Car recommendations...

[Andybtsn]

Hi, I'd like recommendations on a new car.

Requirements:
Cheap on fuel and Insurance. Will be used for 50 mile round trips to work everyday and also 300 round mile trips to Stoke every weekend.
Low mileage if possible (Under 70k?)
Comfy to drive in.
Not bothered about performance, obviously people might find this a necessity on long trips but I've travelled to Stoke in a 1.4 8v Polo for two years and I got by.

Budget: £2k

I know this seems a small budget for what I'm after, is it realistic? I'm changing jobs and it's quite a lot further away, is a diesel best bet?

I've always had German and Japanese cars and try and avoid stereotypes but these cars have been the most reliable for me and usually the nicest ones to drive.
Cheers

 

[Kingy]

Hi, I'd like recommendations on a new car.

Requirements:
Cheap on fuel and Insurance. Will be used for 50 mile round trips to work everyday and also 300 round mile trips to Stoke every weekend.
Low mileage if possible (Under 70k?)
Comfy to drive in.
Not bothered about performance, obviously people might find this a necessity on long trips but I've travelled to Stoke in a 1.4 8v Polo for two years and I got by.

Budget: £2k

I know this seems a small budget for what I'm after, is it realistic? I'm changing jobs and it's quite a lot further away, is a diesel best bet?

I've always had German and Japanese cars and try and avoid stereotypes but these cars have been the most reliable for me and usually the nicest ones to drive.
Cheers

Xsara HDi?

Perfectly realistic, and for this mileage, yes, diesel is your best bet...

Test drive a few (to make sure you've tested a good one), and an older 306 if you think it looks sufficiently better on the outside... Only then will you confirm in your own mind if the equivalent (for budget) Kraut/Jap motor is any better to drive.

I believe that the Exclusive is the trim of choice on the Xsara if you can find one...

 

[CypherPunk]

If you ask me a Citroen Xantia 2.0 HDI would suit you well, being a French car it has suffered French depreciation and as such you can pick up a 2000 SX model for under £2000 with 70,000 miles, even less if you don’t mind having 90,000 or so miles on the clock.

I know what you’re thinking, and yes it’s a French car but if you ignore the stereotypes you can pick up a great car for silly money, it does have its faults but no more that other cars which would be older / higher mileage for this money anyway. The only showstopper fault is the clutch cable problem, but if you pick up a HDI you won’t have this problem as it has a hydraulic clutch. I own an almost 10 year old Xantia and the only thing that doesn’t work is the recirculation slider and that’s purely because it’s a fiddly job to sort out so I can’t be bothered.

Being a diesel you’ll get excellent fuel economy and the HDI range of engines is a far more modern and refined engine than you’ll get on equivalent diesel cars such as Mondeos etc. The SX trim adds things such as colour coded electric mirrors to the basic LX trim and was much more popular on the later models so it’s the one to go for, although I believe that all models came with aircon, a passenger air bag and velour seats.

For me though the big selling point is the ride comfort, it puts much more expensive cars to shame thanks to its Hydropneumatic suspension. Some people are put off by this type of suspension, but as long as the spheres are replaced before they go totally flat you won’t have any more trouble than normal suspension. If you carry heavy loads regularly the self levelling suspension is very useful as well.

 

[Andybtsn]

Thanks for the replies, what difference is the Xsara 1.9 TDS? Better performance? Would running it be more expensive?

It seems the Xsara's are very cheap cars, not checked out Xantia of yet.

 

[AndrewP]

The 1.9 is the older diesel engine, avoid it in non-turbo format, not a massive difference between the TD and the HDi, which is more economical (~55mpg v 45-50) and smoother/quieter. The HDi replaced the TurboD, so from T reg on the diesels should be the non-turbo and HDi, before then the TD instead.

I use my HDi for a 60 mile round trip to work everyday, nice and comfortable for me, just been on a 2200 mile trip aswell. Exclusive is the best trim level, as mentioned, but they are pretty rare, SX like mine has most of the essentials (i.e. aircon). The 1.6 petrol is usually a few hundred punds cheaper, but you'll probably make that back fairly quickly when doing high mileages.

I got mine in early 2005 for £2800 and its probably worth about £1500 now so you should easily be able to get one in budget, but they aren't as common as 306s, say. Performance is OK, adequate on the motorway. I think it was Warranty Direct who surveyed the Xsara as the most reliable French car too (tough competition ).