Small(ish), Comfortable, Diesel(?), Commute car

[Haddock82]

Hi All,

I'm after some Pistonheads sage advice

We are moving house and the new commute will be 50 miles per day (25 miles each way)

Which by my rough calculations and with other driving will push me up from around 5,000 miles p/a currenty to about 12-13,000 p/a

It'll be 90% dual carraige way and I'm guessing I am edging into Diesel territory?

I currently have a 1.8 Petrol MK3 Mondeo, which still runs but it's a bit of a shed!
120K on the clock and currently returning between 32-34mpg,
but I have only been doing about 5k miles per year so it's not been a problem.

Ideally i'd like to change to something

A.) Newer (the Mundano is a 2004)
B.) More economical
C.) Smaller
D.) It needs to be comfortable, not tinny and hard seats

Budget? About £4k but can possibly go up to £5k

Any suggestions?

I was looking at Volvo C30's as they have come down in price but I literally know nothing about them!
Is the 1.6 diesel the crappy PSA/Ford one?

Edited by Haddock82 on Thursday 11th March 09:39

[Disco You]

If you're doing this for money reasons I'd do some careful sums to see how long / how many miles it is going to take until a new car is going to save money over the Mondeo.

It depends on how the sums look, but I approximate you might be best off keeping the Mondeo until it throws a big/ medium bill.

[Eleu]

Have you considered a 2007-2008 Mk5 Golf GT TDI (140 PS)? Cheap to buy now, very economical, nippy and quite well-equipped. They have no DPF to worry about either. There was a problem with cylinder head cracking on the early BKD engines but this was revised and fixed on the cars in 2007. The revised BKD is also a great engine for tuning if you are that way inclined.

For example:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010285...

[Haddock82]

Disco You said:

If you're doing this for money reasons I'd do some careful sums to see how long / how many miles it is going to take until a new car is going to save money over the Mondeo.

It depends on how the sums look, but I approximate you might be best off keeping the Mondeo until it throws a big/ medium bill.

Yep good point, I'll take that on board

Admittedly a large part of it is man maths and the want for a new car because the Mondeo is a shed and exceptionally dull.

But sometimes better the devil you know and all that!

The mundaneo has thrown a couple of bills at us that would have been expensive had it not been the case I'm handy with a spanner and it's a simple car to work on.

In the 3 & 1/2 years of having it had to replace wheel bearing, EGR valve, thermostat, coil pack, handbrake cable & Battery. But it's all been reasonably easy stuff and cheap as chips off fleabay for replacements.

Edited by Haddock82 on Thursday 11th March 15:39

[Haddock82]

Eleu said:

Have you considered a 2007-2008 Mk5 Golf GT TDI (140 PS)? Cheap to buy now, very economical, nippy and quite well-equipped. They have no DPF to worry about either. There was a problem with cylinder head cracking on the early BKD engines but this was revised and fixed on the cars in 2007. The revised BKD is also a great engine for tuning if you are that way inclined.

For example:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010285...

I was thinking of Golfs so will bear those in mind.

It's probably me being a cheapskate and only really having owned sheds, and it's not a criticism of your example/suggestion

But I do find it difficult to justify spending nearly 5k on a 13 year old car! Thats just me being tight though!

[Pegscratch]

Stick to more economical petrols would be my advice, purely because they are far easier put back together than diesels for the most part and you're not really doing quite enough to avoid DPF issues that plague most of that generation of diesel motorvehicle.

The C30 is a good platform but the 1.6D is the PSA unit (and the D2 is a worse version with a better gearbox!) and the 2.0D is the Ford TDCI issue with it's own issues. The D3/D4 if you can find them are good (Volvo) units. Personally though unless you're going any distance a midsize petrol in a moderate hatchback (Fiesta Zetec-S?) will be more fun while only sacrificing some MPG.

[Sue_Donym]

Auris or Avensis would work, both bombproof if dull. All the petrols are good as is the 2 litre diesel but avoid the 2.2 as it had a few issues. Avensis would probably be more comfortable.

FN2 Civic would work as well, either the 1.8 petrol (the 1.4 from the Jazz is too gutless in a Civic,) or the 2.2 diesel which is early enough to avoid most of the modern diesel problem parts.

Octavia could work too, same PD engine as the Golf but a bit more room and no scene tax.

[ZX10R NIN]

The Mazda3/C30 of this ilk are all based on the Focus & in the case of the C30 share the same (the Mazda uses it's own 2.2d that's best avoided.

The best VFM for your budget is the Astra GTC SRI

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103079...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101127...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103079...

Or the Alfa Giulietta Veloce

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103069...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103089...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103039...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102229...

Or the loaded Astra Elite:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103019...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101238...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103099...

[Burny16v]

ZX10R NIN said:

Or the Alfa Giulietta Veloce

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103069...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103089...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103039...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102229...

I've always liked the look of the Alfas and seem to offer something a bit different in this class and at this sort of price seem good value, but realistically, are they actually that reliable? I may have fallen for an unfair stereotype but I always assumed they'd present more problems than their rivals, however I see you recommend Alfas a lot so was curious if you know something I don't!

[Haddock82]

I'm going to throw a massive spanner in the works and ask....

Has anyone tried a Seat Mii electric?

There are some stupid finance deals on them at the moment, really cheap

The new house has solar electric panels on the garage roof

We are just discussing with the owners what sort of electric output they get from these, we don't know yet 100%

Or am I being stupid and 12,000 mile in a Seat Mii will kill me?

But possibly free electric to charge it...? Hmm....

Excess mileage won't be a huge problem as could alternate between commuting in the Mii and the wifes car....

