[eleven11]

I'm looking soon to purchase a solid vehicle for my daily commute. I'm currently in a 2011 135, which I love. As with my last car (2007 335 sedan), it is a lease. At my current job, I drive ~560 miles per week, pushing leasing out of the question. My goals are to have a car that, if taken care of, is low maintenance, fairly good looking, and achieves above average MPG. Options I'm considering:

1) Purchase the 135 at the end of the lease.
Pros: Awesome car (looks, power, fun), familiar with BMW
Cons: MPG (really not that bad), reliability/upkeep costs (especially out of warranty)

2) Audi A3 TDI
Pros: Solid appearance, Good MPG
Cons: Bad experience with VW in past (reliability), Diesel?
Other: Unfamiliar with overall cost of ownership with Audi (oil changes, etc.)

3) Jetta/Passat TDI
Pros: Cost, Good MPG
Cons: Bland styling, Concerns with reliability (based on previous VWs)

4) Tesla
Pros: Sharp styling, Good MPG
Cons: Cost, Reliability (Top Gear reference)
Other: Too many miles for the cost, despite the good MPG, imo

5) Chevy Volt
Pros: MPG
Cons: Styling, Chevy?, Cost, Early Adoption?
Other: Not really spent much time thinking about this option



If I don't stick with the 135, I'll probably be passing it to my wife, so I'll still be able to have fun with it. I'm open to all suggestions. Thanks, as always.

[miiipilot]

Get a honda. If taken care of = LOW maintenance.

All those cars out of warranty and even if you do take care of them will be more expensive. Jury is still out on the Tesla and Volt.

my .02

[Sniz]

tesla wont be cheap

Id say something diesel. BMW is lacking in this department in the US.

[abisson]

335d no?

[TimZ]

Originally Posted by abisson

335d no?

This is what I'm thinking, in M-Sport. Wait a few more months for the F30

[Bullet]

I picked up a Kia for a high mileage beater

[b0bab0i]

Prius

And you should be looking at Japanese/Korean cars for good gas mileage & reliability, not German cars.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by benmoooon

Prius

And you should be looking at Japanese/Korean cars for good gas mileage & reliability, not German cars.

Gross. I'm looking for a commuter too and am torn between a GTI and a Golf TDI. I've owned Audii before and know the basic issues. But I'll take a car with a clutch and a motor any day over a car with a motor, an engine a bunch of electronics and lead acid batteries. The Pious is absurd.

Speaking of absurd, our American ways have apparently led the F30 to be offered as a hybrid and the 335d will not return. A four cylinder diesel will however, as well as a smaller six cylinder diesel which will hopefully be offered with all three pedals.

[smmmurf]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Gross. I'm looking for a commuter too and am torn between a GTI and a Golf TDI. I've owned Audii before and know the basic issues. But I'll take a car with a clutch and a motor any day over a car with a motor, an engine a bunch of electronics and lead acid batteries. The Pious is absurd.

Speaking of absurd, our American ways have apparently led the F30 to be offered as a hybrid and the 335d will not return. A four cylinder diesel will however, as well as a smaller six cylinder diesel which will hopefully be offered with all three pedals.

The Prius is boring, yes, but is the most reliable, efficient, and practical car my family has ever owned, far superior to the Honda Civic Hybrid.

I actually prefer it to the diesel VW's. The BMW 335d is another story though, that thing has good power but for the money I'd still prefer a turbo gas engine.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by smmmurf

The Prius is boring, yes, but is the most reliable, efficient, and practical car my family has ever owned, far superior to the Honda Civic Hybrid.

I actually prefer it to the diesel VW's. The BMW 335d is another story though, that thing has good power but for the money I'd still prefer a turbo gas engine.

Sort of my quandary, and why the GTI is on my list still. The aftermarket potential of the 2.0 TDI is pretty impressive, but sort of moves it away from it's intended purpose.

Public transportation is reliable and boring, I'm using that admittingly flawed logic to keep ignoring hybrids.

[Silver-Bolt]

[Q4P]

A regular old ass civic; skip the hybrid it's junk. If u want a little more fun and still maintain the reliability get a civic si... it's a rock solid car that will last 200K + miles easy and get decent gas mileage.

I doubt 2+3 will be reliable options in the long term or be low maintenance.

[michaelthepsycho]

A3 TDI.

[eleven11]

Thanks for all of the input. I may look a little closer at the Japanese/Korean route, but pulling me from anything German will be tough. Regarding the 335d... I had considered this before, but after getting one for a loaner and putting about 200 miles on it, I wasn't impressed. The MPG was only slightly (~2mpg) better than my 135 for highway driving. Is that lower than expected?

[111R]

We're looking at an Audi A3 TDi for a replacement for the wife's car. We've done the Japanese reliable car thing for so many years, I felt that it was time to give the Germans another shot. That being said, we also had miserable dealer experiences with VW in the past, but that was back in the '80s. I hear that VW still has issues, but that Audi build quality and dealer service is slightly better.

If you really want hassle-free 500+ mile commuting, go with a Toyota product. They're cheap to buy, cheap to maintain, and with just a little bit of care will run for several hundred thousand miles. If you're passing on the 135i to your wife and she takes reasonbly good care of it, you can still have fun with it and just beat the crap out of the Toyota.

[flyinb501]

I'd take the A3 TDI.

I'm surprised you have the Volt on your list. Way too expensive IMO, and you'll never realize a cost savings when comparing to a comparable vehicle like the Chevy Cruze Eco. Car and Driver actually just recently did a short comparo on this.

[LOLrance]

I recently picked up a Honda CRZ for DD. Low maintenance, 40+ mpg, fun to drive, and i can still row my own gears.

[eleven11]

Any thoughts on the Lexus CT Hybrid?

[e92ben]

2.0T passat is the way to go.. I put almost 100k miles in two years on one. Held up great, never had any major problem and comfort is excellent!! Always got over 500 miles to the tank. I loved it...

[Bullet]

Jetta tdi if its ur budget..

[vioaltec]

i say get the honda accord coupe. I use it as my daily driver, bought it in 2008 and it has 74k miles on it. its reliable and saves hella gas. I commute 120 daily and a full gallon can last me 4 days.

[ptack]

Originally Posted by l4wr3nc3

I recently picked up a Honda CRZ for DD. Low maintenance, 40+ mpg, fun to drive, and i can still row my own gears.

I'd only do that if you could get the Mugen version that Clarkson reviewed. Price would probably be too stupid though, which leaves 2 words:

Mini Cooper