public
Captain Slow Charging
Like I've posted earlier, my current job requires me to commute quite a bit. Some days I'll be doing 150km to get to work and back, while some days I can do with less. But in any case, I'm now commuting further than picking my laptop from the floor next to my bed. Ahem.
Anyway, I'm now driving my dad's C180K wagon. It's very nice and fits the bill perfectly: it's good to drive, it has A/C and cruise control and it works. However, as winter is approaching there are a couple things that I'd like to think about. Firstly, I don't want to bathe the S203 in salt because it will rust. They all will do that, but I want to put off the inevitable brown specks as long as possible. The Benz is a good, durable car that sits happily on the road, but I’d hate to run it to the ground just getting to work and back.
Secondly, I could use a little less fuel. The 1.8-liter, supercharged Benz with an autobox usually averages 7l/100km, or 33.6 MPG. I can do a little better if the winds and stoplights are in my favor, but as it's still just about commuting and I pay for the fuel, I’d like to do it with as little fuel as possible.
So, if I can swing it, I could feasibly justify getting a diesel beater for the winter. Finland is full of people running diesel beaters to the ground, but I don’t really know what to get. Since this is about saving money, the car should be both cheap and reliable. Diesel fuel isn’t as cheap here as it used to be, but just achieving lower fuel consumption already helps. A W203 C200 CDI does about 6,7l combined, so the savings are really marginal.
What am I considering, then? A Smart ForFour! The car combines both late rad era/1999 design aesthetics and a reasonably durable sounding M-B drivetrain. Three pot 1.5-liter diesel, as much as 95 hp, and it can achieve less than 4l/100km on the road or 60 MPG – significant difference to the Benz. The yearly diesel tax would put road tax costs to 500 eur/year compared to the 340eur/year Benz that runs on gasoline. The semi-auto is apparently bad when it works and bad when it doesn’t.
I don’t know how they are on the road. Bouncy? Hatch-backy? I know GT1750 has a gasoline ForFour, but I haven’t driven one.
Cost-wise, I believe ForFours are sub-2k in Central Europe, and I’d have to import one to get one after my taste, That means some hundreds in import tax and plating costs. 2k buys a 1.1 gasoline ForFour here that also goes around with little fuel, but they have half the torque of a diesel. I could just buy Lastsoul’s Panda 169 at that point.
If comfort is what I’d be going after, I’d probably just get a super cheap Xsara with the 2.0 hot dog. Those are completely worthless here, but not unreliable. I can see them advertised for some hundreds, too.
But the ForFour! I love the looks and the cabin design. They are available with red seats and red cloth dash. Four-spoke wheels. Absolute win!
Anyway, I'm now driving my dad's C180K wagon. It's very nice and fits the bill perfectly: it's good to drive, it has A/C and cruise control and it works. However, as winter is approaching there are a couple things that I'd like to think about. Firstly, I don't want to bathe the S203 in salt because it will rust. They all will do that, but I want to put off the inevitable brown specks as long as possible. The Benz is a good, durable car that sits happily on the road, but I’d hate to run it to the ground just getting to work and back.
Secondly, I could use a little less fuel. The 1.8-liter, supercharged Benz with an autobox usually averages 7l/100km, or 33.6 MPG. I can do a little better if the winds and stoplights are in my favor, but as it's still just about commuting and I pay for the fuel, I’d like to do it with as little fuel as possible.
So, if I can swing it, I could feasibly justify getting a diesel beater for the winter. Finland is full of people running diesel beaters to the ground, but I don’t really know what to get. Since this is about saving money, the car should be both cheap and reliable. Diesel fuel isn’t as cheap here as it used to be, but just achieving lower fuel consumption already helps. A W203 C200 CDI does about 6,7l combined, so the savings are really marginal.
What am I considering, then? A Smart ForFour! The car combines both late rad era/1999 design aesthetics and a reasonably durable sounding M-B drivetrain. Three pot 1.5-liter diesel, as much as 95 hp, and it can achieve less than 4l/100km on the road or 60 MPG – significant difference to the Benz. The yearly diesel tax would put road tax costs to 500 eur/year compared to the 340eur/year Benz that runs on gasoline. The semi-auto is apparently bad when it works and bad when it doesn’t.
I don’t know how they are on the road. Bouncy? Hatch-backy? I know GT1750 has a gasoline ForFour, but I haven’t driven one.
Cost-wise, I believe ForFours are sub-2k in Central Europe, and I’d have to import one to get one after my taste, That means some hundreds in import tax and plating costs. 2k buys a 1.1 gasoline ForFour here that also goes around with little fuel, but they have half the torque of a diesel. I could just buy Lastsoul’s Panda 169 at that point.
If comfort is what I’d be going after, I’d probably just get a super cheap Xsara with the 2.0 hot dog. Those are completely worthless here, but not unreliable. I can see them advertised for some hundreds, too.
But the ForFour! I love the looks and the cabin design. They are available with red seats and red cloth dash. Four-spoke wheels. Absolute win!