Which car do I buy?

[Netwacky87]

Hi all,

 

Firstly, I love my cars! I love gadgets on them, I love a summers day polishing! (i only like Auto's - once you've had an auto, you're never going back!)

 

Recently had a BMW 4 Series (420d), but that was too low for me but loved the way it drove. Swapped that for an

Audi A4 1.4 TSI Petrol as I thought diesels are now dead-ish. But the gearbox on this is incredibly frustrating and find my self changing gear manually via the paddles and find it quite laggy!

 

What do I swap it for whilst it has value?

 

Jaguar XE 2.0 Petrol (plenty of gadgets)

Volvo S90 (it drives itself like a Tesla! Love this but not sure of the styling!)

 

I know its my own taste etc but open to suggestions? Be interesting to hear off people if they have either!

 

All the best!

[mavhc]

An electric one

[Netwacky87]

An electric one

 

Totally, they need to come on a few more years for me though!

[3s-gtech]

Budget?

 

Are you set on a body style? SUV, estate, hatch, saloon?

 

Lots of choice with decent autos now. Don’t discount diesels depending on your use - the newest models are very clean and there’s a lot of misinformation about them. Some of the newest petrols (four cylinders) get amazing fuel economy too.

[Netwacky87]

Budget?

 

Are you set on a body style? SUV, estate, hatch, saloon?

 

Lots of choice with decent autos now. Don’t discount diesels depending on your use - the newest models are very clean and there’s a lot of misinformation about them. Some of the newest petrols (four cylinders) get amazing fuel economy too.

 

Budget is around 20k, will be part ex'ing in the Audi

 

I'm more of a saloon kinda guy, doing about 35 miles a day so not sure diesel is the best choice anymore.

[3s-gtech]

Not really the sort of mileage to justify a diesel, and they don’t like shorter journeys in most cases.

 

Merc C200-C300 (w205)

BMW 3 Series 320-330e (G20)

Jaguar XE 20t-30t

Alfa Romeo Giulia 2L

Volvo S60 2L

 

Perhaps a fairly standard list, but not a bad car among them. Hybrid models may be out of reach for now.

[MatthewL]

I'd go for petrol, mileage is just as good and performance will be better (in theory). Wish I had done that when I swapped mine a few years ago although it was a bit of a hurried swap.

[mavhc]

If you're only doing 35 miles then no excuse not to get electric. Plus your car is warm/cool every morning

[MatthewL]

The electric infrastructure isn't there yet to support mass numbers of electric chargers to the point I know of 1 that was acting like there was a grow in the local area if you get my drift with nearby houses!

 

Have a look at the Skoda Octavia they are a very nice motor inside too, one of the better ones out there on the market I think. I used to spend hours in my car so interior was just as important if not more, some higher end cars felt so plastic and uninviting. I've got a Octavia business edition (not my exact choice but was desperate for a car!) plus their vRS are rather nice.

[mavhc]

Not really, need 125TWh of electricity to power all transport in uk. We're using 70TWh less now than in 2004, I think we can cope.

[Netwacky87]

MPG bothers me but maybe I just need to get used to it on that type of car...think you're lucky to get 42mpg in a saloon (thats in the volvo s90)

 

I like the sound of the Volvo S90 but is it too boring? I also like the Jaguar XE which will be more fun but lower mpg! Like I say, I feel like electric is just a few years off from becoming mainstream. I'd also have to get a power point fitted outside.

[jmak]

Budget is around 20k, will be part ex'ing in the Audi

 

I'm more of a saloon kinda guy, doing about 35 miles a day so not sure diesel is the best choice anymore.

An electric one (this isn't @mavhc's 2nd account).

 

For those miles, the only reasons not to on your budget are if you don't have a drive or have a fetish for the smell of petrol on your hands or you think you'd miss the social interaction of the weekly trip to the petrol station!

 

Assuming that battle is lost here....

From the VAG group, Skodas make the most sense, but I'd say are definitely not the answer for you as they'll have the same gearbox as the Audi.

 

Can you get a BMW 330e or 530e for that budget? Should be loads coming off company car schemes now and you'd do most of that 35 miles per day on electric if you can plug it in.

[jmak]

Or a Boxster for fun and a Leaf for every day.

 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012227338875?advertising-location=at_cars&transmission=Automatic&price-to=8500&postcode=W1a%201aa&model=BOXSTER&page=1&make=PORSCHE&include-delivery-option=on&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New

 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009113590045?advertising-location=at_cars&transmission=Automatic&price-to=12000&postcode=W1a%201aa&sort=price-desc&page=1&price-from=10000&fuel-type=Electric&include-delivery-option=on&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New

[Reboot_IT]

Nothing comes close to a BMW for the automatic gearbox in my opinion!

[rob_coles]

Hi all,

 

Firstly, I love my cars! I love gadgets on them, I love a summers day polishing! (i only like Auto's - once you've had an auto, you're never going back!)

 

Recently had a BMW 4 Series (420d), but that was too low for me but loved the way it drove. Swapped that for an

Audi A4 1.4 TSI Petrol as I thought diesels are now dead-ish. But the gearbox on this is incredibly frustrating and find my self changing gear manually via the paddles and find it quite laggy!

 

What do I swap it for whilst it has value?

 

Jaguar XE 2.0 Petrol (plenty of gadgets)

Volvo S90 (it drives itself like a Tesla! Love this but not sure of the styling!)

 

I know its my own taste etc but open to suggestions? Be interesting to hear off people if they have either!

 

All the best!

 

I’ve had A4 & A5 and a remap solved the sluggish gear change for me. And increased bhp and economy. Can’t beat an Audi

[Davit2005]

I have a Seat Cupra with the 7speed DSG as long as in normal driving mode it is fine, fast gear changes in Race mode. Technically an automated manual but with some differences not really an traditional auto box with a Torque convertor etc.

 

INMO An engine can make all the difference to a gearbox and vice versa. I had a 1993 2L cavalier 16v Red top that could of easily benefited from a 6th gear, last car was a 2016 Skoda vRS Diesel and manual gearbox was OK, it pulled OK in 6th gear and did not seem out of breath but it was a diesel with a bit of torque.

 

I drove a Volvo S80 years back for a few months and I owned a V40. Both had comfy seats and nice interiors for their age, the S80 was a BiFuel Auto whilst the V40 was a T4 Manual and was a lovely car for A roads.

 

Never driven a Jag but driven many Mercs and Audis between 2012-2016 none of them disappointed apart from the Interior of the Mercs (C,SLK,E) which felt cheap compared to the Audi of the same year

Edited February 15, 2021 by Davit2005

[mavhc]

Gearboxes, automatic or manual, are just another point of failure, I've never owned a car with one.

[3s-gtech]

Even electric cars usually have a gearbox - it's just single speed. This can fail like any mechanical part, but it's far more reliable without the complexity of clutches, synchros, selectors etc. The massive torque of some electric motors can pose a risk long term though. Same with differentials, CV joints, and shafts. EVs also often combine the complexity of selectable regen.

[Theblacksheep]

For the money and the miles you do, get a leaf and pocket the change.