Reliable and economical commuter vehicle

Kubberz

Hello!

I am in need of a new car for work.

For context, I am 26M in the UK with a maximum budget of £10k. My commute to work is only 7m each way. However, for work, I often will travel 60-80m round trips most days (including weekends), much of this being on A Roads. My annual mileage varies between 15k and 20k.

I ideally would like something that looks "nice" and would fit with my age. Primarily, though, something with good MPG and generally considered reliable are the most important things. Of course, FSH and low owners.

These are my settings on Autotrader:

10k max

2015 min

125k miles max

Coupe/Saloon/Hatchback

Diesel/Petrol/Hybrid

1.8L to 2.2L

100BHP to 250BHP (ideally in the 150-200 range)

40+ MPG (ideally closer to 60)

Manual

£300 tax max

Trade Seller

No categorised vehicles

So far, I've seen the Seat Leon and Volkswagen Golf, both of which I like. Ford Focus STs are nice as well, but I'm concerned about them being ragged.

Other cars I've come across include Mazda3 (2017- facelift), Peugot 308 GT, and Volvo V40 (never considered a Volvo before), but all seem quite good?

Any input or assistance, or advice from anyone is greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

WellKnownSid

Completely random curve ball - a 70 plate Nissan Leaf 62kWh with under 70k on the clock - so potentially a few years and 30k miles of battery warranty left.  Generally considered a well sorted car with little to go wrong on it.

4.2m/kWh would mean your 80 mile round trips could cost you 80 / 4.2 x 0.067 = £1.28 if you charged at home.
By comparison a 60mpg diesel would cost you around 80/60*£5.92 = £7.89
Or to put it another way if you covered 20,000 miles a year you would save £1,600

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503039703277

Emmia

WellKnownSid said:

Completely random curve ball - a 70 plate Nissan Leaf 62kWh with under 70k on the clock - so potentially a few years and 30k miles of battery warranty left.  Generally considered a well sorted car with little to go wrong on it.

4.2m/kWh would mean your 80 mile round trips could cost you 80 / 4.2 x 0.067 = £1.28 if you charged at home.
By comparison a 60mpg diesel would cost you around 80/60*£5.92 = £7.89
Or to put it another way if you covered 20,000 miles a year you would save £1,600

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503039703277

This does rely on having a suitable place to charge... I note the OP didn't say "electric" they said petrol/diesel/hybrid (which I took as a self charging hybrid)

WellKnownSid

Emmia said:

WellKnownSid said:

Completely random curve ball - a 70 plate Nissan Leaf 62kWh with under 70k on the clock - so potentially a few years and 30k miles of battery warranty left.  Generally considered a well sorted car with little to go wrong on it.

4.2m/kWh would mean your 80 mile round trips could cost you 80 / 4.2 x 0.067 = £1.28 if you charged at home.
By comparison a 60mpg diesel would cost you around 80/60*£5.92 = £7.89
Or to put it another way if you covered 20,000 miles a year you would save £1,600

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503039703277

This does rely on having a suitable place to charge... I note the OP didn't say "electric" they said petrol/diesel/hybrid (which I took as a self charging hybrid)

This is true - plus a 26 y/o male might run away at the thought of driving a Nissan (though reliability and economy were named as the true priorities)

That said, it's five years newer and almost half the mileage of the ICE cars they are looking at and would probably pay for itself over a few years - so the suggestion isn't completely mad and may help others in a similar boat who thought all electric cars needed to cost £80,000.

Nobbie1967

BMW 120D M Sport. £35 tax, 60MPG seems to tick all the boxes.

Labtebricolist

If it were me, I’d go for some variety of Mini (Cooper).  Ticks all your boxes, good fun, and very good for resale when you leave.

Emmia

WellKnownSid said:

Emmia said:

WellKnownSid said:

Completely random curve ball - a 70 plate Nissan Leaf 62kWh with under 70k on the clock - so potentially a few years and 30k miles of battery warranty left.  Generally considered a well sorted car with little to go wrong on it.

