As above, I’m trying to figure out which new car to go for. It will be a company car so CO2 needs to be considered along with price.

I’ve narrowed down to the following:
Golf GT Tdi 140. Pro’s – nice car to drive, boot size okay. Cons, more expensive and higher CO2 compared to A3. (costs about £300 a year more @ 40% tax)

Audi A3 Sportback 2.0 tdi 140 Sport. Maybe not as exciting a drive as the golf but not much in it. Looks to be screwed together better than the VW and the boot is a fraction bigger. Cons. There is a new model due out next yr, We’ve got an A6 avant and I’ve driven audis for the last 6 or 7 years. Was kind of hoping for a change…

VW Passat CC. 140 tdi. Definately the nicest to look at, has a huge boot but not much use for chucking a bike in the back of. It costs a further £300 more a year than the golf…

Anybody have any experience of the 3 cars, would appreciate your thoughts.

Ta.

forgot to say, we have a little ‘un too so the Passat looses out on the rear door line – Decapitating my one year old every time we put him in the back of the car may get tedious…

Just had a 54 GOLF 2.0 Tdi and find it very good fits two bikes in easy with seats down, surprisingly roomy in the rear even with seats in my normal driving position..

and coming home from nant y arian the other week it returned 70mpg

my average mpg to work is around 56 – 60 mpg well pleased so i guess the new models are even better

Put pictures of each and throw a dart at them and choose the one that the dart lands in. It’s a car, choose the one that works for you or that you can afford or dislike least. After all you do cycle to work don’t you so it’s just to go shopping in isn’t it?

er no, I don’t cycle to work – unless of course I did a few laps of the garden before cycling into the spare bedroom to work
!

Er, you’ve done your research, you have all the pros and cons – what are you asking us exactly?

You’ll look less of a dick in the golf.

I have the Mk VI GT TDi it’s brilliant lovely smooth and quick drive with crazy MPG 64+ without even trying too hard.

Skooodaaa!

Gf’s father was trawling round the dealerships trying to choose his next company car, had a Passat 170ps, when I showed him the Octavia he had pretty much made his mind up, then suggested the Superb and I think he is hooked, test drive next week. Clever twin door boot on the hatch as well, opens like a saloon for normal stuff, or the whole back opens like a hatch for mtbs.

Benefit of going for Skoda…same chassis and engines, same build quality, but a bit cheaper so you get to choose a top spec model with all the toys.
Superb with most of the toys was around £23k IIRC

Cons of a Skoda – the badge. Can you live with it? Lots of people can’t.

Of the 3 cars in the OP I’d go for the CC if you can live with 4 doors rather than 5. They look good but….
I bought a (from new) VW a few years ago and was throughly dissapointed with the build quality and service of the dealers. Interior rattled from new, was poorly put together and did not wear well. I understand quality wise VW are relying on past reputation (the (similarly priced) Japanese cars we have had since are far, far superior (Honda and Mazda). I would not buy VW again.

Really angeldust? I’m on my 4th golf and not one of them has had a squeak or rattle. Compared to the fisher price interiors of Japanese cars they’re way superior.

Get the Audi, get it remapped, have lots of fun 🙂

The Audi because it’s the cheapest on tax!

It’s only a company car and these are all great vehicles.

Spend the tax you save on something nice for the kiddy on their birthday and Christmas!

Alternatively, is there car a allowance option to consider? You could buy a car 18 months old and switch it when you get bored with it, or if your needs change etc. You would save a pile of money in tax and have something of your own. Depends on if the monthly allowance and mileage rate are good enough, you won’t have to do starship mileage and you can fund a loan/afford to buy the vehicle outright.

I never regretted the switch to a private car after first carefully doing the numbers.

Er, you’ve done your research, you have all the pros and cons – what are you asking us exactly?

Really?

Hi Drac,

I’m just going from genuine personal experience. Between me and mf GF we have had 4 new Japanses cars since the VW and not one has had any interior rattles or pieces of trim disintergrate or fall off (which happened on the VW from new and slowly got worse). They have also worn much better and are far more stylish imo. My GF felt the Peugeot she had before the VW was better built and I agree – and thats really saying something! My mates Passat is no different I’m afraid. Looking around on the net at the time (the dealers were completely uninterested) lots of people were complaining about the same thing.

If you have a look around on some of the car review websites (e.g. Honest John) they say some simiilar things about VW build quality being a legend that is no longer true.

Perhaps me and my mate were umluchy and got bad examples OR you have been lucky with your last 4 Golfs? I’m just going from personal experience.

