Best car 30k miles per year

guy999

Hi
Looking to do about 30k miles to work each year?
Definetly going to be diesel, but not sure what to pick,would keep car for 3 years.
So with fuel service costs and depn what would be best.
Would mostly be motorway with 1 person in

Astra, bmw 1, Golf etc?
Any suggestions

epz_2

it might be personal bias but i think big cars tend to be better on the motorway, they have lower drag coefficents and lower gearing meaning they can actually be more than small cars designed for stop start citys.

they also tend to be more pleasant to drive at speed because of better sound insulation etc, a bigger engine might be worth considering since you will be doing about 90k miles which could kill some dinky engines but is nothing to a 2liter, they may cost more to run but replacing engines is expensive.

have you thought about something like a skoda octavia 1.9 tdi, all the taxis run them and seem to rate them, also might want to consider a lpg fitted motor, the kind of milage you do it would easily pay for itself.

Simon_B_2

I'm in exactly the same type of situation and am looking for a car that will be doing around 26K a year and am considering either a golf/leon tdi, skoda fabia vrs (diesel) or maybe even a diesel bmw 3 series coupe as budget just about streaches to it.

I'm looking for one thats about 2-4 years old and has done its first 30-40K miles already and will have lost the first major chunk of its depreciation value. Thats my line of thinking on it anyway, 2ltr diesels will be the best bet as your get the power and reliablilty alongside 45-50mpg depending on the size of the car.

tomstickland

it might be personal bias but i think big cars tend to be better on the motorway, they have lower drag coefficents

Total drag force is proportional to frontal area multiplied by drag coefficient. So a large car might have a slightly better drag coefficient, but it's larger so the drag will be higher.

Larger car means more mass and size, lower fuel economy. However, the mass only really hinders acceleration, so if a lot of mway cruising is done it won't matter too much. Larger cars will tend to be more comfortable.

Personally I'd want to look at a BMW 3 series. The 1 is too expensive for what it is. Also try Audi and the main fleet cars ie: Vectra, Mundaneo.
A VW Parasite would be worth looking at too. As would the Skoda equivalent.

vansboy

Guy - think about a Leon - suggest that, 'cos of the 2 you put forward. Also consider Astra - facelift model around soon. But the one everyone fogets, Mazda 3!!

Do you REALLY want 'new'?

Think you'd be better off going the used route, though, unless you buy on a Personal Contract Plan that won't stuff you heavy mileage penalties!!

As well as that, moving up in size, as Simon mentions, BMW 3 if you must - there are plenty of these, in special BMW auctions, at British Car Auctions, at a couple of their sites. They are end lease/finance repossesions & usually well presented & OK'ish £$£$.

But think Vectra & Mazda 6 as well, or for value & not too many about, Signum.

VB

sjc_2

I had the same debate and opted for a Skoda Octavia 2.0TDi and have been very happy with it. Servicing on variable is every approx 28K-30K and I get 600 Miles per Tank, no issues or problems with it and only had 4 new tyres, still on original Brake Pads and Wipers.

Great build quality, performance etc you just need to get over the Skoda Badge.

Liked mine so much I have just traded it in after 3 Years of trouble free motoring and ordered the Octavia vRS

mjr600

The 2.0Tdi engines from the VW/Audi/SEAT/Skoda stable when linked to the DSG gearbox make effortless motorway cruisers returning good mpg and all are lower than average depreciators.

Look for a 2 year old Golf or Altea DSG for 11-12k they will do all you want, are comfortable, quick and easy to sell on.

Lord_Lardington

Off the wall suggestion (it's environmentally dodgy too but please don't flame me).

How about spending tiny money (£2k) on an old Lexus LS400 or GS300? Yes they're petrol and yes, they're a bit juicy but they're ultra comfy, ultra smoot, ultra quiet, ultra relaible and running costs (given the very low purchase price) are actually relatively low.

I've done 60k in 3 years (cost £2.5k) in my LS and it's never missed a beat (only ordinary service items replaced) and it returns 25mpg on the motorway (even if I boot it)

Just a thought ...

nullogik

Vauxhall Vectras have a good reputation for being excellent motorway cruisers - which is why they are rep's favourite car. Just make sure you don't go for a new one as you'll loose a ton of money, go for an approved used (Network Q) car thats about 1-3 years old.

Otherwise I second a previous poster with regards to the Skoda Octavia.

M4RKM

I've just got a 3-door BMW 1series, and would wholeheartedly recommend it..

good fuel consumption (i have the 118d), and the auto start stop reduces fuel consumption throught towns, where you have loads of traffic lights...

its a well built car and really comfortable to drive on long distances!! a lot better and more comfortable than my the vectra i had before.

Doozergirl

markymoo wrote: »

I've just got a 3-door BMW 1series, and would wholeheartedly recommend it..

good fuel consumption (i have the 118d), and the auto start stop reduces fuel consumption throught towns, where you have loads of traffic lights...

its a well built car and really comfortable to drive on long distances!! a lot better and more comfortable than my the vectra i had before.

I've got a 1-series as well. I think it's a fabulous car; just as solid, luxurious and drives almost exactly like my old 3-series coupe. It's a really good size inside. It looks different as well - I think the new 3 series shape is sooo boring, the coupe just about passes.

Mine's petrol, for being a bit of an idiot at the time (I did get it for a good price though!), but I have driven a few new BMW diesels since then and they really go - the 520d I had as a coutesy car was doing 43 to the gallon, so I expect the 1 series would do more? I will definately swap sometime soon.