£15K Budget, Daily Driver, Diesel or Petrol

[gratty132]

Hi all,

I will be after a new daily in April and am starting the search early, I am currently driving a Fiesta ST MK7.5

My budget is £15K, with a £4K deposit and remainder on finance at no more than £400p/m.

I have a 65-mile round commute to work which I do three days a week (70% dual carriageway), with remaining pottering around bringing my weekly mileage to the 250 mark.

I have a 6-year old so will need to compensate for that with my next car as well.

I am contemplating diesel due to the commuting but am still not fully convinced. I have looked at the 3.0 TDI A4 Avant as a possibility as it covers the economy side but still offers performance when I want to have a spirited drive.

Any suggestions on cars out there that meet the conflicting mix of economy and performance?

Some of my previous car history is Fiesta ST MK6, Audi S1, Nissan Juke Nismo, Cupra Leon 290, BMW 330e.

[Hippea]

Mk7.5 Golf GTi or GTD?

[ChocolateFrog]

That mileage is around the tipping point for diesel for me.

Depends how you feel personally. The difference between a 35mpg petrol and 45 mpg diesel won't be huge.

[gratty132]

Good option that I overlooked, seemingly because I owned the Cupra. Prices aren't too bad for the mileage, definitely added to the shortlist

[gratty132]

ChocolateFrog said:

That mileage is around the tipping point for diesel for me.

Depends how you feel personally. The difference between a 35mpg petrol and 45 mpg diesel won't be huge.

That's good to know and a decent base to use for searching. I'm happy to move into a diesel but would like it to sound and drive the part which is why I've been looking at the 3.0 TDI.

The thought of driving a small generic hatchback diesel is not enticing at all.

[ninjag]

Ford Focus ST petrol is reasonably economical with some decent poke. 2015+ low mileage in your budget
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304236...

2017 BMW 320I XDRIVE M SPORT TOURING
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309071...

[Browter]

The 3.0 diesel in the 2016+ A4 is a great engine. Very quiet and smooth. The 3.0 diesel in my 2017 BMW 4 series sounds industrial in comparison

[Summit_Detailing]

A bit left field but how about a Ghibli diesel?...I've just swapped a CLS 350cdi for it - excellent car that also fits the brief but terrible driving position (for me at least).

[ZX10R NIN]

gratty132 said:

Hi all,

I will be after a new daily in April and am starting the search early, I am currently driving a Fiesta ST MK7.5

My budget is £15K, with a £4K deposit and remainder on finance at no more than £400p/m.

I have a 65-mile round commute to work which I do three days a week (70% dual carriageway), with remaining pottering around bringing my weekly mileage to the 250 mark.

I have a 6-year old so will need to compensate for that with my next car as well.

I am contemplating diesel due to the commuting but am still not fully convinced. I have looked at the 3.0 TDI A4 Avant as a possibility as it covers the economy side but still offers performance when I want to have a spirited drive.

Any suggestions on cars out there that meet the conflicting mix of economy and performance?

Some of my previous car history is Fiesta ST MK6, Audi S1, Nissan Juke Nismo, Cupra Leon 290, BMW 330e.

To me you're just at the tipping point for a diesel with your budget there are some very good options.

Passat BiTDI:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311143...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311133...

Q30 Sport Tech:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307049...

Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305067...

Giulia Super:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311143...

Speciale:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202308110...

If you can live with two doors the E Coupe is a great option:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311254...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309081...

Or a CLS350cdi Shooting Brake:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309141...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311033...

SQ5:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311294...

272 A7:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311123...

The 3.0d XF S is a bloody good car & they seem to be good value at the moment:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309131...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310052...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309041...

[georgeyboy12345]

If I were in your position, I'd probably go for a big engined diesel

I'm pretty sure that if you have £4k for a deposit and £400 pcm, then you can afford something worth more than £15k.

For example - This Audi A4 3.0 TDI V6 Quattro can be had for £4k, then £343 a month
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311284...


Or this BMW 335d xDrive for £4k, then £357 a month
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304266...

