I have to choose a new company car soon, and I'm undecided.

Sense makes me want a low tax diesel and the driver in me wants something more.

which one would you go for?

Jag

No danger

Subaru = farmers car tarted up

Honda = boy racer

BMW = white socks

Listen to you uncle Chris!

Cheers

The poor-mans Jeremy Clarkson

As I have to choose Co. Car also, I would choose none from the list. If I was choosing for private car then probably Jag. -

BMW - too mundane
SUBARU - too "boy racer"
HONDA - too "boy racer"

I got a Skoda VRS Co. Car - Oooh what fun - till someone totalled it rushing a Red! Great build, great handling! Just like my former A4 but with power... I have a Mazda6 now, boring...

Subaru - too thugish
Civic - Would be my choice
BMW - looks great, till you get pissed all over by a fiesta
Jag - ugh, yuck, yuck, yuck, if you're buying a jag, you have to be decadent, diesel isn't.

Kingr

well, my last car was a mazda 323 zxi v6 2 litre. 147hp 60 in 8.0 approx. missed it like mad cos i replaced it with :


bmw 318i SE. 118hp - nice car to drive but dog dog dog dog boring. average acceleration - 10.4 secs. The new one is 143 hp and does about 9.5 secs. But id like summat different, and the shape is likely to change soon, and I will have the old series.


civic - hmmm. 0-60 in 6.6 secs. least cost of all four. yes, a bit boy racer, even hairdresser, but it brings back memories of the mazda. Im test driving one tomorrow and I recon its gonna be addictive - or total crap.

jag. test drove one this week in diesel form. quite nice. its got summat called 'transient overboost' that makes more power from the turbo from a detected big throttle transition for a period of a few secs. kinda opposite of turbo lag. seems to respond well, nice feel to car overall. certainly better than the 318 i have now. down side? it has less equipment than my wifes 9 month old megane dynamique, and its just a tarted up modeo at the heart of it. And I dont recon its gonna be grin enducing like the civic would be....


the subaru. not really my kinda car, but someone I work with just ordered one for his co car. I think they look crap, and are liked only for the power. however, its a standby in case i am not allowed a civic and I decide against the jag.....

atb

steve

bit of a crap selcection really isnt it? id choose the impreza but what if you want a diesel? why dont they offer a simple mondeo ghia x tdi, or something else just normal with a couple of nice touches? Or a passat tdi which is a wonderful car...

I associate Passats with wankers now. They race around everywhere like they own the road the same as Beemer and Merc drivers.

Hmmmm...

Not bad for a company car list ifyou ask me.

Beemer: Probably quite nice but a bit dull and slow. With irresponsible-wheel-drive you'll spin in the wet and crash. Naah.

Civic: My mate test drove one of these and loved it. Amazing engine. Trying to picture you in one...hmmm... In northamptonshire your license would last approximately 1 week after delivery. Incorrect-wheel-drive. Definately not.

Scooby: Much better. Correct-wheel-drive and a snail on the engine are definate advantages. Correct number of doors for a man like you. Unfortunately estimated duration of driving license even less than with the Civic. Afraid not.

Jag: Comfortable, reputable, correct number of doors and, amazingly, correct wheel drive. Shame about the engine but it's cheap and you will keep your license. Only sensible choice.

Liam

EDIT: Forget that - I've just found out the diesel X-type is the runt of the litter and was born incorrect-wheel-drive. That's worse than irresponsible-wheel-drive. Scooby it is!

[Edited on 7/12/03 by Liam]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Metal Hippy
I associate Passats with wankers now. They race around everywhere like they own the road the same as Beemer and Merc drivers.

---

Civic Type-R is utterly great (had one for a month), but you'll just drive everywhere at 8000rpm and bang goes you economy and your license. Combined cycle is meant to be ~35mpg which isn't that good, but then it does have nigh on 200bhp.
What about a Seat Leon Cupra TDI - 150bhp, 230lbft and it handles too.
The new accord diesel is a proper petrol scarer apparently, and the best saloon in class, worth a go too i'd say.
Mazda RX8 - proper car, not toooo expensive and it has 4 seats!

PS. The Civic has the best gearbox in the world too, apart from the S2000

[Edited on 7/12/03 by mackie]

Audi Diesel ??? TD of course

quote:

---

Originally posted by mackie
Combined cycle is meant to be ~35mpg which isn't that good, but then it does have nigh on 200bhp.

---

the list is my choices - not whats been imposed on me.

I can choose anything within reason up to a lease value of approx 425 quid a month. 25k with maintenance.

whats bought with that depends a lot on the residuals.....for instance my mate could have a scoobie but not a 156 2 litre sportswagon.


Drove the type R today. Its the fastest thing I have ever driven but strangely 0-60 in 6.6 seconds didnt give me the kick in the pants I was expecting it to do. In fact the best way of telling what was going on was seeing the unlikely rate at which the car would accellerate from 60 to 80 on the speedo - it was like teleporting!

