Thread: Small Diesel For To & From Work

Just to fill in the Skoda thing. The Octavia is a golf variant with a bigger boot, different interior and a lot of little extras that the golf didn't get.
The scout was a special sub-model that will likely be reinstated in a year or so, but the new 2wd octavias look great and are longer wheelbase (more leg room front and back).

Personally their DSG gearboxes I don't like. Higher running costs, shorter service intervals, costlier services and if something goes wrong it'll cost an arm/leg. They also get confused at roundabouts.
Mine is 6sp manual. Fantastic gearbox that has a gear for every occasion. Yes I'll be up for a clutch and DMF (dual mass flwheel) change at some stage. But the DSG also has a dual mass flywheel to change.

Diesels of any description don't like short drives. The km per journey is important, if you don't get them up to temp and apply a decent load at some part of the journey then you will have problems with it sooting up the EGR and DPF (diesel particulate filters).
If you get them warm and flog them on each journey you'll be fine.

If each journey is less than 10km, then consider the small petrol engines instead.

Thanks Dougal, Ks are OK, 40+ each way, we will be staying away from the DSG gearbox, haven't heard much positive info on these, so will be going manual, our Amarok has a DPF as well as the DMF, so we are familiar with these.

Baz.

For your budget, I think you'd do well to look at a Hyundai i30. On CarSales there are a couple that are around that price, with less than 100k on, that are 2009-2010 (still within manufacturer's 5 year warranty).

Kels dad just got a focus 2009 tdi auto fo $9k with 135kkm, **** car to drive and looking at a gearbox replacement as never serviced!.
Did I tell you we lurved our golf.

My Scout is 2009. I tried to buy a new one, but was too late to order a manual (production had stopped) and the only ones in the country still for sale were DSG.
I found this one just coming off a a 3 year fleet lease, it took me half an hour to do the background checks and buy it sight unseen.

Earlier than about 2011 the ECU's on most EFI diesels (bosch EDC16) can be flashed through the OBD2 port. I got a greek tuner to write me a custom map which shut-down the EGR, raised the torque limiters and advanced timing. But this also means you can remove and map out the DPF easily compared to later cars.
I picked up ~8% in fuel economy and got even more torque. The downside is warm-up in winter. So I run with a carpet slab over the radiator and intercooler when doing short trips below zero in winter.

The primary purpose of this map (besides fuel economy) was to keep the intake and DPF clear. All aftermarket tuners wanted to sell me performance maps which would fill the DPF up with soot. It took some time to find a tuner I could trust and he did a good fast job. I downloaded and uploaded the map ($80 laptop cable). He did it all via email.

If you are buying second hand, things change a bit, but as this NRMA survey shows, fuel consumption is not the only consideration if you are looking for cheap transport.

Top 10 Cars In Each Category | Car Operating Costs | NRMA Motoring & Services
and
Running costs for more than 1,800 vehicles revealed | 2013 MPress Releases | NRMA Motoring & Services

in the golfs even the petrol variety are exceptional on fuel as well. Ive got a gti and its great.
the DSG gearbox is also the most awesome automatic ive ever experienced. I think there was a recall on the newer 7 speed ones as they were tyring to make it dry or something i cannot remember. (mine is a 2005 so a 6 speed) They can lurch a bit at slow speeds but that is due to the way they work.
Do not let the negative reports online put you off DSG. Most people in the world use forums to complain about the bad stuff, never really rave on about the great stuff. They are fantastic gearbox's. Mine has never gotten confused at roundabouts at all. But everyone has different experiences etc. The only annoying thing i find is the lack of a dipstick to check the oil levels in there. But then heaps of cars are missing dipsticks to check their oil anyways. And they are a bit tricky to service the DSG, as you need to pump the oil in. More fiddly than hard really.
Diesel golfs are fantastic. the wiring gremlins vw have is a bit hit and miss, but aside from that they are still sensational vehicles with lots of oomph and no drinking problems

Originally Posted by vnx205

If you are buying second hand, things change a bit, but as this NRMA survey shows, fuel consumption is not the only consideration if you are looking for cheap transport.

Top 10 Cars In Each Category | Car Operating Costs | NRMA Motoring & Services
and
Running costs for more than 1,800 vehicles revealed | 2013 MPress Releases | NRMA Motoring & Services

Great links and thanks for that.

The main reason for this is, less Ks on the D4, good economy and low service costs on the comuter car is just a bonus, looking at the total cost of running a car over 5 yrs, depreciation seems to be the biggest cost of owning the car, we will be driving this thing till it falls apart, so will be worth nothing when we are finished with it

Baz.