£3k reliable daily

[joshp99]

Hi all. After a lot of thinking I have decided to replace my ep3 with yet another mx5 (mk1 this time) which means it's time for a new daily as my slightly tatty, yet dependable, mk1 ka is showing signs of the dreaded tin worm. I travel around 40 miles a day as part of my commute which consists of duel carriageways and a very steep a-road, as well as use outside of commuting for longer journeys. Although something which is nice to drive would be a bonus, reliability would be a huge priority as the mx5 would be there for weekends.
Cars I've considered so far are:
Mk2 yaris 1.3
Mk6.5 fiesta 1.25/1.4
Mk2 focus 1.6/1.8
Mk8 Honda civic 1.8i/2.2cdti
Any other suggestions as I'm sure I've overlooked a few? TIA

[ZX10R NIN]

With a commute of 10k a year so you're on the cusp of petrol or diesel:

1.6T Astra SRI 180

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Newer shape Astra Elite 1.6 16V these are a great fillet to your MX5 they're reliable easy to maintain & a nice place to be.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

2.0d SRI

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Megane 2.0T Dynamique 180

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

1.9d Dynamique TomTom

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

[aka_kerrly]

How much money do you expect to save by spending £3k on a car that might do 10mpg more but still has room to depreciate compared with using your ep3 daily??

If you do get a semi sensible daily and go down the diesel route, a e46/e90 330d coupe, or 3.0tdi Audi A5 or possibly a e350cdi would be my choices ahead of a Astra

I'd have a butchers at the mk5 golf gti for petrol, turbo >30mpg, practical an entertaining

[Ankh87]

joshp99 said:

Hi all. After a lot of thinking I have decided to replace my ep3 with yet another mx5 (mk1 this time) which means it's time for a new daily as my slightly tatty, yet dependable, mk1 ka is showing signs of the dreaded tin worm. I travel around 40 miles a day as part of my commute which consists of duel carriageways and a very steep a-road, as well as use outside of commuting for longer journeys. Although something which is nice to drive would be a bonus, reliability would be a huge priority as the mx5 would be there for weekends.
Cars I've considered so far are:
Mk2 yaris 1.3
Mk6.5 fiesta 1.25/1.4
Mk2 focus 1.6/1.8
Mk8 Honda civic 1.8i/2.2cdti
Any other suggestions as I'm sure I've overlooked a few? TIA

Out of those cars you've listed stay away from the Yaris and Fiesta. I've had 2 Mk1 Yaris T Sports and they are great cars but they aren't long commuters. Anything other than city driving is a chore really. I use to daily 15 miles 1 way with my first one which although were easy enough it just weren't that comfy. My 2nd one I use to daily 35 miles 1 way and again not a comfy cruiser.
Fiesta is dull and same as the Yaris. I had the ST which obviously is more costly to run but it will be gutless just like the Yaris.

My old house mate had a 1.6 Focus and use to get 38MPG which was just 8MPG more than my old Corolla T Sport which I use to hoon around and use as a daily. Can't see the 1.8 been any better on fuel.


A friend had a Civic 2.2 CDTI Type S which he used mostly on motorway during peak times. Told me he were getting 45mpg which weren't that bad. He loved it. Was a little harsh riding but it's 100% better than an EP3. I wouldn't bother with the petrol as it wouldn't be much more economical than your EP3.


You could look at a Fabia VRS. For £3000 you could get yourself a nice one. the PD 130 engines are solid and the Fabia drive pretty well. Not too firm either.

https://www.motors.co.uk/car-56729107/?i=11&m=... <<< This is the one I would get as it's standard

https://www.motors.co.uk/car-56969591/?i=3&m=s... <<< This one is modified if you are into that sort of thing


Or if you are after a petrol car which I can't blame you really look at the Mazda 3. Some of them have a great spec compared to the Ford equivalent.


If you aren't bothered that much about a small car then the Mk2 Yaris 1.8 would be better but the economy might not be much more than the EP3. My First Yaris T Sport use to get 40MPG which were pretty good. That was a 1.5 but it weighed 950KG so any wind and you'd feel it.


You've also got your Kia's like a Cee'd. Maybe not everyone's choice but they are solid cars. They wouldn't put 7 year warranties on them if they thought they'd break. That's how I see it. Girlfriends parent's had Kia's for years and they've been solid. They've only just moved to Nissan because they didn't do the Kia Venga no more which they needed the space and something not overly big for my girlfriends mum who's tiny.

Hope this helps.

Personally if you are looking to save as much money as possible and keep the value of a car I'd go with the Fabia. If you don't modify it silly maybe do OEM Plus as I call it, e.g. new stereo with hands free, speakers, refurb alloys, paint the grill and calipers, clean up the interior. It'll hold it's value very well and be as reliable as ever.

Edited by Ankh87 on Monday 20th July 10:48