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Beav

Beav

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Hi there,

Ive had a mk1 seat leon 1.4 for almost 2 years now (first car)

Im looking at upgrading and have really liked the idea of the mk1 cupra r (trying to stay away from finance if possible, maybe 2/3k max) for a while now.

I also like the 3 series diesel e46 BMWs and a few audi A4's. I see the fuel mpg is around 45-50 with a diesel but the cupra r is 32 mpg average. I know as its a 1.8 turbo if you drive it steady it shouldn't be too bad right? Huge car fan here and love the sound of a turbo :p

I just don't want to buy something which the fuel will be silly money.

Anyone got any experience with running costs of a 1.8t engine?

Thanks
 
I don't know the running costs of the Seat, but, if you're a huge car fan there's no way you will be happy driving a Cupra R like an old lady just to keep the fuel consumption down ;) what'd be the point.

I've had Audi's with the 2.0TDi engine before, 140 bhp I'd recommend as the 160 bhp is not as smooth. I used to get 50+ mph without trying and that was with the climate control (AC) on all the time, the S-Line versions are quite fun and the Bose upgrade is worth the extra if you can find one. Never owned a BMW (my wife doesn't like them) so can't comment on those.
 
PaulF said:
I don't know the running costs of the Seat, but, if you're a huge car fan there's no way you will be happy driving a Cupra R like an old lady just to keep the fuel consumption down ;) what'd be the point.

I've had Audi's with the 2.0TDi engine before, 140 bhp I'd recommend as the 160 bhp is not as smooth. I used to get 50+ mph without trying and that was with the climate control (AC) on all the time, the S-Line versions are quite fun and the Bose upgrade is worth the extra if you can find one. Never owned a BMW (my wife doesn't like them) so can't comment on those.
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Yeah, love the s-line audi's. To be honest I prefer Audi's. The a4 s-line ones can be had for around 4-5k but a lot of them for that price have over 100k miles on the clock

I currently drive around 100-150 miles a week as I don't live at home during the weekends currently. Not sure if that sort of distance justifies a diesel to be honest?
 
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Yeh, I doubt you'd get a low mileage one for £2-3K, on the plus side though anything that's done 100k will have had the timing belt etc replaced (believe me, that's not cheap!) provided it's got service history. Good luck in your search.
 
I'm not a car person but I do drive an old (15 years old) Audi A4 1.8T petrol S-Line. 193, 000 miles on the old girl and the readouts still regularly show a 40mpg return (Traffic depending)
I have no reason to disbelieve it.
 
PaulF said:
Yeh, I doubt you'd get a low mileage one for £2-3K, on the plus side though anything that's done 100k will have had the timing belt etc replaced (believe me, that's not cheap!) provided it's got service history. Good luck in your search.
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Yeh bought my leon 1.4s @ 97k and had my mate do the timing belt, pullies and water pump for £160 but thats a leon not s-line lol


Thanks for the reply Viv.
 
Can't remember the precise cost on the A4 S-Line, that was a 56 plate but the A3 on a 09 plate was £800'ish including the major service that was done at the same time, it was one of the later engines and the parts price was a lot more than the previous engine.
 
viv1969 said:
I'm not a car person but I do drive an old (15 years old) Audi A4 1.8T petrol S-Line. 193, 000 miles on the old girl and the readouts still regularly show a 40mpg return (Traffic depending)
I have no reason to disbelieve it.
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Sounds about right - i've got the same vintage 1.8T-Sport A3, albeit quite a bit lower mileage (108k or thereabouts - it's been a "shopping trolley" for quite a few years - and it shows much the same on the display - plus I tend to get around 350 miles from a tankful - around 42 litres at a time - so thats around 38mpg overall - with plenty of short-ish journeys - much better on motorway / longer faster runs.
 
I had a Mk 1 Cupra R about 10 yrs ago. Believe me you won't tootling around in it if you can help it....it was a lovely car to drive. I currently have a Mk3 Cupra 280 which is awesome but interestingly enough returns much better mpg than the 225 bhp Mk1 Cupra R .
 
