What will I replace my Corolla with for high mileage?
I'm driving a 2002 Toyota Corolla hatchback and I am thinking of changing it.
My budget is €25,000 + the trade in value. I do about 18,000 miles a year. Should I go for petrol or diesel? Also any suggestions (new or second-hand) on what car to go for?
Anthony Murphy (Tulla)May 2010 Filed under: choosing new car
Expert answer
Hi Anthony,
Well we can't quite say exactly what you are likely to get offered for your Corolla, but let's presume that it is likely to be about €2,500 - €3,000 when traded in against something new. With a budget of €25,000 on top of this then there is a lot of choice available to you. You could have a wide variety of new cars and an even greater choice of used models.
In answer to your first question, with you doing 18,000 miles per year, you could do with a diesel engine to keep your fuel bills down.
Your choices in terms of a new car are massive, including a brand new Toyota Avensis, which would probably add up to the best deal in terms of your trade-in. The new Avensis is remarkably comfortable and for a car that you are likely to spend so long in, this would make a nice place to sit. The diesel engine in the Avensis is very good, and it will be cheap to run and Toyota residuals are superb.
A sum of €26,735 will get you the 125hp Avensis Strata saloon. Another great choice for comfort and residual value would be the Volkswagen Passat. You could have the 1.6 TDI Comfortline BlueMotion for €27,375 and that has the feel of an executive car and would be great for the high mileage you do.
Almost impossible to ignore is the Skoda Superb. It really is great. You could have a 2.0-litre 170hp Comfort model for €27,805. Granted you might not need all that rear space, but there are few more comfortable cars on the road.
A car we have just spent a few days in is the updated Mazda6. The new model has a much better diesel engine than before, and there are some changes to the spec of the car. This offers a good blend between comfort and sportiness. It is a good-looking car too and comes as a hatchback.
A car I really like is the Subaru Legacy diesel. This is one of the most underrated cars around and it is lovely to drive. A 2009 model would cost you about €23,000 so it would be under your budget by quite a degree:
However, the car I'd think about with your budget is the VW Passat CC, the more coupé-like version of the Passat. There is a stunning 2.0-litre TDI model on sale in Dublin for €29,950 and it is absolutely stunning:
Bluemotion Golf worth buying?
Have you any information on the latest VW economy car Bluemotion. Is it as good as an ordinary Golf or better?
Joe McConville McConville (Wexford)May 2010 Filed under: choosing new car
Expert answer
Hi Joe,
I recently drove the Golf BlueMotion and the review will go up shortly, but what I can say is that I was really very impressed by the car for a number of reasons. Obviously this is the full BlueMotion version and that differs slightly to the 'BlueMotion Technology' model that we have seen before.
This new car gets a full raft of eco measures. There is Stop/Start, regenerative braking, a modified radiator grille, low rolling resistance tyres and a specially tuned diesel engine. The result is emissions of 99g/km and fuel economy of 3.4 l/100km. Now, you would want to be really hyper-miling to get those figures but we got close to that on our few days with the car. The economy was really staggering.
There is 105hp from the 1.6-litre diesel and it isn't a rocket: 0-100km/h takes 11.3 seconds. It is however, a very nice car to drive. It doesn't feel slow because it is geared well. And it is a nice place to be. For the price, it is quite well equipped.
Obviously, price is an issue. There is no real incentive to buy this car for its emissions like there is in other markets. In some markets, such as the UK, if your car has less than 100g/km you don't pay road tax, but here everything under 120g/km is Band A and the Ford Focus 1.6 D Style will cost you about the same to run, yet is €1,545 cheaper to buy.
To answer your original question though, if I was buying a Golf, yes this is the one I would have (aside from the GTI of course). I really liked it.
You also have to look at the Skoda Octavia too. For €23,820 you could have an Octavia with the same engine, but with the DSG automatic transmission. Hope this helps, feel free to come back to us if you have any more questions.