Cars with a long range of miles?
Discussion
Hi, I'm hoping some of you might be able to offer some suggestions. I've been looking for a newer car since starting my new job 3 weeks ago. I now have a 35 mile commute each way (between Hastings and Brighton). About 20% is stop/start the rest is 40-70mph with roundabout interruptions. I currently drive a 58' Ford Fiesta 1.4 titanium. I like the car and get 43-45 real mpg despit the trip computer saying 47-50 mpg. i know its cold so should improve as the weather gets better. I'm looking now for a diesel with a larger fuel tank just to increase the range more than anything as every usually every 4 days I'm filling up.
I keep flitting between the Astra/Focus/Golf sized cars and the Insignia/Mondeo. Mainly interested in the latter cars purely because of the size of their fuel tanks getting 1,000 miles between fill ups and having a more comfortable ride. But would probably lean towards the mid sized cars because I don't need a large family car.
I would love an Audi/BMW but concerned about servicing costs and parts.
Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated.
I keep flitting between the Astra/Focus/Golf sized cars and the Insignia/Mondeo. Mainly interested in the latter cars purely because of the size of their fuel tanks getting 1,000 miles between fill ups and having a more comfortable ride. But would probably lean towards the mid sized cars because I don't need a large family car.
I would love an Audi/BMW but concerned about servicing costs and parts.
Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated.
I don't think you'd get 1000 miles in the real world unless to got to drive at a steady 50mph everywhere.
I could get an easy 500 miles before the Fuel Warning light came on (c.90miles to empty on the computer) on my old 5-cyl diesel Volvo S60 and that was either crawling through town or driving 80-90 on the motorway.
That's enough for more than a week's commuting or longer than bladder range on a longer trip.
Also. The later 1.6d Volvo I had was no more economical in real life than the 2.4 D5, so don't get too excited by paper mpg figures.
Don't worry about servicing on run of the mill Audis or BMWs most mechanics see more of them than Mondeos or Insignias, and the parts are going to be similar prices.
I could get an easy 500 miles before the Fuel Warning light came on (c.90miles to empty on the computer) on my old 5-cyl diesel Volvo S60 and that was either crawling through town or driving 80-90 on the motorway.
That's enough for more than a week's commuting or longer than bladder range on a longer trip.
Also. The later 1.6d Volvo I had was no more economical in real life than the 2.4 D5, so don't get too excited by paper mpg figures.
Don't worry about servicing on run of the mill Audis or BMWs most mechanics see more of them than Mondeos or Insignias, and the parts are going to be similar prices.
Most if not al mid-sized diesel cars will have a range of ~500miles. So that's filling up once a week for you.
Is that sufficient? If so, just then buy the car you like most. Personally I rate the Honda Civic. It's not an attractive car, but the 2.2 diesel engine is very good, plus it has decent interior space.
Is that sufficient? If so, just then buy the car you like most. Personally I rate the Honda Civic. It's not an attractive car, but the 2.2 diesel engine is very good, plus it has decent interior space.
If you like your fiesta how hard is it to fill up a couple of times a week?
If you are looking at new cars this facility can be useful. You should amend the manufacturer's mpg figures though.
http://www.whatcar.com/Review/EditionCompare?newOr...
If you are looking at new cars this facility can be useful. You should amend the manufacturer's mpg figures though.
http://www.whatcar.com/Review/EditionCompare?newOr...
Your not going to see that out of any fuel tank on that journey. The wifes car is supposed to achieve over 1000 miles from a tank (green tax company car b
ks) 90%> is on motorways, sees 700 miles at best and she's not a progressive driver. If you like your car, just use that and fill it up.
ks) 90%> is on motorways, sees 700 miles at best and she's not a progressive driver. If you like your car, just use that and fill it up.How many of the cars you're looking at actually claim 1000 mile range on a tank of fuel and how many of those actually achieve it ?
On a 55 litre tank to do 1000 miles you're looking at over 80mpg, with a 70 litre tank you're looking at 65mpg. I'm not sure in real world if you'd ever achieve it.