Boldonian said:
I had a Mk 1 Cupra R about 10 yrs ago. Believe me you won't tootling around in it if you can help it....it was a lovely car to drive. I currently have a Mk3 Cupra 280 which is awesome but interestingly enough returns much better mpg than the 225 bhp Mk1 Cupra R .
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Nice :)

Ile be using it for photo trips as well so im going more towards Audi as I hear they arent too comfy?

Edit: this looks good http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...line&onesearchad=used,nearlynew,new&logcode=p
 
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Check out the insurance cost as well :-)
 
Mr Bump said:
Check out the insurance cost as well :)
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Yeh the cupra r will be £650. Got a quote last year and it was £1200 :confused:

I know tax is around £180 a year on a s-line and £280 on a cupra r.

The S line in the link in my previous post is £568 a year but its 140bhp. Other s-lines I looked at were 170bhp. 170bhp is still cheaper than a cupra r. Possibly remap a s line?

With a S Line it looks like ile pay more in the first place but fuel/tax and insurance is cheaper
 
Beav said:
I currently drive around 100-150 miles a week as I don't live at home during the weekends currently. Not sure if that sort of distance justifies a diesel to be honest?
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possibly not. you could run into DPF issues (on engines equipped with one) if you're not getting it hot enough on a longer run.
 
Don't know if ile regret not having the noise of the turbo like with a cupra though.

Saying that though slightly tuned diesels you can hear it a hiss from the turbo :p

EDIT: Neil, the journey is 45/50 minutes one way which should be long enough?
 
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What is "the noise of the turbo"?
 
neil_g said:
dont think any production diesels have an atmospheric dump valve. there is a turbo whine though.
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Doesn't don't need dump valves, there's no throttle plate, so you don't get the same pressure build up and need to dump it.

Most petrol turbos have recirculating valves, which don't make a noise.

Other petrol cars with turbos are marketed to chavs.
 
Beav said:
Don't know if ile regret not having the noise of the turbo like with a cupra though.

Saying that though slightly tuned diesels you can hear it a hiss from the turbo :p

EDIT: Neil, the journey is 45/50 minutes one way which should be long enough?
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Keep in mind that DPF is not just total duration but also steady over say 40mph speeds hear in Teesside I could drive a couple of hours and still not get a steady speed for regen though mines a Peugeot 110bhp
 
neil_g said:
dont think any production diesels have an atmospheric dump valve. there is a turbo whine though.
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Thats it.

Went in my mates evo 8 MR a year or so back and it sounded like a big woosh of air from inside the car, haa. (I don't expect it from mine, lol)

There is an audi near me with a dump valve and it sounds fake, lol.

Ile be on a A road which is about 30 minutes out of the journey is constant 50/60mph.

3-4 nights a week I will be starting the car up for very short journeys though. Less than 10 minutes which is to help a disabled relative out :confused:

Another option is get Audi for the comfort but im pretty sure there is a s-line with a 1.8T engine in it? Tax, fuel and insurance will be slightly higher though.
 
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Given the probable use, petrol all the way. As for comfort, it's very dependent on which the driver finds comfortable. 6 months or so back, I had a lift to London in an Audi A3 and the trip on the tube from Kings Cross to Kentish Town was just far enough to get my back straight again - possibly the most uncomfortable car I've been in since I had a lift in a 3 series Bimmer. The car I'd gone to pick up was far more comfortable on the return journey and that was an old Clio.
 
Nod said:
Given the probable use, petrol all the way. As for comfort, it's very dependent on which the driver finds comfortable. 6 months or so back, I had a lift to London in an Audi A3 and the trip on the tube from Kings Cross to Kentish Town was just far enough to get my back straight again - possibly the most uncomfortable car I've been in since I had a lift in a 3 series Bimmer. The car I'd gone to pick up was far more comfortable on the return journey and that was an old Clio.
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Oki, I hear diesels are more expensive to fix?

It will be shortly after Christmas I upgrade so ile keep looking.

Don't mind financing upto £100 a month but I couldn't do £200 which was required when I was looking a Seat Leon FR Mk2's
 
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More that modern Diesels need regular fully warmed up long runs to keep breathing happily and old Diesels stop us breathing happily!
 
Beav said:
Oki, I hear diesels are more expensive to fix?

It will be shortly after Christmas I upgrade so ile keep looking.

