New technology has revolutionised diesels’ power and refinement, making them the first choice for many petrolheads

New technology has revolutionised diesels’ power and refinement, making them the first choice for many petrolheads. Andy Goodwin scours the Auto Trader ads to bring you eight exciting diesels for under £10,000.

Skoda Fabia vRS

Skoda likes to do things a little differently, and broke the mould by offering its sporty top-of-the-range Fabia (pictured above) with a diesel engine.

The 1.9-litre turbo might have ‘just’ 130bhp but its whopping 236lb/ft of pulling power is as much as an entry level Porsche. It’s a great car and kicked off the phenomenon of the diesel hot hatch.

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Golf GT TDi PD 150

The Golf’s 150bhp diesel engine makes it faster than the petrol GTi it was based on. The Golf has a great interior and is a reliable and practical car to boot.

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BMW 330d

The 330d made people believe a sports saloon and a diesel engine could actually be desirable bedfellows. It’s almost as smooth and quiet as a petrol - and fast too. 0-60mph is dispatched in 7.8 seconds, and an average of 41.5mpg is possible.

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Mercedes C220 CDi

The Mercedes is less sporty in character than the BMW, but makes an excellent long distance mile muncher. The 143bhp engine makes for meaningful progress and features like automatic climate control came standard on every car.

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Seat Leon Cupra Diesel

The diesel version of the racy Leon Cupra uses the same 150bhp diesel engine as the Golf in this collection, but has a more overtly sporty body and stiffer suspension.

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Audi A4 2.5 TDi Quattro 180

The Quattro 180 cost over £20,000 new, but amazingly you can now find one for under £10,000. If well looked after, high mileage shouldn’t be a big problem as these cars are renowned for being robust. The Quattro four-wheel-drive is also pretty useful and safe on wet roads (handy for driving in British weather).

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BMW 530d

Luxury and speed are the two key characteristics of this 190bhp cruiser, seen romping up and down motorways all over Europe since it was introduced in 1998. It was a revolutionary diesel when launched and still commands respect now.

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Jaguar X-Type 2.0d Sport

Jaguar caused quite a stir when it introduced its first diesel model, which made the X-Type the most affordable car ever made by the luxury firm. The smallest Jaguar is a sharp car with traditional British styling.

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