New commuter car 120 mile round trip, advice please !

[meerlaan]

Hello All,

First post here so be gentle please....

I have been reading lots of great post on PH and thought it was about time I asked for some specific advice.

I am looking at purchasing a car for a job which is 60miles away, mostly driving on the M4. I will need to drive in Mon - Fri.

I currently don't have a car and would be buying one for the job so trying to figure out the best option, I currently live in London and the train would cost £477 a month but after 6 months I plan to move out of London but the commute would still be 60miles each way (slightly annoyingly) so am thinking of getting a suitable car right away.

I have sort of narrowed it down to a Ford Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost (125ps) or a VW TDi ? I have read lots of good things about the Fiesta and my heart is probably a little set on this but seems I perhaps shouldn't totally ignor a diesel, have seen lots recommend a VW diesel but not sure of exact model.

My cost estimations were based on 40mpg (which I thought the Fiesta should do) so that works about about £100 a week for 600 miles

Insurance quote I got for fiesta was about £1000 a year , so £80-£100 a month.

I looked and reckon I could get a decent fiesta with 20,000 miles for 6k ish, if I do 30,000 miles a year that's 150,000 in 5 years then I guess it will be time to replace. So that's about £1200 a year.

So monthly cost would be :
£400 fuel
£85 insurance
£100 car (assuming it lasts 5 year)

£585 a month - not including MOT and repairs

Does this seem reasonable, would I be better off with another type of car. Any thought / opinions greatly appreciated and I have limited experience with cars and commuting via car.

Thanks

Martin

[Phil Dicky]

You're spending a lot of time in the car and as such comfort needs to be the first port of call, so perhaps a larger car say Mondeo/ Vectra might fit the bill better....oh and an auto, you'll thank me after the first week of queues.

[pixelatedJH]

I'm doing a similar commute. Half a lap of the M25 each way.

I'd recommend something with a VAG PD engine. 55mpg if I drive it like I've had a very bad day, 65mpg easily achievable driven sedately. Now on 170k miles with no big engine-related bills (the 5 speed manual gearbox in mine is another matter but never mind).

Make sure it has cruise. If you go used spend 3-400 extra on a stereo with CarPlay or something that you can play your podcasts/music through. Heated seats are nice also.

I also considered Mk4 Mondeos, it was just down to the cars I saw but one of those with the 2.0D Lump in Titanium X trim would do nicely too.

Edited by pixelatedJH on Sunday 7th January 18:13

[98elise]

Phil Dicky said:

You're spending a lot of time in the car and as such comfort needs to be the first port of call, so perhaps a larger car say Mondeo/ Vectra might fit the bill better....oh and an auto, you'll thank me after the first week of queues.

Agreed. I have a 130 mile commute (round trip). I stared with a 1.4 fiesta for the economy, it was fine but not really suited for the drive. I changed to a c180 Merc for the ride, auto box, and cruise control.

It was definitely useing more then the fiesta, but it was worth the money in the inevitable stop start jams. On a good run I could see 44 to the gallon average (the Merc gives you average mpg for each trip).

[DuraAce]

Hyundai/kia. Boring but cheap to run and very reliable. 5/7 year warranty.

[Willy Nilly]

Your sums say you're £100/mth better off letting the train take the strain. I think you're going to find the car more expensive that you realise.

[oldcynic]

If you’re buying the car for the job then why not find out how unpleasant the train journey is first; also find a cut price rental to try for a week.
Assuming you’re starting a new job you’d do well to work a few weeks before committing a pile of cash to a car.

[Jim AK]

Isn't there some issue with the Ecoboost Fords, Fiesta & Focus 1.0 & them cooking the engine?

I`m sure there was quite a long thread last year about it.

Also I agree with trying train & a cheap weeks rental, especially if you have a probation period.

Assuming it all works out & regardless of the possible Ecoboost problems, I think i`d get a VAG diesel of some sort & probably in a Skoda or Seat as opposed to a Golf or Polo as i`d imagine a 1.0 in anything would be a bit tiresome doing your journey.

[Trevor555]

Willy Nilly said:

Your sums say you're £100/mth better off letting the train take the strain. I think you're going to find the car more expensive that you realise.

I'd do the train, unless it add too much journey time.

Can you walk to your nearest train station?

And you say you're moving out of London in 6 months, have you priced the train from the new place?

