Conference terri::cars_uk

    The only 1.4 diesel I know of is the Citro�n AX diesel.
    
    Roy

Reason - lower tax bracket + more miles per gallon + diesel is cheap.

Bipin.    

    
    Daihatsu do a little diesel for their Charade model.
    
    Rich
    

    Bipin, if all you are after is cheap transport then you'd be better
    off opting out of the car scheme and taking the cash. 
    
    I worked out based on my zero cost lease car and doing less than 
    2500 business miles I'd be better off by approx �300 a month because
    of a higher tax code and car supplement.
    
    If you have a car costing around �1000 on the scheme, this saving
    would be about �400 per month.
    
    Roy

Roy,

I would do but I do 120 miles per day, and before you ask I wouldn't move closer
to work because its Basingstoke.

Bipin.

    Wasn't there a Opel Corsa turbo diesel (1.5)?
    
    Sjaak.

    I see your problem. I also live a long way from work (35 miles).
    For economy the best petrol car IMO is the Honda Civic VEi. 
    This has a 1.5 16v engine and will do around 50 mpg, but unfortunately
    its not in the lower tax bracket. The list price of this is about 
    �11,500 so it shouldn't be very much (if anything) on the lease scheme.
    
    Roy 

    
    Bipin,
    
    I hope you are not implying that driving 60 miles to and from work is
    business travel. Because it isn't, and it will have no effect on your
    tax code unless you tell the tax man porkies, which I'm sure you don't.
    
    Chris
    

Hi,

They are not business miles and aren't we getting off track a bit, so could we
please go back to the original question.

Bipin.    

>    I worked out based on my zero cost lease car and doing less than 
>    2500 business miles I'd be better off by approx �300 a month because
>    of a higher tax code and car supplement.
 
>	If you have a car costing around �1000 on the scheme, this saving
>	would be about �400 per month.


	Okay, 
	less than 2,500 miles on basic rate tax(25%) for zero car

  	taxable hit is 2750x1.5    =   4125   at 25%  is   1031.25 	
  
	you now take the cash

	3000 less 25%       =  2250  extra in pay packet
	tax code is adjusted back so you no longer pay 1031.25   

	Bottom line
	you used to pay   1031.25,   
	you now get       2250.00 

	          you are 3281.25 better off = 273.43 a month


	Heather - who takes the money
	   

Re: .7

>    Wasn't there a Opel Corsa turbo diesel (1.5)?


There still is a Vauxhall Nova TD (1.5)

:-)

Opel is the german version...

    The AX diesel is the only one I can think of that may be suitable.
    
    It's not a turbo, but has reasonable performance. It's comparable to
    the Diahatsu diesel turbo. I'd suggest a test drive before you dismiss
    it.
    
    Is the tax that much different? For about  zero cost you can get
    a "proper" diesel, say a BX TGD, maybe even a TZD.... and for
    npt much you can get a TGD Turbo, which will give similar economy and
    much more power.
    
    But I'm afraid they don't make exactly the car that you want, so
    some compromise will be needed.
    
    Peter.
    

    	The tax position is due to change anyway (sometime). Cars will be
    	assessed by value rather than engine size.  The fact that diesel
    	engines need to be bigger than petrol engines was mentioned in the
    	last budget as one of the reasons for the change.

    	Personally, the take the money and buy a 2�K Merc. scheme sounds a
    	very attractive alternative.

    	Ian.

	
	I drive a Fiat Uno Turbo D. I know. I can already see a smile
	on your face. It's true that I've had a few problems with 
	the equipment (in the first 8 months):
		- one back-seat lock broken
		- interior light bulb burnt
		- rear window washer broken (same thing on ALL Unos)
		- front seat-belt buckle broken
	All were replaced under warranty.

	As to the engine and fuel consumption: that's the best car I can 
	think of (engine 1769 cc) in its category:
	  - At 75 mph: I usually drive 400 miles with 8.2 gallon of diesel
		that is  48.8 miles/gallon.
	  - At 100 mph: I drove 280 miles with 7.9 gallon of diesel
		that is  34.4 miles/gallon.

	Max. speed: 115 mph (on the clock)
		    105 mph (constructor specs)

	The turbo is impressively powerful and sober. Very noisy when I start
	the car in the morning, but as quiet as other engines after � 10 miles.

	Other advantages: the boot is quite large for a small car, and the 
	inner space of the car is the largest in its category (compared with
	Peg 205, Renault Clio, Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall ?, and WV Polo).

	

Thanks,

looks pretty good, any ideas on cost of the car..

Bipin.	

	Sorry, Bipin,

	I live in France and bought the car here (5 doors). 

	Here the price is 80,000 FF (� 8,200 �) including metallic painting.
	It's the cheapest Turbo D in its category (more than 10% less than 
	its competitors).
	It's under the lowest tax bracket (I don't know why, but in France
	turbo charged cars seem to have a lower tax bracket).

	It's got a lot of equipment in series (I won't give you the list,
	'cause I don't know all the technical terms in English) which are
	really interesting. The dash-board looks really nice, like a 
	Ferrari's.

	A few odd things: - gear box is rather harsh;
			  - electric window swiches are very stupidly set
			    somewhere in the region of your elbow by the 
			    door, which obliges you to swerve your arm or
			    your body in an uncomfortable way to reach them;
			  - rear side windows can get rolled down only half
			    way. 

	When I sell my car, I'll probably buy the same one.

	Pierre.

    I don't think Fiat market a Uno turbo diesel in this country do they ?
    
    Roy

    Re. .18 & .19
    
    The New Car Prices section is this weeks Autocar & Motor lists only
    one Uno diesel - 
    
    Uno 5dr 1.7 60DS Diesel 5sp  �8725
    
    Perhaps their info is out of date as many new models do not appear
    in these pages.
    
    Roy 

	�It's under the lowest tax bracket (I don't know why, but in France
	�turbo charged cars seem to have a lower tax bracket).
    
    Sorry to rathole this topic again, but don't the brackets in France
    only go on the engine size? Whether or not you have a TURBO or not
    isn't taken into account?

I, too drive an Uno Turbo Diesel (in France). It actually has a 136? cc 
engine, so meets the "under 1.4" criterion. It is amazingly fast for
such a small diesel engine (72 hp if I remember correctly) and, apart from
the one or two oddities like the placement of the window switches, very
comfortable and well-equipped. I routinely get about 5.5 l/100km with
mine (somewhere over 50 mpg) for all kinds of driving (including fast
motorway).

Beware - the non-turbo Uno (the D or DS depending on 3 or 5 doors) has
a 17?? cc engine which is not powerful at all, and the car is very
ill-equipped and slow. I would not consider buying it.

Now the bad news. I don't think the turbo is sold in the UK (it wasn't a
year or so ago, anyway).

If it is, give it a try. You might be very favourably surprised.

Hope this helps,

Ceri

    Even if it isn't available why not get one yourself. You might even buy
    a young second hand one.
    Since EEG regulations are almost uniformly adopted in all countries I
    think you may only need to get the headlamps replaced to get it MOTed.
    
    Peter