Fixing a mistake-comfortable reliable car for long commute

[octane83]

Hi all,
I'm after some advice here as I'm a bit stuck. I've recently started a new job that involves a 160 mile round trip daily. I expect this to continue for the next 6 months until we can move closer to my new place of work.

Some months ago I purchased a 14 Plate Octavia Diesel and I'm happy with the car in general however:
-the drivers seat is extremely uncomfortable and is causing me a lot of back ache, I've tried all the recommended postures and settings (including adding extra support for my lower back) however its been hopeless
-I underestimated the hassle of a manual- I definitely need an auto, the manual may also be contributing to my back issues

I'll probably lose a couple of grand on trading in the Skoda (a costly lesson learned) but I'm focusing more on the next car as I don't want to get it wrong again:

Car needs to be
-comfortable, quiet
-Auto
-Diesel with atleast 45mpg
-Cruise control- adaptive/radar cruise preferred
-Good luggage space to carry a family of 3 and their stuff (family includes a baby so space for pushchair, child seat etc)
-Reliable

Budget is upto £15k

I'm open to Leasing however I'm new to it and unsure of issues with mileage etc.

Thanks in advance

[TheVole]

Volvo. V40, V60 or V70 - perhaps even a V90?

[steve-5snwi]

Golf 2.0 SE ticks most of those boxes.

[a]

octane83 said:

Some months ago I purchased a 14 Plate Octavia Diesel and I'm happy with the car in general however:
-the drivers seat is extremely uncomfortable and is causing me a lot of back ache, I've tried all the recommended postures and settings (including adding extra support for my lower back) however its been hopeless
-I underestimated the hassle of a manual- I definitely need an auto, the manual may also be contributing to my back issues

There's something about VAG seats of that era that's not quite right. I had a 2012 Passat which I was really happy with but the seat was crippling. Looking it up online I found many people who were happy, but also lots that said the car was undriveable for them.

I've heard a theory that VAG didn't properly convert LHD cars to RHD, they just plonked the relevant bits on the other side without consideration for angles/etc. That would make sense to me, because I felt badly twisted - each part of my body was facing a different direction. The seat itself was flat, narrow and unsupportive, but I think it was the driving position that caused pain.

I also sold the car after a few months. Shame because I loved it otherwise. And mine was an auto, so don't assume that'll fix things!


I moved on to a Mondeo Titanium X next. It was the opposite of the Passat - perfect driving position and seat comfort to rival the best of Volvo. But otherwise a very flawed car.

Edited by a on Monday 6th November 12:38

[RSTurboPaul]

a said:

I moved on to a Mondeo Titanium X next. It was the opposite of the Passat - perfect driving position and seat comfort to rival the best of Volvo. But otherwise a very flawed car.

May I ask if you can expand on that last point?

[a]

RSTurboPaul said:

a said:

I moved on to a Mondeo Titanium X next. It was the opposite of the Passat - perfect driving position and seat comfort to rival the best of Volvo. But otherwise a very flawed car.

May I ask if you can expand on that last point?

It suffered too many faults, some small and niggly and others more expensive and difficult to diagnose. No big breakdowns but there was always something not quite right. I was always fiddling with it, buying parts or getting it checked over yet again. This has been the case with all Fords that I've owned, and that's a fairly large list.
In the past there was very good online support with various large Mondeo forums, etc. But these days with the Mondeo's sales figures being a fraction of what they once were, the forums are a lot smaller and there are more questions than answers.

Even when working correctly, the 2.2 TDCi engine was rough, noisy and gave very poor economy. On the same commute where I got 58mpg from the 2.0 (140) Passat TDI DSG, the Mondeo would do 35mpg. In ideal conditions at a steady 60mph, it still wouldn't go higher than 44mpg. In bad conditions it was under 30mpg. When the DPF regenerated (approx weekly) it would run like crap for 10 minutes - jerky and louder than usual.
The engine's 400Nm of torque was lovely - but in all other respects it was not competitive with modern diesels from other manufacturers.

If you're willing to live with niggly faults and seat comfort/driving position is your top priority, then I would still recommend a high-spec one. They don't suffer full-on breakdowns often and the seat comfort is properly top-notch. I test-drove a 2012 Volvo V60 and the Mondeo's driving position was easily better.

