Maybe have a look at the Honda Civic Type R.
I have the 1.8 petrol Civic. It cost me 12,500 for a 61-plate, my Mrs got 48.2 mpg running Essex to Birmingham and back and I managed 44.3 mpg average over 475 miles running up to Cheshire, round and about then back again.
We also got 5 people (2 men, 3 ladies) and holiday luggage in it quite easily when we went abroad earlier in the year. The way the seats fold is really neat - you can get two mountain bikes in the middle by folding the seats up and still have the full boot space.
I said try the Type R as I find mine to be a bit lacking at 150 bhp. The Type R has that bit of extra zing.
I have driven both, and the 2.2 is a brilliant engine, Mazda's own design, as opposed to the 2.0 which I believe is Ford.
The 2.2 revs like I didn't think a diesel 4 pot would, well worth a try. Make sure you get a good one, I drive 4 in one day and they varied a lot, we had a newish Civic Tyre R as a pool car and I reckon the Mazda is quicker down a B road.
2004 - on : 1999 S14a 398bhp 378lb/ft
2010 - on : 2007 RX8 PZ
1998 - 2004 : 1991 S13
Mark I was talking about the 2008 and 2009 Mazda 2.0 td, I think it was Parkers said they where Ford units.
The 2.2 is Mazda's own design, and an absolute gem of a 4 pot diesel
2004 - on : 1999 S14a 398bhp 378lb/ft
2010 - on : 2007 RX8 PZ
1998 - 2004 : 1991 S13
Wullie - not only do I have that VXR wagon, I've also got a 13/13 ST-3 wagon in blue...
The Mazda lump isnt as good as you think, have a read of this
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar.../?section=good
Seems they like to implode shortly after DMF failure affects the 2.0 and 2.2. The Japs have never been any good with diesels for some reason
looking at photos of the 2.0, it isnt either a Ford or PSA lump
LOL Bo. I wonder if I could persuade Jenny on them haha
I'm going to look at a 320d locally tonight at an Arnold Shark garage. I wanna see them up close and try and get a drive.
My mind is still elsewhere on this. Part of me thinks get something at the top of the budget thats it... the other parts thinks, get a cheaper daily and save some cash for other stuff....
TOO MANY CHOICES!!!
You can read enough about any engine on the internet.
Like any modern diesel, unless you do the miles and longs run you will suffer from DPF and EGR problems. I've never heard of failures and friends and family have run cars with the 2.2 engines for quite a while.
The only issue you need to be aware of is if you do short journeys all the time and stop the engine doing a dpf regen cycle is "dumps" excess fuel into the oil, causing it to rise a little. No idea why they did this.
But as stated above, with modern petrols being more efficient I'd only recommend recent diesels with DPF and EGR for those regularly doing long runs.
My Dad has a Lexus IS220D and does 3k per year, every year he needs the EGR cleaned out.
But on the 2.2, you really should try it in 185bhp spec, it's a cracking engine, really powerful and nice to drive/rev for a 4 pot.
2004 - on : 1999 S14a 398bhp 378lb/ft
2010 - on : 2007 RX8 PZ
1998 - 2004 : 1991 S13