Economical (ish) Daily Driver £4k, Recommendations?
Discussion
Hi, this is my first post on here, though been reading PistonHeads regularly for a number of years. Recently purchased a 2007 Hawkeye STI Spec D for the weekends / 2nd car. Currently got a 2004 Audi A3 2.0 TDI as a daily driver, which we've had for approx 2.5 years and has now done 150K, and looking for a change.
Will be using the car for commuting, doing about 20K / year, so want something reasonably economical (40+ mpg) and cheap to run. Only want to spend around £4k. Ideally want something fairly modern and preferably less than 80K on the clock, as I'll likely add upto 60K during ownership.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated, I have been considering the following:
- Alfa 156/147 JTD around 2005.
- Mondeo 2.2 TDCI, but would probably be high miles for the money.
- Small petrol car such as Panda 100hp, which I'm sure would be fun but not so sure about doing 20K / year in one of these, especially bouncing over the Forth Road Bridge every day. Plus the other half can't stand the looks.
- Something interesting with LPG perhaps, had a 406 Coupe 3.0 V6 with LPG in the past, although the system turned out to be shot so ended up running it on petrol anyway, not sure about going down that route again.
The other half would rather I got a MK2 Golf GTI, which I would love, but doesn't really meet the criteria of 40+ mpg, modern and less than 80k on clock. So basically I have no idea.
Will be using the car for commuting, doing about 20K / year, so want something reasonably economical (40+ mpg) and cheap to run. Only want to spend around £4k. Ideally want something fairly modern and preferably less than 80K on the clock, as I'll likely add upto 60K during ownership.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated, I have been considering the following:
- Alfa 156/147 JTD around 2005.
- Mondeo 2.2 TDCI, but would probably be high miles for the money.
- Small petrol car such as Panda 100hp, which I'm sure would be fun but not so sure about doing 20K / year in one of these, especially bouncing over the Forth Road Bridge every day. Plus the other half can't stand the looks.
- Something interesting with LPG perhaps, had a 406 Coupe 3.0 V6 with LPG in the past, although the system turned out to be shot so ended up running it on petrol anyway, not sure about going down that route again.
The other half would rather I got a MK2 Golf GTI, which I would love, but doesn't really meet the criteria of 40+ mpg, modern and less than 80k on clock. So basically I have no idea.
Welcome to PH mate 
Audi A4 2.5 TDi
BMW 330d
Mercedes C270 CDI
Saab 9-5 3.0 TiD
Volvo S60 D5
Hope that helps.
Audi A4 2.5 TDi
BMW 330d
Mercedes C270 CDI
Saab 9-5 3.0 TiD
Volvo S60 D5
Hope that helps.
I went through a similar thought process and ended up buying an Alfa 156 20v mjet. Its been great, lovely to look at both in and out, hasn't required any work yet (9months, 10k miles)apart from topping up oil occasionally. Does 45mpg in varied driving and with 175ish bhp and lots of torque thingys is lots of fun if bit nose heavy.
Ford Focus 1.6 diesel 05 onwards.
Should get one with 70 - 80k miles easily enough, does 50mpg on a run, eats up motorway miles easily and is actually quite pleasant to drive.
Will feel a tad slower than your current audi though and if that bothers you then the 1.8 or 2.0 diesels are worth a look too (they just dont have the cheap £95 a year tax that the 1.6 is eligible for).
Just bought one for the misses and its does exactly what you need it to do with aplomb.
Should get one with 70 - 80k miles easily enough, does 50mpg on a run, eats up motorway miles easily and is actually quite pleasant to drive.
Will feel a tad slower than your current audi though and if that bothers you then the 1.8 or 2.0 diesels are worth a look too (they just dont have the cheap £95 a year tax that the 1.6 is eligible for).
Just bought one for the misses and its does exactly what you need it to do with aplomb.
tomwoodis said:
Ford Focus 1.6 diesel 05 onwards.
Should get one with 70 - 80k miles easily enough, does 50mpg on a run, eats up motorway miles easily and is actually quite pleasant to drive.
Will feel a tad slower than your current audi though and if that bothers you then the 1.8 or 2.0 diesels are worth a look too (they just dont have the cheap £95 a year tax that the 1.6 is eligible for).
Just bought one for the misses and its does exactly what you need it to do with aplomb.
I had a 1.8 Zetec diesel. Not as good MPG as the Mondeo (gearing) and gave me back ache on long runs (which I do a lot). The seating position is also odd - you don't really sit in a Focus, rather you sit on one.Should get one with 70 - 80k miles easily enough, does 50mpg on a run, eats up motorway miles easily and is actually quite pleasant to drive.
Will feel a tad slower than your current audi though and if that bothers you then the 1.8 or 2.0 diesels are worth a look too (they just dont have the cheap £95 a year tax that the 1.6 is eligible for).
Just bought one for the misses and its does exactly what you need it to do with aplomb.
Citroen C4 VTR+? same 1.6 TDi with 110bhp as the focus above. Ok Gearbox is a fiver and apparently its like mixing porridge, but its a hell of a lot more funkier to look at and I reckon not any worse reliability wise (mates had one from new, barring a exhaust heat shield flapping about, no problems what so ever). Plus its got to be one of the quietest cars I've sat it. The road and wind noise is incredibly well controlled.
Thanks for all the recommendations, certainly a few for me to consider there. A S60 D5 does appeal, a bit dull perhaps, but I'm sure it would make a great daily driver and I've heard they go very well.
When considering the Alfa 156 I've been wondering whether I would go for the 1.9 Mjet or the 2.4 Mjet for that great 5 pot. Only concern with the 2.4 would be the apparently common driveshaft and gearbox issues.
As mentioned, the thing that would raise doubts about a Mondeo 2.2 TDCI would be the potentially expensive reliability issues such as the injectors, turbo oil seals, fuel pump, etc. A Focus would probably be worth considering, great handling, I think I'd be tempted towards a 2.0 TDCI though, but that's probably just because of a very underpowered 207 1.6 HDI I've driven.
When considering the Alfa 156 I've been wondering whether I would go for the 1.9 Mjet or the 2.4 Mjet for that great 5 pot. Only concern with the 2.4 would be the apparently common driveshaft and gearbox issues.
As mentioned, the thing that would raise doubts about a Mondeo 2.2 TDCI would be the potentially expensive reliability issues such as the injectors, turbo oil seals, fuel pump, etc. A Focus would probably be worth considering, great handling, I think I'd be tempted towards a 2.0 TDCI though, but that's probably just because of a very underpowered 207 1.6 HDI I've driven.
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