[iwantagta]

Trains are horrible...... Except.......... you will be in the fortunate position to be going against the grain. I commute in to London twice a week - hour each way on the train. Even thats not too bad.

So long as you get a seat each way the train is better for a long journey - without a doubt.

I'd definitely start off with that - if you did go car. As others have said - go big, go comfy!

Also - why move and end up still 60 miles away? Sure there must be a logical reason but if you are looking at 5 days a week thats likely 3 hours a day in a car - 15 hours a week. Would need to be something pretty dramatic for me to even contemplate that commute.

[meerlaan]

Hi all,

Thanks so much for your fast replies!

To give you some more info, there is a 6month trial period to ensure the job is a good fit for both of us. But I think it will be, I will then be moving to the west country. The train this end will be very difficult due to the location being no train station!

I am not a big fan of trains anyway and from London there is only 1 an hour and getting to and from the station adds another complecation and cost :/

Thanks for the Car recommendations I will look into these, re VAG PD does that mean a VW diesel or a particular model of diesel? are there any problems with the new DPF filters??

Is it realistic to think I would get more like 50mpg for a diesel? this could make it better... How do my costs compare to others with simialar distance journeys ?

I appreciate comments about confort and completely agree, personally I like a manual car but a decent radio and seats its a must.

Thanks again

[Dr Jekyll]

meerlaan said:

Hi all,


Is it realistic to think I would get more like 50mpg for a diesel? this could make it better... How do my costs compare to others with simialar distance journeys ?

Should be, a mate of mine gets 45MPG (calculated from fill ups not OBC) from a 2 litre petrol Mondeo on the same sort of journey. It's worth considering range as well as cost, filling up will get very tedious very quickly.

[iwantagta]

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

Skoda Superb;
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

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

These are the sort of thing i would be looking at if i were you.
I love a manual - for fun driving.
For commuting an auto is truly awesome.

In short - looking at the less fashionable end of the market may get you the best bang for your buck.

[oldcynic]

A 60 mile commute will avoid any dpf issues so unless you’re going to be caught in the ULEZ with the associated costs I’d suggest a diesel engine in the car of your choice. Judging by your insurance estimates you need to be running some insurance quotes before you look at any car.

Either try for big and comfy or at least something mid-sized, but you definitely need a comfortable drivers seat.

[iwantagta]

Dr Jekyll said:

meerlaan said:

Hi all,


Is it realistic to think I would get more like 50mpg for a diesel? this could make it better... How do my costs compare to others with simialar distance journeys ?

Should be, a mate of mine gets 45MPG (calculated from fill ups not OBC) from a 2 litre petrol Mondeo on the same sort of journey. It's worth considering range as well as cost, filling up will get very tedious very quickly.

A diesel/larger petrol also tenf to be more forgiving of more enthusiastic driving than a small turbo'd 1 litre engine.

[Eyersey1234]

The early 1.0 ecoboost did have an issue with a coolant pipe failing but a modified part is now fitted to them

[Willy Nilly]

Wildcard alert....

If you can charge it at both ends, what about a Leaf?

[meerlaan]

Thanks again for comments and thanks for the model links @iwantagta this is very helpful !

I do love a wildcard @willy nilly !! and would love an electric car to be honest !! Is it realistic to drive a leaf ?? anyone do it ??

They seem to be about 6K for one with 20,000miles which seems very cheap :/ or should I say, cost efficient if I would save 4.5K a year in fuel.

[Jim AK]

meerlaan said:

Thanks again for comments and thanks for the model links @iwantagta this is very helpful !

I do love a wildcard @willy nilly !! and would love an electric car to be honest !! Is it realistic to drive a leaf ?? anyone do it ??

They seem to be about 6K for one with 20,000miles which seems very cheap :/ or should I say, cost efficient if I would save 4.5K a year in fuel.

Is there a lease cost for the batteries?

Have to admit I know nothing about EV`s, but I remember reading when that G Whizz thing appeared on the scene people were shocked at the lease expense just for the batteries.

[anonymous-user]

OP, I’m doing a similar distance to you in a 1.0 NA Skoda Citigo (train is prohibitively expensive unfortunately). While it’s very very good on the motorway for a little city car, I still wish for an auto, comfier seats and a bigger tank so if I were you I’d be looking at a diesel Passat/Superb. The 1.9 TDI is excellent and I had it doing over 50mpg in a Leon FR I had a few years ago.