furtive Posted February 28, 2003 Posted February 28, 2003 I'm just about to buy a Lexus IS200 Sport which would fit your catagory quite well. If you ignore the fact that a certain Norfolk DJ has one Quote
Ian Gratton Posted February 28, 2003 Posted February 28, 2003 I will Third POC I got shut of this and replaced it with these GOLF PD150 GTi (have a guess ) It costs me less than the P1 to run these two puppys. In the Golf I've averaged 48mpg over the last 22,000 miles (7 months) and it hasn't missed a beat. The golf is a very nice place to be on long journeys - just don't expect it to be a thrilling drive. Sure they are obsurdly quick (237 lb/ft or torque from 1900rpm) for oil burners and will only loose 1 car length on a bugeye WRX subaru from 80-120mph. Cornering is typical FWD hatch - and not a good one at that. Worth a drive IMHO Quote
david.c Posted February 28, 2003 Posted February 28, 2003 If you ignore the fact that a certain Norfolk DJ has one Ahhaaaaa the Japanese Mercedes Once you get yours, you can come and talk to my brother about your Lexi (thats plural for Lexus) and compare your Lynx scents David Quote
minghis Posted February 28, 2003 Author Posted February 28, 2003 Yep, Lexus would be ideal, but the emissions are too much. 233g/km = 28% of £21k = nearly as much as I'm paying on the current Rover, 32% = £230 per month out of the net pay! The Saab is 'only' 22% and well equipped which leaves it at the top of the list 'till someone that either has one or knows somebody that does tells me why I shouldn't.... Thanks again so far! Minghis. Quote
Liam Posted February 28, 2003 Posted February 28, 2003 A6 1.9 Tdi SE 6 spd. Quick (little difference from the higher CO2 and less well handling 2.5), comfortable, quiet even at ***mph (3150 revs), bags of room, boot the size of Rutland, plentiful toys, economical despite lead foot (though not as so as the previous Passat), CO2 160, not leather but that just creases your clothes and makes yer bum sweaty(I was that soldier). Quote
samcooke Posted March 1, 2003 Posted March 1, 2003 I've got a Saaaaaaab, an old un, had a go in the new one and it's more of the same really in terms of feel and character, it handles a good bit better than the standard old car but still a bit behind the better FWD stuff like the 156, Mundano etc It's half good, half bad, depends what you're after really. Good: Comfiest seats ever (better than an LS400 IMHO) Lots of turbo torque for lazy overtaking Plenty of kit Never goes wrong Nice hifi Decent economy on the motorway Understated but classy Not a 3 series Not a golf Not a diesel Bad: FWD Quicker ones still torque steer Eats front tyres (I do a set of Pilot Sports in 8k) Now a saloon Bit pipe and slippers I love mine. It's the absolute antidote to the Westfield. I had to swap it to Konis cos it was just too wallowy and after I got a chip and bigger intercooler I had to get an LSD (£750 ) so it didn't spin the power away in 1,2 and 3, but I'd buy the new one tomorrow as they've improved the handling enough without losing the character and comfort. Crossed France Germany last year in mine. Set the cruise to 125 and it was still solid, quiet and relaxed. Gets a bit light at 140 which is when you have to let the 911 go (apparantly). Great for towing too. Quote
Brucester70 Posted March 1, 2003 Posted March 1, 2003 Get a Seat Leon Cupra R!!!! 210bhp and look very nice ;-) Quote
Chris Elworthy Posted March 2, 2003 Posted March 2, 2003 How many Business / Private miles do you do ? Is the scheme fully expensed ? Does your company allow you to opt out + mileage recharge ? If you can opt out, I can do the calculation for you to let you know if it is worthwhile. I am on my second car now since I opted out in 2000. Many of my colleagues are now seeing the light too. To keep the tax sensible with a comapny car you need to consider not only the CO2 but the P11d value also. Remember that the CO2 percentage is not fixed either and is likely to rocket in years 3 and 4 if you start counting at April 1 this year. Had I opted back in on April 1, I would have certainly gone Mondeo / Passat / Laguna Diesel. Instead I stayed opted out, got myself a £26,000 spec X-Type (delivered today BTW) on a PCP scheme especially for "opt-outs" and I am about £300 / month better off than if I had opted for a company diesel Mondeo. Certainly worth thinking about. Quote
