New company car choices....

[passenger gez]

I have to order a new company car. Shortlist of choices outlined below. Discuss.

A3 2.0 TDI 170 3DR
AUDI A3 2.0 TDI 3DR STRNC
AUDI A3 2.0 TDI 3DR
AUDI A3 2.0 TDI SE 3DR
AUDI A3 2.0 TDI SPORT 3DR
SEAT LEON 2.0 TDI FR 5DR
SEAT LEON 2.0T FSI FR 5DR
SKODA OCTAVIA 2.0 TDI PD VRS 5DR
V W GOLF 2.0 TDI GT
V W GOLF 2.0 TDI SPORT 140

[crowley]

AUDI A3 2.0 TDI SPORT 3DR

One of the fastest diesels I've driven

[passenger gez]

Agreed its fast, but its still only 140 BHP. The Octavia VRS is 170 BHP, and although bigger, i reckon still faster. I also quite like having something a little bigger - its more practical.

[crowley]

I see where your going, but.....

I'm an Audi man (most of the time) and have had the A3 for a short time. Loved it.

None of these cars are what you'd call sports. I wouldn't go for any of these if "fast" is what you want. I know you may not have a choice. I just find the Golf boring and Fat. The Octavia is OK but just dosen't do it for me when you have the Audi.

Get the Audi and then chip it and have the best of both...

[minimax]

how about the Leon?

a friend of mine has one and swears by it...quick and comfortable...looks good too IMHO

[passenger gez]

I've always been a fan of Audi's, and so was leaning towards them. But then i drove the VRS and was very impressed with it (especially mid range). I know none of these are 'fast'... but its a company car and as such i have limited choices from a pre-approved list. (I'm hopefully buying a westy in the next 2 weeks, which should satisfy the need for speed... that IS fast!)

I have been considering the VRS as it is effectively an audi (same engine etc), but as it is cheaper brand i can get a higher spec for the level of car i am entitled to. It is a second quicker to 60 than either audi and vw... but then again the seat leon has 200BHP and is a second quicker on top of the skoda to 60! Again, very high standard spec too, but essentially and Audi engine.

[landy_girl]

the SKODA OCTAVIA 2.0 TDI PD VRS 5DR
I think my friend had a fabia vrs very quick but if its a company car go for an audi choose the expensive one if money is no object

[crowley]

well then, if you've got the Westy for speed and fun, I'd definately go for the Audi. I know what you're saying about the Octavia, but it's still not in the same class.

[bomb]

Get the one that costs the most.

Drive it directly to HHC.

Ask Tony for a suitable trade in.

Drive home in a Griff / Chimaera / Tuscan / T350 (nominate your choice NOW).

Drive home and enjoy.

Job done.

[passenger gez]

great idea bomb, but the company lease it for me, so i reckon it would be a pretty useless trade in... also, i reckon my manager might notice when he comes out on a field visit and i'm in a loud, fast, english sportscar instead of a quiet, slow, german, hatchback!

[cabinet enforcer]

passenger gez said:

I have to order a new company car. Shortlist of choices outlined below. Discuss.

A3 2.0 TDI 170 3DR
AUDI A3 2.0 TDI 3DR STRNC
AUDI A3 2.0 TDI 3DR
AUDI A3 2.0 TDI SE 3DR
AUDI A3 2.0 TDI SPORT 3DR
SEAT LEON 2.0 TDI FR 5DR
SEAT LEON 2.0T FSI FR 5DR
SKODA OCTAVIA 2.0 TDI PD VRS 5DR
V W GOLF 2.0 TDI GT
V W GOLF 2.0 TDI SPORT 140

Looking at that list the first thing that spings to mind is that you should jack in the job and find a company with a more exciting list

Can't you opt out and get something more fun?

[wedg1e]

I'd say the Octavia... but then you really need a bloody good test drive of them all. If you use it as company transport you need to have a good feel for what it'll be like across all conditons from thraping across the Otterburn road at 2AM to being parked on the M60 Friday teatime.
How about a van? Get it down as no personal mileage (so no tax liability) and free up the wonga to buy a toy instead.

[ray_von]

My wife has had an A3 2.0 tdi 3dr sport for just over a year. I like it, especially the fact it was off the road for a month waiting for a part to sort a coolant leak, the steering rack made a grinding noise which Audi knew about but didn't know how to fix for a while and the seats keep managing to break the memory catch virtually every time someone uses the rear seats
Before that she had a golf GTI the faults she had on that over 4 years were too many to list

[tomtvr]

Octavia VRS would be my company car choice, why pay more for the badge and with one of those removable tuning boxes your knocking on the door of 200bhp.

[zebra]

bomb said:

Get the one that costs the most.

Drive it directly to HHC.

Ask Tony for a suitable trade in.

Drive home in a Griff / Chimaera / Tuscan / T350 (nominate your choice NOW).

Drive home and enjoy.

Job done.

Good call Dude!

[broadside]

They all have the same engine variants in them. It depends how much company car tax you want to pay based on the cars retail price and it's co2 output plus 3% diesel particulate "environment tax"!!

If you cannot make the choice then type "company car tax calculator" into google and work out how much difference there is between each car you like.

I pay about £850+ company car tax per annum on a 2.0 TDI passat. Which is about £400 per year less than my Ford Galaxy cost me !! On the bright side at least the Government only get one third of my pay packet every month now !!

[passenger gez]

Having driven most of them, i think i have made my mind up - for a while i was going with the Octavia, as it is faster than both audi and vw offerings, more practical (better boot), and good spec... but then i drove the Seat 2.0 FSI FR.

I drove the diesel Seat FR first and wasn't overly impressed, but then i got into the petrol and it is a completely different car, it does 60 a second quicker than the TDI FR and the Skoda, and 2 seconds quicker than the VWs and Audis... plus the petrol engine revs a lot more freely, pulls for longer and sounds a hell of a lot better. As soon as i pulled out of the garage and had a few quick bursts of the throttle, i had a grin from ear to ear - none of the other cars did that. ok i'd love a golf gti, r32 or audi s3 etc, but they aren't an option, so from what i can choose, its Seat FSI FR every time. I just can't wait to get it now! (plus even though the interior looks a lot cheaper than audi vw and skoda, its got nice comfy seats, a good steering wheel, and v good spec - dual climate, cruise, and when you put the alarm on it puts the windows up for you and folds in mirrors!)

Gez

[GSCOllie]

Good choice, hope you are happy with it. Second choice would have been an A3 2.0TDi 170 S-Line that is out now with S-Tronic (formerly called DSG), the extra 30 Bhp and DSG would make all the difference.

[passenger gez]

unfortunately the Audi TDI 170 was only standard spec, which comes with pretty much F*ck all! Thats why i was favouring the Octavia as 30bhp more than the decent spec A3, as all the others were the 140BHP engine. The Seat is 60 more than the Audis, which you really do notice!

[zebra]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Forget the which, tell us when you're gonna be mobile Judge!

zebs