D8 Exec Turbo Estate - to buy or not to buy???

[TonyW]

Wanna get myself back into a Pug and now with the missus pregnant seems like a great time to do it without her noticing!!!

I've always loved the 406 estate, just something about the shape that caught my eye and have seen a beautiful China Blue Exec Turbo, mint interior and good SH on average mile engine that I'm itching to go take for a spin.

The noly thing getting me thinking is the current fuel situation and the mpg that I would get from her, its been a while sine my SRi Turbo went but I'm sure she only returned about 30ish and so this could be a bit low, or have I got it wrong and it was better than that? I just cant remember!

What do you reckon, go for the Exec and try to drive like my 82 year old Grandpa most of the time (cept just after paydays!) or play the sensible card and go for a straight petrol, or even a diesel???

Opinion please!

[steve_earwig]

...with the missus pregnant...the current fuel situation...

Do I need to say anything else? I think some of the guys on here get some fair economy out of their turbos but I'd guess it involves a lot of self control. Hmm, there's been a wee debate on petrol/diesel for a while, people seem to favour diesels, even with more expensive fuel, more to go wrong and expensive parts (note the bias). I guess the bottom line is how many miles you do, if you don't do too many don't worry too much about the turbo, if you do loads then I'm afraid it's an oil burner for you.

[mjb]

One of the best things about the tubby is it's got a totally bulletproof engine, which is definitely worth taking into consideration. 50mpg on the motorway is possible if you drive like a grandad too - just make sure the tyres are slightly over-inflated

If I had to do long commutes again, I'd definitely get another tubby. Estate. The HDi 110 or 2.1TD would be tempting, but there's a hefty initial premium on them and dual-mass flywheels and fuel pump woes would worry me. Plus I'd miss the responsiveness of a petrol engine ;)

[steve_earwig]

Repeat after me: I must not stomp on the loud pedal, I must not stomp on the loud pedal...

As for the diesels, go for the 2.1, more powerful than the 2.0 HDi (nowt on paper but totally different to drive) and stacks more reliable (no dual-mass flywheel or exploding fuel pumps), if (very) slightly less economical. Or go for a 1.9, if prices carry on as they are you'll have the possibility of running it on chip fat (or baby poo?), ok a drop in power but it doesn't necessarily need to stay that way

[teamster1975]

(or baby poo?),

Oh yes! I can imagine the marketing tag; "Meconium Muscle!"