minghis Posted March 2, 2003 Author Posted March 2, 2003 Chris, Our policy is bizarre - several of us has tried to get them to let us lease (or buy) our own cars but they don't want to know. The root cause is two fold, 1. it's an Australian company and they don't know anything about campany car tax as they don't have it. and 2. our MD has this fear that if the cars are owned or leased by us we'll be less inclined to either put miles on them (work) or be afraid to use them in the in icy/wet conditions! It's strange but true. It's only now that we've had a choice - untill a week ago it was either an Omega 2l petrol, a Rover 75 2l V6 or a Pug 406 exec petrol. Even with the 'new' tax laws! 3 of the highest emission bars you could get, especially the Rover, my current one. I do about 25k per year and our cars are leased on a 3 yr / 90k miles fully maintained basis, my grade of job can now have anything (no 4x4, coupe, 2dr) up to a monthly lease value of either £450/£475, not sure which. I have to choose something that fits their criteria and mine, and this is the problem I have. I personally have made my thoughts (along with others) clear on the car policy, but they say that it's not their fault the government changed the tax laws, and that to help us they've given us the choice of having tax effecient cars. Thankfully, the Rover only had a years lease left on it when the laws changed - I went from paying about £100/month to £230/month, and hope to revert to the lower figure in choosing the next one. On the other hand, the company is good in other ways, in seven years they've never questioned my expenses, I use the mobile for private use and they ask that we make a token gesture each month to pay for our private fuel. They also have a good attitude on salary - if you're 'good' they make sure that you earn more by being with them than any other company - which helps, so I'm aware that by getting a strop on about the car policy I could end up a lot worse off........... Minghis. Quote
Bananaman Posted March 2, 2003 Posted March 2, 2003 I hate to repeat myself but LOOK HERE Why not go for the ES & spec it with leather (just a couple of hundred over the £20K). It'll handle about 10 times better than the Saab, as for the image i gave up bothering with what people thought of me long ago. Andy Quote
Jon Murray Posted March 2, 2003 Posted March 2, 2003 320D SE, every day of the week. Really good car, handles, quick (150 bhp), economical (easy 45mpg+), low road tax, low company car tax, excellent re-sale so should be cheap to lease. Described by 'Car' Magazine as the 2nd best diesel car in the World (The first being the 330d). Image is not as bad as it was, as it seems the £23K Merc 220's have lured all the image conscious ex-BMW owning thrusty types. So now it's a Merc that never let's you out of a side-street! PS, Saab's are great cars, so should be OK to lease - but wouldn't buy one privately due to high running costs (source: Autocar) and massive depreciation. Owned one myself and my father's had three! He now has a BMW! Quote
Mark Stanton Posted March 2, 2003 Posted March 2, 2003 320D SE, every day of the week. Really good car, handles, quick (150 bhp), economical (easy 45mpg+), low road tax, low company car tax, excellent re-sale so should be cheap to lease. Jon you forgot tow car Quote
Jon Murray Posted March 2, 2003 Posted March 2, 2003 Jon you forgot tow car Yeah! Except don't buy the BMW towbar... £919.15 fitted! - I nearly fell over when I asked! Quote
Fat Albert Posted March 2, 2003 Posted March 2, 2003 I hate to pour oil on your waters but doesn't the Saab 93 share a platform (suspension, transmission, etc.) with the current Vectra How about the Seat Leon Diesel (150bhp), everything that the Golf has (except 100kg, £2000 list price and Ok, low depreciation) but without the accompanying 'I've opted out/supermarket/kids school' run image? Quote
Mark Stanton Posted March 2, 2003 Posted March 2, 2003 Yeah! Except don't buy the BMW towbar... £919.15 fitted! Get a Witter fitted much cheaper and uses a 7 pin hook-up instead of those stupid 14 or 21 pin things that BMW use just ask Dickie B Quote
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