[ZX10R NIN]

Burny16v said:

I've always liked the look of the Alfas and seem to offer something a bit different in this class and at this sort of price seem good value, but realistically, are they actually that reliable? I may have fallen for an unfair stereotype but I always assumed they'd present more problems than their rivals, however I see you recommend Alfas a lot so was curious if you know something I don't!

The Giulietta is a very reliable car, you're using old stereotypes in regards to these, they're as reliable as anything in this segment.

Some of the main dealers are rubbish but find a good Indy & you'll have a good car.

[Wagonwheel555]

Mk5 Golf TDI was my first thought too.

[Don Roque]

Pegscratch said:

you're not really doing quite enough to avoid DPF issues that plague most of that generation of diesel motorvehicle.

This sort of rubbish gets trotted out quite often by people who don't know what they're talking about but it's worth addressing for the sake of clarity. It's not mileage that will cause DPF problems but journey type, or more specifically, whether or not the car is allowed to complete a DPF regen.

The effect of passive generation from driving alone is minimal in most car's DPF systems. Inevitably, they all need to run active regen cycles now and then to clean the DPF out. The thing that will cause problems is either doing very short trips so that the DPF cannot regenerate, or switching the car off before the cycle finishes.

Even if you only do 5000 miles a year in a diesel, you won't have any trouble with the DPF so long as you let it complete the regen cycles it needs. Understanding how the system works is all it takes to live comfortably with one.

[Don Roque]

Sue_Donym said:

FN2 Civic would work as well, either the 1.8 petrol (the 1.4 from the Jazz is too gutless in a Civic,) or the 2.2 diesel which is early enough to avoid most of the modern diesel problem parts.

The Honda 2.2 diesel isn't a bad unit but they are known for needing dual mass flywheel replacements which aren't cheap. If you can afford one, the 1.6 i-DTEC diesel engine in the 9th gen Civic is a much better choice. It's probably one of thesmoothest, most refined four cylinder diesel I've ever known and can give over 70mpg on a long run.

ZX10R's suggestion of an Astra GTC SRi is a good call. Comfortable, a very good steer, reliable and nice to look at. The 2.0 CDTi is the pick of the bunch.

[jwilco]

Don Roque said:

This sort of rubbish gets trotted out quite often by people who don't know what they're talking about but it's worth addressing for the sake of clarity. It's not mileage that will cause DPF problems but journey type, or more specifically, whether or not the car is allowed to complete a DPF regen.

The effect of passive generation from driving alone is minimal in most car's DPF systems. Inevitably, they all need to run active regen cycles now and then to clean the DPF out. The thing that will cause problems is either doing very short trips so that the DPF cannot regenerate, or switching the car off before the cycle finishes.

Even if you only do 5000 miles a year in a diesel, you won't have any trouble with the DPF so long as you let it complete the regen cycles it needs. Understanding how the system works is all it takes to live comfortably with one.

I think there's the assumption that if someone is doing 5k miles a year, they are more likely to be doing shorter journeys rather than, say, a 100 mile journey once a week. But you are right - this is definitely an assumption that may be totally incorrect.

[Burny16v]

ZX10R NIN said:

The Giulietta is a very reliable car, you're using old stereotypes in regards to these, they're as reliable as anything in this segment.

Some of the main dealers are rubbish but find a good Indy & you'll have a good car.

Thanks, I feared I may have been a bit behind the times in my opinions on Alfas! Do you know if the petrol versions are similarly reliable, as the debate here seems to be back and forth between petrol and diesel?

For used cars I rarely find myself needing a main dealer so not really a concern on that front.

[Haddock82]

OK so once the move is sorted and we are out of this lockdown, I will go and look at some Astra 2.0 CDTi options and also like the look of the Civic 1.6 diesel too.

It needs to be 5 door so I think that rules out the Astra SRi option...

We have dismissed getting a new car on finance as we've got a labrador and the new house is in the country (so small roads etc)
Our cars tend to get trashed and covered in mud & dog hair, so having to give back a wreck after 2 years isn't really an option.
Plus I prefer to mechanically look after everything, it might not look the prettiest on the outside (or inside even!) But it will be serviced every year and any problems fixed.
Also at the end of 2 years (Or whatever the finance agreement is) you have a car, a physical object that is yours and you don't have to give it back!

Edited by Haddock82 on Tuesday 16th March 14:54

[anonymous-user]

I know it is French and therefor rubbish, but what about a Mk3 Scenic 1.5 DCI?

Same size as as a Megane but feel much bigger due to the additional height. Good driving position and cheap as anything to run, 55+ MPG is easily achievable all day long. £30 annual road tax for some models.

Six speed gearbox means it is pulling around 2000 RPM at 70 MPH . Not desirable so you can get a relatively recent one for your £5K.

[Haddock82]

Joey Deacon said:

I know it is French and therefor rubbish, but what about a Mk3 Scenic 1.5 DCI?

Same size as as a Megane but feel much bigger due to the additional height. Good driving position and cheap as anything to run, 55+ MPG is easily achievable all day long. £30 annual road tax for some models.

Six speed gearbox means it is pulling around 2000 RPM at 70 MPH . Not desirable so you can get a relatively recent one for your £5K.

I want to hate this idea as... you know it's French... and a Renault....

But that boot looks quite good for the dog...

I like the Civic, but that rake of the rear glass/boot is that going to be too low for the pooch?

[ElectricSoup]

I bet you didn't think anything as new as 2017 would be available, just over your budget?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009023...

These are huge value and hugely under-rated. Very comfy on the motorway. Very economical. Find that extra £800.

Edited by ElectricSoup on Tuesday 16th March 15:43