Commuting Cars...

[JAMESHUNT]

Forgive me if this has been covered many times however I'm in the market for a dedictaed commuting/admin car to give my other car a break from the rat race. What does evryone use/what can people reccomend? Got about 2k for one. Any suggestions or comments welcome.....

James

[Codswallop]

Depends what kind of commuting you need the car for, how much space you need, what kind of running costs you are willing to settle for etc.

But a Ford Focus should suffice in most situations, what with being cheap to run, non-discript, and fun to drive for what it is.

[Oilchange]

I use a V6 Alfa 156. It's functional, reliable, the leather is comfy and it's 'fairly' economical overall. It also looks and sounds better than almost anything on the road and gets admiring glances. Cost me a bag of finest sand.
What's more to like?

[JAMESHUNT]

Its for the Wycombe-London and back again hike 6 days a week. Ref space its not important. Neither is looks. The only two boxes that need to be ticked are......

1. The ability to sit at 70mph for ages without it showing signs of strain

and

2. Maximum MPG.

[bakerstreet]

Pug 306 HDI. Add some Volcane alloys from the GTI and it looks great too

[tomwoodis]

Anything VAG with the 1.9 diesel in it will suit you very well.

[Great Pretender]

tomwoodis said:

Anything VAG with the 1.9 diesel in it will suit you very well.

Ideally one with a six speed box.

[JAMESHUNT]

Thats great gents thankyou! Jut been on ebay ref the 1.9 vag and a few very worthwhile candidates!
Loving the idea of the wheels too. Be rude not to!

[Great Pretender]

JAMESHUNT said:

Thats great gents thankyou! Jut been on ebay ref the 1.9 vag and a few very worthwhile candidates!
Loving the idea of the wheels too. Be rude not to!

Good luck

Assuming your commute is along the M40, you'll want/need something capable of keeping up with the traffic, so I'd be inclined to perhaps hedge a little on something with grunt, rather than a small engined hatch-back for instance.

[JAMESHUNT]

You are right. I had a a bmw 328i on a 98 plate a few years ago which was awesome for keeping up with almost anything in the far lane but alas it was a thirsty bugger! So, that went and in came the 1.3 fiesta encore on a 95 plate. 60mpg + but bless the poor thing was screaming out in pain at 70mph!lol!
So, out went the Fiesta and (please don't hate me) I binned the idea of commuting cars for a while and used my 911 (993) for it. Not wanting to clock up horrific miles in her (after much fun though) I'm back to the idea of the "commuting missile" again! Swings and roundabouts!

[Great Pretender]

So the perfect contrast to the 993 would be a VAG slogger of some sort then.

Might I suggest a VW Bora? They're under-loved and therefore cheaper than the equivalent Golfs. If you can net one in budget, a 130 TDI would be hard to beat I think.

[JAMESHUNT]

Yep, just made my shortlist! Ebay link below!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-Volkswagen-Bora-TDI...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-VOLKSWAGEN-BORA-SPO...

Sure I will find better specced models once I shop around.

[Codswallop]

Great Pretender said:

So the perfect contrast to the 993 would be a VAG slogger of some sort then.

Might I suggest a VW Bora? They're under-loved and therefore cheaper than the equivalent Golfs. If you can net one in budget, a 130 TDI would be hard to beat I think.

Might I suggest a Seat Toledo? They're even more under loved than the Bora, hence cheaper. Same car underneath, but with an Audi A3 dash rather than a Golf based one, plus it's a bit lighter and sportier than the Bora.

[Pints]

Looks like I'm not needed here. VAG 1.9 TDI has been mentioned. Although if you find a 2.0 that fits your price range, you'll get more power with similar returns on fuel consumption.

[bakerstreet]

Great Pretender said:

So the perfect contrast to the 993 would be a VAG slogger of some sort then.

Might I suggest a VW Bora? They're under-loved and therefore cheaper than the equivalent Golfs. If you can net one in budget, a 130 TDI would be hard to beat I think.

I don't think they are much cheaper at all. Quick search on AT comes up with a 110 SE for £1500. You can get a GT TDI in a golf for the same momey and they are lots more out there. Bora design has aged well though

[ryandoc]

I ran a T reg golf TDi 3 years ago for 1.5 years doing 25-28K a year.

Car was brilliant never missed a beat. Spent a winter in Scotland covered in snow every morning started up on first turn. Definitely be a recommendation from me.

[S3K04]

A VAG (SEAT, Skoda VW or Audi) with a 1.9TDi or 2.0TDi

Genuinely respected engine

[sparks_E39]

JAMESHUNT said:

You are right. I had a a bmw 328i on a 98 plate a few years ago which was awesome for keeping up with almost anything in the far lane but alas it was a thirsty bugger! So, that went and in came the 1.3 fiesta encore on a 95 plate. 60mpg + but bless the poor thing was screaming out in pain at 70mph!lol!
So, out went the Fiesta and (please don't hate me) I binned the idea of commuting cars for a while and used my 911 (993) for it. Not wanting to clock up horrific miles in her (after much fun though) I'm back to the idea of the "commuting missile" again! Swings and roundabouts!

My E39 528 is definitely more economical than my 1.1 Fiesta was sat at 70 plus I can have a conversation with other people in the car now as it's dead silent. 37mpg give or take. But yes any of those 1.9 VAG engines will be great

[vrsmxtb]

Octavia with the PD130 engine.

[Bitzer]

S3K04 said:

A VAG (SEAT, Skoda VW or Audi) with a 1.9TDi or 2.0TDi

Genuinely respected engine

A 2.0TDI for less than £2K?

The early (2006 and before) aren't the most reliable with porous heads and failing oil pumps. If you include DMFs and DPFs they're even worse.

1.9 TDI all the way if it's to be a VAG.