Is it worth the cost in changing the car ?
On a 55 litre tank to do 1000 miles you're looking at over 80mpg, with a 70 litre tank you're looking at 65mpg. I'm not sure in real world if you'd ever achieve it.
Is it worth the cost in changing the car ?
Fort Jefferson said:
I'm not convinced being able to do 1000 miles on a tank is economical anyway. Your going to be carrying so much weight in fuel for so long, it's pointless. If your going to drive in the outback with no filling station for 600 miles it would be different.
If you're accelerating, braking a lot then perhaps. But for lots of motorway driving I think the difference will be pretty negligible. freeman3030 said:
I now have a 35 mile commute each way
Mainly interested in the latter cars purely because of the size of their fuel tanks getting 1,000 miles between fill ups
Even assuming a thousand mile range was feasible, does it really make THAT much of a difference if you only have to fill up once every three weeks or once every fortnight or whatever? It's not like the frequency of filling makes any difference to cost per mile, unless you have this utter inability to go into the Shell shop without splurging a fortune on overpriced stale sausage rolls...?Mainly interested in the latter cars purely because of the size of their fuel tanks getting 1,000 miles between fill ups
freeman3030 said:
Hi, I'm hoping some of you might be able to offer some suggestions. I've been looking for a newer car since starting my new job 3 weeks ago. I now have a 35 mile commute each way (between Hastings and Brighton). About 20% is stop/start the rest is 40-70mph with roundabout interruptions. I currently drive a 58' Ford Fiesta 1.4 titanium. I like the car and get 43-45 real mpg despit the trip computer saying 47-50 mpg. i know its cold so should improve as the weather gets better. I'm looking now for a diesel with a larger fuel tank just to increase the range more than anything as every usually every 4 days I'm filling up.
I keep flitting between the Astra/Focus/Golf sized cars and the Insignia/Mondeo. Mainly interested in the latter cars purely because of the size of their fuel tanks getting 1,000 miles between fill ups and having a more comfortable ride. But would probably lean towards the mid sized cars because I don't need a large family car.
I would love an Audi/BMW but concerned about servicing costs and parts.
Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated.
How much will changing your car cost you and how long will it take for the net savings to repay that and make it worthwhile?I keep flitting between the Astra/Focus/Golf sized cars and the Insignia/Mondeo. Mainly interested in the latter cars purely because of the size of their fuel tanks getting 1,000 miles between fill ups and having a more comfortable ride. But would probably lean towards the mid sized cars because I don't need a large family car.
I would love an Audi/BMW but concerned about servicing costs and parts.
Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated.
It strikes me that if you're already getting over 40mpg then it's going to cost you more to change to a more economical car unless you will be keeping it for a very long time? At which point the maintenance costs of an old diesel are probably higher than for an old petrol.
I think to make it work you either need to be able to change cars for no net loss or change to a car that has a massively higher mpg capability than your current car.
For example, if you get a car that can do 10/15mpg better you'd only be saving about £1/2/day wouldn't you? And with 220 working days a year then it could take 3/5 years to break even if the change over costs you a grand for example.
Very crude maths but it often isn't viable to make the change of it's going to mean spending more at the outset.
Edited by DonkeyApple on Saturday 7th February 12:52
My Mk6 Golf will do 550 - 600 miles from a full (55L) tank depending how economically you drive it. The newer model only has a 50L tank which seems a backwards step.
A few years ago I was doing 40 miles each way in an Ibiza 1.4 petrol and that used to be a struggle making its 45L tank last a week, regularly running down to 0 miles remaining on the MFD.
You'll also find the bigger car will be more comfortable and less tiring for that sort of commute.
A few years ago I was doing 40 miles each way in an Ibiza 1.4 petrol and that used to be a struggle making its 45L tank last a week, regularly running down to 0 miles remaining on the MFD.
You'll also find the bigger car will be more comfortable and less tiring for that sort of commute.
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