Stevoraith

I get around 48mpg average from my re-mapped 60,000 mile Golf. The Fabia did 44mpg on it's one and only full tank so far (only 600 miles on the clock!) These are calculated figures by the way, not from the computer.

I keep a record of my mpg for every tank (I'm sad I know!) and when I changed from 15's to 18's on my Golf the MPG only dropped by about 2mpg. The benefit in looks and handling well outweighs any loss in mpg, and the cost of buying a new set of wheels would also outweigh any benefit in mpg you get by going back to 16's I would have thought.

Oh, yeah, they always talk flat rate. IIRC 4.5% flat rate is somewhere about 8% APR. It is worth remembering though that sometimes a dealer will give you a better deal if you take their finance as they get commission on it. Probably not enough to make the difference if you get a personal loan with 2% lower APR, but worth remembering all the same.

You can get discounts with a part-ex (on a new car). We got

Got

Ahh, thanks for that. Thats a bit disappointing- it's a really useful feature. SUppose it must ahve been confusing people who didn't realise it was supposed to do that!

Glad you like Keevster! Where in Scotland are you? I'm in Kirkcaldy myself. I've been a member of uk-mkivs.net for years and the advice given over there about running in a PD-engine is the opposite to what Steve R says. The general concensus is that they will use a bit of oil in the first 10k no matter how you run it in. If you have driven in very gently for the first few k the pistons will not bed in properly and it will continue to use oil. If however, you drive it normally from day one then it will not use oil after the first 10k or so. My Golf seems to agree with this theory- it was a demonstrator and so was probably thrashed from day one. Since I've had it (from 1 year and 18k miles old) it hasn't used a drop between services. I'd be interested to hear what you think about 'real-world' drivability. Two of my mates have CTR's and although they are undoubtedly very quick cars, I've always thought that if you're sitting in 6th on the motorway and need a quick dollop of power then the diesel will leave it for dead. Personally I couldn't be bothered with changing down a gear or two to get any sort of real acceleration, just wondered what someone who had owned both thought. (Incidentally you've also owned a turbo petrol which I imagine to be the best of both worlds- i.e low down torque for when you want to make lazy but brisk progress, but it will still rev for when you feel like having a play).

Also got the sqeaking/creaking on the drivers seat. Doesn't appear to rock though.

Sorry to hijack, but both mirrors are supposed to move if you have it on R? Thats how it is on my Golf and it makes it really easy for parking, but the Fabia only moves one at a time. Should I be taking it back to the dealer?

Diahatsu Sirion Porsche Cayenne

Currently on the look out for dampers to match the Eibach springs on my Golf. If I'm allowed I could be interested in dampers at those prices!

Goo dpost CLV101, it's good to see some facts in the argument. But isn't the real point the fact that if fuel cost 25ppl, it would cost us 75ppl (after tax) so the gov would make 50ppl on duty and VAT. Now the price of the fuel has gone up to e.g 30ppl, it costs us 90ppl and the govt makes 60ppl. Shouldn't the govt reduce duty in times of exceptional oil prices? They could still make their 50ppl and there would be no treasury shortfall which we'd have to make up in other areas.

I think mkIII GTI wheels are 4 stud, with the VR6 wheels being 5x100 (so would fit). Could be wrong though....

Yip. Like buggery. And it's only got 250 miles on the clock!

Picked mine (sorry, the girlfriends- keep making that mistake ) up last Friday too. I too am absolutely delighted with it. I echo the comment about it being unbeatable in standard form- there is nothing else which comes close to the package as a whole for anywhere near the money. Haven't driven it as much as I would like (she keeps taking it to work- how selfish is that!? :P ) but hopefully I'll get a nice long shot soon. It's only got about 250miles on it so it definitely needs a good long run! MPG (low forties) and brakes are the only dissappointing things so far, but I'm sure they'll both improve with miles. Mark- how can you struggle with the stereo and the trip computer!? They're not exactly the most complicated systems around! :P

As you said, the difficulty is when you've got a part-ex. Deals like the

Silvervisions are on the shopping list! I've been meaning to get a set for the front of my Golf for about 2 years but everytime I think about ordering them I remember taking the bumper off to fit my dipped beam and sidelights and I put it off for another few months! :thumbdwn: There doesn't look like theres much room in the Fabia either- is it a bumper off job too? We don't have the SK55ODA plate- did think about buying VR55 KAT (her name is Katrina) but decided against it due to it costing

Ooohhh, it's good! Have only driven it about 5 miles (it's her car so it's only fair!) but it is just tremendous. Nothing comes close to the overall package for anywhere near the money.

I don't think even that much goes to the garage to be honest. I worked in an Esso for 7years and I seem to remember the owner telling me it was just over a penny per litre at the time (fuel was about 69p at the time). It is rediculous- the goverment should put a cap on the tax so that the real cost (fuel + tax) doesn't go above 90ppl or something. Remember, for every penny added on the the cost of raw fuel, the goverment add another 3p in tax!

Agree with running it in for a few k before re-mapping it. Also, if you're going to get an exhaust, get that done before the remap- that way you'll get the benefit if you get a custom map rather than just a generic one. Blueflame seem to be building up a good reputation over on the Golf site I go on, although it'd be worth checking out the default choice (Miltek) before you commit to anything. As for which remap is best, well there are very few people who are qualified to answer that. You'd have to have two companies maps on the same engine to compare the difference and say which was best. The best you'll get is peoples recommendations that they are happy with theirs- after that it comes down to ease of getting to the tuner and price. One last thing I'd say is don't get bogged down looking at tuners claimed figures. For a start some tuners are suspected to give optimistic figures (I'm being careful what I say here!), but also, the peak figure isn't what it's all about- you want a nice smooth power and torque curve. The re-map on my 115bhp Golf gave a peak of 151bhp, but I'd gladly give away 5bhp peak to lose the trough I have about 2.5k. Oh, and whatever map you get, it'll be money well spent!

11 hours to go now. Picking it up from West End Garage in Broxburn, near Edinburgh. Anyone else in Scotland getting a new one?

Nope, they run the 1.9 PD (150 in the Leon, 160 in the Ibiza). The Altea/Toledo/New Leon get the 2.0 TDI, but only the 140bhp version. Lummox is right, the Passat was the first to get the 170bhp 2.0.

Similar to what BMW have done on the 3.0 diesel to create the 535d. BMW have used a small turbo for the bottom end and a big turbo for massive top-end grunt, and it has a similar result of providing meaty power without masses of lag which would make it gutless at the bottom end. Seems like twin chargers is the technology of the moment.