Astra G is a better vehicle overall anyway.

Just bought a 2011 Dispatch van with Nicholson Mclaren system, looking forward to seeing how that works out.

Its really nice to fill up the Astra for about £24, good to go for another 350 miles or so, once got over 400 miles out of a full tank on the way to the Alps

In reply to minimike:

Left field suggestion:
If you only need the extra space occassionally, why not spend a few £00 on https://www.thule.com/en-gb/gb/cargo-carrier/towbar-cargo-carriers/thule-ba... type of thing, you can stick it on any car with a tow bar, therefore you wouldn't need an estate...

In reply to minimike: You say big, but how big. A mondeo for example is far bigger than a golf.

So... petrol golf estate?

In reply to minimike:

'Coughs and sneezles spread diseasles'. The inverse is also true.

youtube.com/watch?v=66O22oJyFw0&

In reply to minimike:

I had a petrol Volvo V40 before I got the pickup truck. With a set of winter tyres on it got anywhere (standfast ground clearance), and went for ever on one tank.

In reply to minimike:
I went for a Petrol estate myself, for some of the reasons you've mentioned. Opted for the non-vRS 1.8T Octavia (a 53; my budget was literally 1/10th of yours) and it's been a treat. Does about 35-42 MPG on long journeys depending on what's in it. Recently got 35MPG from Scotland to mid-Wales with 5 people, a full boot and skis on the roof. So no, a petrol estate is not insane.

Do around 10-12k a year so am on the border of diesel being cheaper.

In reply to minimike:

Looking at just this too. Limited options on the petrol front but I'm convinced it's time to ditch the diesel if you live in a city with pollution problems.

In reply to minimike:

I've gone from a T4 Syncro diesel to a Dacia Logan MCV petrol and couldn't be happier.
The Logan has a huge boot (almost Mondeo size) and I get 47mpg out of the 0.9l turbo engine without being careful. It's also acceptably quick off the mark, even fully loaded.
Road tax and servicing are also much cheaper.
For your 8k you could just about get a new one!

So, no, you're not insane, in my book at least...

In reply to More-On:

Someone disliked your comment, weird. I'm pretty astounded I can get what I want new for 8k! How long have you had the Dacia? Any reliability issues?

Looks very tempting...

In reply to minimike:

I'm in the market for a new car, especially a diesel estate, what sort of price ish are you looking for if you sell yours?

Worth checking out the Euro Ncap website ref. Safety rating/pictures of what it ends up looking like in a crash for what you intend to buy,

Some cars that you can buy new cheaply don't fare that well unfortunately.

In reply to minimike:

I assume because I've committed the cardinal sin of suggesting a Transporter isn't the best vehicle for everyone

I've only had mine for 6 months but based the purchase on colleagues who've had them for 2 to 4 years without an issue. It's all simple and proven Renault and Nissan bits under the bonnet.

I won't pretend it's got all the bells and whistles of other cars, but they cost twice as much for the same size boot. The bottom line is that I like driving it, it fits the family and camping kit in and is cheap to run.

All I can say is try one and see...

In reply to jonfun21:

Fair point. I should say that I researched this a lot before getting the Logan and the lack of a star against competitors didn't bother me once I'd read and compared the actual reports in detail.

In reply to Tomtom:
Probably about 5.5k... it's a 59 plate (2010) with only 58000 on the clock.

Tempted? I need to find something else first...

Mike

In reply to More-On:

Yep I'll take a careful look at stuff like that.

Thanks all, interesting options,

Mike

In reply to More-On:

I was interested until you said 'Renault'

In reply to Ridge:

That was my initial view too (based on a Clio 20 years ago), but research suggested Renault had upped their game and the 'gamble' has currently paid off...

In reply to minimike:


Yeah. Sounds good! Are you thinking of selling in the next week or so?

In reply to Tomtom:

Let me talk to my wife and get back to you. I wasn't thinking of selling it so quickly.. but you're in Leeds and it would be super easy for me. I could meet you at the depot and you could have a look at it.

Issue is I need to find something else and haven't worked out what (as you can tell from the thread!)

Is there a particular rush/deadline from your end? 2 weeks or so seems more realistic from here.

Mike

In reply to minimike:

Yeah meeting at the depot sounds like a good idea. No huge rush, but my cars just blown it's turbo, and the other half is sick of me hogging her car! Shoot me a mail or get me on this thread . Was going for a car hunt thins coming Monday, so if you get a rough idea by then, that would be awesome.
Thanks.

In reply to Tomtom:

Ok, it's in good nick with recent MOT and service. Tyres are still fairly new as well. A few minor scratches on the rear bumper from a lamppost parking incident but would probably polish out (I haven't bothered).

EGR was replaced 18 months ago (at a nastily high price)

FSH

GSOH

ETC

In reply to wbo:

After a week of seaching it turns out you're bang on, the old car was perfect in every other sense. So a newer petrol golf estate it is!

Thanks all, mike