Looking for a cheap run about?

sprite1275

sprite1275

sprite1275

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Joined
9 Jul 2013
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2,201
Looking at selling our trusty astra estate and getting a more economical car. Had a quick search and was wondering what these little £0/£30 tax cars are like as in fuel economy and robustness, such as the C1s, UPs etc. I know there little engines but does having to thrash them about really give good MPG? Any suggestions or experience would be great.

Not too bothered about space as we have the T4 for lugging things around

Needs more than 2 seats

Driving wise is short distances of about 7 miles a few times a day.

Budget around £3.5k
 
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I had a 64 plate Fiesta 1.25 (60odd bhp) courtesy car whilst my ST220 was having a part replaced under warranty & the MPG was in the high 30's which i thought was terrible for the lack of engine.
 
What’s the budget op? The newer Fiesta with the 1.0 Turbo ecoboost and choice of 100/140bhp is plenty nippy enough and should see over 40mpg
 
My partner has a 13 plate Nissan Note, bought as a runaround for her father to use when he’s visiting her (he lives in Cyprus) it averages around 45mpg is only a 1.4iirc so no speed demon but perfectly happy @70 on a run as it is around town, being Japanese it’s been mechanically bomb proof thus far, never fails to start despite standing unused for weeks at a time.

Not sure what the road tax is for it (can’t be much) I thought I’d hate it but actually find it quite fun to drive, having not given them a second glance previously, I’d highly recommend one!
 
Iamzod said:
courtesy car whilst my ST220 was having a part replaced under warranty
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Not having much luck with that 220 are you? Have you had the clutch replaced yet? Seem to remember you posting about it might need doing?
I’ve been gonna sell my 220 since Christmas having had it 12 months but I haven’t had to do anything to it apart from put 12 months MOT on which had 0 advisory’s it’s been the most reliable car I’ve ever owned despite the fact it’s the oldest so I currently can’t bring myself to sell it now :(
 
Dav4 said:
What’s the budget op? The newer Fiesta with the 1.0 Turbo ecoboost and choice of 100/140bhp is plenty nippy enough and should see over 40mpg
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Ok budget is not great, around the 3.5k mark. Im looking for pure budget motoring so not bothered about BHP, more the MPG.
 
sprite1275 said:
Ok budget is not great, around the 3.5k mark. Im looking for pure budget motoring so not bothered about BHP, more the MPG.
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2009 1.4 Titanium Fiesta would be my choice for 3.5k. Sister has one regularly gets close to 40mpg even though it’s all stop start city driving and has auto lights/wipers, Sony sound system, Bluetooth, cruise control as standard. Also extremely reliable
 
I ran a 1.2 2011 micra for a couple of years. To this day still the best car I've ever owned. Nothing went wrong with it, it got smashed around constantly doing 20k a year (mostly delivery work) and never had a hiccup. Always got 40mpg+ even though I drove it hard constantly. It was also really well specced compared to everything else I looked at of a similar size/year/price. Sold mine for 2.5k so you should be able to easily pick one up for your budget.
 
Dav4 said:
2009 1.4 Titanium Fiesta would be my choice for 3.5k. Sister has one regularly gets close to 40mpg even though it’s all stop start city driving and has auto lights/wipers, Sony sound system, Bluetooth, cruise control as standard. Also extremely reliable
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I can't agree with this on an mpg front - our 1.4 fiesta is average at best on fuel for a small car. Sits somewhere around low 30's for the same driving mentioned.

Not that this really matters given it goes nowhere mind you, but it's definitely far less economical than other small cars we have had.
 
I do have a soft spot for fiestas after owning a zetec sport from New for 10 years. Brilliant car and never let me down.

In this case though if I'm going to go Ford I would be looking at a Ka. Which ever car I get I'm hoping for more 50+ MPG .

Anyone own a Suzuki? The Alto seems cheap but wondering what build quality is like and parts prices.
 
Can’t understand why you wouldn’t go for the Fiesta, it fits the bill exactly. Will be leagues above something like an Alto.
 
It’s annoying when people use the term ‘thrashing’. I had a 107 for 2 years and this so called ‘thrashing’ was if I was overtaking it wanted some fun, they are perfectly capable cars for what they offer and very agile at normal driving, I don’t know what the range of these cars are meant to be, but mine was a 13 plate that started off with 24k miles and I was able to get 425 miles out a full tank with a little ‘spirit’ driving as people call it, I had a 50hp 1ltr 02 swift that was the same and also fun to drive, so light I didn’t have to ‘thrash’ It like you’d assume.

If you want a small eco car that’s not petrol I’d get the c1 1.4hdi, I found this small engine to be pretty decent in the 307 body and I got by with it for a year, pulled well enough for what I expected and could get a bit over 700 miles to a full tank, the 68hp, 113lbs/ft performance of the engine should be much better on the small c1, but it won’t have that cool 3 cylinder sound of the 1ltrs ha
 
Dav4 said:
Not having much luck with that 220 are you? Have you had the clutch replaced yet? Seem to remember you posting about it might need doing?
I’ve been gonna sell my 220 since Christmas having had it 12 months but I haven’t had to do anything to it apart from put 12 months MOT on which had 0 advisory’s it’s been the most reliable car I’ve ever owned despite the fact it’s the oldest so I currently can’t bring myself to sell it now :(
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It's not been too bad, i bought it knowing it needed control arms (bottom balljoint but I take an overkill approach to maintenance so changed everything) but one started leaking after being fitted, genuine ford part warranty covers labour on replacment so local dealer fitted a new one.

Not done clutch yet either as it doesn't effect day to day driving currently & only slips when hot in 5th & 6th at the moment.

Parts are sat in a box in garage. But my OCD says a recon steering rack & arb bushes is sensible whilst it's in bits!
 
New car sorted. Ended up with a SEAT mii in the end on budget at £3.5k registered 2013 with 22000 miles on the clock. Loving it at the moment, such fun things to drive and averaging 56mpg.

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