What car! £10k diesel commuter..........

[yozzer]

After the death of my not so reliable Mondeo TDDi, I am on the lookout for a new commuter car.

I do 80 miles a day to work and back through Fenland country roads (Peterborough to near Ely if anyone wants to know!), averaging roughly 45-60mph all the way.

I have a budget of £10k max, to spend less would be a bonus, and i would like a nice high MPG as my TDDi regularly got 45-50MPG but also a reasonable bit of go for when I have to overtake the farm traffic / trucks etc on these roads. Also relaibility is very high on my wish list.

For 90% of the time there is only me in the car and the rest of the time its just me and the OH so i dont need 4 door or 4 seat so a 2 seater will do.

for reference I have been looking at:

BMW 118d - they claim up to 70 mpg for this engine, is that a reasonable expectation? I quite like the looks (especially in 3 door) and the interior is decent enoough (after the TDDi anything is......)

Audi A3 TDi - they seem ok, bit dull really and they seem high miles or low spec for this price. Good MPG

Golf TDi - Same as above, they are dull to look at and to me seem dated now, even the newer ones.

So over to you, any suggestions welcome!

[yozzer]

Anyone?

[StottyZr]

120d, not much difference in fuel consumption between 118d and 120d apparently but 30hp more. I believe this is because they have the same gear ratio's and the same sized engine.

[300bhp/ton]

yozzer said:

Anyone?

Well it's a bit of a yawn question


I guess a few things to ask. Why £10k? For many that's a lot of cash to throw at just a commuter beater. (not saying you shouldn't, just asking why )

Will you use it for anything else?

Is comfort or fun more important? I know the roads over there are pretty straight and often busy at peak times. So would you consider sports cars too?

How important is mpg really? I know 80 miles a day is quite a few, but do you have more of a monthly fuel budget to stick to? As having this would then dictate the mpg ability the car needed rather than saying it must do 'x' mpg and not really know what the cost of it is.

You also said 2 seater, but then seemed to only list 4/5 seater hatch backs??? 2 of them the same car and both pretty boring (IMO).


Here are some alternative options you could consider:


Sports cars - lots of fun, small, nimble and easy to park.

All should be capable of 40mpg+ on such a journey and the likes of the smart probably nearer to 55mpg.


http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2989754.htm


http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3114707.htm


http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3149092.htm


http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3191661.htm

More GT compared to the others, but still highly sporty and capable of high 30's+

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3122734.htm


Or go to the other end of the spectrum and find an LPG converted luxo barge (or budget to convert one). Running cost should be very similar to 38-45mpg pence per mile wise.

Personally I'd much rather waft in a 4.0 V8 luxury saloon than a diesel Golf.



http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3167177.htm


Or if you want to go hatchback, how about a smaller petrol turbo example?

These are still good on fuel.


http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3146441.htm


http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3196048.htm

[Springbok]

X type jaguar - just went through the same thought process as you.

The 2.0D returns about 50 mpg combined and 60 mpg extra urban.

Paid £5,500 for an 04 reg with 51k on the clock including an MOT, service and a 12 month warranty. New tyres all round to boot.

Good deal methinks!

[300bhp/ton]

On the subject of Jags and diesels, how about an x358 XJTDV6 with the lovely 2.7 motor in?

[yozzer]

I appreciate it is a bit of a yawn question but before i bought anything i wanted to see if I had missed anything!

I appreciate £10k seems alot to throw at a commuter car, but i bought a 'cheap and cheerful' Mondeo TDDi to keep my commute costs down and it ended up being a bit of an unreliable nightmare which consistantly cost me to put right, I was hoping by getting something a little newer i could avoid most of these issues. Also I would like to buy something i can keep for a few years rather than changing every 18 months.

I would like it to be comfortable as it means usually 40-80 mins per journey in the car depending on the traffic and MPG is really quite important as I am currently saving for a wedding so could do with a low fuel budget (I appreciate spending £10k may cause confusion if money saving is an issue............)

I suggested i would only need 2 seats and then suggested the hatchbacks purely because they are the ones I could think of, I didnt want people to assume i needed 4 seats if there was a viable 2 seat option!

I have looked into the Elise type car as I have owned two Elises and used them both as daily drivers, I just came to the conclusion I would prefer something a little more comfortable and with better visability (i.e. height) for overtaking etc. (saying that someone on SELOC was putting a VAG TDi engine into an Elise a year or two back - that would be my perfect car if i could bag it for £10k!! wonder what happened to that............)

As for the converted luxury barge I too would prefer to drive a nice V8 to work but i have had experiences with LPG converted cars and they have never been fully reliable, so i am a little hesitant to go down that route.

Thank you both for you replies tho and as for the other cars you suggested I have no experience of so I will look into them now, I like the idea of a lighter petrol car but need to know I can achieve the MPG.

Im open for more ideas tho PH, keep em coming.......... cheers.

Edited by yozzer on Thursday 8th September 09:26

[yozzer]

300bhp/ton said:

On the subject of Jags and diesels, how about an x358 XJTDV6 with the lovely 2.7 motor in?

I do like the look of those, I will add it to my research list........... ta

[HellDiver]

You'll get a nearly new i30 or Kia C'eed for that money. The little 1.6CDRI is a peach of an engine, German designed, camchain, 115PS in the i30 (89PS in the Kia). If remapping is your thing, the Hyundai 115PS version remaps to 155PS, and seeing they're still using the same transmission as they did when they had the old 150PS VM diesel, there's no issue with trashed gearboxes.

The OH has a 1.4 petrol i30. We bought it in preference to the usual suspects - used Golfs, Focii, Astras, etc. The new i30 came with 5 year warranty, more equipment, and drives better than the others. The steering is actually better than the Mk2.5 Focus' electric system, despite being electric itself. It's just over a year old, and everything works (see a Ford/VX doing that), first service was £99. It's doing 43mpg, mixed town and motorway driving.