[gratty132]

ninjag said:

Ford Focus ST petrol is reasonably economical with some decent poke. 2015+ low mileage in your budget
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304236...

2017 BMW 320I XDRIVE M SPORT TOURING
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309071...

Two nice options, think I would lean towards the Focus as prefer the practicality of a hatchback, someone along our street has one and they look pretty good, not too many issues with them either if my research is correct.

[gratty132]

Browter said:

The 3.0 diesel in the 2016+ A4 is a great engine. Very quiet and smooth. The 3.0 diesel in my 2017 BMW 4 series sounds industrial in comparison

That's good to know, I'd be very tempted to get a new exhaust for the A4 as I have seen they sound beautiful for a diesel in comparison to all the other options out there.

[gratty132]

Summit_Detailing said:

A bit left field but how about a Ghibli diesel?...I've just swapped a CLS 350cdi for it - excellent car that also fits the brief but terrible driving position (for me at least).

As tempting as it is to hop into a Maserati, are the ownership costs not on the expensive side for them?

[gratty132]

ZX10R NIN said:

To me you're just at the tipping point for a diesel with your budget there are some very good options.

Passat BiTDI:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311143...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311133...

Q30 Sport Tech:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307049...

Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305067...

Giulia Super:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311143...

Speciale:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202308110...

If you can live with two doors the E Coupe is a great option:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311254...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309081...

Or a CLS350cdi Shooting Brake:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309141...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311033...

SQ5:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311294...

272 A7:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311123...

The 3.0d XF S is a bloody good car & they seem to be good value at the moment:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309131...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310052...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309041...

Love the Infiniti option as you rarely see them on the road although I will need to look into the Merc engine it uses, Alfa and Jag are also both lovely cars that I can see myself in, leaning more towards the Jag due to its performance.

[gratty132]

georgeyboy12345 said:

If I were in your position, I'd probably go for a big engined diesel

I'm pretty sure that if you have £4k for a deposit and £400 pcm, then you can afford something worth more than £15k.

For example - This Audi A4 3.0 TDI V6 Quattro can be had for £4k, then £343 a month
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311284...


Or this BMW 335d xDrive for £4k, then £357 a month
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304266...

Both great options, Audi is swinging it for me at the moment and that one is definitely in budget. Around the maximum mileage I would be looking at as well.

[GreatGranny]

IMO GTI is the best all rounder out there.

It will do the commute with ease and probably nudge 40 mpg driven sensibly and also be good for a spirited drive.

A4 diesel will be great for the commute but doubt will be decent when you want to have fun even with the 3.0 engine. It's bloody heavy thing to have up front.

[keo]

Isn’t 12k a year quite low for a diesel? I’d be going Golf GTI. I’d only be looking at diesel if doing 18k a year plus, only my opinion though and it may be wrong?

[gratty132]

GreatGranny said:

IMO GTI is the best all rounder out there.

It will do the commute with ease and probably nudge 40 mpg driven sensibly and also be good for a spirited drive.

A4 diesel will be great for the commute but doubt will be decent when you want to have fun even with the 3.0 engine. It's bloody heavy thing to have up front.

Have you owned/driven the GTI? Obviously it is always the pick of the bunch within its class but I am concerned it may feel under-powered for the size of it?

[gratty132]

keo said:

Isn’t 12k a year quite low for a diesel? I’d be going Golf GTI. I’d only be looking at diesel if doing 18k a year plus, only my opinion though and it may be wrong?

This is exactly why I am on the fence about the two, feel like I am borderline but don't want to hop into a diesel if there is a suitable sporty hatchback out there that can do the job.

[AlfaManc]

gratty132 said:

As tempting as it is to hop into a Maserati, are the ownership costs not on the expensive side for them?

It's also a big car. Swapped a 5 Series for one and parking around town and narrow roads is more of a challenge. That said, it's a great car for longer distances and does feel well put together.

Servicing, parts etc are definitely more expensive than mainstream cars. If you are considering Italian, the Giulia is definitely a good compromise. Nimble around town and very much a driver's car on the open road.