High mpg cars (approx £5k)

ruthie77

VAG is Volkswagen Audi group, so this two plus Seat and Skoda iirc
Dpf no idea sorry

mikey72

dpf diesel particulate filter,prone to clogging, and not good for short journeys.

Johnmcl7

girl_withno_name wrote: »

Can I just ask what dpf and VAG stand for?

VAG - Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft (not Volkswagen Audi Group), the abbreviation is used generally to cover all the VW cars which include VW, Audi, Skoda, Seat etc. The cars share many parts including the engine so the post you were quoting refers to any VW, Audi, Skoda or Seat using the 1.9 TDI engine

DPF - Diesel Particulate Filter, this is a filter which sits at the back of the engine and collects the black soot from the engine and then at various intervals it uses the engine's heat to burn it off. The problem with this system is that if the engine doesn't get warm enough when it needs to burn off the soot such as when the car is being used for frequent short journeys it can get clogged and can be very expensive if it needs repaired. Hence people recommend avoiding them while possible.

The VW 1.9 TDI engine never had a DPF fitted which is a bonus although not many of the other VW engines at the time did have the DPF, only the more powerful 170bhp versions of the TDI had it and some of the 2.0 TDI's. It can be extremely confusing trying to work out if the car has a DPF or not in that sort of age range as even within the same range some did, some didn't and there are cases where the engine had a DPF fitted in some countries but not others.

I would also agree with the VW 1.9TDI engine, I had the 90bhp version first which was a bit underpowered and then the 150bhp version which I thought was superb. It did sound agricultural from the outside but that never bothered me, the engine was quick, the fuel economy was very good and the tax was also good at £115. i now have the newer 170bhp version with DPF but preferred the older 1.9, it wasn't as smooth but fuel economy was better and the tax was lower as well.

John

ventureuk

Have a look at the Nissan Micra 1.5 diesel models, there are lots available at the £5000 price point and below.

It'll be cheap to insure and tax, do many mpg (maybe 60) and be very very reliable, small and easy to park.

If you like it and decide it's for you make sure it had the cambelt changed when it got to 5yrs old or had covered about 60,000 miles, if it didn't then negotiate this into the price (ask for a dealer to do it or a private seller to reduce their price by £250).

girl_withno_name

Thanks for everyone's advice - I'm busy making a spreadsheet of prices