21k miles a year car suggestions

[danlightbulb]

Hi all.

This has been on the cards for a while but its looking likely Ill be doubling my annual mileage from about 10k to 21k a year. M6 West Midlands, typical rush hour travelling times morning and evening, 40 miles each way.

I could spend anything upto £10k but if I was to spend the max Id be looking for a 5 year life.

I dont mind older cars but would like something fairly large that will handle the journey in comfort and with ease. Probably thinking automatic because the M6 is often stop start, and good headlights are a must for winter travelling.

An estate would be preferred as I have a mountain biking and camping hobby, whilst a hatchback would get away with it, things are so much easier in an estate.

So far obvious contenders are a 5 touring or a Merc E class, purely on the basis of their 6 cylinder diesels and good auto boxes. I dont want something that will be high maintenance though.

Anything else I should be looking at?

Would you try and spend the max budget or look for something older?

Thanks.

[ninjag]

The Accord 8th Gen EX is fully loaded, has very good xeon headlights and excellent seats. You can get a very low mileage one for £10k and being built in Japan maintenance is going to be minimal.

[danlightbulb]

ninjag said:

The Accord 8th Gen EX is fully loaded, has very good xeon headlights and excellent seats. You can get a very low mileage one for £10k and being built in Japan maintenance is going to be minimal.

I actually have an Accord now, a 7th gen 2.4 petrol. The diesel isnt very powerful though, am i going to be wanting more power for effortless cruising?

[stevemiller]

West Midland "effortless cruising" I doubt it. Quiet auto with stop/start, petrol or diesel both will help the stress diminish.

[valiant]

Volvo V60 D5.

Auto.
Comfiest leather seats (SE lux and above)
Cruise.
215 bhp. (0-60 in under 8 seconds and oodles of torque for overtaking)
Good stereo.
Around 45 mpg on a run.
Built to take the miles.

Boot can be a little small for an estate but you can also get an V70 if you need bigger.

[DuraAce]

danlightbulb said:

I actually have an Accord now, a 7th gen 2.4 petrol. The diesel isnt very powerful though, am i going to be wanting more power for effortless cruising?

On the M6 during rush hour?!

Anything octavia/passat/mondeo size wise with 2.0 tdi and auto box will absolutely fine.

Go for a 6 cyl bmw/Merc if you want one by all means but don't kid yourself on running costs. They can (and probably will) still throw you a few big bills.

Hyundai/Kia with a big warranty will get your costs well under control. If you're honest with yourself you don't need 300bhp to get to work!

[philipbrown123]

If you are thinking BMW 520d or Merc E class then surely Audi A6 is worth considering as well.

[danlightbulb]

philipbrown123 said:

If you are thinking BMW 520d or Merc E class then surely Audi A6 is worth considering as well.

Arent the Audi automatic gearboxes quite unreliable?

[ZX10R NIN]

Here's my leftfield suggestion is this:

Infiniti EX (they're hard to find but if you want a 3.0d with sensible running costs these are hard to beat) I know it's an SUV but they're good cars.

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

The VFM option is the Insignia you can get a nice low mileage example for sensible money & run it into the ground:

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

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

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

My pick for the best compromise for comfort reliability economy & pace is the 508SW in GTtrim, they have the same running gear as the Mondeo but they're a bit cheaper.

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

V60 D5 R Design these may be a bit too small space wise but they're a decent car:

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

All the above will be perfect for your new commute Dan & all will last 5 years with ease as I said earlier the 508 would be the one I'd recommend.

[MissChief]

Skoda Superb diesel estate. Not many about though. Or a Mondeo Titanium X Sport Powershift TDCI. Again not many diesel ones.

[danlightbulb]

Thanks for the ideas. That Peugeot 508SW does look nice. Is it worth spending nearer to the £10k for a low miler or maybe a few grand less for one already approaching 100k?

And Peugeots got a pretty bad rap on Top Gear a couple years back. Are they a nice drive and reliable?

[ninjag]

danlightbulb said:

ninjag said:

The Accord 8th Gen EX is fully loaded, has very good xeon headlights and excellent seats. You can get a very low mileage one for £10k and being built in Japan maintenance is going to be minimal.

I actually have an Accord now, a 7th gen 2.4 petrol. The diesel isnt very powerful though, am i going to be wanting more power for effortless cruising?

Ah, probably one of the finest engines. Decent enough performance whilst still being quite economical and an absolute bullet proof engine. I really wish the UK CRV had it.

Back to diesel, it's not going to be a 6 cylinder BMW competitor, but then it will be very reliable and inexpensive to maintain, plus a cheeky remap makes it a lot more fun.

Edited by ninjag on Sunday 28th October 23:57

[ZX10R NIN]

danlightbulb said:

Thanks for the ideas. That Peugeot 508SW does look nice. Is it worth spending nearer to the £10k for a low miler or maybe a few grand less for one already approaching 100k?

And Peugeots got a pretty bad rap on Top Gear a couple years back. Are they a nice drive and reliable?

They're very reliable (ignore top gear) if you want any car to last you five years with sensible maintenance costs then go for the low miles, I say this because in five years you'll be nearer to 200k on the clock which means you'll have had to do a suspension refresh as a bare minimum.