Its actually a bit of a pussycat. You can drive it quite normally and it doesnt have much of a surge from the off - not even the feel that the jag diesel had from take off.

drive it up to around 4k and its a typical hatchback with decent power.

Take it to 6k and its a hatchback with GOOD power.

Take it past 6k and it hits the power band and all hell breaks loose along with a fantastic engine note.

my wife thought it was hard on suspension and way too noisy. even thou i didnt frive that hard for at least half the test drive to give it some 'wife acceptance'.

I liked it, and the fact that you really have to ring its neck to get it to go fast, makes it a little more 'safe' on the license than I expected. If you want to go fast you gotta use the revs. If you take it easy it doesnt want to rip up the rev band against your will.


I understand totally the license risk - but im not exactly a boy racer - I just fancy summat a bit better than this 318 poxmobile I have had for 4 years. The jag just seems to samey.

The scoobie isnt a real choice, as I dont much like the car. Its in there as my mate got allowed one and im using it as a lever on the company to make em see my choices are cheaper.

the jag is a compromise as it dont have 4wd or most of the features the v6 cars have.

I have thought about a seat leon cupra, but i dont think it will go beyond that. I had an ibiza on hol this year and it was a plastic crap box. no amount of power would make me want a placcy spanish car.......

thou you can get 225 hp for about 17 grand.....

atb

steve

[Edited on 7/12/03 by stephen_gusterson]

I don't think the Leon is at all like Seats of old. It's not quite up to the quality of the golf in the materials department but it's easily as well put together and more reliable too (according the JD Power etc).
The Cupra R is as fast as the Civic but a bit softer, although I don't see the ride being much better with those 18in wheels.
I'd go for the Civic given the choice of any hot hatch. It simply has the best drivetrain of any car under £20k and the Clio Cup is too small and basic. Although I wouldn't mind a Golf R32 it is £5k more expensive, as is the RX8.
I'm going to get something new next autumn but my budget is a bit more limited and i'll only just be 25 so insurance will be a bit of a worry still too...

Being a Jag man through and though I should really go for the Jag, but I absolutly refuse to accept a Jaguar in diesel (even worse and estate!!!!!)

Besides the X -type is nothing more that rebadged Mondeo, not that there is anything wrong with the Mondeo, but it's not exactly a Jag!!

Still Ford feel that Jaguar needs to get into the company car market and the only way to do that would be to have a diesel.

Still shouldnt gripe, mines a pre-Ford design

Steve,

Slightly over budget, but if I had £28k to spend, it'd be on the MG ZT260

4.6 V8
260bhp
RWD
155 (limited) top
60 in 6.2
Limited availability (allegedly)
Great reviews from everyone (I'll listen this time!!)
Four doors
Big boot

MADE IN UK (mostly)

ATB

Simon

yeah - my mates dad is looking at one but the income tax on its ballistic.

a jag diesel is about 205 quid a month out yer pocket

a honda about 260

a bemmer bout same

an impretza about 310

and your suggestion.................


483 pounds a month in tax!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


nuff said

and its a rover 75

atb


steve

Yeah, but Steve if you could get it on interest free credit over three years, it'd cost £777 a month - so you'd be getting a good deal

ATB

Simon

quote:

---

Originally posted by Simon
Yeah, but Steve if you could get it on interest free credit over three years, it'd cost £777 a month - so you'd be getting a good deal

ATB

Simon

---

bear in mind the car comes with

* all the petrol you can use
* about 1500 quid of tyres over the life of car
* free insurance
* walk away if you leave company
* alll repairs and servicing

if you bought the car you still have to pick up all the rest on the way

atb

steve

Get the Civic then If you only have to worry about tax then it'd be my choice. Only downsides are the ride and motorway noise, but I found that was no problem if you kept it legal. If you go over 4000rpm (80mph) it gets a bit boomy and tiresome over long distances, but you can always drop it into 4th for a bit of a lark every now and again

At the moment I am tending to go for the civic......even tho my other half dont recon it.

She thought it was noisy and bouncy. It was a bit sports on the suspension, but then so is her megane. Problem is, comparing to the beemer everything seems worse on handling. One of the good things about the 318 is that it handles really well, and the engine is really quiet. However, thats likely cos it aint got much of one

I dont recon im gonna be driving too many places much over 80 - I plan to try and keep my points free license - as it will be in January!

Burst of speed, good acceleration and overtaking is the aim. I can't get away with doing 120 mph on the way to work like I used to in the mazda 4 years ago - life has changed in northants as far as speeding goes.

so, if the car isnt to bad at 'motorway speeds' - and it seemed ok around town - then it looks like my 1st choice.

Prob is, you get one go at it, then yer got it for 3 or 4 years. I wanted to give the beemer back after 3 months! almost 4 years on, I dont want another 'ordinary' car as far as performance is concerned.

Id really like the jag 2.5 x type 4wd but thats over 100 quid a month more than im paying now and 170 more than the diesel!

this government really know how to spoil your fun - with speed cams and really high car tax.

atb

steve

[Edited on 8/12/03 by stephen_gusterson]