spec me a small cummuting car

waveydave79 · 18 May 2010 at 02:59

Today my employer announced it was moving, and I will be staying in the current job so instead of doing a 11 mile trip I now have a modest 72 mile round trip.

The current car I have is a 2005 Astra (Yeah I know!) 1.6 Sxi, I m hoping to get 4.5-5K for this to use towards a small motorway mile muncher.

Ive worked out in the astra 20,000 miles will cost about £2,500 in fuel where as a diesal I can probably half this, so its a no brainer for me.

I dont want another Vx if I can help and I dont particually like the 1.3 Corsa CDTi so I am interested on what suggestions people have?

It is essential that I get a good MPG, cheap tax would be a bonus, it always would be nice to lower my insurance as well, so far ive considered the Polo and fiestas.

zetec452 · 18 May 2010 at 03:13

Mundeo diesel will be pretty cheap to run? I liked my mazda 6 diesel too.

Personally I'd stay away from the smaller cars for a long commute. A bigger car feels so much nicer. I used to do 60 miles per day in a fiesta, compared to the mazda 6 the fiesta was horrible.

waveydave79 · 18 May 2010 at 03:46

JonRohan said:
Mundeo diesel will be pretty cheap to run? I liked my mazda 6 diesel too.

Personally I'd stay away from the smaller cars for a long commute. A bigger car feels so much nicer. I used to do 60 miles per day in a fiesta, compared to the mazda 6 the fiesta was horrible.

Far too big, I am honestly not fussed that the car is small, I dont drive to enjoy it at the end of the day I am looking for high mpg, and parts which are cheap to replace.

Sin_Chase · 18 May 2010 at 04:25

Something with wipe down upholstery

[TW]Fox · 18 May 2010 at 07:55

waveydave79 said:
Far too big.

No, its not. You are going to be sitting on the Motorway - you want something with a fairly decent wheelbase for a comfortable ride and big enough to be comfortable and not buffetted about by wind and trucks on the Motorway. Corsas for nipping into town to the shops not for doing 70 miles a day on the Motorway network.

I'm sure you dont drive for fun, but neither do you drive for torture, which is exactly what some silly little shopping cart is on a long distance Motorway commute.

iaind · 18 May 2010 at 07:59

There's really no sense in downsizing for a commuting car. Even a bigger diesel will do 50+mpg on the motorway

A corsa sized car will drive you mad

Duke · 18 May 2010 at 08:04

Better off keeping what you have.

[TW]Fox · 18 May 2010 at 08:06

Will you not also get additional commuting expenses paid by your employer for at least a year anyway?

paradigm · 18 May 2010 at 08:10

Backwards thread is backwards.

Larger cars = Motorway commute.

Dogbreath · 18 May 2010 at 08:30

waveydave79 said:
Ive worked out in the astra 20,000 miles will cost about £2,500 in fuel where as a diesal I can probably half this, so its a no brainer for me.

At £1.20/litre that works out at 43.6mpg. If this is correct then:

1) Well done from getting this from your Astra on such short journeys.
2) If you think you are going to double this by buying a diesel you are dreaming.

markweatherill · 18 May 2010 at 08:39

Sin_Chase said:
Something with wipe down upholstery

I thought so too, by the sound of 'Cummuting'.

Adz · 18 May 2010 at 08:56

I was absolutely astonished when my car tax reminder arrived and I got a year for £90. It's a Mk2/Mk3 (2005+) Focus TDCi and would probably meet all of your requirements as well as doing 50mpg (realistically) on a run. Comfortable compared to a Fiesta/Focus, nice handling, comparatively cheap parts, reliability and 'enough' performance.

However I'm well aware that the saving in tax and fuel could be totally eclipsed by the cost of a new turbo or injectors when they fail. That's the gamble you take when you buy a modern diesel car out of warranty.

In my humble, unbiased and totally unjaded opinion, you have a perfectly good car with a known history and relatively good fuel economy if you drive carefully. Chopping it in for a second hand diesel car of similar value would be nuts. It's just not worth the hassle/risk!

Fr0dders · 18 May 2010 at 09:29

cummuting

*sniggers like a school boy*

IAmATeaf · 18 May 2010 at 09:49

Dogbreath said:
At £1.20/litre that works out at 43.6mpg. If this is correct then:

1) Well done from getting this from your Astra on such short journeys.
2) If you think you are going to double this by buying a diesel you are dreaming.

I'm with Mr Halitosis on this

If you think a diesel is going to half your fuel costs then it might be a case of too much 'cummuting'

lazer46 · 18 May 2010 at 09:51

Haven't ford got a new Fiesta out that does really long distances on MPG?

lordrobs · 18 May 2010 at 09:53

Dogbreath said:
At £1.20/litre that works out at 43.6mpg. If this is correct then:

1) Well done from getting this from your Astra on such short journeys.
2) If you think you are going to double this by buying a diesel you are dreaming.

It does seem to be the common error made by people.

A friend had a Honda Civic 1.6 petrol that she loved yet they traded it in against a 1.9TDi A4 because it would "Halve their fuel bill"

Where this "diesel = double the economy" blanket policy comes from I don't know.

paradigm · 18 May 2010 at 10:03

lazer46 said:
Haven't ford got a new Fiesta out that does really long distances on MPG?

Right. 1) You think that this "new Fiesta" is going to be £4-5k? 2) How do you get distances out of MPG? 3) It's not a commuting car, its a shopping trolley.

iaind · 18 May 2010 at 10:10

You're certainly not going to get 80mpg!

In reality, you'll need to get even more than double the mpg because diesel is more expensive

lordrobs · 18 May 2010 at 10:21

iaind said:
You're certainly not going to get 80mpg!

In reality, you'll need to get even more than double the mpg because diesel is more expensive

Less than 1% more expensive

LeeUK · 18 May 2010 at 10:25

1.4 HDI 206 £30 a year road tax. Loads of miles.