Done to death i know, But 3k good mpg motorway mucher needed
Discussion
Chaps
I apologise about the following, and i know the topic keeps coming up, but im in need of a cheap car that will do many motorway miles, as well as weekend trips away to the lakes, wales etc with the dogs (2 Cavaliers that onlty need a rear seat.
Im finally in the position to need a car that does good MPG for work. I will be self employed but will get milage per mile back (not still sure of the value).
I will be selling my trusty reliable Golf mk4 1.8T. I would keep it but it does 45mpg on its finest run, but kills me with around 25mpg around town. If i could put a PD lump in it i would.
Im looking at spending 3k maximum. My two choices are currently-
Polo 5 door 1.4 3cyl TDI
Civic 5 door 1.7cdti
Both come in within budget, average 60mpg, are big enough for my needs,can be found with circa 80k and seem reliable (especially the Honda).
Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated. The Polo seems to average 600 miles to a tank which is double what i currently get (£60 to fill the Polo).
My last cars have been mk1 Golf GTI, mk2 Golf GTI 2.0 ABF and then the mk4 1.8T so im pretty used to VW's have all the tools and diognastic software. But i know Honda's are hugely reliable, if not a little bland.
Any help for a new to diesel user would be great.
I apologise about the following, and i know the topic keeps coming up, but im in need of a cheap car that will do many motorway miles, as well as weekend trips away to the lakes, wales etc with the dogs (2 Cavaliers that onlty need a rear seat.
Im finally in the position to need a car that does good MPG for work. I will be self employed but will get milage per mile back (not still sure of the value).
I will be selling my trusty reliable Golf mk4 1.8T. I would keep it but it does 45mpg on its finest run, but kills me with around 25mpg around town. If i could put a PD lump in it i would.
Im looking at spending 3k maximum. My two choices are currently-
Polo 5 door 1.4 3cyl TDI
Civic 5 door 1.7cdti
Both come in within budget, average 60mpg, are big enough for my needs,can be found with circa 80k and seem reliable (especially the Honda).
Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated. The Polo seems to average 600 miles to a tank which is double what i currently get (£60 to fill the Polo).
My last cars have been mk1 Golf GTI, mk2 Golf GTI 2.0 ABF and then the mk4 1.8T so im pretty used to VW's have all the tools and diognastic software. But i know Honda's are hugely reliable, if not a little bland.
Any help for a new to diesel user would be great.
paultownsend said:
It seems i can not get a 1.9PD 100 lump in a Polo for under 3k. But there are a few Ibiza's with this engine.
Get an older Ibiza TDI 130. They initially put this engine in the "sport" model, then in the FR. It's essentially a Fabia VRS, but produced a bit earlier and therefore cheaper.e.g. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
Edited by dapearson on Tuesday 15th October 11:10
paultownsend said:
It seems now after a quick google, the Polo lump is a unreliable thing, and the Civic often described as hatefull!
So this leaves me with a VAG 1.9 PD unit in either Octavia, Fabia or Ibiza.
I am now looking at early 2.0 TDCI focus Euro4?
Paul
The 1.9 VAG unit is the pick of the bunch IMO.So this leaves me with a VAG 1.9 PD unit in either Octavia, Fabia or Ibiza.
I am now looking at early 2.0 TDCI focus Euro4?
Paul
Don't forget the Toledo. Very underrated car and often cheaper than the equivalent ibiza/leon. They put the 1.9 TDI 130bhp PD engine in that, but they're rare. More common is the earlier 1.9 TDI 110 bhp, which are very cheap now but lack the punch of the PD engines. The Toledo has good equipment and most have cruise control, CD changer, etc. Saloon though.
I was in a similar dilemma fairly recently, albeit with another £1k in the budget. General consensus was that the 1.9 PD VAG cars are good for the task, if not a little unrefined.
I ended up with a low mileage, well cared for 03 B6 A4 130TDi. It does a perfectly good job of my 90 miles per day (mostly motorway) commute and returns 50-55 mpg consistently. It'll hardly set the world alight, but it is comfortable, quiet enough, performs adequately and has no DPF to worry about (although no short trips, so wouldn't worry anyway - just nice not to have one). A colleague at work has a same year, same engine Passat with 100k more than mine on the clock and it still runs sweet. Serviced regularly with the correct oil these can achieve very high miles.
I know this is PH and running such cars is deemed a little boring, but needs must. I hate spending more than I need to running a workhorse to merely ferry me up the motorway to work and back.
I ended up with a low mileage, well cared for 03 B6 A4 130TDi. It does a perfectly good job of my 90 miles per day (mostly motorway) commute and returns 50-55 mpg consistently. It'll hardly set the world alight, but it is comfortable, quiet enough, performs adequately and has no DPF to worry about (although no short trips, so wouldn't worry anyway - just nice not to have one). A colleague at work has a same year, same engine Passat with 100k more than mine on the clock and it still runs sweet. Serviced regularly with the correct oil these can achieve very high miles.
I know this is PH and running such cars is deemed a little boring, but needs must. I hate spending more than I need to running a workhorse to merely ferry me up the motorway to work and back.
paultownsend said:
It seems now after a quick google, the Polo lump is a unreliable thing, and the Civic often described as hatefull!
So this leaves me with a VAG 1.9 PD unit in either Octavia, Fabia or Ibiza.
I am now looking at early 2.0 TDCI focus Euro4?
Paul
The S60 Volvo people suggested is no bigger than an Octavia and barely bigger than a Focus/Golf (mainly a bit longer?).So this leaves me with a VAG 1.9 PD unit in either Octavia, Fabia or Ibiza.
I am now looking at early 2.0 TDCI focus Euro4?
Paul
Had a similar budget 18 months ago, went with an E46 330d. 35k miles later slogging up and down the M6/M5 it's running as sweetly as ever. I've had to replace the rear shocks and an alternator belt in that time, and it's averaging around 40 MPG (brim to brim worked out with FuelLog on Android).
At the risk of angering the D5 Mafia present on this board, I'd highly recommend one.
At the risk of angering the D5 Mafia present on this board, I'd highly recommend one.
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