Fun economical car...

[T0MMY]

So depressing writing this but my work location has just shifted 40 miles away and in my current car (Mk1 MX5) that is going to cost me £4000 a year in fuel!

For the first time in my entire driving career I'm looking at getting something...practical

Is there anything that will be genuinely entertaining to drive that will get near 50 mpg or so? I'm thinking that I'm probably looking at getting my first ever diesel but I don't want to pay more than 2 or 3 grand so the current crop of diesel hot hatches will be out. I also have the option of motorbikes...I have a ZX6R trackbike currently but I guess I could get something like a GPZ500 if I must.

Long shot but what could I squeeze out of something like a 106 rallye mpg wise? I'm generally very good at getting good economy in cars.

[Liquid Knight]

The Fiat Coupe 20VT can do nearly 40mpg if you're careful.

[vsonix]

Not a hot hatch, I know, but older pre-facelift e46 330Ds are starting to turn up at around the 4k mark. 50 mpg seems just about possible on long runs if you stick around the speed limit - ours seems most economical at around 130kph which is logical although it will cruise significantly quicker before mileage starts to decrease exponentially, and gets 29-31 round town without having to drive like grandma.

[wackojacko]

Spend the dough and get yourself a Skoda Fabia VRS.

[Liquid Knight]

doogz said:

A Rallye's maybe not ideal, they had shorter final drives than the rest of the range to aid acceleration.

And are seriously noisy at motorway speeds.

[T0MMY]

I should clarify by the way that fun doesn't need to mean fast; I'm much more into the handling side of things (as proof of this my MX5 replaced a WRX!). What about a 306 or xsara hdi? I had a Xsara VTS and loved the handling but they are quite different from the diesels I guess (probably setup to understeer more so old ladies don't spin into hedges off wet roundabouts).

[oOTomOo]

I get about 50 mpg out of my SV650 on a commute and that's not taking it easy.

About 80 if i drive like a fart. Pick them up fairly cheap, cheap insurance, sorted.

[Sifly]

Keep the MX5 for the weekend.

Pick up a clio 1.5 dCi for around £1500. bit boring, but Comfy, nippy and they average around 64MPG! A fill up for £60 will get you alomost 700 miles.

Now the best bit.......12 months tax = £30.00

I am saving around £150 per month on fuel using one for my work commute!

[T0MMY]

vsonix said:

Not a hot hatch, I know, but older pre-facelift e46 330Ds are starting to turn up at around the 4k mark. 50 mpg seems just about possible on long runs if you stick around the speed limit - ours seems most economical at around 130kph which is logical although it will cruise significantly quicker before mileage starts to decrease exponentially, and gets 29-31 round town without having to drive like grandma.

I did think about these as I generally have RWD cars but newer beemers leave me a bit cold. I've had a 318i, 325i and a 328i and found them really boring to drive compared to, say, the MX5. I like the E30s but after that they got a bit too grippy at the back!

Skoda Fabia or Octavia VRS might be an option but I've never heard anyone say VAG cars are genuinely involving to drive.

[Jamirecluse]

How about a Fiat Panda 100hp?
Think they do 45 mpg and are apparently good fun.

[Liquid Knight]

Keep the MX5 and buy my Rover 213S for £500, she does over 40 to a gallon, got to Glasgow and back (670 miles) on a single tank, cheap classic insurance, won't depreciate and is a lot cooler than a Clio.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Like you say, get a GPZ and take the MX5 on bad weather days.

[T0MMY]

I do want to keep the MX5 for trackdays etc. so I guess I need to work out if it's actually cheaper to run a second car than to take the hit on the 35 mpg max I guess I can squeeze out of the MX5. The problem there though is the mileage I'd be putting on it.

[andy-xr]

So, just to understand this one, your cars worth about £1500 ish, you've got another £3k, and the other option is to spend £3k on a car rather than put it towards fuel?

If you're desperate to buy something else, er...a Focus? I was looking at the MPG Wiki earlier and the Yaris 1.4D comes up well and they're checkable having driven one.

Also, the E320 CDI seems to do strangely well

[T0MMY]

Well as I say, it's not just the fuel cost...putting 20,000 miles a year on an 18 year old MX5 seems like a bad idea, especially as it's a good one, I absolutely love it (favourite car I've ever had) and they're starting to get a bit rare.

[Mazdarese]

147 JTD?

I'm considering a similar move myself as I'm putting a lot of fuel in the MPS.

[mike9009]

I'm sure ive seen a few smart roadsters down at around £3000.

Could easily get 48mpg on small rural roads. Did get 60mpg on a run.

Good fun motors , interioir a little low rent, grip the road well, maybe over tyred ( at least the one i had was). You can get a roadster light with steel wheels which may give a little more feedback?

Mike

[MondeoMan1981]

mike9009 said:

I'm sure ive seen a few smart roadsters down at around £3000.

Could easily get 48mpg on small rural roads. Did get 60mpg on a run.

Good fun motors , interioir a little low rent, grip the road well, maybe over tyred ( at least the one i had was). You can get a roadster light with steel wheels which may give a little more feedback?

Mike

I'm looking towards these myself.... Prices dipping slowly but surely.

[NiceCupOfTea]

I absolutely love smart roadster, great fun.

[Heartworm]

I used to use my smart roadster as a daily doing 50 miles return, motorway & City, returned 50mpg.

Still have the car, can't seem to part with it as the handling is superb,