Lowest running cost car for 20 mile commute, £2k budget.

[Walter Sobchak]

bearman68 said:

I have a Yaris 1.4 d4d, which is pretty awesome, and I thought the cheapest thing you could possibly run.............. And then I splurged £700 on a E3 Volvo S60 D5, which does more to the gallon (how is this even possible?), and is much nicer on any sort of run. But the tax is expensive. and it's going to be more expensive to maintain than the Yaris, which is fantastically easy to service, and nothing ever goes wrong ever. I've seen 80 mpg on the Volvo, max I could get on the Yaris was 75.

Slightly unrelated but genuine question here, how on Earth are you getting such good economy out of a D5 Volvo?, I’ve got a Euro 3 V70 D5 and I can’t get it much over 45!.

[Horsey McHorseface]

Walter Sobchak said:

bearman68 said:

I have a Yaris 1.4 d4d, which is pretty awesome, and I thought the cheapest thing you could possibly run.............. And then I splurged £700 on a E3 Volvo S60 D5, which does more to the gallon (how is this even possible?), and is much nicer on any sort of run. But the tax is expensive. and it's going to be more expensive to maintain than the Yaris, which is fantastically easy to service, and nothing ever goes wrong ever. I've seen 80 mpg on the Volvo, max I could get on the Yaris was 75.

Slightly unrelated but genuine question here, how on Earth are you getting such good economy out of a D5 Volvo?, I’ve got a Euro 3 V70 D5 and I can’t get it much over 45!.

I wondered the same. I checked on spritmonitor for MK1 S60 D5 163bhp manual (I'm not sure what E3 means). Average for 51 cars monitored was 43.5 mpg. Maybe his mrs/partner is topping it up without letting on

Spritmonitor has MK2 Yaris D4D manual at 57.3 mpg.

Saleen836 said:

For those posting about certain diesels and what mpg they get, you have to remember the OP's commute is minimal so as the weather is getting colder he will be well over halfway to his destination before the car is up to optimum running temps and returning a good mpg.

I’m reading the op’s commute as 20 miles? That's minimal? Both mpg from spritmonitor are everyday motoring, including cold starting. Petrols are less efficient at cold too, but warm up a bit quicker. Not sure there’s a lot in it, over 20 miles.

[bearman68]

Horsey McHorseface said:

Walter Sobchak said:

bearman68 said:

I have a Yaris 1.4 d4d, which is pretty awesome, and I thought the cheapest thing you could possibly run.............. And then I splurged £700 on a E3 Volvo S60 D5, which does more to the gallon (how is this even possible?), and is much nicer on any sort of run. But the tax is expensive. and it's going to be more expensive to maintain than the Yaris, which is fantastically easy to service, and nothing ever goes wrong ever. I've seen 80 mpg on the Volvo, max I could get on the Yaris was 75.

Slightly unrelated but genuine question here, how on Earth are you getting such good economy out of a D5 Volvo?, I’ve got a Euro 3 V70 D5 and I can’t get it much over 45!.

I wondered the same. I checked on spritmonitor for MK1 S60 D5 163bhp manual (I'm not sure what E3 means). Average for 51 cars monitored was 43.5 mpg. Maybe his mrs/partner is topping it up without letting on

Spritmonitor has MK2 Yaris D4D manual at 57.3 mpg.

Saleen836 said:

For those posting about certain diesels and what mpg they get, you have to remember the OP's commute is minimal so as the weather is getting colder he will be well over halfway to his destination before the car is up to optimum running temps and returning a good mpg.

I’m reading the op’s commute as 20 miles? That's minimal? Both mpg from spritmonitor are everyday motoring, including cold starting. Petrols are less efficient at cold too, but warm up a bit quicker. Not sure there’s a lot in it, over 20 miles.

I don't know is the answer. I really don't. But when I hoof it along, and pretty much disregard economy, it' shows about 65 mpg on the trip computer thingy. I know this can tell tall tales, but tank to tank brimming seems to be pretty accurate. Even if it's 10% out, it's still pretty special. I run a small fleet, so the S60 is my loaner. One customer took a screen shot showing 80 mpg on the trip. I don't think that's going to be much less than 70 in the real world, and I suspect close to the 80 claimed. E3 BTW is Euro 3 engine.
57 mpg from the 1.4 Mk2 Yaris seems a touch pessimistic, but not by much. Great car the Yaris.

[ChocolateFrog]

Walter Sobchak said:

bearman68 said:

I have a Yaris 1.4 d4d, which is pretty awesome, and I thought the cheapest thing you could possibly run.............. And then I splurged £700 on a E3 Volvo S60 D5, which does more to the gallon (how is this even possible?), and is much nicer on any sort of run. But the tax is expensive. and it's going to be more expensive to maintain than the Yaris, which is fantastically easy to service, and nothing ever goes wrong ever. I've seen 80 mpg on the Volvo, max I could get on the Yaris was 75.

Slightly unrelated but genuine question here, how on Earth are you getting such good economy out of a D5 Volvo?, I’ve got a Euro 3 V70 D5 and I can’t get it much over 45!.

Literally never got less than 45 out of mine. Driven normally. Would do a 1000 miles to a tank if you were really careful. Although 700 was average.