New car time needs loads of MPG

Bald-Eagle22

Bald-Eagle22

Bald-Eagle22

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Chaps ,

Its time for a new car as the Mrs is just about fed up with us being a one car family so she can have the 320D Touring to run the kids around .

Ok here is what I need .

1.Budget of 10 K max.

2.Going to be used 5 times a week for a 92 mile round trip to work , 99% of it dual carriage way at 75MPH .

3.Can be as small as you like .

4.Needs to be a little funky as i will spend around 1.5-2 hours a day in it.

5.The 320D touring I have is returning around 45MPG , I want to see the upside of 55MPG Idealy 60 MPG at 75-80 MPH ,this is doen at the hours of 3PM and Midnightso NO traffic , obviously needs to be diesel .

6.The car nees to be as reliable as can be in the region of 28,000 a year including commuting and runnig around so.

7.Not to bothered about residuals .



I have have nailed it doen to a few I would liek to look at :

1.Ford Fiesta 1600 cc Tdci Zetec S 2008 model with around 20K on the clock .

2.Peugot 207 1.6HDI 110 Sport 09 model with around 3k on the clock .

3.Mini Cooper D 1600CC 3 DR 57 Modle with around 50K on the clock.

The pug seems great value for money and is nigh on a new car but form what I have read is it upto the miles I am going to put on it eveyday ?

Your suugestions are appreciated .
 
Thats a lot of miles to be doing in a small car. I do a similar amount and I wouldn't consider a small car. You could get something like a 1.6tdi octavia, it won't be quick but should return what you want.
 
Indeed, it is a lot of miles to do in a car that small, and I can't help but feel slightly confused and at the same time almost astounded, you are getting 45mpg in a 320D ...which is very good, yet you want more! ....to balance comfort and practicality with miles per gallon, you are already at the optimum I would say, cars worth owning and driving (especially in the context of 28k miles a year) do not do more miles per gallon than you are already getting I'm afraid.

If you must pursue more mpg you are going to have to do it at the expense of most if not all of the things that make a car nice to drive.

Well anyway, I really can't help you, I haven't a clue about cars that can do this.

All I really wanted to say is, have you thought this through? Alarm bells are ringing all over the place for me. For a start you are spending £10k so save a few quid in running costs per year, then you say you do not care about residuals, well that is usually the most expensive aspect of running a car, especially as the sort of cars you seem to be after will be pretty new with a budget like that, thus have lot of depreciation left in them.

What is wrong with the BMW?, ok so it wouldn’t be my first choice but it is a good car and you already get a very healthy amount of miles per gallon out of it. It’ll be a nicer car in every way than a tiny city car with a micro-uber-economy engine. I think you will do much better to buy something like a decent used Octavia as suggested above, although the 2.0 diesel, that has already suffered most of it's depreciation and get the wife to drive that around with the kids and you stick with your 320D. Or even get the wife a smaller car, maybe a Fiesta or Fabia and again, sticking with the 320D yourself, since it was built to do what you are doing with it.
 
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I'd definitely consider a saloon over a smaller car if you're spending a fair amount of time driving. For example, why consider a Fiesta when you could get a Mondeo?

Also, why bother buying a car with low mileage to then go and pile a load on? I'd be looking for something about the 70-80k area.
 
Out of interest, how do you find the 320d? Looking at getting one but have heard of turbo issues. What year is yours, after 2008 they say the mpg is better.
 
Buy the missus a Fiesta and use the 320d. If you are only getting 45mpg out of a 320d at a constant 75mph then you wont be getting great economy out of anything else really either.
 
She will probably want something bigger than a fiesta to cart the kids round in.
 
Focus 1.8TDCi or the newer engined 1.6TDCi - the 1.6 is rated as 59MPG on combined cycle, and 70 on extra-urban?

Not sure on what the prices are like, but it seems an OK compromise between the larger "cruising" sytle Mondeo/Octavia sizes, while still retaining the higher MPG you're after.

As said though, surely spend ~£3K on a car with slightly lower MPG and you'll be quids in overall?
 
You won't need a small car, my Dad's mk4 econetic mondeo estate averages 54mpg in the winter, closer to 57mpg in summer, he drives it look an old man but still cruises at 70... very refined as well.

For that mileage don't go smaller than a focus, you will regret it.

If your budget stretched I would say Golf bluemotion, I think its 74mpg combined ?

But if you really don't mind a small car, go for one of these: http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...cleYearOfManufacture=2008&vehicleRegLetter=08
 
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Audi A2 1.4TDI

I hear of old men getting 70mpg out of these! :p

They seem have a high 2nd hand value however, probably because they are a little rare.
 
MikeHunt79 said:
Audi A2 1.4TDI

I hear of old men getting 70mpg out of these! :p

They seem have a high 2nd hand value however, probably because they are a little rare.
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Thing is, they are also a little crap. My Uncle's wife had one for a couple of years, I drove it once, was a weird wobbly little thing, I don't think I'd want to do motorway journeys in it. She replaced it with a Rover 75, didn't keep that long and then got a BMW 320D (a well used one I might add) ...oddly enough. And she kept that until they left to live in Canada.
 
dovey said:
Surely the best way to save is to slow down a bit?
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This.

I only drive a 1.2 punto sporting. But at 75-80 mph i'll get 45mpg down the motorway. Slow it down to 65mph and i can get between 50-55 depending on traffic, etc.

Always hard to stick to 65 mph though, even in the little punto.
 
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