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GlenMH
3,912 posts
112 months
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rossub said: GlenMH said: Bloody hell - they must have changed the engine a bit. I ran an EX one for 50,000 miles and struggled to manage 45mpg. Most of the miles were from Bristol to Leeds and back.... None of my commuting miles are at more than 65 mph, so that may explain it? At a constant 60 mph, it'll return near enough 60 mpg. I've never had less than 45 mpg from a tank in 14 months of ownership. Fair shout - mine was either sat in traffic on the M62/M6 or going at a suitable motorway cruising speed.
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Burty88
Original Poster
139 posts
77 months
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Mark-C said: So here's my two pennies worth .... I have a 146 mile round commute - mostly A11 so dualled apart from bloody Elveden. About 20 mins of swoopy back road at the start and 10 minutes of Norwich City traffic at the end.
From a quality of life POV I understand why people say move but I'm contract so it doesn't make sense. My choice was 3 hours a day in the car or live away from home during the week. I chose the drive - been doing it for 9 months and it's fine .... bearable, not fun .... but fine.
The secret is a comfy seat, an economical engine and a god multi-change CD stereo set up with an mp3 input.
My weapon of choice is a 2003 Skoda 1.9 TDi Estate .... very dull but it doesn't seem worth wasting money on anything special. It averages 61mpg on the work run unless I stray over 80 or get annoyed and thrash it a bit and takes the wear and tear of the mileage relatively well.
Save most of your 10k for a weekend weapon if insurance allows but don't waste it on something that is going to get worn out by the mileage and probably bumped in a car park, at traffic lights at some point in it's life. Always nice to hear other people are doing this length commute and not committing suicide, throwing away their souls, dying of commutitis etc. The job is 2 year fixed term, it's kind of a dream job, and it's not like it's a position that I can just go out and find closer to home. The gf does have serious family-related reasons that she can't just move. After quite a few people have said similar, I'm looking at pulling the budget back a bit, am also now looking at old, new shape civics as an option as they seem to be <£7k (http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3862419.htm) - can anyone else contribute as to whether the 2.2 diesel is capable of mid 50s mpg minimum? Also looking at your standard 1.9TDI VAG affairs. Would like to avoid Ford, I've had two, they've been good, but I wouldn't call them comfortable. Front centre arm rest and cruise control are now also becomming more and more appealing.
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oyster
5,220 posts
117 months
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edo said: oyster said: Edo,
Do you have to post pictures so damn huge they screw up the formatting.
Surely a link and a description would do? You need to sort your browser out  The browser is fine thanks.
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the_lone_wolf
1,783 posts
55 months
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Zwolf said: For that sort of distance for the forseeable future, I'd be parking myself nowhere but in a seat made by Volvo. Or possibly a 5 or 7 series with comfort seats/L322 Rangie, but you'll be bummed for running costs with those.
S60 2.4 D5 163PS (or the redesignated "2.4D" once the 185PS was available) with a manual gearbox will be well under budget to buy, won't attract BMW rates of insurance, even where they're nominally in the same group for some reason and is an easy 40-50+ mpg car in distance driving.
They'll have a good stereo too. I was scanning this thread for this exact reply, with the intention of making it if it wasn't here already... If you like estates the V70 is the one, extremely comfortable for distance on the motorway, insurance is cheap compared to the equal BMW/Audi etc. You will get close to 50mpg if you drive gently and the 185bhp D5 is fairly brisk, made more amusing because people don't expect a Volvo to accelerate like it does... £10k will buy you a nice 2006 (better looking) one with enough change to pay for the extra tax bands and fuel comsumption - the D5 lump is good for high mileage. The V70 seems to be an easy way to buy a lot of space, comfort and class for little money, I paid ~£7.5k for mine with 85k on the clock, nothing would suggest it was closing on 100,000... 
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MP85
646 posts
64 months
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Just worked out mine @ average 39mpg combined. This includes 280 miles of M6/M42/M40/M25 on Monday morning last week, a trip from west london to milton keynes and back mid week and general running around. This is an 04 330d (facelift / 204 hp variant) TBH, im happy enough with that. I am under no illusion that if i didnt drive like there was a nuclear bomb going off behind me whilst on the motorways, id see more return for my 90quid pit stops! A new 3 series is on the cards for me soon but perhaps follow spoof's alpina route (Chris ill buy yours when you get your AMG  )
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Spoof
1,254 posts
84 months
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MP85 said: A new 3 series is on the cards for me soon but perhaps follow spoof's alpina route (Chris ill buy yours when you get your AMG ) Done!
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exitwound
348 posts
49 months
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BMW's are too much of a liability cashwise..