The one I listed has 32k on the clock that means you'd be at 140k when you might want to thing about moving it on at that point it still has some value too, also there just aren't that many GT's about especially in auto form & when your doing you 21k it's hard to beat comfort wise.

If you want to spend less grab a low mileage Insignia just make sure you get the oil flushed every other service to stop the pick up pipe from clogging up.

Or you could go for the 508's cousin in the form of the Citroen C5 it'sless powerful & not as well spec'd but is worth a look.

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

The Accords are good cars & the engine has enough go for your commute but at the price point they're at for a good low mileage example I'd take the 508.

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

[Willy Nilly]

danlightbulb said:

ninjag said:

The Accord 8th Gen EX is fully loaded, has very good xeon headlights and excellent seats. You can get a very low mileage one for £10k and being built in Japan maintenance is going to be minimal.

I actually have an Accord now, a 7th gen 2.4 petrol. The diesel isnt very powerful though, am i going to be wanting more power for effortless cruising?

You're going to be doing 70mph at an absolute maximum due to traffic and cameras, probably nearer to 40, I'm sure the Accord will have more than enough power for that.

I used to do 500 miles per week in a Skoda Favorit in the early 1990's on top of some long working weeks and it really wasn't an issue.

[ninjag]

Power wise regarding the Accord, a remap on the iDTEC will take it safely to 221bhp and 405Nm of torque. Plus, the power and torque bands will be improved if it's a decent remap. Obviously the gains will be relative to the current state of the car as they will have gone down a little over the years, but my CRV diesel had only lost 6 horses over a period of 6 years if that helps. As for the usual response about remaps wrecking your clutch etc, that's only if you are stomping on the loud pedal constantly. If you are only using the power when necessary then it's not really going to cause all that much extra wear and tear. Besides, there's a high power output version of the Accord anyway (177bhp) and as far as I'm aware none of the other components are beefed up so they can obviously take the extra grunt. Happy to be corrected here but I'm sure I've checked about this before.

Edited by ninjag on Monday 29th October 10:57

[popegregory]

I’ve been enjoying doing circa 20k per year in a 58 plate 520d automatic since 2012.

[danlightbulb]

popegregory said:

I’ve been enjoying doing circa 20k per year in a 58 plate 520d automatic since 2012.

Yeah im not really sure if I should spend the max or not.

Im making the right decision going for auto though right? Ive never actually owned one, but the thought of easier stop start driving appeals.

Should I also be considering Mondeos if Im looking at Insignias?

Edited by danlightbulb on Monday 29th October 22:45

[ZX10R NIN]

danlightbulb said:

Yeah im not really sure if I should spend the max or not.

Im making the right decision going for auto though right? Ive never actually owned one, but the thought of easier stop start driving appeals.

Should I also be considering Mondeos if Im looking at Insignias?

Edited by danlightbulb on Monday 29th October 22:45

Yes you're doing the right thing going auto the Mondeo is the pick of the bunch but they hold there money well so you'll be looking at a lower slightly lower spec & power.

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

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

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

2.2d Titanium X Sport same drivetrain as the 508 but more miles & older:

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

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

2.0d TXS

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

As for your budget if you can secure a low mileage car (50k or less) for the top end of you budget then yes I'd do that, if you're nearer 70k then I'd be trying to save some money.

For me this is where the Insignia scores well because you can land a well spec'd low mileage car for a sensible number:

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

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

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

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

SRI VX Line

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

[danlightbulb]

ZX10R NIN said:

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

SRI VX Line

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

Thanks. Would have thought that bottom SRI would have been the better car but that top one seems nicer to me.

It does seem that I get a newer lower mileage car in the Insignia. The Peugeot you previously showed was similar to that top insignia there in price.

The reviews seem to indicate that the insignia has poor steering feel, which is putting me off a little.

What can you tell me about the auto boxes in the insignia, are they torque converter or automatic manuals?

If spending this much im definitely also looking for built in sat nav, some connectivity options and would be nice to have some nice features like auto handbrake, auto lights and wipers, heated seats etc.

What about the Mazda 6 Tourer?

Edited by danlightbulb on Tuesday 30th October 17:01

[ZX10R NIN]

danlightbulb said:

ZX10R NIN said:

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

SRI VX Line

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

Thanks. Would have thought that bottom SRI would have been the better car but that top one seems nicer to me.

It does seem that I get a newer lower mileage car in the Insignia. The Peugeot you previously showed was similar to that top insignia there in price.

The reviews seem to indicate that the insignia has poor steering feel, which is putting me off a little.

What can you tell me about the auto boxes in the insignia, are they torque converter or automatic manuals?

If spending this much im definitely also looking for built in sat nav, some connectivity options and would be nice to have some nice features like auto handbrake, auto lights and wipers, heated seats etc.

Test drive one they're no worse than a Passat/Accord etc, as for spec I think everything I listed had Nav & connectivity as well as DAB auto lights/wipers etc.

These have a conventional auto as does the Peugeot

The first Insignia is the top spec model hence the leather interior & heated seats the SRi does look great in that colour.

If you're going to go to the top of your budget then here are the options with less than 45k on the clock:

Insignia Elite the first one is the same colour as the SRI you liked.

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

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

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

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

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

508 GT

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

Allure

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

Accord EX

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

Mondeo Titanium X Business Edition

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

Mazda6 SE-L

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