New company car

[GTI]

Dunno what to get?? got the equivalent of about £30-35k to spend on a car that I will use daily (33k miles per year). I want 5 doors and plenty of grin factor, but solid build quality which probably means German. I get a fuel card so as long as economy is not outrageous it doesn't necessarily need to be a diesel.

A few cars I have in mind

Audi A3 Sportback
Audi A4 Avant
Golf GTI or Golf R (I can spec the GTI with more toys )
A-Class (AMG kit, not an A45 AMG )
Beemer 1-series 125d (or 135i at a stretch and dipping into my own pocket)

Any ideas, I'm getting lost in reviews and need to narrow my search so I can test drive and then order the fucker.

[I Black Belt]

the new golfs are upscaled polo's. Fucking horrible to drive, felt really tinny if you know what I mean.
Go for the Merc. They still build proper cars. Beemers are plakky shitbags these days.
No opinion on the Audi's, although I am looking at an A8

[GTI]

the new golfs are upscaled polo's. Fucking horrible to drive, felt really tinny if you know what I mean.
Go for the Merc. They still build proper cars. Beemers are plakky shitbags these days.
No opinion on the Audi's, although I am looking at an A8

They keep slimming the Golfs down (the Mk4 probably marked the car at its fattest) so it does make me wonder where all that padding is being removed from (thus explaining its tinniness)?.

I am coming from a 3-door 2008 118d so I am a huge fan of the baby beemer, however I just think they lack sufficient rear space for the odd occasions where I need to give people lifts and I fear the Baby Benz might be in a similar category. What I like about the Audi A/S3 sportback is that it looks like a baby estate, so nimble, easy to park but with enough rear room.

[I Black Belt]

I've been looking at the Lexus too. Nice specs, and 4wd on the new ones I think.

[GTI]

I've been looking at the Lexus too. Nice specs, and 4wd on the new ones I think.

I have a soft spot for hatches so the only one I could get would be the CT200h. I sat in one at last months car show and it just felt like a Toyota (not even a particularly high end one), and being a hybrid its economy would be wasted on my mainly motorway miles.

[macmilm]

Shame it wouldn't stretch to an S4 ;-)
As others have said avoid beemers... quality/reliability has apparently gone to shit in recent years !!!

[DJ OD]

My opinion (against the run of the mill), fuck Audi altogether and 1 Series BMW's are just Astras in disguise.

From personal experience get tha A-Class. The new ones look awesome and drive fantastic. They are however a little claustrophobic inside if you a tall. And the sat nav looks shite rigidlly stuck to the dash.

I would also considder a Mondeo.


DJ OD

[blaggard]

Audi fan here but I would go for the A6. . .

[macmilm]

Audi fan here but I would go for the A6. . .

Would have thought you were more of a Jag or Granada driver ;-)

[CzarJunkie]

It's a pity your company don't value you enough to get a proper car. However, not all is lost. You can get a Porsche Cayman for just shy of £40k, probably cheaper in Swizterland. Fuck the 5 seats and all that nonsense, here's a review......

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/...an-review.html

[GTI]

It's a pity your company don't value you enough to get a proper car. However, not all is lost. You can get a Porsche Cayman for just shy of £40k, probably cheaper in Swizterland. Fuck the 5 seats and all that nonsense, here's a review......

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/...an-review.html

The whole point of a company car is that if called upon, I have to use it for company business e.g. taking colleagues to lunch, Golf, the opera etc.. Also I so desperately want to be liked, the Swiss hate show-offs and a Porsche just says I'm a self obsessed cunt. I want a wolf in sheep's clothing.

[blaggard]

Would have thought you were more of a Jag or Granada driver ;-)

Nope, last car was a 60th Anniversary Grand Cherokee LTD, 4.7 lovely V8 litres. . . before that an Audi A6. . . . although I have had a Granada many years ago and been an ALMOST Jag owner several times. . .
The Jeep was doing 10-12 to the gallon around town and eventually it was unsupportable!!
Besides, sitting in a Jag I wouldn't be able to keep my Trilby on. . .

[GTI]

OK so I've booked a Merc A-class test drive, will see the precise model when I get there.

[GTI]

The AMG 45 is calling to me like some siren seductress, out of the 3 (Audi S3, BMW M135i) most motoring journos are giving it to the baby Merc. Its definitely not common, but at twice the price of a standard A-class I'm struggling to justify it in my head.

[macmilm]

The AMG 45 is calling to me like some siren seductress, out of the 3 (Audi S3, BMW M135i) most motoring journos are giving it to the baby Merc. Its definitely not common, but at twice the price of a standard A-class I'm struggling to justify it in my head.

You would think for that kind of money they would put the steering wheel in the right place

[akimba]

I must admit I cant compare the Merc or Audi as have had only BMW's for the past 10-2 years but don't write off the Beemer the 1 series is a loverly car but I would go for the 125d rather than the 135i as the petrol is a thirst girl for not much extra performance wise as the 2 litre diesel puts out ;-)

[GTI]

You would think for that kind of money they would put the steering wheel in the right place

And £3000 for an optional TomTom

[evilsatan]

S3 FTW IMO, I too love hot hatches, Audi are solid, the engines are detuned so a remap will add loads more horsies if you wanted to, look the part and reliable from what I have read.

[GTI]

S3 FTW IMO, I too love hot hatches, Audi are solid, the engines are detuned so a remap will add loads more horsies if you wanted to, look the part and reliable from what I have read.

According to the reviews, I could just save the money and go for an S-line with a lot more toys e.g. Navigation, panorama roof and some rude boy alloys. 85% of my driving is highway so the extra ponies from the S3 engine might be wasted.

[evilsatan]

A3 S-Line is an awesome car. The RNS-e isn't all that, Zenec make a custom headunit with more features and still looks OEM. Panoramic sunroof would be nice, I had a VW Eos as a temporary car and that had one. I have the black edition so limited edition 18'' rims and factory tints. Also the flat bottom multi-function steering wheel is pretty bad ass.