What's quick with good mpg?

Well an Omega Elite has all the toys, but interior bits can fall off, and electrical problems aren't unknown. And you don't want the diesel one of them - it's a lovely engine (BMW Straight 6 derv lump) but it's simply barely any more economical than the petrol ones. I can't comment on how juicy the petrol ones are, depends how much town driving you do.

But I could thoroughly recommend an A6 TDI. Go for the 2.5 litre 5-cylinder

140bhp version, and only get an SE spec or Quattro one. It's fairly well specced, but not quite to Omega Elite standards. You get electric windows all round, electric mirrors, digital climate control and remote central locking, but you don't get the fantastically good auto-dimming rear view mirror, electrically adjustable leather seats (which I loved in mine!!!), dual zone climate (only single) or front fog lights (though the quattro has them, I think), but you get most stuff. You also get a trip computer.

You're getting a 5-cylinder engine, which Audi are the kings of. It's based on the very first TDI engine Audi made (which was the same engine, but only

115bhp) and is a very reliable thing. I decided on the 140bhp 2.5TDI compared to the more modern 1.9TDI PD130 because it was cheaper, plus didn't have half as much electronic gizmatrons to potentially go expensively wrong. Plus it had one more cylinder :-)

I've done 27,000 miles in the time I've had mine, and it gets driven quite hard a lot of the time (once the oil's warmed up) and rarely returns much less than 40mpg. Does around 47mpg at a constant 80 on a long run. Once I got an average of 62mpg on a motorway trip sticking to 60, but I haven't got the patience for all that.

Very little's needed doing other than basic servicing. In fact, I don't think anything has, apart from a couple of wear and tear things - in the 27k I've had it I've put a pair of front tyres on it, then replaced all the wheels with the nicer quattro-style five spoke ones, put new front discs and pads and new front anti-roll bar bushes (on request of the MOT man), and I think that's it bar oil changes and air/fuel filters. Oh, and a front bumper, bonnet, wing, headlight and indicator, but we won't go into that....

The handling is pretty good for a big car, ride quality isn't the greatest, but you generally get more of one and less of t'other. Ride quality isn't bad on reasonable surfaced roads, and even on rougher roads I like to think of it as a 'sporty' ride :-)

It's also quite a revvy diesel engine - it freely goes all the way up to the redline, but the 6-speed box means even at 100mph (private road, officer) you're only doing 3000rpm. The gearbox has a nice feel to it.

And yep, normally aspirated diesels are still s**te. Well, they're not too bad, but they're not quick.

So seriously consider an A6 2.5TDI Quattro. You could get the newer V6 diesel, but I seriously reckon you'd average best part of 10mpg more from the 5-pot. Plus they're appreciating classics. At least I seem to think so anyway.

Oh, and the quattro doesn't take too much away from the fuel economy - I had a look at a quattro estate and it was showing a 37 point something mpg average on the trip computer. Oh, and did I mention they're chippable to around 170bhp without any mods - potentially quite a bit more if you really start playing, at a guess.

Peter

-- "The truth is working in television is not very glamorous at all. I just go home on my own at night and sit alone and eat crisps."

You not fancy gas converting a yank car then?

Underpowered, and no Turbo.

Only the Accord Type-R is "an alternative" to the TI - but it's also 3 times the price.

Except that they didn't. We're not gonna have this discussion again are we ?!?!?

Seconded.

Seeing as you already own the car, then that's clearly the best move for you !