[octane83]

I've spent the last 10 years running bangers. I'm not sure I want to do it any more if I'm honest.

I had a Volvo S60 D5 for a short while, it was a great car but kept throwing bills for things that needed doing (on paper it was a well maintained car, drove beautifully and was low mileage).

I suspect with a baby on the way I won't have time for any of those kinds of activities so essentially the problems will remain unfixed while at the same time drive me (literally) round the bend.

I reckon I'll easily rack up 15k miles in the next 12 months with the majority in the first 6 months.

What is the consensus on a Mercedes E320 CDI of 2011-2012 vintage? I can't find any info on whether they got Radar cruise or not though.

[markirl]

Audi A8 3.0tdi. Will handle big mileage, return decent MPG and waft along on air suspension and great seats.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say the Mondeo in Titanium X Sport form if you go for the older model or the Titanium with X Pack fitted will both be perfect for what you're looking for & the seats are great.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

New model Titanium

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Another good shout is the Mazda6 in Sport Nav trim:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[designforlife]

can you not just whack an aftermarket seat in it?

Pretty easy to get aftermarket seat rails for most cars these days, or have some knocked up.

[vsonix]

designforlife said:

can you not just whack an aftermarket seat in it?

Pretty easy to get aftermarket seat rails for most cars these days, or have some knocked up.

Trouble with that, I suspect is that most aftermarket seats are built for speed not comfort! You could maybe attempt to retrofit some top-spec Audi seats or something - I am not really a VAG expert but I'm sure stuff like that is easily enough to do - however that isn't going to solve the OP's back pain problem if having to operate a clutch in stop-start traffic jam type conditions is triggering his sciatica, or whatever...

[a]

designforlife said:

can you not just whack an aftermarket seat in it?

Pretty easy to get aftermarket seat rails for most cars these days, or have some knocked up.

Not so easy if you want to keep the airbag system running as it should be. Seatbelt pre-tensioner is connected to the seat and the side airbag is designed to leave the seat in a way that it deflects off the side of the car to properly protect you.

Also VAG seat electrics are completely different between even different versions of the same car.

And worst of all - a new seat won't do anything to help with the horrendous driving position that some VAG cars have.

It's a lot of expense for a very small improvement.

[angels95]

Diesel C-Class or E-Class.

[designforlife]

a said:

Not so easy if you want to keep the airbag system running as it should be. Seatbelt pre-tensioner is connected to the seat and the side airbag is designed to leave the seat in a way that it deflects off the side of the car to properly protect you.

Also VAG seat electrics are completely different between even different versions of the same car.

And worst of all - a new seat won't do anything to help with the horrendous driving position that some VAG cars have.

It's a lot of expense for a very small improvement.

fairs, i come from jap cars and you can pretty much swap any seat for any seat with no real drawbacks.

thought it was worth considering, but i take the point about the manual issue.

[ITP]

Lexus IS300h

[octane83]

ITP said:

Lexus IS300h

Really interesting suggestion. I might go along to a showroom and see one this weekend actually.

I had assumed (like the majority of the general public) that long distance meant diesel. Lexus claims 64mpg odd on a motorway cycle which is comparable to the Skoda. Arguably the Lexus (because hybrid) will be more efficient on the M25 where it's stop and go.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Anyone with any real world experience of these cars?

[Pothole]

I've always found Vauxhall seats really comfortable

[MR2 Steve]

A colleague gets over 70mpg on his stop start commute in his Prius.

[kieranblenk]

We're after something to replace our faithful Swift with something which has similar requirements to run alongside the Fabia and stumbled upon the new Hyundai Ioniq; I'd have never considered it due to thinking it was expensive but it's actually much cheaper than I thought. It's huge inside, quite comfortable I thought (I'm 6ft 2 and 14 stone) and it uses a proper double clutch gearbox rather than a CVT like in most hybrids. Its also rammed with kit as standard.

Really nice car and something a bit different, plus the 5 year unlimited mileage warranty offers peace of mind.

[GreatGranny]

Don't be put off Volvos because you got a bad one years ago.

With £15k you can get a 3 year old V60 SE Lux with heated leather and lots of toys.

Or a XC60 if you prefer a raised seating position.