Cardiff to Bristol (Portishead) commute - what car?

airwot4

I'm going to move to North Cardiff next year and plan to change my car to something more economical to make the commute to my workplace in Portishead slightly less painful.

The commute will take around 100 miles roundtrip per day, which will be about 25k miles per year plus 5k miles private use. So I'm looking at an economical car which won't get hit too badly by depreciation due to the 30k per year mileage! I'm also concerned that the car needs a good amount of power for the motorway and should be a steady cruiser.

Any suggestions on what car would be a good choice?

Also, does anybody have any experience of this commute? Any tips?

CarolynH

Have you thought about train-ing it? It's way cheaper than driving. (Don't forget the bridge tolls).

airwot4

Yeah, trouble is that there's no train link to Portishead and it's a long way from Bristol. Where I'm commuting from is a couple of minutes from the motorway at Cardiff, where I work is a couple of minutes from the motorway at Portishead so the trip is pretty quick...it's just the money. Any other transport method would take hours.

freakybacon

What car are you running now? Tempted just to suggest a citroen berlingo multispace diesel. You may be best however, with a nissan primera manfactured before 2002. Depreciation would not be such an issue, but they are comfortable & reliable, both of which will be a major issue at this sort of mileage.

airwot4

I've got a T (99) reg 2l Ford Focus. I love it but it will only get 35-38 on the motorway under normal conditions...that adds up! I'll be hoping to get 50+ from a diesel unless a petrol can beat those savings.

freakybacon

Keep the focus and whip it into the ground,unlees its proving problematic. Rock solid reliability & comfortable too. You will lose more cash changing than you will gain from buying something else.

PasturesNew

It might be cheaper to do the trip once a week (Mon am, Fri pm) and get a cheap houseshare round the corner from work for 4 nights.

100 miles
230 days (261 - 23 annual leave - 8 bank holidays)
10 miles per litre/45 mpg
£1.20/litre
5 bridge tolls at £5.30

(100 x 230) = 23,000 miles/year
2,300 litres at £1.20 = £2760/year
£5.30 x 230 = £1219

£2760 + £1219 = £3979

£3979/12 = £331

And that's just the fuel and tolls.

The repairs, depreciation, loan on next car costs could easily be £150/month

I used to drive that sort of distance years ago. Never again. It's OK (but expensive) while the car works, but if it packs up you're stuffed.

PasturesNew

£300 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-19299413.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=rent

Bob63

Might I suggest an alternative approach, at least for sunny days?

A motorcycle or large scooter (400cc+) will do the journey quickly and comfortable. You will get fuel economy between 45 and 90mpg. Filtering between stationary traffic on the motorway will also allow you to bypass the jams that frequently build up at the choke points between Cardiff & Portishead e.g. Brynglas tunnel and Avonmouth Bridge. Furthermore bikes go free across the Severn Bridge.

I'm an all-year-round biker. I have good wet-weather gear and for the coldest days I have a heated jacket and heated grips on the bike. There are very few days I wouldn't venture out on the bike.

airwot4

Thanks for your suggestions. Unfortunately I don't believe there's much of an alternative to using a car for the commute.

I'm moving to Cardiff from Bristol as my parents are letting me live in the house rent-free. I will be living with my girlfriend so house-sharing isn't an option.

Although I see every advantage in using a motorbike neither my girlfriend nor my parents would allow it (have had the conversation many times!).

Really, my question is what car to buy, if any.

hewhoisnotintheknow

something with a citroen or peugeot diesel engine in

I did 65k in a xantia hdi in one year, not 1 problem. Would always see 800 miles on a tank. This was the 110bhp model, so was reasonable with poke

I replaced this with a 406 hdi (90bhp) i get much better mileage on this, at least 1000 miles per tank, i do drive gently though (even stranger as im young) but i always see on my average daily 80mile round motorway trip at least 62.1 average.

You would be amazed at how much fuel you save driving behind a lorry, im not sure if its the slip streaming that helps or the fact that you stick at a nice steady speed