Don't mind financing upto £100 a month but I couldn't do £200 which was required when I was looking a Seat Leon FR Mk2's
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Good luck diesels are great for power but certainly can be expensive my Pug needed a dmf clutch fitted cost was £2k most garages would not touch as lots of labour ended up being a team home job no labour still over £500 for parts

Modern cars love computers for checking stats even on newer models if you fit a new battery you need to tell it what power it has guess that's for stop start facility
 
Can't advise on the cars mentioned above but on the petrol vs diesel front......

I changed from a 1.8 petrol focus to a 2.0 diesel focus. My daily commute is around 35 miles and in my old focus I'd get 32mpg, in the diesel I get 41-42mpg so that's quite a significant difference. I do around 12K miles a year so in terms of fuel it's a reasonable saving plus the VED is about £70 a year cheaper (although with all the bad press diesels have been getting that could soon change) not to mention the diesel is quicker/more fun that the petrol :D

Two things that kills my mpg are idling and short journeys, the latter due to it taking a lot longer for diesel engine to get up to operating temperature so if your most frequent journeys are only 5-10 mins a diesel might not be that efficient.

With fuel around £6 per gallon (give or take for the purpose of simple maths) and you saying you do around 150 miles a week, the difference between 32mpg and 50mpg is around £500 over a year but bear in mind you might struggle to get 50mpg given the types of journey you'll be doing most frequently
 
Russ77 said:
Can't advise on the cars mentioned above but on the petrol vs diesel front......

I changed from a 1.8 petrol focus to a 2.0 diesel focus. My daily commute is around 35 miles and in my old focus I'd get 32mpg, in the diesel I get 41-42mpg so that's quite a significant difference. I do around 12K miles a year so in terms of fuel it's a reasonable saving plus the VED is about £70 a year cheaper (although with all the bad press diesels have been getting that could soon change) not to mention the diesel is quicker/more fun that the petrol :D

Two things that kills my mpg are idling and short journeys, the latter due to it taking a lot longer for diesel engine to get up to operating temperature so if your most frequent journeys are only 5-10 mins a diesel might not be that efficient.

With fuel around £6 per gallon (give or take for the purpose of simple maths) and you saying you do around 150 miles a week, the difference between 32mpg and 50mpg is around £500 over a year but bear in mind you might struggle to get 50mpg given the types of journey you'll be doing most frequently
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Yeh, diesel is say £500 cheaper a year on fuel (ish). £100 less tax between diesel audi's and leon cupra r and the insurance is around £100/£200 cheaper too with a diesel.

Those short journeys are only 2-3 nights a week then at the weekend theres 2x 50 minute journeys and possibly a few 20 minute journeys to a local town where I stay at weekends.
 
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How about the Mk1 Leon FR Tdi? 150bhp and a super car that easily returns 45mpg and drives really well. Could easily be remapped as well of course.
 
i don't think a 2005 audi a4 will have a DPF so no worries there where short journeys are concerned just remember to give it a blast every now and again to clear it's throat so to speak
as far as i can tell audi introduced DPF's in 2007/2008
 
Have you looked at the Seat Exeo or the Skoda Octavia? Both VW running gear, cheaper and just as quick. Ok the build quality might not be there over the Audi, but you own a Seat so know what expect :)

Keep away from any PD engine with a DPF, they are terrible. The CR was designed to run with a DPF, so handles it better. I had an Ibiza 2.0TDi FR and it was quick (and remapped :whistle: ), but the DPF was fine. I ran 9 miles to and from work daily for 3 years without a problem, but you do need to do the odd long run and maintain a constant revs of around 2.4k to help with regens.
 
Cartus said:
How about the Mk1 Leon FR Tdi? 150bhp and a super car that easily returns 45mpg and drives really well. Could easily be remapped as well of course.
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Yeh I did consider this but then thought may as well get a real cupra r. If I got one ide want the cupra r bumpers on it

cosmicma said:
i don't think a 2005 audi a4 will have a DPF so no worries there where short journeys are concerned just remember to give it a blast every now and again to clear it's throat so to speak
as far as i can tell audi introduced DPF's in 2007/2008
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Damn. made my decision even harder now. Starting to like the Audi a4 S lines. (Currently youtubing)
 
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