Recommend me a daily long haul, economical fun car...

[GI Jnr]

...on a budget!

The family bus up until now has been a Citroen Picasso and my daily was a company car. I've opted out of my company car scheme and going to get back into bangernomics for a while as we've just had our sixth child and I've bought a Hyundai i800 as the new bus.

Meaning that I'm allowed to chop in the Picasso for something else! Situation is this; My daily commute is Weston-super-Mare to Swindon, c130 miles round trip and so I ideally need something;

- Cheap to run. Not necessarily diesel, but it's the obvious default. Ideally I want to be spending no more than £350 - £400 a month on fuel
- Doesn't need to be large as it'll only really be me and the odd kid in it
- Not too old or leggy (<10 years & <100k)
- Cheap to insure and tax
- Reliable as I don't have the time for breakdowns/repairs over the annual/mileage service

Obvious answer is something like a Fiesta 1.4 TDCi and just run it into the ground, but I'd like to see if I have have something a little enjoyable on the b road blat when I get off the M4. Motorway ride doesn't bother me at all.

Candidates are/have been;

- Panda 100HP. Always wanted one of these but don't know about economy
- Ignis Sport. Left field new entry, but possibly worse MPG than 100HP?
- Twingo RS133. Little pricey possibly
- Early MX5. Also longed for one for a while, but too much to put one through daily?

On a good day, I'd get £1k for the Picasso on a PX and I'd be looking at no more than £1,500 on top.

Suggestions?

Thanks Tuan

[surveyor]

My suggestion is of limited use as on a 130 mile daily commute I would be very happy with a car that someone else is paying for...

[TheThing]

MK5 Fiesta zetec s. Great little cars, buttons to run and massive fun to drive. I had mine for 2 and a half years and loved every minute of it.

[clunkbox]

GI Jnr said:

c130 miles round trip ...
no more than £350 - £400 a month on fuel

Unless I'm doing something stupid, that means you'll need to get 43mpg out of a petrol, or 45 mpg out of a diesel, or about 15p a mile. Fag packet maths so feel free to correct me. The Panda should get that, but the MX5 will probably struggle.

In you position I'd also be considering a 306 / 406 diesel, a BMW 320d or a diesel Fabia VRS, however all of those would be skirting the edges of your cost / size / age / miles requirements. Some of them are a bit big, however if you commute is mostly motorway a larger car with cruise may be preferable?

[George7]

I'd personally go for something a little bigger than the cars you're looking at as it'll make the motorways far less tiresome. Maybe a Ford Focus, or even a Mondeo?

[sawman]

I spent a year and a half commuting 100miles roundtrip in mk1 mx5. The trip was all a&b roads. It was great but never saw more than 30mpg
I would be inclined to try the panda

[Tom74]

I get an indicated 43.7mpg in my panda 100hp with no motorway driving at all. I imagine it could be a bit tiresome on a motorway re lack of sound proofing!

[Anonamoose]

I spent a year doing 120 miles a day commute, it was half A1 and half B roads. I used £400 a month on fuel driving a Renault modus 1.5 dci 80bhp.

I think you may struggle on anything bigger.