most mpg for least pennies

[anonymous-user]

Hi the time has come I should probably buy a diesel for the miles i do (500/week motorway), i currently drive a 325ti and whilst it does everything for me the cost is becoming quite substantial.
The ideal car would be cheap on tax, get good mpg and not be a tiny tin can like a yaris.

I was looking at ford fusion 1.4tdci, enough room, diesel, good mpg and cheap as chips
Does anyone have any other recommendations or suggestions for suitable cars to be flogged up and down a motorway.
I suppose you could say this would be my first foray into shed ownership.

A bonus would be something comfortable

Cheers

[danzman1991]

Any VW PD130 I’d have thought!

[RazerSauber]

Mk3 Mondeo diesel. Features some horse power, AC, cruise, electric windows, comfy, quiet enough and totally and utterly indestructible. Will do plenty of MPG's too.

[zedx19]

Honda Insight mk1? Mega MPG's, quirky, not as cheap as an old PD VAG diesel though but people claim mega MPGs out them, plus it's likely to hold value.

[Michaelbailey]

audi a2 1.4tdi is a nice place to be and £30 road tax and 70+mpg. pay maybe 1500 to 2k for a reasonably well sorted example and it will pay for itself almost immediately. With the miles you are doing I don't think a cheap st box will do your sanity any good. Get something you don't mind sitting in otherwise a ford fusion could get very very dull very quickly. I don't drive anywhere near as much as you but within 400 miles of driving an 02 ford focus estate diesel (coming from my S4) people have to hold me back when going over bridges

[ElectricSoup]

Volvo S60:

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

[Bumblebee7]

Skoda Octavia

[Jag_NE]

If it’s about keeping costs low I’d focus on buying the car that is least likely to cause you problems. 40mpg vs 45mpg will pale into insignificance if it’s never out of the garage. Get something wiry a bullet proof history, ideally one owner and in great condition. I wouldn’t worry so much about make or model at that price point.

[ZX10R NIN]

If I was doing 500 miles a week comfort would be my first priority then if you want a bulletproof drivetrain then for me it's a Mercedes 220/270 both will be mid forties without a remap with a K&N replacement filter.

CLK270

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

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

CLK220

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

C220 Sport Edition Coupe

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

Volvo S80

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

1.9d Grande Punto Sporting

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

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

Also the small diesel engined cars have short gearing meaning your motorway journeys won't be as frugal as you think.

[blongs]

This is the same model as what I have for doing 500 miles a week.

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

Picked mine up a couple of years ago for similar price (private sale with the guy emigrating) to this with 98,000 miles and now at 156,000.

Tyres, brakes and a couple of standard services have been the only requirements.

It gives 50mpg or more day to day.

[ElectricSoup]

blongs said:

This is the same model as what I have for doing 500 miles a week.

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

Picked mine up a couple of years ago for similar price (private sale with the guy emigrating) to this with 98,000 miles and now at 156,000.

Tyres, brakes and a couple of standard services have been the only requirements.

It gives 50mpg or more day to day.

Yikes. I had one of those once, it threw me so many electrical and build quality problems that I traded it in for a loss after 6 months. It was a 2.0 dci manual estate, 58 reg. Was only 5 years old when I bought it with 40k miles. The final straw was when the boot struts collapsed, bringing the tailgate down on me. That bloody hurt. I did squeeze 70mpg out of it on the motorway, but it wasn't worth the hassle. Great shame, it was a lovely comfortable car to drive.

[Superchickenn]

danzman1991 said:

Any VW PD130 I’d have thought!

100% this... i have a few and they are brilliant.. excellent on fuel and with a stage 1 remap its brisk

[V6todayEVmanana]

Jag_NE said:

If it’s about keeping costs low I’d focus on buying the car that is least likely to cause you problems. 40mpg vs 45mpg will pale into insignificance if it’s never out of the garage.

I'd second that. Went from a 3.0 28mpg car to a 1.4 42mpg. After about 30k the engine through a hissy and cost about £2k to put right which wiped out the fuel saving.

I'd lean towards a simple petrol that can be easily repaired if when needed.

[StevieT735]

For pure MPGs,
Peugeot 106 1.5d?
Renault Clio/Megane with their 1.5dci motor?

But you probably want some comfort on your commute too, so how about a Lexus GS450h?

[PTF]

Suzuki swift petrol. Surprisingly fun and revvy, and an easy 50mpg. Bullet proof

Citroen C1/Pug 107/Aygo. Reliable and 60mpg

I'd go for small petrol engine in as small a car as you can stand. Ideally japanese

[Ron99]

PTF said:

Suzuki swift petrol. Surprisingly fun and revvy, and an easy 50mpg. Bullet proof

Citroen C1/Pug 107/Aygo. Reliable and 60mpg

I'd go for small petrol engine in as small a car as you can stand. Ideally japanese

The 1.6-litre Swift Sport I had was surprisingly economical up to about 40mph but on the motorway it was surprisingly thirsty, typically high-30s mpg at 70mph.

Small, simple petrol cars have been shown to be among the most reliable, therefore should be cheap to maintain along with low fuel costs. A diesel might give 5-10mpg more but might need expensive repairs which could wipe out years of fuel savings.

However small naturally aspirated petrol engines can be hard work, especially in poor weather due to drag from wet roads, headwinds and high electrical demand from wipers, demisters, lights etc.

[anonymous-user]

zedx19 said:

Honda Insight mk1? Mega MPG's, quirky, not as cheap as an old PD VAG diesel though but people claim mega MPGs out them, plus it's likely to hold value.

Funny you should say that I would fancy an insight.
Thanks for the response, my 3 series is lovely and comfortable, my 2004 clio on the same journey, not so much.
Only thing with the pd vag cars is buying one cheap tends to be a rough example?

I will have a look at the rest of the thread when I get home. Thanks!

[Jcwjosh]

I went for a 1.2 tsi bluemotion polo to serve a similar purpose it gets me mid 50mpg mixture of motorway and city driving - £20 tax per year. i picked up a cat d with low mileage and aside from a couple of the damage related issues it has been fine so far. Dont get me wrong its not the best car to drive but it is comfortable and if you really wring its neck it does get going.....sort of.

[watchnut]

like the Polo, reasonable to drive and good MPG decent car four will get in with reasonable boot

Or a 1.6 Mini turbo diesel, I have one 2012, £0 tax, I get 52-55 teaching learners in it, on a run on the motorway gets up to 60-65 mpg
has a small boot (pants), small tank (8 gallons....but will almost get you a tank a week depending how heavy you are on the gas pedal) Car is fun as well, fill up costs about 40-45 squid, service every 20 k or so

[anonymous-user]

Mégane 1.5 DCI. 60 mpg all day, 30 quid tax and very cheap to run.