Cheap car with good mpg, low tax and reliable?

Ollie345

Lol what is it with golf gti's. I was considering something small like a lion, arosa, the iq could be an option.
Agreed probably cheaper to stick with what I have but I do like a change every few years.

lcc86

Ollie345 wrote: »

Lol what is it with golf gti's. I was considering something small like a lion, arosa, the iq could be an option.
Agreed probably cheaper to stick with what I have but I do like a change every few years.

I still look at them online now - I'll never learn! But as someone else has worked out, perhaps financially it's not worthwhile, I had to change as I needed a reliable car for a new job, but if your car is happily pottering about maybe just keep it until such time as it's not worth doing so.

DragonQ

Fuel economy is great but it's rarely going to actually cover the cost of the car. My new car is about twice as efficient as my old car but that still only saves me maybe £500 a year. The savings in VED are wiped out by the increase in insurance costs. If I keep the car for 5 years then that's still £2.5k but the car cost 4 times that.

If you're looking to replace a car anyway then certainly consider fuel costs, but don't use that as a reason to replace the car to begin with.

peter_the_piper

Is that always true? I went from a Daihatsu Charade to my Picanto and saved about £50 on insurance, £200 plus on the VED and about £125 per year petrol (based on 5000 per year.)

omega1987

The problem with many eco cars now is that although they achieve excellent fuel economy they are so complicated that a single breakdown can wipe out any fuel saving.

Personally I would avoid anything with direct injection (carbon build up is common), duel mass flywheels and turbos.

I currently drive a Citroen C1, its averaging 62 MPG on my 16 mile commute and it has free road tax. It's very reliable (Toyota engine) and consumables like tyres are some of the cheapest on the road.

I also had a Honda CBF 125 that did 125 MPG and cost just £15 to tax but the 2500 mile service intervals quickly became annoying.