What car. Up to 4.5m

[DoubleD]

Yes I understand that performance and economy aren't always the best of friends. I'm just looking for the closest fit.

A few cars that I've seen are
Honda civic 2.2 type s GT, no DPF but a weak clutch.
Alfa romeo giulietta with diesel or twin air petrol.
And if I stretch the budget Astra GTC.

[funkyrobot]

If you are doing mostly motorway miles, test drive some cars on a motorway or dual carriageway if possible.

You want to make sure the vehicle is comfortable and refined at this speed. It's where you will be spending the majority of the commute.

Personally, I'd sacrifice performance for something that sits nicely at 70mph and returns good economy.

[HustleRussell]

Sensible option might be Kia Ceed or Hyundai I20, a Ford or something French likely more fun to drive... left field option- Volvo C30?

[DoubleD]

Good comments guys. I will look into those cars. The kind of performance I'm after is a car that can easily keep up with the flow of traffic, I find that more relaxing than a slower car. I'm not after a sports car, that will hopefully come next spring as a second fun car.

[DoubleD]

Does anyone have any thoughts on the Volvo V50? Apparently it is a great car for travelling long distances? The 2.0 diesel would give good economy and decent enough performance.

[ZX10R NIN]

They're okay but are based on the Focus platform at which point I'd go for the ford as it's the better steer plus you'll get more spec, as a sidebar have a sit in one some people find Volvo seats uncomfortable.

[DoubleD]

Yeah i can imagine that they drive better, but i dont like ford interiors.