Economic diesel needed for 6 months - any ideas?

slummymummyof3

I have got a 1.5dci Micra SE and I average 68mpg and it is a fairly comfortable ride (wait for the jeers of disgust from Micra haters!!!) I regularly drive in Oxford traffic and travel all over the place; London, Bristol etc. I went from a Vectra to the Micra for economy and haven't regretted it. I have had the car for 11 months and have done 12,000 miles, bought it as a 54 plate with 70,000 miles on the clock and paid £2,100 from a garage.

Young_Pretender

I'd say find a Peugeot 306/406 diesel or a mondeo diesel.
All can be found for well less than £1000 - they will have spaceship milage but can be economical and reliable.

Far better off than spending £3k on a car only to sell it on after 6 months.
That said, I have an '06 Fabia which hasn't missed a beat and never gives less than 60 Mpg (I'm not a slow driver) and gets 65-70Mpg on long slower motorway runs. It's the 1.4 Tdi and is a fantastic car, I don't think you could quite stretch to that engine as it was new in '06 but they also did the Fabia with the VW 1.9 diesel which is similarly efficient but a tad slower, if such a thing was possible. It's also comfortable enough for the motorway cruise.

My money would be hunting down a 10year old 100k+ mile mortoway workhorse though, for as litte as I could get tax, test and some service history for.

sar050680

I have a '05' Renault Megane 1.5dci and the trip computer says it does 50mpg around the Merthyr Tydfil valley's, up hills, down hills. I had it up to 62mpg on a run to West Wales, so I think its a perfect car. Comfort and economy. Its ex fleet, has 125k on the clock and is reliable. Good luck and let us know....

fatbelly

Young_Pretender wrote: »

That said, I have an '06 Fabia which hasn't missed a beat and never gives less than 60 Mpg (I'm not a slow driver) and gets 65-70Mpg on long slower motorway runs. It's the 1.4 Tdi and is a fantastic car, I don't think you could quite stretch to that engine as it was new in '06 but they also did the Fabia with the VW 1.9 diesel which is similarly efficient but a tad slower, if such a thing was possible. It's also comfortable enough for the motorway cruise.

The Fabia is definitely a 'mse' car. Consider a 100 bhp 1.9 tdi version. It's a good cruiser, and faster than the 1.4 (I think the sdi version is probably slower). I average 57mpg, with low insurance and totally reliable. There are plenty of 8-10 year old examples with careful owners and rustfree galvanised bodies.

Young_Pretender

fatbelly wrote: »

The Fabia is definitely a 'mse' car. Consider a 100 bhp 1.9 tdi version. It's a good cruiser, and faster than the 1.4 (I think the sdi version is probably slower). I average 57mpg, with low insurance and totally reliable. There are plenty of 8-10 year old examples with careful owners and rustfree galvanised bodies.

Yup, there's a yawning chasm between the 1.9 Tdi (which can be pretty hot) and the 1.9 SDI non-turbo which is basically a tractor shaped like a car and is horrendously slow - almost dangerously slow!
1.4 TDI - 70bhp and 150nm torque
1.9SDI - 64bhp and 125nm torque
1.9 Tdi - 99bhp and 240nm torque

The 1.4 is a good little car, acceptable handling, nice control weight and feel and pacey enough not to feel lethal away from junctions or on the motorway. The TDi fits the OP's budget, and SDI's are ten a penny and would no doubt suit as well so long as the glacial performance isn't a problem. A friend does have one and is diasppointed with it though.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Buy a Mercedes 190, or an E34 BMW. Don't bother with diesel, you're only keeping it for a few months. The Merc will easily do 35mpg+ on the motorway, it'll cost you peanuts to buy and run, and you'll sell it on very easily.

Look:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1496868.htm

PasturesNew

Rather than commuting daily, I'd look into:
- a Monday-Friday lodger room http://www.mondaytofriday.com - there are other sites like that and maybe it's not taken off yet in Birmingham
- a really really cheap B&B, cut a deal with them to be there as a long-term guest 4 nights a week.

If you're doing 160 miles/day in a 45mpg car, then the fuel alone will cost you about £20/trip and the depreciation/maintenance will cost about another £10/trip, so a cheap B&B at about £18/night will have you ahead without changing your car.

mark5

My wifes got a 1.4 TDCi Fiesta (2008 old shape now) I have been able to get it upto 80mpg but thats on an empty M4, warm engine doing about 55-60 mph. Realistically in normal driving conditions it does about 50mpg around town and 55 mpg on the motorway.
For £3500 I guess it would be a high millage example in which case the injector seals may be a problem.

smitchy73

My mate drives a 1.8 diesel mondeo and is an IAM driver, but drives at legal speed limits, and averages about 60mpg, I drive a 2.0ltr diesel chrysler sebring and average 50mpg, I think one of the other posters says correctly a larger engine doesn't have to work as hard on the motorway and should provide extra comfort than a small car, as for petrol cars I used to have a smart car and have had a toyota aygo, handles on the motorway good, holds its own and gets about 50-60mpg, smart is a bit better, I think both of those hold their value quite well, so not sure what you'd get for you money.
Is there not a direct train service between the two cities and see what a 10 journey would cost instead?