4.2m/kWh would mean your 80 mile round trips could cost you 80 / 4.2 x 0.067 = £1.28 if you charged at home.
By comparison a 60mpg diesel would cost you around 80/60*£5.92 = £7.89
Or to put it another way if you covered 20,000 miles a year you would save £1,600

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503039703277

This does rely on having a suitable place to charge... I note the OP didn't say "electric" they said petrol/diesel/hybrid (which I took as a self charging hybrid)

This is true - plus a 26 y/o male might run away at the thought of driving a Nissan (though reliability and economy were named as the true priorities)

That said, it's five years newer and almost half the mileage of the ICE cars they are looking at and would probably pay for itself over a few years - so the suggestion isn't completely mad and may help others in a similar boat who thought all electric cars needed to cost £80,000.

But impractical if there's nowhere to charge.

Bigwheels1111

If an EV was an option I would opt for a MG ZS EV, top speed model.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503140158028?sort=price-asc&searchId=6b74a9a0-e5a3-478e-9139-a8928f85bde3&advertising-location=at_cars&aggregatedTrim=Exclusive&fuel-type=Electric&make=MG&maximum-mileage=35000&model=MG%20ZS&postcode=S433aq&year-from=2020&fromsra

Herzlos

If you don't need much cargo space, then I think a Mazda MX-5 hits all of the requirements apart from body style, but will be significantly more fun.

HillStreetBlues

Emmia said:

WellKnownSid said:

Emmia said:

WellKnownSid said:

Completely random curve ball - a 70 plate Nissan Leaf 62kWh with under 70k on the clock - so potentially a few years and 30k miles of battery warranty left.  Generally considered a well sorted car with little to go wrong on it.

4.2m/kWh would mean your 80 mile round trips could cost you 80 / 4.2 x 0.067 = £1.28 if you charged at home.
By comparison a 60mpg diesel would cost you around 80/60*£5.92 = £7.89
Or to put it another way if you covered 20,000 miles a year you would save £1,600

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503039703277

This does rely on having a suitable place to charge... I note the OP didn't say "electric" they said petrol/diesel/hybrid (which I took as a self charging hybrid)

This is true - plus a 26 y/o male might run away at the thought of driving a Nissan (though reliability and economy were named as the true priorities)

That said, it's five years newer and almost half the mileage of the ICE cars they are looking at and would probably pay for itself over a few years - so the suggestion isn't completely mad and may help others in a similar boat who thought all electric cars needed to cost £80,000.

But impractical if there's nowhere to charge.

There will be so many more cars to recommend, if we all completely ignore the OP's parameters.

WellKnownSid

HillStreetBlues said:

Emmia said:

WellKnownSid said:

Emmia said:

WellKnownSid said:

Completely random curve ball - a 70 plate Nissan Leaf 62kWh with under 70k on the clock - so potentially a few years and 30k miles of battery warranty left.  Generally considered a well sorted car with little to go wrong on it.

4.2m/kWh would mean your 80 mile round trips could cost you 80 / 4.2 x 0.067 = £1.28 if you charged at home.
By comparison a 60mpg diesel would cost you around 80/60*£5.92 = £7.89
Or to put it another way if you covered 20,000 miles a year you would save £1,600

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503039703277

This does rely on having a suitable place to charge... I note the OP didn't say "electric" they said petrol/diesel/hybrid (which I took as a self charging hybrid)

This is true - plus a 26 y/o male might run away at the thought of driving a Nissan (though reliability and economy were named as the true priorities)

That said, it's five years newer and almost half the mileage of the ICE cars they are looking at and would probably pay for itself over a few years - so the suggestion isn't completely mad and may help others in a similar boat who thought all electric cars needed to cost £80,000.

But impractical if there's nowhere to charge.

There will be so many more cars to recommend, if we all completely ignore the OP's parameters.

...which you really should do because it's a daft list.  For example, why 1.8 to 2.2 litre AND 100-250bhp when there are plenty of 1.6 cars producing 100+ bhp?

Switching to 1.6+ gives double the choice of cars.
Ignoring the lower end completely gives you 4x the choice of cars.

Add estate & SUV and you'll double the choice again on top.