Q's from a prospective diesel owner

[a900ss]

Hi,

I'm jumping out of the company car scheme and am considering an Auris. 

I'd be looking for a mid-spec 1.6 diesel and I'd keep it for 4 years and circa 100/120k miles. 

I'm interested in hearing from high mileage drivers as to the comfort and running costs of the car. Also, how does the 1.6 diesel perform on the motorway and fast A roads? Does it have enough power? I do drive fairly swiftly. 

I'm also considering a Focus, an Astra or a Leon but I am drawn to the Toyota reputation of reliability. When you do 25/30k miles a year, a car is more transport than thrills. 

On a separate note, what's the gearing like in top gear? What's the MPH/1000RPM in top gear?

I have driven an Auris for a week as a hire car and quite liked it as it was spacious, comfortable and light to drive.

Thanks in advance. 

[Heidfirst]

In case you don't know, the current 1.6 diesel is a derivative of the BMW N47.

"Enough" power is possibly a personal thing but it probably won't compare to a 220D.

I suspect that the 3 other cars that you mention may handle better in the twisty stuff (but they may also spend more time in a dealer's workshop...).

[a900ss]

Thanks. 

I'm not expecting performance similar to what I've got, my Mercedes is a twin turbo 2.1 with bags of torque. Besides, I have a V8 in the garage for sunny Sundays. 

The main point of opting out would be to save cash so my priorities are comfort (relaxing, sufficient performance, smallish wheels) and costs (which reliability is a factor of). 

Any feedback on the gearing (mph/1000 rpm in 6th gear)? The 1.4 diesel I had was circa 35mph/1000 rpm and I was wondering if the 1.6 was the same or higher geared.

Thanks

[Draco]

Hi,

I have 1.6 D-4D and i'm not really happy from mpg, with 8500 miles done average is 47.76mpg mostly motorway and dual carriageway.

for me is enough power for driving in speed limits (a specially with speed cameras and new penalties low),

about gearbox i haven't tried running car 1000rpm on 6 gear (no make sense to me)

my car is from nov last year and I had 3 visits service so far ( panoramic roof replaced, AC radiator replaced, and new keyless fob)

however the choice is yours 

[a900ss]

Thanks for the comments regarding MPG and reliability.  That MPG is woeful.  That's about the same as my previously owned auto 520d and way down on my Merc (56.4MPG average brim to brim over past 20k however your engine is probably only just starting to loosen up and that was all winter MPG on winter fuel and longer warm up time).

I wont be driving at 1000rpm in top, it's just a common reference point, ie if the car does 35MPH/1000 rpm in top, you know it's 2k at 70mph, 2.3k at 80mph, etc. Just gives me an idea how relaxed the engine is at a cruise. 

Thanks. 

[Heidfirst]

Have you considered an Auris hybrid?

[a900ss]

5 minutes ago, Heidfirst said:

Have you considered an Auris hybrid?

My driving lends itself to diesel. 80% single A roads at 60/65, 17% on motorways at 80/85 and only a very little around town. Also, all my journeys are long distance so the car gets nice and warm. Finally, I do a fair bit of European travel with cheaper diesel. 

Whichever way I slice it, diesel is significantly cheaper for me to run and also cheaper to buy initially  

After 120k miles, whichever I choose, depreciation has ravaged the car so there is little value in the car afterwards.

Thanks anyway. 

[Heidfirst]

5 minutes ago, a900ss said:

My driving lends itself to diesel. 80% single A roads at 60/65, 17% on motorways at 80/85 and only a very little around town. Also, all my journeys are long distance so the car gets nice and warm. Finally, I do a fair bit of European travel with cheaper diesel. 

Whichever way I slice it, diesel is significantly cheaper for me to run and also cheaper to buy initially

Fair comment. Of course attitudes to diesel are changing throughout Europe. 

After 120k miles, whichever I choose, depreciation has ravaged the car so there is little value in the car afterwards.

You could run a Toyota hybrid for far longer than that should you wish (& if your company has no limits on age of vehicles used by their employees for work purposes). As you surely know depreciation is usually the largest cost of running a car so getting,  say, an extra 2 years out of the car ...

 

[a900ss]

I don't think attitudes will change that significantly and quickly on Euro 6 diesels to make the finances swing so dramatically and you are right, I have a hard 5 year limit for my car allowance (and I would buy a one year old car to take away the worst depreciation). 1 year old diesels I see for £11k ish, Hybrids £15k ish and increased fuel constant for the Hybrids for my high speed, non-urban driving. 

 

Thanks anyway. 

[Draco]

btw on 6gear and 1000rpm is 40mph 

 

[a900ss]

16 hours ago, Draco said:

btw on 6gear and 1000rpm is 40mph 

 

Thanks for the information. 

[Parts-King]

I have a 1.6 diesel. MPG is 51, I think the engine slightly noisy but has reasonable enough power. In 6th gear it is doing 2200 at 80MPH. It cruises just fine and pulls good enough even in top gear, personally I find the gearbox a bit notchy, especially going into first when stopping at a junction. 

Kingo

 

 

[a900ss]

Thanks. 

 

As as a long distance driver (and an early starter in winter), I'd really like heated seats, cruise and front collision avoidance as well as the usual toys. The Auris has all three of these on a business edition whereas the competitors I've mentioned have 1 or 2 of the three only. 

 

Thanks again for your help. 

[alan333]

The Mazda 3 has all three in the mid spec SE-L.  Our 2.0 petrol auto does towards 40mpg on the commute, and it's quite easy to get about 50 driving light footed.

[Chas2]

I would sugest you check the legal speed limits of this country {UK} maybe you will keep driving for a longer time then

[a900ss]

Thanks 

7 hours ago, Chas2 said:

I would sugest you check the legal speed limits of this country {UK} maybe you will keep driving for a longer time then

Thanks for your pious comment. I'm sure you must get vertigo from your high horse. 

I've been polite to all comments so not sure what you gain from your statement. Is your life so unmeaningful you feel the the need to be a policeman on the internet?

Enjoy your life. 

[haelewyn]

Before, at times of the facelift in 2015, it was still so that the 1,3 petrol and 1,4 diesel had a different, less sofisticated rear suspension.

In that view but also in others  (hp and nm) the 1,6 is the right diesel choice. More comfortable to drive. But the 1,4 d4d would be quite a bit better on mpg. Motorway speeds would be about 4 to 4, 5 liter per 100 km on the 1,4. I read the 1,6 will go more around 6 which is not a great result.

Don't know about UK but 1,6 diesel is positioned here in the luxurious versions while 1,4 more on basic trim levels.  

I know you were thinking about 1,6 but just wanted to mention this in case you would compare to 1,4d.  

[Insadi1]

Suspension on 1.6 diesel 2017 model rattles a lot like an old worn out car

[ffzetecs]

Appreciate you're asking about the 1.6, but for what it's worth I'm running a 1.4 D4D and bought it for similar driving to you - I do c.20k pa, mainly mway/a-road and was fully aware depreciation would impact.

Mine has done exactly what I've wanted it to. The 1.4 isn't the quickest around, but it's got more than enough to pull along in traffic and sufficient torque to let me overtake comfortably. 

I've averaged c. 55mpg in my ownership