# Best small diesel?



## Caveat (28 May 2010)

Is it a bit of an oxymoron for a start in that only larger diesel engines are truly "good"? 

Don't know that much about diesels really and will be taking the plunge due to a fairly dramatic increase in mileage on the horizon.

Will be doing about 30K miles PA and criteria is:


Reliability: No. 1. Way more important than any other factor
Size: no bigger than e.g. a Golf - my wife will be doing most of this driving and doesn't like bigger cars.
Economy: being a diesel obviously helps but if there was a particularly economical option, that would be great.
Won't consider: anything French or Italian. Will be buying used and hope to spend no more than about €8K.

Are the Hyundai and Kia diesels any good?

So far, thinking along the lines of Civic, Fiesta, Corrolla, Golf...

Generally, is the VAG 1.9TDi a good buy? I know it's considered a bit unrefined these days but that doesn't matter to me as long as it's  otherwise good for e.g. 250K miles?

_Edit: forget about the Auris, I forgot, it's too recent for the budget._


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## folder (28 May 2010)

Caveat said:


> Will be buying used and hope to spend no more than *about €8K.*





1234 said:


> What's your budget?



Ahem


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## folder (28 May 2010)

Are you trading anything in that might be considered for the Scrappage scheme?


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## RonanC (28 May 2010)

€156 a year road tax and only 2 years old. High-ish mileage but its bulletproof. 

[broken link removed]


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## asking7 (28 May 2010)

I've got a 2004 1.4 TDi Seat Ibiza. Would strongly recommend it.  Very economical -60-65mpg.  Quite nippy and stylish too


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## bobalong (28 May 2010)

Hey Caveat,

With proper use of CARZONES Search Facilities you can set the parameters to exactly what you stated above.

In this case under MAKES & MODELS select all the models you want leaving out the French or Italian. Setting the PRICE to €1k - €8k, use €1k up to exclude the increasing BLIGHT of garages using POA. Set FUEL TYPE Diesel. Set ENGINE SIZE 1.1 - 1.6l ( Economy? ). Set ALL BODY TYPES except COMMERCIAL. 

Here is the result - 85 cars tailored to your request  

[broken link removed]


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## RonanC (28 May 2010)

@ bobalong, the problem with carzone and search engines like them, they will offer you a pile of <> on 4 wheels if you searched for it. I think Caveat is looking for a bit of experience and ideas from members and then take this and search for those cars only.


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## bobalong (28 May 2010)

RonanC said:


> @ bobalong, the problem with carzone and search engines like them, they will offer you a pile of <> on 4 wheels if you searched for it. I think Caveat is looking for a bit of experience and ideas from members and then take this and search for those cars only.



Maybe I should have explained better ... By searching Carzone like this it can be used as a tool for ideas as to what cars fall into the category you are looking for. I never once mentioned that Caveat or anyone else should BUY anything from Carzone. NOR did I say that Caveat ot anyone else should NOT ask for advice here!

So having used the search tool in this way from Carzone - you get a list of Cars, some of which one might not have thought of, that one could then go "looking for a bit of experience and ideas from members" on these cars.

Same result in the end as you have mentioned, other way around maybe, but ( only my two cents ) - do the search first, then ask the questions - seems a bit more focused to me!

<>
Bob


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## mathepac (28 May 2010)

RonanC said:


> €156 a year road tax and only 2 years old.  High-ish mileage but its bulletproof...


+1 brand, engine, car


asking7 said:


> I've got a 2004 1.4 TDi Seat Ibiza. ...


+1 brand, engine, car


RonanC said:


> @ bobalong, the problem with carzone and search engines like them, they will offer you a pile of <> on 4 wheels if you searched for it..


+1 The results above include commercials (car-vans) but exclude cars that might interest OP (no Seat, no Skoda, only 1 VW a 1983 transporter motorhome!) and include cars that IMHO probably won't (Daewoo / Chrysler). You can specify all the criteria you like but if the information wasn't validated to begin with the pile of <> just gets higher.



bobalong said:


> ... So having used the search tool in this way  from Carzone - you get a list of Cars, some of which one might not have  thought of, ...


Agree with this - Mitsubishi Colt 1.5 D


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## RonanC (28 May 2010)

bobalong said:


> Maybe I should have explained better ... By searching Carzone like this it can be used as a tool for ideas as to what cars fall into the category you are looking for. I never once mentioned that Caveat or anyone else should BUY anything from Carzone. NOR did I say that Caveat ot anyone else should NOT ask for advice here!
> Bob


 
Ah Bob, your taking me too seriously here, but we both know what we were talking about, but just came from different angles


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## bobalong (28 May 2010)

Hi RonanC,

Alls Kool, That "rant" was actually a bit tongue and cheek - I was hoping the little smiley guy might elude to that  ... here he is again 

Hard to convey stuff by text only - we dont see the whites of the eyes or the wry smiles 


MATHEPAC Said: _"no Seat, no Skoda, only 1 VW a 1983 transporter motorhome!"_

OK, maybe that search needs more refinement, just add Seat and Skoda under MAKES & MODELS? There are 2 POLO's also. The search result list has 10 PAGES of cars ( top right of list - press 2 or next page ).

The topic says Best Small Diesel, so I kept the search to 1.6 or smaller, again adjust to taste.

Bob


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## Caveat (28 May 2010)

Thanks all.

The Ibiza tdi might be just a bit slow for her liking - not sure. Personally, I would consider it though. I guess this might go for the Fabia too - although it could be lighter.

Colt - good one - and no, I wouldn't have thought of that probably. 

Related, been checking price of 1.7cdti Civic in NI. To my surprise, VRT for an example of 60K miles, 02 model, only seems to be about €350! According to the on-line VRT calculator. Can this be right? If so, a no brainer. You can get a decent Civic in NI for £5000...


