120m/day motorway £10-£15k comfort+reliability

[jdd3]

Hi all,

New here, know very little about cars. I commute 5d/wk to work all on motorway and an A road treated like the motorway. Not much stop-start at all, 120 mile roundtrip.

About 6 years ago I researched a lot with the ONLY qualifications being:
a) reliability
b) good MPG

My search led me to buy a 2010 (ex-rental) Toyota Yaris 1.4 D4D. This has served me very well and am not on ~190k miles, just replaced clutch and slave cylinder and had to clear out the fuel pump of junk. I get 60mpg and it is £20/yr tax so it has fulfilled my requirements! However, I am finding it quite uncomfortable now and unsure what the life left in it is.

I believe some of the newer (2015+) larger engine cars are actually better mpg than they used to, but also want something a bit nicer to drive considering I spend 2hr15min in my car 5x a week minimum! I am still keen on good MPG and also reliability is up there, but something a bit more interesting if possible. Just considering my options! I also want things like bluetooth, a relatively quiet interior, obviously comfort and cruise control I think is a necessity now given my right leg pains I am getting.

So far, my limited research is making me consider:

- Toyota Avensis: similar to previous, could part of me thinks this could be a bit boring
- Mazda 6: from what I have read, this looks quite reliable, good MPG. Is itr comfortable? Is this a good option?
- BMW 1/3 series?? Aside from the usual being labelled whatever comes these days with a BMW tag, they "look" luxurious inside and comfortable; I have issues/questions with reliability and high potential running costs
- VW Passat: Feels a bit boring to me. Should I trust VW?! Is it better than a Mazda 6?
- Hyundai i40: Looks nice from the outside, is it good for comfort? Reliability? Do they still have long warranties?

My wife would probably shun me if I went to Ford or Vauxhall and I'm not convinced by the latter and not into Renault/Peugeot as I have had bad experiences on reliability. I have 2 children and so whilst this is a second car (we have a 56 plate Saab 9-3 estate)it would be nice to be bigger than a Yaris and also from the comfort/noise side too.

Would really appreciate peoples thoughts on the above suggestions and/or things I have not thought of or where you think my assessment is wrong!

Many thanks!

[scsracing]

Skoda superb, 15k should see you in a 2015+ model. If I was spending that long on the motorway I'd be looking for adaptive/radar cruise too, which normally gets you the front assist/emergency breaking system as well, perfect for M-ways.

[valiant]

You need,

Comfy seats.
Cruise (adaptive if poss).
Good stereo.
Auto.
A bit of shove.
Avoid big wheels and sports suspension.

Skode Superb is a good shout. Also Volvo of some flavour (D5's are excellent)

I do similar mileage (although only once or twice a week) and use a Volvo V60 D5. Super comfy and an effortless drive. Dont fixate on mpg - if the car you get crashes over potholes, seats that don't support or a tinny radio, you'll end up wishing it would catch fire.

Gladly trade a few mpg's to arrive fresh and relaxed.

Edited by valiant on Saturday 10th March 15:32

[itz_baseline]

scsracing said:

If I was spending that long on the motorway I'd be looking for adaptive/radar cruise too

This all day long. Wasn't really something I ever considered until my wife's company car came with it as default. I don't think I'd ever look for a modern motor munched without this now. Made the whole slowing down by 5mph speeding by 5mph a breeze and long motor trips much less tiring.

[ZX10R NIN]

Thing is of the FWD contenders the Mondeo is the best one (I was in your position of looking for a decent hack) after a fair few test drives I went for a Vignale the equipment & 210bhp engine , by the Mazda6 is based on the Mondeo platform just not as good a car admittedly by a small margin.

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

Or you could go for the Titanium:

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

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

Leftfield Option:

Kia Optima 3/4 my brother has one of these & it's been (he's changing it for another) faultless, they're loaded with kit, heated rear seats etc, also these will have a warranty until 2022.

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

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

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

Citroen DS5 Sport:

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

Reliability on the Ford/Peugeot/VW/Mazda/BMW are all on par with each other.
With the Mazda6 does mean you get a lower mileage car:

Don't discount the 508 (it's engines/drivetrain are in a lot of other cars)

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

[EeeTea]

It would be remiss for me not to point you to this https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
50mpg and loaded with equipment.

[jdd3]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions so far, very interesting!

I am looking more at the Ford Mondeo option, although my sense was that this often was rated lower on reliability than others such as the Mazda 6. It ceretainly looks nice interior and a comfortable ride though.

Also thank you now for introducing me to adaptive CC which I had not heard about before. It also now makes me understand why often at 5:30am in the morning I would have people slowly speed up way behind me only to then match my speed and seemingly "follow" me for long stretches of the motorway, matching my overtaking patterns. I always thought this odd but this sounds like adaptive CC to me (although a bit annoying as it is very hard to keep consistent speed with a 1.4L D Yaris....).

Thanks again! Will keep considering these options.

[Welshbeef]

Why not buy an early F10 535 D Msport fully loaded? Fits the bill perfectly.