Anything with a Skoda badge will do for reliability, comfort and easy 60-70 mpg.. Used to do this kind of commute in an 02 Fabia 1.9SD and get out as fresh as I got in, but now I got an 04 Octavia Elegance 1.9TD. Same car, only bigger and much faster, but still the same 60+mpg. Not bad for £2200.
Better than an E number's penchant for breaking your heart and bank!!
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Downton Mini
933 posts
33 months
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I run a MK5 GOlf 2.0 TDI 140 on my normal comute (25 miles a day) and I get an average of 45 mpg but on motorway runs I get 55 mpg plus. I like the car as it's quite a nice plase to be. Mines the sport model (stop singgering at the back) so the seats are supportive and it's slightly lower so handles very nicely.
I think you should also look at the Cooper D I drove a MINI One D (Gen 1) and it was brillant I beleve the gen 2 is even better as has already been mentioned if you get a MINI and it has run flats get rid of them they ruin the ride. I think alot of the MINI have stop start which is a pain but does lower the tax
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Paul O
614 posts
52 months
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I used to do 120 miles a day and became a very angry man, so best of luck to you and hope your commute is nicer than mine used to be. Wth regards MPG, What Car have launched a "True MPG" website and it tells you what you can expect from a variety of cars. I've tried it for my car and it was pretty damn close. Worth a play? http://www.whatcar.com/truempg/
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MP85
646 posts
64 months
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exitwound said: BMW's are too much of a liability cashwise.. I havent had any particularly awful experiences with the 330d... I've had it since 70odd thousand, it is now on it's way to 140k. The only "big" job was the whoe swirl flap/inlet manifold issue which i needed to get sorted - but really that was not monumental in all fairness. I just think it pays dividends to find and keep to a good bmw specialist rather than BMW garages. Screw their prices (although i am partial to the free mints they leave in my centre console  )
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clarkey328is
2,072 posts
43 months
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Why don't you get a petrol car with an LPG conversion? Larger engined cars tend to have longer gear ratios so are better suited to motorway driving. LPG converted cars usually get 80% of the MPG they would get on petrol at just over half the cost. This means even relatively large engined cars can obtain realistic 50mpg fuel economy.
Since the VED band is of a concern, I believe newer cars receive a discount if LPG converted but I'm not sure of the exact figures. Anything pre-2001 is taxed via the old system so anything over 1.6 is the same.
If it were me I would get a late E39 5 series, probably a 528i, with an LPG conversion.
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bigdom
420 posts
14 months
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It also depends on how bored you get. I did 150 miles a day for 2yrs 6 months and 10 days, coming through the two biggest traffic nightmares in UK - Junc 5 & 9/10 M25. The amount of traffic, flow etc does your head in after a while.
My trusty steed was a Audi A4 1.9 (130), not a bad place to sit in the day, although at nightime the dash colour/layout come into it's own. Probably spent an average of 5 hrs a day in it.
Make sure you have bluetooth, mp3 compatibility. Other things to factor in are major services, cambelts, set of tyres each year etc. Don't be tempted with longlife services, best to change oil at 10k even on motorway driving as this drops turbos. Wifes last 3 VW 2.0tdi's ran longlife, and have all dropped their turbos.
The old knacker is part of the car collection, barely scrapes 5k a year now, 167k on clock, will still sit at 3 figures all day long, be gentle and it will do 700 miles to tank (55ish).
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MP85
646 posts
64 months
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Love the idea of an old 5 series w/LPG.
Old BMW leather seats are the comfiest car seats ever!
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edo
12,578 posts
134 months
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edo
12,578 posts
134 months
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StottyZr
4,102 posts
32 months
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edo said: I found this yesterday when looking for a car for a colleague! It made me won't to sell the diesel rep mobile  I saw LPG at 65.9p yesterday too  I thought it was over 80p/l now!
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Zarkingfardwarks
954 posts
106 months
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I have done 100 miles a day for 4 years it's ok. Roads mean its 1 hour going and just under coming back.
Would recommend any 130 VAG and St TdCi but for gads sake get something with
Cruise
Auto
Decent size tank
Waiting your life away in petrol stations will really piss you off as will the amount of pedal activity your legs will see without...
Listen to radio 4 as it will expand your mind and keep you calm
Don't do it in a Defender
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fozzymandeus
679 posts
15 months
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Alfa MiTo Multiair.
I do not work for Alfa Romeo.
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xreyuk
420 posts
14 months
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I drive around 600-700 miles a week in my car for work, and have no issues driving a manual.
However I would say cruise control is an absolute must.
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McHaggis
7,753 posts
24 months
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Zarkingfardwarks said: Listen to radio 4 as it will expand your mind and keep you calm This, and MP3s with a link to the radio. Plenty of comedy, audiobooks and podcasts will keep you sane and entertained.
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