Car for regular 275 mile trip..

[winshent]

I'm living in SE London and the gf has just accepted an IT contract (that was too good to turn down) in Rijswijk (nr The Hague), Holland. Its a 6 month contract but will possibly run for 2 years..

I plan to visit every fortnight, going over on thurs night and returning on monday night/ Tuesday morn.

I've looked into flights etc, but the total will be a minimum of £160 return trip. Total travel time by plane+trains will be about 5hrs.. not much less than going by car.

So, what car would you recommend for this.. I need a comfortable, refined car will do 40mpg on a run.. It must also be reliable.. I dont like the idea of breaking down abroad.

Should i just be looking at a volvo?

Other cars i might consider are 530d, S-Type 2.7d Or are there repmobiles that will be good for this..

Prepared to go upto 10k.

Edited by winshent on Sunday 13th June 12:10

[rottie102]

I would just sit in all of those and just choose whatever is the most comfortable with most toys.
Don't worry about performance, cornering abilities etc.

All the big barges will be good. Also don't discount a big engined LPG converted ones... Nice BMW 540 or 740 with LPG can be found for well under 10k.

[DrYazz]

What I would do is......set my budget to 7-8k.
That way, if it is refinement and comfort you are after, you could get a V8. It will get only 30mpg, but then you have a lot more to spend on petrol!

My suggestions:

Lexus LS430
VW Phaeton
BMW 7 series
Audi A8
Mercedes S Class

[jbi]

/thread

[C. Grimsley]

Get a new girlfriend maybe an easier option?

Sorry, i had to say it.

Carl

[Somnophore]

How you getting there? Ferry? Tunnel? Harwich-the hook

[winshent]

C. Grimsley said:

Get a new girlfriend maybe an easier option?

Sorry, i had to say it.

Carl

v funny..

Somnophore said:

How you getting there? Ferry? Tunnel? Harwich-the hook

I can get to dover from work in about an hour.. so will have a chilled out break on the ferry.. then around 200 miles on hopefully empty roads as will hit calais after 8pm euro time..

Think i might go for a diesel.. as according to this aa report, diesel is much cheaper in belgium and holland (places i might have to fill up in).. petrol is even more expensive than here.. around 10p more.

http://www.theaa.com/onlinenews/allaboutcars/fuel/...

[Dracoro]

Why not use your current car? (Focus in your profile?)
The petrol costs will be far less than cost of buying, running, taxing, mot-ing, maintaining, insuring a 2nd car.

[Tallbut Buxomly]

second the luxo barge lpg option ie a 735 auto. Stick it in cruise and relax.

Or diesel option you could get an a4 b6 1.9tdi. Easy to get 600miles on a tank at around 85 quid.

Comfy quiet and has a pretty decent stereo.Make sure you get the lumbar support and you are set.
Mines done 280k miles and is pretty much trouble free.

[frosted]

Honda accord cdti 2.2 with all the toys on 08 with 60k estate for less than 10 k . That's the estate version btw

[winshent]

Dracoro said:

Why not use your current car? (Focus in your profile?)
The petrol costs will be far less than cost of buying, running, taxing, mot-ing, maintaining, insuring a 2nd car.

My Focus RS has had a few mods thrown at it.. one being an exhaust (which i kind of regret).. and whilst i love it to bits, its not a nice place to spend 5hrs in on a motorway.. essentially its too loud and too stiff.. its also only manages around 28mpg on a run and can only drink super unleaded..

I plan to drive over after a full day at work, so want something a bit more relaxed given its a 275 mile trip each way..

I've been after a 2nd car anyway, something with a bit more space.. so the extra running costs are not an issue.

Edited by winshent on Sunday 13th June 12:52

[K321]

volvo s60 d5, wicked stero, comfy seats and at 85mph does 40mpg

[frosted]

Can I add that I got 430 miles from 75 quid tank of diesel in my 2tdi passat . And I been driving only in rushhour in London , and I have lead right foot

[Tallbut Buxomly]

Right just been for a look to see if i can find a duplicate ofmy car and this is so far as close as i can get. Lumbar support half bose sports seats armrest rear electric windows. Seems it was quite rare for all those things to be specced together.

Mine has 280k on the clock and is going strong and gives little troible.

As a point of interest it cost me bang on 11k in 2005 with 30k on the clock on a y reg (2001). I am astonished how well these things are holding their value. If you want a diesel you can put bigmileage on and then sell for very little loss it looks like one of these may be the best bet.


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...

[Waugh-terfall]

K321 said:

volvo s60 d5, wicked stero, comfy seats and at 85mph does 40mpg

This.

[Seez]

Am I allowed to keep saying Skoda Superb when these threads appear?

+50mpg (1.9tdi) very reliable, quite swift, especially if you remap it all the toys on the elegance model plus you can sleep in it when you get there one weekend and discover the GF is shagging someone else!

Edited by Seez on Sunday 13th June 13:08

[CTS86]

DrYazz said:

What I would do is......set my budget to 7-8k.
That way, if it is refinement and comfort you are after, you could get a V8. It will get only 30mpg, but then you have a lot more to spend on petrol!

My suggestions:

Lexus LS430
VW Phaeton
BMW 7 series
Audi A8
Mercedes S Class

Serious question (& one that's probably going to get slated on here!) but why is it that huge V8 barges are always thrown into the equation on threads like this?

Surely a decent Mondeo/Insignia/Passat diesel that's good for 50+ mpg would fit the bill perfectly for this kind of request? I've clocked up 70k in a Civic in the last 3 years & whilst admitting it's not the most refined of cars, I've not had any issues & have happily done 4/5 hour trips without a rest. Therefore something slightly bigger (ie. one from the list above) primarily aimed at reps doing monster mileages up & down the motorway would be a better option.

Possibly not in the spirit of things on here but an ageing V8 that'll do 25mpg at a push for someone doing big mileage doesn't make any sense to me.

[Tallbut Buxomly]

Always been a big fan of these though. Just be wary of turbo issues.


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...

Or otherwise this LPG'd

Uber chill luxo barge.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...

Edited by Tallbut Buxomly on Sunday 13th June 13:13

[Tallbut Buxomly]

Or as above this lpg.

Veeery cool always wanted one myself.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...

[militantmandy]

CTS86 said:

DrYazz said:

What I would do is......set my budget to 7-8k.
That way, if it is refinement and comfort you are after, you could get a V8. It will get only 30mpg, but then you have a lot more to spend on petrol!

My suggestions:

Lexus LS430
VW Phaeton
BMW 7 series
Audi A8
Mercedes S Class

Serious question (& one that's probably going to get slated on here!) but why is it that huge V8 barges are always thrown into the equation on threads like this?

Surely a decent Mondeo/Insignia/Passat diesel that's good for 50+ mpg would fit the bill perfectly for this kind of request? I've clocked up 70k in a Civic in the last 3 years & whilst admitting it's not the most refined of cars, I've not had any issues & have happily done 4/5 hour trips without a rest. Therefore something slightly bigger (ie. one from the list above) primarily aimed at reps doing monster mileages up & down the motorway would be a better option.

Possibly not in the spirit of things on here but an ageing V8 that'll do 25mpg at a push for someone doing big mileage doesn't make any sense to me.

I suppose it's more that those kind of cars tend to be comfortable/very well equipped/very relaxing to drive and therefore are seen as a good option for big miles. I think the Lexus mentioned would be cracking. Cheap as cheaps to buy, super comfy, all the toys and for a v8 it's pretty damn lean. The extra chill factor provided would be worth the cost in fuel to me.