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## dereko1969 (28 May 2010)

would the NI civic not be more prone to having been boy-racered? and having the ar*e driven out of it? by the way not being negative about NI just those civics.


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## Caveat (28 May 2010)

I know what you mean but this syndrome would far more likely affect:

1) Petrol
2) 3 door
3) those with body kits/lexus lights etc

Not going for any of the above.

In fact on second thoughts, I think I'm *totally* safe - no self respecting boy racer would be seen dead in a 5 door Civic of this type!


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## notagardener (28 May 2010)

My car was in for a service last week, the rental car I got was a 1.4L Diesel VW Polo four door. Surprisingly nice,quick and comfortable car and the fuel guage hardly moved considering I my round trip that day was approx 80miles.


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## Caveat (28 May 2010)

Thanks - OK that's 3 endorsements for really what are the same car: Ibiza, Polo & Fabia 

Maybe I'm wrong about the power then.


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## RonanC (28 May 2010)

The Ibiza/Polo/Fabia 1.4tdi has 80bhp and does about 60mpg. Its not going to win any races but they have a good bit of torque (144 lb/ft) which is what you really want. 

The Ibiza would be my pick as its the best looking of the three and used prices will also be more in your favour. We've had 5 Ibiza's in the past and never had any trouble with any of them. 

The Fabia stood out for me as it qualifies for the new low tax rates which would attract me if I was in the market for one.


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## Caveat (28 May 2010)

Thanks again - you are (or were?) a bit of a Civic-man Ronan IIRC -Didn't you have an SiR at one stage?

Do you know much about the 1.7cdti Civic?

Yeah, the VAG 1.4TDI sounds a bit better than I thought then.


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## gipimann (28 May 2010)

I returned to diesel this year after many years of petrol motoring, got the Fabia 1.4 TDI.   I find it big enough for me, handles the daily commute very well - considering there's a fair amount of start/stop traffic, and the fuel economy is great - approx 60 mpg for very mixed city&motorway driving.


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## RonanC (28 May 2010)

Caveat, 

I had the Civic for about 5 years, great cars but they attract the wrong crowd sometimes. I was looking at getting the 2.2 Accord cdti (which is a fantastic engine) but in the end the cost of taxing it was way too much. I looked at the 2.2 cdti Civic too. I'm not so sure about the early 1.7cdti engines though, they were built by Isuzu afaik and were very rough. It was Honda's first ever Diesel powered car. [broken link removed]

I bought a 07 Octavia VRS 2.0tdi and its brilliant, hence my approval of Skoda, but those who know their cars, know Skoda is a great buy. 

I had an Ibiza, my mother had 4 i think, then 2 Leon's and my dad had a Toledo. I used to work for a SEAT dealership and we never had any trouble with any of the range.


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## bobalong (28 May 2010)

Hey RonanC,

Whats your take on SEAT resale value? Brother in law had an Altea from new, within a short time he resold and lost an absolute mint. SEATS do not hold their value too well? 

Bob


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## RonanC (28 May 2010)

The main problem is the badge and the snobbery attached to it. Drive a VW Golf and then jump into the SEAT Leon and I know which one you'd rather have. Same with the Altea which would be similiar to the Golf Plus. We had an Altea XL for a few days over in the UK and my dad, who is now a Merc man, loved it. The market for used Altea's wouldnt be that big either and you could say the same for the Golf Plus. I'd also take a Leon over an Altea, and if I wanted more space i'd go for the Altea XL. 

SEAT always had a bigger drop in resale value compared to the other brands in the VW group with the exception of Skoda, but so do Fiat, Nissan, Citroen and Alfa Romeo for example.


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## mathepac (28 May 2010)

RonanC said:


> ...  SEAT always had a bigger drop in resale value compared to the other brands in the VW group with the exception of Skoda, but so do Fiat, Nissan, Citroen and Alfa Romeo for example.


It tends to make them great value as second-hand purchases, but poor value from new. It doesn't make them poor cars, particularly in comparison to some of the others listed above.


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## RonanC (28 May 2010)

In comparision to those listed, SEAT are miles ahead in terms of build quality, reliability and value. But i'm jus a little biased  (I will someday own a Cupra R Leon 225bhp.... yum yum yum!!! )


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## bobalong (28 May 2010)

Yes,

I was very close to buying a Leon AERO recently - v nice looking motors too ...

Bob


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## z101 (29 May 2010)

Why not go the bit extra and buy new. We bought the new model polo in a 1.6diesel with scrappage for 14k. Same size as the old golf, great looking car and good resale value. Normally would never buy a new car but with a list price of 17600 we thought it was worth going the extra for at that price.


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## doubledeb (29 May 2010)

Has to be the corrolla.
I have a 2007 one with 103k kms on the clock and it still gives me almost 500kms for about €30 (not sure what mpg is).  I do about 30k kms per year.  Its a 1.4L D4D and is very quick, as good as a 2L D no prob.  97bhp and is as reliable as they come.  If you are doing long distance the diesel is deffo the way to go.  Wouldn't think there would be a huge difference with petrol and deisel if you are doing a lot of city driving.  But if i could afford to upgrade I would definately buy another one.


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## Caveat (30 May 2010)

Yeah, king of leaning towards the Corolla 1.4 D4D or the Ibiza 1.4TDi.  Herself loves the look of the Ibiza - and I quite like it myself - so I guess it may win out.


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## seantheman (30 May 2010)

anyone got any views, good or bad on the opel astra 1.3dti?


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## Caveat (4 Jun 2010)

I think I have it - the perfect smaller diesel (price, reliability,economy considered) 

Kia Rio 1.5 CRDi - if bought in NI, might just get the €8000 budget

??


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