Agree VW build quality awful, at least my wifes expensive polo was.

Can you ask for an allowance rather than co. Car?

just a thought, could you not get the bluemotion (or whatever its called) golf – thus getting silly cheap tax – and then remap it up to 140bhp? Might be a different engine so I don’t know..

wild card – new alfa guilietta. Lovely.

Of the 3 named cars, if I wasn’t going to need to lug bikes/kit about in it, then I would go for the Passat CC. Nice to look at and a comfortable/relaxing drive.

Get one of the other two if you need a hatch and ability to fold the back seats down. I’ve had a Golf (Mk2) and Audi A3 (Mk1), and liked the Audi more in every way (better built, more reliable, nicer to drive, quicker, etc), so I would probably go for the A3 Sportback (though I did almost buy a Golf GTD earlier this year).

Golf MKVI much better screwed together than the MKV which can squeak a bit – mine does but just about acceptable.

Mate had a Passat CC and reckoned it was pretty dull to drive. If it’s a company car you are probably going to spend a lot of time in it so test drive them and pick the one that you find best to drive. £300 a year is peanuts compared to comfort/enjoyment if you are spending hours a day behind the wheel

Why only VAG on the selection list??

I bailed out of company car scheme yeasr ago, as the tax got too much. So, if you need / have to have a company car, I’d strongly recommend reducing your tax liability:

a) selecting lowest viable (for you) CO2 banding;
b) (the big one) minimising the list price.

ac505, the GT Golf is available with the 140ps Bluemotion engine = £50 more over the year than the a3 not £300. Also, A3 as you say is due for a new face next year, the Golf is due too but only a very minor one.

Golf handles best (in fact very well). Passat CC looks nicest. Depends on priorities.

The CC has an electronic handbrake which is a real pain to get used too. The boot is massive but deffo not bike friendly.

My Passat doesn’t rattle. The hard plastics can sqeak a bit when going over speed bumps and some slow stuff, but not had any proper annoying rattles. The electronic handbrake is fine for me now, but there was a problem with it at first. I don’t think the previous owner had used it much, choosing to leave it in park instead, and it’d got a bit seized up. Top tip for that though is to just touch the accelerator to get it to release, then accelerate away.

I love the car though – the interior is a lot nicer than the other cars I tried and it’s a great cruiser. Rolls a little more than I’d want on windy roads but it’s still sure-footed and comfy if you don’t hammer it.

Very happy with the car all in all.

If you have a look around on some of the car review websites (e.g. Honest John) they say some simiilar things about VW build quality being a legend that is no longer true.

I agree maybe not as good as they once were but having switched from Peugeot to VW there is no comparison they just leagues ahead of pugs. I don’t like the cheap crappy plastics used in Jap cars they’re terrible. Sill each to their own if you like the Japanese cars great, I like VWs.

I also wouldn’t touch a French Car (GF bought her Pug before we met) so we can agree on that at least. I can’t say I’ve noticed the quality of plastic being any less on Japanese cars. Indeed, on the VW’s I mentioned above the plastics felt and looked noticably cheaper than the Hondas and Mazdas we have owned (I can’t comment on the other Jap brands). Just wondering what particular Jap brands you didn’t like the interiors in?

Interior in my 2007 Honda Civic was fine. No noticeable rattles and although I didn’t really pay much attention to the quality of the plastics, I can’t say I found them inferior to any other car I’ve owned.

I’ve got 2 German cars now, but would happily have another Honda if they made something that ticked all my boxes.

Just wondering what particular Jap brands you didn’t like the interiors in?

Nissan, Suzuki and Hondas mainly, also found the cars in general a touch tinny.

My wife has an a3 sportback 2.0tdi 140 and it’s a great car, 6 years old and >100k on the clock and no major issues since new. Still going strong. Really well built and no signs of wear inside. Would happilly reccommned one to anyone. Nice interior too. If you get one get the alloy roofbars, they look nicer with them and makes it easier to carry the bikes!!

I think I am leaning toward the A3, Apparently if I order from mid Nov I should get the facelift model. we’ll see…
Bottom line, i don’t see any compelling reason to go for the golf especially as it costs more, uses the same bits as the A3 and the interior is not quite as nice to my eyes. The CC is nice to look at and would be useful for carrying buggies but not so great for bikes. We’ve already got an A6 avant so that is the load lugger, the new car just needs to be practial for every day life with kids.

I must admit I would probably do the same thing. Although what’s the CO2 on that Audi compared to the Golf?

ended up going with the Golf GTD – my car list seemed to start at C, hence no Audi, so that narrowed my choice!