MikeRJ
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| posted on 8/2/10 at 12:19 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by tweek
My sister has a Seat Cordoba SE TDI 130 and its a cracker! Just an Ibiza with a boot but because of the boot it will be maybe £500 - £1k cheaper than
the virtually identical Ibiza FR TDI. Great fun, goes like stink
I've heard this from several diesel owners that thought their oil burners were quick until I took them for a spin in my Fiat! Turbo diesels
certainly feel quick due to the all or nothing power delivery, but unless you have something like a 330/335D they really aren't as quick as they
feel.
Good call on the saloon variants, they are often a good bargain if you aren't worried about having a hatch, and the Golf has always carried a
hefty premium due to it's (mostly undeserved) reputation. The VW Bora, Seat Toldeo and Skoda Octavia may be worth a look if you like VAG
cars.
Watch out for the PD 150 engine, they have chocolate cam shafts.
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 8/2/10 at 12:21 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by morcus
I know alot of people will say 'don't buy it, its a Fiat' but it might be worth having a look.
I wouldn't, Fiat make some of the best diesel engines around at the moment, and the overall quality of the cars is significantly better than
they used to be.
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morcus
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| posted on 8/2/10 at 09:49 PM |
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What are you driving Mike? I've been considering upgrading to a Bravo myself which is why I bought it up but I've discovered that the 1.4T
Petrol is the only option if you want a Duallogic box and its the 1.9 diesel with 150bhp that I really want.
I actually think from what I saw last year when I was last buying a car that Fiats are better put together than Fords and Vauxhalls these days.
In a White Room, With Black Curtains, By the Station.
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flak monkey
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| posted on 8/2/10 at 09:56 PM |
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Whilst the FR150 Leon is a fantastic car and has a lot more toys than the golf, I think you will struggle to find a good one for the sort of money you
are talking. They seem to hold their money better than the Golf.
My sister has a Golf GT TDi 130 and its brill. She regularly gets a real 60+mpg on her 100 mile round trip every day. And she paid just over £4k for a
40k mile example....
David
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 9/2/10 at 12:35 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by morcus
What are you driving Mike?
I've got an old Fiat, 20V Turbo Coupe but I had an urge to buy an Abarth 500 a while back (fortunately managed to get over it) and it felt
really well put together.
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Jon Ison
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| posted on 9/2/10 at 08:06 AM |
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Focus, top car cheap to run
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hobbsy
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| posted on 9/2/10 at 10:16 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
quote:
Originally posted by morcus
What are you driving Mike?
I've got an old Fiat, 20V Turbo Coupe but I had an urge to buy an Abarth 500 a while back (fortunately managed to get over it) and it felt
really well put together.
I've fancied one of these in the past, nice 5 pot soundtrack but the cambelts every (small amount of mileage) put me off a bit.
What does it do MPG wise?
Early ones seem cheap but they're at the price where they may not be owned by the most careful of owners.
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 9/2/10 at 10:29 AM |
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Cambelts are every 72,000 miles officially, but most specialists recommend 60,000 miles. Changing it is not as bad as people tend to make out, I did
mine on my driveway in an afternoon. Clearance is very tight, but by unbolting a couple of engine mounts and jacking the engine up and down
it's possible.
Mileage wise it's nothing short of excellent for the performance IMO. I commute between Plymouth and Paignton everyday which is about 30 miles
each way and includes fast dual carriageway, twisty B roads and a lot of start-stop through Totnes and it rarely falls below 27mpg, even driven
'enthusiasticly'. On a good motorway run 30+ mpg is possible. Performance wise you will upset most Imprezas with the in gear
performance, but obviously getting off the line is somewhat slower.
Running costs are reasonable as well, (for the performance). There are several specialist around the country that do good work for reasonable prices,
or if you can DIY then OEM parts are obtainable from them at a good discount. There are plenty of very cheap ones around, but of course like most
cheap performance cars many have been abused. Find a nice one and take it for a test drive, you'll be hooked.
I bought mine cheap on eBay with a blown engine, the previous owner got a bit enthusiastic with winding up the boost. Fitted new pistons and rings,
had the head reconditioned, rebuilt the turbo myself and it's still going strong some 30,000 miles later and not using a drop of oil. Most
however do use some oil, and not checking it has killed plenty of these cars!
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hobbsy
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| posted on 9/2/10 at 10:41 AM |
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I thought the cambelt intervals were worse than that.
Have you put the boost back down to standard then?
My old 200SX would do similar MPG, maybe a few less but then it did have >350bhp.
If I remember there was a bit of friendly rivalry between the SX and Fiat Coupe owners on trackdays and rolling road shoot outs. Never got involved
myself.
Its still somewhere on my list of cars to own (in the affordable section!) mostly for the fact its a turbo'ed 5pot  If it were RWD I
would've probably had one by now.
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 10/2/10 at 08:21 PM |
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Yes, I removed the manual boost controller, but I really need to put it back (set to stock level) as the stock electronic boost control is a bit
pants. It allows too much overboost for my liking (have seen it spike to 1.4 bar!) and will sometimes make the boost oscillate up and down at full
throttle.
Having looked through the forum it seems a very common issue, and a manual boost controller is the recommended fix.
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morcus
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| posted on 10/2/10 at 10:57 PM |
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Was the Barchetta on the same running gear? I wanted one of those (And the Coupé) for a while but I don't think they ever came as auto's
In a White Room, With Black Curtains, By the Station.
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