due to fuel costs and future tax.im now looking at fast diesels.new and secondhand.im primarily looking for in gear acceleration.the sensation of real overtaking grunt.and possible tuning options for the specific car.so far im looking at bmw 330d.seat ibiza FR. honda civic 2.2 type S. my mates fabia vrs with a tuning box is just as quick as my wifes slk230 but he gets 50mpg.fabia is ruled out due to bland interior.any one have any experience or suggestions.

 

Used BMW 123d.

 

Golf GT-Sport TDI 140 40mpg town/60mpg motorway/50mpg combined, GTI looks, VW residuals Blah Blah Blah

 

Not for 18k

The other problem with vRS skoda's and Golf iv tdi's is they don't do bends!

My colleague had a great set up on his 330d. It was a 2002 184-hp variant with a Miltek cat back, green panel filter and DMS remap.

Other than that, standard car and it was superb! Almost as quick as my other colleges blob eye STI with PPP from a rolling start and handled better!

His current 177hp 120d isn't even close sadly

The 330d over 75k averaged 33mpg. The 120d over 6k miles has averaged 42mpg.

For £18k you could get a high mileage [for what it is] M sport E90 Auto Trader UK - BMW 330d M Sport or a or an SE with less miles Auto Trader UK - BMW 330d 2993 cc SE Saloon or an older coupe Auto Trader UK - BMW 3 SERIES 3000 cc 330 Cd Sport

 

The vag 170 units??

Leon FR?
Audi A3?

The 1 series BMW also have 143/177/204 choice of engines.

 

I'll second the 330d - I've been driving around in an '04 204bhp model for the last couple of years - though if you're buying it to save on running costs it might not be the best choice. With a remap you're looking at around 260bhp and 400 lb.ft, and the 6 cylinder engine is much smoother and makes a much nicer noise than any 4 cyl diesel I've ever tried.

 

astra 888?

 

you say the fabias dont do bends, but in mine running coilovers it ceratinly does! rear ARB added and its a nice handling car, but like all diesels the engine is heavy at the front.

Im with you on the bland interior though, but i looked in a golf 5 tdi and realised it wasnt much better so i stuck with the VRS lol

 

 

astra 888 is a nice looking car

I really liek the sound of the BMW 123d coupe, seems to tick all the boxes for me ( well obv bar the price lol)

 

I had the same dilema a year ago..

I decided on a new Leon FR Tdi 170..

Now remapped with 205bhp, and on average 45-50mpg..

 

I hired the astra SRI diesel this weekend, very quick 150bhp and lots of torques

Isn't there a golf with 170bhp + the torques?

not a big vauxhall fan but it managed to beat most traffic and handled really well if a bit sharp on the old steering side.

 

It's a lot of effort to get it to a state that Skoda should have in the first place.

 

I've also gone down the same route and got a Seat Leon FR TDi, chucks out 170+ bhp. Also handles very well.

 

Try the E90 (new shape) BMW 320d. I looked at the 330d but its way too gutsy on the fuel to have any benefit, and theres not much difference in performance, so thats why I chose the 320d over it. It can also be tuned to 207bhp for £140! Its rapid for a diesel and I have one for sale with leather and all the M-sport goodies:
https://www.scoobynet.com/private-sa...rt-extras.html

 

Odd that you have such a difference of opinion.

 

A 2002 model E46 is a totally different car to the current E90 330d. Different engine and turbo for a start.I drove both before I decided. My friend has the E90 330d as well and is forever moaning about the fuel consumption. As has been noted in a few car magazines as well. And what with the rip off high price of diesel these days, its not worth it!

 

So it is a different car, but the overall principle is is the same. The thread is all about performance, and IMO you get a lot more with a 6 pot, enough to justify the extra fuel consumption.

