140 mile daily commute 70mpg - realistic ?
Discussion
Looking at getting another car to do commute duties - this will be mainly motorway miles, ideally it would be better than 70mpg over all(based on some math) - is that possible? if so, what car?
As we will be putting 35,000 miles a year on it i would prefer a used car so we don't lose too much money but happy to look / consider all options
the equivalent rail ticket for me and the other half (we would be commuting together) would work out around £500 a month (2x250) so ideally we would bundle the cost of the car+fuel and hit a figure less than £500 so we got a car for free (man math?)
av 2865 miles per month sees the fuel working out £241 p/m @ 70mpg
any suggestions for a suitable car? (I've already suggested a bike but the other half doesn't wanna mess her hair up
)
As we will be putting 35,000 miles a year on it i would prefer a used car so we don't lose too much money but happy to look / consider all options
the equivalent rail ticket for me and the other half (we would be commuting together) would work out around £500 a month (2x250) so ideally we would bundle the cost of the car+fuel and hit a figure less than £500 so we got a car for free (man math?)
av 2865 miles per month sees the fuel working out £241 p/m @ 70mpg
any suggestions for a suitable car? (I've already suggested a bike but the other half doesn't wanna mess her hair up
)
For those miles you need something biggish and wafty. Auto and cruise highly desirable and comfy seats a must.
Personally, I'd avoid Fiestas and Polos and the like and get something at least Mondeo sized which are designed and built with trudging up and down the motorway with ease.
But seriously, get a train. Your commute will become a bind in no time.
Personally, I'd avoid Fiestas and Polos and the like and get something at least Mondeo sized which are designed and built with trudging up and down the motorway with ease.
But seriously, get a train. Your commute will become a bind in no time.
TooLateForAName said:
so 70 miles each way?
charging available at work?
In a leaf or zoe you'd be saving nearly £3K a year compared to ice fuel costs.
Depends on the journey - its certainly at the upper limits of distance for a cheapish ev, but worth looking at.
Yeh, 70miles each way. Majority of that on motorways... M11, M25, A127 - CB7 to RM14charging available at work?
In a leaf or zoe you'd be saving nearly £3K a year compared to ice fuel costs.
Depends on the journey - its certainly at the upper limits of distance for a cheapish ev, but worth looking at.
I set the cruise at exactly 70mph for my commute, which is 35 minutes of dual carriageway and motorway and 10 minutes of C roads. As measured by the car, I average about 67mpg in winter and 72mpg in summer, although if I'm super careful on the lanes both of those figures can go 2-3mpg higher. The car is a 2010 320d ED. A friend of mine has the newer F11 version and it seems he's getting even better mpg on his commute across the North of England.
I used to do St Neots, Cambridgeshire to Ashford, Middlesex a couple of times a week in a 100bhp Fiesta EcoBoost thing. My highest average was 64mpg and managed to stretch 514 miles out of a tank, which wasn't too bad 
I guess something diesely could probably eek out the last 6mpg if you drove like a saint.
I guess something diesely could probably eek out the last 6mpg if you drove like a saint.
In 2015 I did a few months doing a 190 miles per day commuting in a 2005 Golf TDI GT, it was the perfect tool for the job even though it was on 180k (ish) - the previous owner had done 30k miles per year in it for a few years.
Bought it for 1400, spent about 400 on a couple of fixes and Goodyear eco tyres and sold it 20k miles later for 1600. All in decent comfort (good driving position, enough motorway grunt, good climate control) and a real 60mpg+ (it was often 650miles per tank). Type of driving didn't seem to influence it much either, the worst I saw was 50.
Couldn't fault it for the commute. And it has to be the cheapest way to do it. About 9p/mile in fuel & almost 0 depreciation. Cheap parts and easy to fix.
Your commute would cost about £12.50 vs.
Quite fancy another...
Bought it for 1400, spent about 400 on a couple of fixes and Goodyear eco tyres and sold it 20k miles later for 1600. All in decent comfort (good driving position, enough motorway grunt, good climate control) and a real 60mpg+ (it was often 650miles per tank). Type of driving didn't seem to influence it much either, the worst I saw was 50.
Couldn't fault it for the commute. And it has to be the cheapest way to do it. About 9p/mile in fuel & almost 0 depreciation. Cheap parts and easy to fix.
Your commute would cost about £12.50 vs.
Quite fancy another...
BoRED S2upid said:
I saw 70mpg once out of a VAG 1.6tdi but roadworks saw me doing 50mph for 20 + miles of the 50 miles trip.
What will a Prius do? I have no knowledge other than that they exist.
Interestingly the pre-DPF (2006 ish) VAG diesels get quite a bit better MPG than the later ones, they are a bit less refined though, which you dont notice on the motorway.What will a Prius do? I have no knowledge other than that they exist.
BoRED S2upid said:
I saw 70mpg once out of a VAG 1.6tdi but roadworks saw me doing 50mph for 20 + miles of the 50 miles trip.
What will a Prius do? I have no knowledge other than that they exist.
As above, I see over 70mpg every day in summer and that's from a RWD saloon that's good to drive - no need for a Prius! What will a Prius do? I have no knowledge other than that they exist.
RobM77 said:
As above, I see over 70mpg every day in summer and that's from a RWD saloon that's good to drive - no need for a Prius!
Matter of opinion I guess. I was quite disapponted with the 320ed and that was as a direct comparison to a V70. You won't get 70 mpg out of a 320ed when driven with any enthusiasm. 45 is more like it, and that is based on the assumption the car's computer is accurate which I very much doubt.
My Auris lacks steering feel but is a perfectly competent handler, arguably in a similar league to the 320. It's very well balanced and competent, albeit not terribly exciting. I have no doubt a Prius is similar.
I've been doing 140 miles a day commuting round the M25 for the last 8 months....
Get a VAG Diesel with adaptive cruise (and a Tesco Club Card).
My Passat GT 150 (non adblue) on lease was sourced specifically for this grind, and it's working well. Comfy seats, iPod Dock, 20k service intervals, 50 mpg and about 25ppm all in.
Get a VAG Diesel with adaptive cruise (and a Tesco Club Card).
My Passat GT 150 (non adblue) on lease was sourced specifically for this grind, and it's working well. Comfy seats, iPod Dock, 20k service intervals, 50 mpg and about 25ppm all in.
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