20k a year m25 commuter

[designforlife]

Car help needed -

There looks a strong possibility i'll be relocating so my commute will go from a 5 min walk to a 80 mile a day round trip.

As such, keeping my DC5 won't really be an option (a sad thing indeed, but needs must).

To that end i'm looking for something that fulfills the following-

-Sub £1500 (could stretch to £2k for the right car)
-40+ mpg on motorway
-suitable for a 20k a year motorway commute
-auto or manual, can go either
-comfortable and reasonably safe, nothing smaller than a large hatchback
-ideally japanese, but would consider euro stuff.
-cheap enough to service and maintain, the car will do around 40k in two years and more or less get driven into the ground if my plans to emigrate go as intended

The best option i've come up with so far is a mid 2000s toyota avensis 1.8.

Any further suggestions welcome, insurance isn't a problem but ideally want to keep the mpg up, and other costs down.

Cheers!

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say a C270cdi ticks all the boxes they're drivetrain is pretty much bulletproof you'll see mid 40's without a re map (this would cost around £250 & see you gain 50-100 miles per tank) high 40's to low 50's with the map, maintenance wise they're not costly at all pretty much the same as a passat or S60.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or do your checks haggle hard & get this well spec'd cat C if you're going you're going to run it until it drops/or you emigrate then it could be the right car.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Here are some alternatives, you'll note they're all auto which is what you'll want if you're schlepping around the 25:

Volvo S60

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

2.2 Peugeot 607 (these are very reliable but the electric windows can be a pain) these will run forever in a day & as you can see a low mileage example can be found for your budget.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

2.7 407

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[designforlife]

cheers zx10, there's some stuff there i deffo hadn't considered!

[CJG1]

^ I would go for the Volvo S60 D5, such a comfortable car!

[blongs]

I do 100 miles round trip 5 days a week and have a £1200 2007/57 Renault Laguna dci150. Bought a year ago with 99,000 miles on it.

50mpg and has cruise control. Been to France and back fully loaded with wife and kids with luggage. No problem at all.

Pretty much this car....but with a different numberplate :-)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[joshcowin]

Mark 1 Fabia Vrs - 1.9 diesel (pd engine), mine has cruise and heated seats, its comfy a decent size (not too big but big enough) and feels solid, my wife does 400 miles a week every week around country lanes and b roads its been great. Does 400 miles to 50 quid of diesel I would say you'd get 45mpg on a run.

£2000 will get you a decent one.