Fuel 330d
Urban (mpg) 34.4
Extra-urban (mpg) 57.6
Combined (mpg) 46.3

Performance 330d
Top speed (mph) 155
Acceleration 0-62 mph (sec) 6.7
Acceleration 50-75 mph in 4th (sec) 5.0

Fuel 320d [177 model]
Urban (mpg) 47.1
Extra-urban (mpg) 68.9
Combined (mpg) 58.9

Performance
Top speed (mph) 143
Acceleration 0-62 mph (sec) 7.9
Acceleration 50-75 mph in 4th (sec) 6.6

E90 M3 performance
Acceleration 50-75 mph in 4th (sec) 5.1
E90 330i performance
Acceleration 50-75 mph in 4th (sec) 6.2

So the 330d will cost, based on 12k/year, will cost an extra £6.34 a week to run over the 320d

I would rather have 'M3 through the gears performance' for the extra few quid!

 

but then you have the extra road tax and insurance as well! And the 320d ain't cheap for insurance!

 

The 330d is more thirsty on fuel although if you get a manual they'll still do at least 40 mpg. The claim that there is not much difference in performance to the 320d is crackers..... there's a big difference. If you are comparing to a tuned 320d then remember the 330d will remap to 260 bhp.

 

Agree there is a mamoth difference in performance between a 320d and a 330d. If you are wanting the fastest diesel then it has to be the 330d or a 535d although you wont get a sport (535d) for that money.
have a look at an e46 330d sport I ran mine (remapped to 250bhp ish) and got 38mpg (10000 miles)

Mark

 

I'm probably opening a pandoras box for bullsh1t in asking this.... but, how fast are we looking at for a 250bhp e46 330d? I mean, according to letstorque and the mag test of the DMS 330d (250-60bhp) they are about 16.0-16.3s 0-100mph which whilst peppy would still get shat on by say an STI and even a bog basic classic impreza. That's quite alarming considering my old £2k 406 V6 would keep standard classics honest from 50mph-up!

Again the problem, as I see it, is value for money. For example, a half decent 2002 330d with sub 60k miles is going to cost you around £11-13k and you still have the remap on top of that and often not fully kitted out. OTOH a 2001-2 540i specced to the max (or thereabouts) is probably faster out the box and will set you back in the region of £8-10k. In other words every single time I look at the 330d lovingly I find a more suitable option that costs more to run but much less to buy. You don't have to be a scientist to work out that your annual mileage would have to be massive before a 2002 330d makes sense over a 2002 540i and that's just an example of the top of my head.

 

did yours need topping up with oil reason i ask my m8 with a vw tdi 140 says he has to top up a lite of oil every 1k miles says the vw td's are like that iam just wondering if the bm diesels are like that2

 

your mate needs to have that looked at.my 170 tdi a4 has used 1.5L's in 17K.its on the long life services as well,first service in another 3k.

 

0 - 100mph is not the diesels best place, for that type of thing your using full throttle, high in the rev range, not good for diesels, its the mid range where diesels win, normal daily driving stuff, 30 to 70, 50 - 70mph, etc, time you thought about it, changed down a gear, applied some throttle, the bm diesel autobox, will be long gone! lol

 

from a stationary start is probably the weakest spec for a diesel. My 330d was able to comfortably pull in front of a new shape civic type r at 70mph from the lights. So your not talking mega quick but quick enough to give a hot hatch a run for their money. However as someone else said in gear times are amazing. 30 - 70mph etc.

whoever asked the oil question - never topped it up.

 

E90 330D + remap

 

170 bhp, good handling, good spec, quite tunable, not to expensive road tax and its not a BMW. VAG diesel engines are ultra reliable. my nephew had a 330d he joined the AA because it broke down a few times. it was a 2002 model sport nice car he managed 48mpg average canny motorway speeds. he sold it and bought a VAG TDI.

 

To be honest, the Fabia is fantastic for 99% of it`s owners 99% of the time. I`m sure Skoda could have made it even better but it may have put some customers off.

They`re in it for profit remember........

 

I must have been the 1% then