Another what car thread

[antihero3000]

Hi all,

After finishing my probationary period in the new job i'm finally eligble for a company car (of sorts). This is a big help as I have a 90km a day round trip commute and it'll let me build a credit history in OZ.

The requirements are:

- Must be no more than 12 months old
- Max cost of $34,000
- Decent(ish) fuel economy
- Must be easy enough for the missus to drive when she moves over in March

The contenders are:

- 6R Polo GTi (love the look of these and the DSG but i've heard mixed reports about the engine and there's a 12 month wait)

- Mk6 Golf GTi (hard to find one in this price range but probably the best all rounder)

- 500 Abarth SS (a bit girly but I love the look the noise, lacking dealer support?)

- Focus XR5 Turbo (cheap, fast and a brilliant noise but the image isn't great)

- Clio 200 Cup (the best handling car here but reliability and dealer support are issues)

I've driven the Focus, the Golf and the Clio already and i'll take the rest out when I get a chance but in the meantime, does anyone have first hand experience of these cars? I'll be putting my brilliant little Ibiza GTi up for sale this week and i'd hate to replace her with something average.

Thanks in advance.

[Buller_Scott]

dont know about the focus, and im sure that's okay as there will be many on here singing its praise, but i DID read somewhere that one thorn in its side is the lack of cruise control? that wouldnt bode well for you on those long commutes.

if it's just you and your missus most of the time (and no kids / parents in law etc) i dont see why the polo or golf gti's wouldnt be more than capable of handling the task. are you inclined to go DSG? there have been some discussions pertaining to the.... (ehem) lack of reliability in the DSG, so if you were to go manual then obviously the golf would be your pick. if i were inclined to choose DSG, and if they were the same price (obviously the golf would have more km's on it), i'd go the polo... it's a little ripper.

the abarth i've driven twice, and it's a little ripper - the engine note (if this is your thing) is pretty rad, with lots of pop and crackle on the overrun. nimble little thing, and even though lots of journos say the ride is back-breaking, i couldnt see it (and i've got a bad back). it IS tiny, though, so forget 3 mates and a boot full of snow gear - one mate and a boot full of snow gear would be a BIG struggle (boards would need to be on the roof). it's a small car, it's light, and the back seats are heavy. if you took them (and the spare wheel) out, and upgraded the car with a novitec tuning package (same cost as vag tuning options), then you're looking at 180hp and 300nm in a car that's less than 1000kg's.

my only complaint with the abarth was that the steering was like a playstation steering wheel - yes, it was suitably weighty, and felt nice in your hands, but it somehow felt a little disconnected from what was actually going on with the front wheels. its as though they perfected the steering weight, and then slapped some electric motor on there to distance you from road feel and feedback. otherwise, awesome little car.

then there's the clio. as trent (username treza360) said, "lots of people wont get it". not nearly as powerful as the polo or the golf (once tuned, especially)... it's got inadequate torque and a spartan cabin (no automatic heated massage memory digitally adjustable seats, or satellite communications array inbuilt plasma navigation screen which greets you by telling you the stardate every time you enter the car, no "you can barely change lanes without getting into a pile up so i'll take away the distraction of turning me on" rain sensing auto wipers, etc etc), but all i can say is... one corner, and all of a sudden you WILL "get it".

but for a comfy all rounder i'd be looking at the polo, golf, or xr5 (if they have cruise control nowadays).

keep us posted!

[AdamD]

I've driven the Polo GTI and own a Golf GTI. Both are outstanding cars and I'm sure would meet your requirements.

The Polo will be hard to find, and although it's probably possible to find a Golf in your pricerange, it'd need to be a lower-spec car (especially if < 12 months old), and with higher miles. Might be tricky to locate one.

Have you thought about a near-new Octavia RS? Not quite as much fun or as luxurious as a Golf, but still decently quick and tuneable, very easy to drive, and incredibly good value to boot. They're reasonably well specced now too (the MY12s get free satnav, amongst other fruit).