Have you ever successfully changed vehicle for economy?
Discussion
Every so often, a thread crops up from a member suggesting a change of vehicle for the sake of fuel economy.
This is often a "I fancy a different car" discussion - nothing wrong with that!
But has anyone actually successfully done it? Swapped and you are now quids in, even with the "cost to change"?
I am inspired by the "Snow us your Snotter" and "Best of the Bargain Basements" to do the same with my ageing uneconomical 406 petrol auto estate - 18mpg around town.
It's so bad I have been cycling to work to save fuel when I can.
I would be looking at a 1998/1999 Mondeo, ZX, Xsara diesel around the £500 mark
But our Pug is reliable, would I be saving fuel but inviting a whole lot of trouble?
This is often a "I fancy a different car" discussion - nothing wrong with that!
But has anyone actually successfully done it? Swapped and you are now quids in, even with the "cost to change"?
I am inspired by the "Snow us your Snotter" and "Best of the Bargain Basements" to do the same with my ageing uneconomical 406 petrol auto estate - 18mpg around town.
It's so bad I have been cycling to work to save fuel when I can.
I would be looking at a 1998/1999 Mondeo, ZX, Xsara diesel around the £500 mark
But our Pug is reliable, would I be saving fuel but inviting a whole lot of trouble?
tShort answer- yes! I was using my old (1985) 528 as a daily runner then got made redundant. Eventually managed to pick up a new job but it was a 40 mile commute were as the previous job was a damn site closer. I rooted through auto trader and ebay, eventually turned up a Citroen ZX td for less than £500. I sorned the BMW and ran the ZX for two years on a shoe string, racked up 25k miles at around 45-55mpg.
So it really can work but it depends on what you are coming from (the 528 would do about 18-20mpg around town and will get up to 28-29mpg on a long run (at least 40 miles before stopping driven gently and not sitting in any traffic!). The Citroen made a huge difference.
If you are spending lots on a car to save 5mpg, you are really wasting your time/money etc.
So it really can work but it depends on what you are coming from (the 528 would do about 18-20mpg around town and will get up to 28-29mpg on a long run (at least 40 miles before stopping driven gently and not sitting in any traffic!). The Citroen made a huge difference.
If you are spending lots on a car to save 5mpg, you are really wasting your time/money etc.
My E92 320d
Great looks and performance and did 600 miles off a tank (£85 quid to fill)
No doubt that gimp simoid will be along to shout it down about being an average car but I loved mine.
I'm now moving house and gone to a bangeronmics £595 E38 728i, £105 to fill and does about 400 miles!!
Great looks and performance and did 600 miles off a tank (£85 quid to fill)
No doubt that gimp simoid will be along to shout it down about being an average car but I loved mine.
I'm now moving house and gone to a bangeronmics £595 E38 728i, £105 to fill and does about 400 miles!!
Changed from 2003 1400cc ZR to 2005 1600tdci focus - lost 5mpg average.
Changed from Focus tdci to Saab 9-3TID - Gained 10-15mpg
Changed from 2003 ZR to 1995 200SX - went from 40mpg to 8mpg
200SX change to BMW 320i touring - MPG went up by about 5mpg at best
320i Tourer to Mondeo 1800 petrol - MPG went up by about 50%
Changed from Focus tdci to Saab 9-3TID - Gained 10-15mpg
Changed from 2003 ZR to 1995 200SX - went from 40mpg to 8mpg
200SX change to BMW 320i touring - MPG went up by about 5mpg at best
320i Tourer to Mondeo 1800 petrol - MPG went up by about 50%
My old 1998 diesel Xsara used to get 40 mpg no matter how I drove it and 60 on a steady motorway run. If you are really only getting 18 from your current car you should make the cost back pretty quickly. I never had a single problem in the 3 years I had that car and still see it around now.
I recently bought an MG ZS 180 as a runaround and am averaging just under 30 mpg. It makes a massive difference from 19 in the RX8.
I recently bought an MG ZS 180 as a runaround and am averaging just under 30 mpg. It makes a massive difference from 19 in the RX8.
PBB said:
Every so often, a thread crops up from a member suggesting a change of vehicle for the sake of fuel economy.
This is often a "I fancy a different car" discussion - nothing wrong with that!
But has anyone actually successfully done it? Swapped and you are now quids in, even with the "cost to change"?
I am inspired by the "Snow us your Snotter" and "Best of the Bargain Basements" to do the same with my ageing uneconomical 406 petrol auto estate - 18mpg around town.
It's so bad I have been cycling to work to save fuel when I can.
I would be looking at a 1998/1999 Mondeo, ZX, Xsara diesel around the £500 mark
But our Pug is reliable, would I be saving fuel but inviting a whole lot of trouble?
I went from a 2.0TFSI petrol Audi TT to a BMW 320d EfficientDynamics.This is often a "I fancy a different car" discussion - nothing wrong with that!
But has anyone actually successfully done it? Swapped and you are now quids in, even with the "cost to change"?
I am inspired by the "Snow us your Snotter" and "Best of the Bargain Basements" to do the same with my ageing uneconomical 406 petrol auto estate - 18mpg around town.
It's so bad I have been cycling to work to save fuel when I can.
I would be looking at a 1998/1999 Mondeo, ZX, Xsara diesel around the £500 mark
But our Pug is reliable, would I be saving fuel but inviting a whole lot of trouble?
Both are(were) company cars. MPG went from 33 in the TT to 50+ in the 320d.
They cost about the same to the company due to the reduculous tax system in this country, despite the BMW having pretty much every toy on it.
I even enjoy the BMW more (I just prefer RWD, although the TT was pretty decent as FWD goes).
So - yes, I did.
C
) and a A4 3.0tdi quattro to a humble rover 25. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff