Economical Runabout

N.I.M

Hi all

I'm sure I've missed this somewhere on the forum but I've been hunting for a while now and can't find it. I'm looking for, as the title suggests, something to get me from A to B without costing the earth in fuel.

I dont really mind how old the car is or what the mileage is like as long as it does a good MPG and is safe (4 star minimum). Ideally like to keep the cost of it to £1500.

The majority of my drive is the 10 mile each way to / from work which is mostly on a 50mph dual carrage way.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated

babyshoes

I have had a 10 year old 1litre Polo for almost a year now and it meets most of your requirements. It was cheap to purchase, has good fuel economy, servicing is reasonable etc. Not sure what the official safety figures are, but it feels safe enough to me - has enough grunt to keep up with traffic on the motorway or overtake trucks on dual carriageways etc. Acceleration isn't so good at the top end of the gearbox, but once it gets up to speed it stays there easily enough. My daily commute is a lot shorter than yours but I have done longer trips in it with no problems.

lolly101

Hi,

I don't know too much about cars, but I had similar requirements as you and went for a 5 door Nissan Micra. They are really cheap to run, the cost of insurance is quite low compared to some models, and the older styles can be bought quite cheap nowadays.
What size car do you need? The smaller they are, the more economical they are. Obviously newer cars tend to be more economical than older ones, but with limited funds (as I had) it's a case of getting the balance right between initial price and ongoing costs.

As for the price limit, have you considered buying on eBay? You can get cars a lot cheaper on there than anywhere else. Many people are worried about being caught out by a dodgy seller, but if you know a little about cars (or know someone who does) and can give it the once over before bidding, you can get a real bargain. That's where I bought my Micra.