good car for 20k motorway miles a year

epz_2

long story short im changing jobs and giving up my works car, i have a nice old merc 190e which is pretty much immortal and i layed it up in case i needed a car fast (to good to sell cheap) anyway if it was only a short commute i would love to use it but i cant.

my new job is a 82 mile a day commute and as much fun and frankly as superior as it is to modern jelly mold cars 20,000 miles a year would probably be a bad idea in a 20 year old car with pretty poor gas milage.

my inital thoughts are about getting a lpg converted e38 bmw 740, probably not much better mpg than a normal car but the ability to sit on the motorway with a v8 4.4 ticking over seems like a nicer way to spend the commute than a dinky car with the engine screaming, anyone else got any other ideas for brutes that are high geared enough to sit at 70-80 and reliable enough to cope with mega milage.

looby-loo_2

Nissan Micra every time:j :j :j Cruises at 70;) 3 x a week to see my mum 60 miles away:T :T :T

tomstickland

Efficiency and engine size aren't as clearly related as you might think. If you want to sit on the mway at 80mph then engine size won't make a huge difference.
There's so many cars that would fit the bill. Any 2.0 Petrol or Diesel mid sized saloon. Personally I'd prefer a BMW 3 series, maybe the 320 or 330 Diesel if you want economy too.

goldspanners

for economy and a bit of comfort i would go for a mondeo,a vectra or (although it goes against my instincts) a peugot 406/7 all in diesel preferibly with a six speed box for the motorway cruising.

mjr600

Golf, A3/A4, Altea/Toledo, Octavia 2.0tdi with the DSG 6 speed automatic gearbox, one of the most refined motorway engine/gearbox combinations coupled to 45+ mpg. Just choose the car to wrap around it, its a semi auto box also found in the Golf GTi, R32 and Audi TT, beautiful engineering, when put with a diesel engine it makes a perfect motorway cruiser.

Most have cruise control, climate control and hold their value.

alanrowell

Every car that's larger than a Aygo will be suitable for your requirements. For motorway driving engine size doesn't really matter as most cars will do 80mph without the engine screaming.

If anything I'd be going for a smaller car as larger cars will cost a lot more in fuel costs.

Definitely get a diesel - whilst LPG might be cheaper to run you lose out on boot space AND you get worse performance and fuel economy

colin79666

Fiat have some great diesels. I don't know your budget but if your looking for something new and a bit different you might want to take a look at the new Bravo.
The Skoda Octavia should be reliable and good value for money - especially a 2-3 year old model.

DealDrivers_company_representative

20k per annum mileage is nothing these days, more and more people have to commute to their jobs - any good diesel will do the job and you just ened to ensure you're in good comfortable seats.

In terms of pounds and pence off list price at the moment we're getting the best deals off 3 series beemers (especially as their new diesel engines being build from this month have improved performance, higher mpg and lower tax bands in most cases), new Ford Mondeo diesels, Vw Passat diesels....

Conor_3

epz wrote: »

my new job is a 82 mile a day commute and as much fun and frankly as superior as it is to modern jelly mold cars 20,000 miles a year would probably be a bad idea in a 20 year old car with pretty poor gas milage.

Why would it be a bad idea? I'm currently doing 140 miles per day/560 miles per week commuting in my 22 year old Ford Capri and it's all the better for it. I'm also getting 37MPG out of her from a 2L Pinto engine.

Just keep up to the servicing and maintain it properly and it'll be fine. The age of the car is pretty irrelevent. How good it is mechanically is moreso.

thescouselander

I've just got a BMW 330ci - not economical compared to a diesel but the straight 6 engine is really smooth and you cant hear it when cruising at motorway speeds. I reckon I get about 34 MPG on the motorway but significantly less round town. Its a great motorway cruiser though and it doesn't sound like a tractor.

epz_2

well just got quoted £61 to upgrade my current insurance to a 740 and there is 3 lpg bmw 740s with less than 80k miles on ebay at the moment, i think for £430 a year insurance before my 2nd year no claims gets knocked off and 10 p a mile running costs i have a winner.

re connor, dont get me wrong my merc is tip top, new cluch, brake discs & pads within 3k miles, spotless exhaust and good bodywork etc and really good turning circle etc but 25mpg would be a good day and that means the fuel saving on a 50mpg eqivelent motor would be £1500 odds a year.