Buying a fronty

[Cooter]

Hi all,

I am soon going to be forraying into the world of fronty ownership. (Her indoors has agreed that i need my own motor and a frontera is a good option)!

After driving my aunts 2.3 and 2.5 A series' in spain I found the steering to be quite shocking and i would have liked more grunt... I am led to believe that the B series improved on this. Also the B is prettier.....IMHO.

As things stand i am looking at a B series - BUT what engine do i go for? I traditionally have preferred petrols to diesels, Fuel costs are not gonna be much of a determining factor as I dont have to commute to work in it.

So 2.2 petrol? 2.2DTi or 3.2 V6. Discuss please!

[BoxCleva]

Any idea of budget ?

A Dti with a recently replaced fuel pump or an LPG'd V6 would be my choice.

[RatCav]

If going for a B series I would agree with Boxy on this one. I would avoid the 2.2 petrol like the plague.

[justdan]

3.2 v6 all day long ! I'm driving a 2.2 petrol and as much as I love it I would av the v6 if I could

[fudge]

I agree 3.2 v6 if a b or if you can aford one a vehi cross
As well where abouts in east angila do you live as we have a 2.2 dti and 2.2 petrol around here if you wanted to have a look at them and maybe have a little drive

[Cooter]

Budget aint huge - about £1k.

Think I want a black limited lwb really. I guess I am leaning towards the V6 but i wanted to get an inside view on costs, reliability and living with all the engines

[AskDean]

if you have a grand to spend then go for a V6 you'll love the power but look for a lpg one as this makes it as cheap to run as focus. as you'll be getting still be getting between 18-25 to the gallon round town and on runs but it will only be costing you around £3.70 a gallon for lpg. near me i pay 78.9p a litre which is dear but i have seen it as cheap as 61p a liter in Liverpool but still makes a beast cheap to run

i put £10 petrol a fortnight to start mine and £30 lpg a week for around Nottingham and on a run i got 765 miles on £140 that's including 5 hours leary arsing around drum-clog off road site in the Scottish mountains

even in standard for the v6 is pushing 205bhp so makes it a sporty number for a 2 tone truck lol

[vauxsqueeks]

HI Cooter,

I have a black 99' 2.2 Petrol LWB Fronty B ready to go just about.

Has window tints fitted, rare electric sunroof, heated windscreen washers, tilt adjustable seats, Very Clean outside and inside.

Has just had full service.
Spark Plugs, Oil, Oil filter, Coolant, Head Gasket, ( complete head gasket set ), Cambelt, Tensioner, pullies & Water pump.

In the last 6 months..
Clutch plate, Pressure plate, thrust baring & Rear Crank seal

Let me know if your interested...

[Dannyboy]

V6 all the way mate had one loved it n wish id kept it!

[Hound Dog]

I would agree with most of them if going for a B then v6
But if going for an A then the 2.8

I've been lucky enoght to have both and for some stupid reason (wife nagging) sold the v6

[AskDean]

and i bet you regret selling the v6 hound dog as i find the smile i get off the lights more than makes up for the nagging lol

[Hound Dog]

As you know Dean that feeling as you wipe the smile off of the boy racers face in his corsa with big bore exhaust is second to none

[fogman]

3.2 - power reliabile engine
2.2dti - frugal & reliable [ weak point is the fuel pump]
2.2 petrol - slightly better on fuel than the v6 [but not b much] & weakest engine of the 3

[Cooter]

Just out of interest what mpg figures are you guys with B's getting, and what about the amount the goverment sticks you for every 6 or 12 months? cuz the change date for emmisions related tax is 2001 IIRC?

[vauxsqueeks]

For the 2.2 Petrol, its £118 for 6 months and I get around 23 ish to the gallon, though I do a lot os <2 mile trips.

[fogman]

i used to get low 20s [21 ish] in my 2.2 petrol but bare in mind thats local driving most of the time because im not a high mileage user, on a run mid 20s to low 30s , the v6 i think will be slightly lower as in mid teens to high 20s & i think the dti would be mid to high 20s up to high 30s

[igotababyfrontera]

Getting aroun the 400 miles mark from a full tank to between the red and a quarter tank but most of that is town driving eg 5 miles to work and 5 miles back every day.
I haven't done a long run yet so who knows.

Ps I don't have a light foot.

[AskDean]

w reg v6 tax is £215 for a year as it before they changed the regs to the size of your lump and the co out put. with gas its classed as duel fuel and get 18 - 25 around combined depending how heavy i stand on the pedal and you get about 10% to 20% loss in mpg due to the gas so would be getting mid twentys running petrol all the time if i drive like a vicar.

[fogman]

assuming igot still has a couple of gallons left in the tank hes getting approx 26/27 mpg