Viewing 22 posts - 41 through 62 (of 62 total)
  • Cars… what small(ish), economical car for a big commute?
  • petrieboy
    Full Member

    I just don't get the assumption that good MPG must equal small city car. The mileage we are talking about surely suggests motorway or fast A roads and I wouldn't have thought a small car that's been designed to be economical on the urban cycle is going to be substantially better than a decent derv rep mobile designed for the task in hand – especially considering how cheap mondeos and the like are and how expensive city cars are. You could end up paying a premium to be uncomfortable!

    hora
    Free Member

    Polo/Ibiza etc for circa 25,000 miles a year? No offence but you are off your head. If that was me it'd seriously wear me out/down over just a few months. Ontop of that little cars as a whole aren't designed for big miles and any car over a few years will have a fair amount of wear and tear parts.

    Of course I can't talk for you but if it was me I'd be uncomfortable on seats designed for shorter journeys.

    You wouldn't buy a jump bike to ride XC now would you? 😉

    Hairychested
    Free Member

    I'd go for a Peugeot 406 2.0HDi. Comfy, cheap to buy and run, reliable. I often do a couple of hundred miles a day in the older version and it's fine.

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    hora
    Free Member

    406's have possibly too comfy seats. I'd fall asleep in those sofa chairs 😆

    DaveyBoyWonder
    Free Member

    Hora, I ride a 4X bike (as do you!) for XC so why not.

    Small car does (usually) equal good mpg. The 1.9TDI engine in a Polo/Fabia etc is more economical than the same engine thats in a Golf/Passat/A4 etc – smaller/less heavy car. Plus if I find one of the smaller options with the 6 speed gearbox its going to be even more economical. My ST does nearly 10mpg more than mates with the 2L/5spd Mondeo of the same age.

    To be honest, at the times I drive the traffic is moving along at about 60 so its not as if I'm going to be wanting to blat around on clear motorways at 90. If I did then a Polo wouldn't be the right tool.

    hora
    Free Member

    Hmmm auto would be another choice. Hateful things for normal use but 120miles a day I think its essential?

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    Key is road noise IMO

    i agree – ive recently started doing a (temporary) 60 mile commute twice a week – sleeping in the van the other nights … and by **** your heads thumping when you get to work after an hour and a half in my van ….

    if i was buying again with a view to doing this commute everyday mondeo estate wins !-but im not so it wont 😀

    hora
    Free Member

    Yep and it takes is one accident a few times a week and you've got a longer commute. Crawling through traffic demands an auto.

    Can I ask – why 120miles a day?!!!!!!!! Your mad!

    Hairychested
    Free Member

    Seats are comfy, suspension plush, plenty of space. Only the clutch can be heavy (but I like it that way) on the left foot. If you drive at 60-70mph it'll do approx. 55 mpg, not bad for a £1500 car.

    Surf-Mat
    Free Member

    Hmmm auto would be another choice. Hateful things for normal use but 120miles a day I think its essential?

    Tell the engineers of every current Ferrari, AMG Merc and the majority of 911s that their autos are hateful… 😉

    hora
    Free Member

    The DSG is way better than any human changes however for enjoyment/shorter journeys I'll always choose manual 🙂

    If I was a rep etc – auto everytime.

    Albanach
    Free Member

    You may be able to pick up a nice Toyota Yaris for that price, the 1.4d4-d engine is great and will easily do 50+, or

    That's a shopping car, not one for a long drive

    I thought I would agree with that but a mate in the club has got a 5 door one and with a rack on the back it took three bikes (with front wheels off), 3 lots of kit for a ride and 3 front wheels in the boot with one seat folded down and me in the back (I'm 6'5") and the other two are around 6'. Really comfortable journey (around 150miles all in), not noisy, I was well impressed.

    Surf-Mat
    Free Member

    Hora – silly thing to say. The most suitable gearbox depends completely on the car. Try and sell a fast BMW/Merc with a manual and you'll get very few takers. But we've been there before and a Perodua Kelisa's manual is far better than an SL65 AMG's auto of course…

    hora
    Free Member

    Supercharged Merc with auto box. Sometimes they kick down mid-corners.

    Not the best combo. however the fat annoying regressed-child on TV will tell you the sun shines out of Mercedes-ass. 😈

    Surf-Mat
    Free Member

    SL65 is turbocharged (x2), not supercharged… 😉

    Only a 5 speed box though. Weird.

    hora
    Free Member

    Don't know why but Audi's and Merc's – they just leave me 'cold'. Nice cars yes but recently saw a R8 outside work- everyone loved the engine sound etc and one lad said he'd take it up the ass if he was given the R8. I just couldn't rouse any attraction to it. 😐

    molgrips
    Free Member

    An R8 is nicer than anything from BMW – FACT. And probably from Merc too.

    But anyway.. I don't think small cars are designed for cheap city driving any more. Polos for example used to be economy boxes, but they've got bigger and pluser over the years, so much so that they (along with almost all manufacturers of small cars) have introduced a real city car beneath it in the range. Polo is no longer the smallest car in the VW range, neither is the Yaris. City cars are Fox and iQ, the Yaris and Polo are simply small normal cars.

    Test drive one perhaps?

    hora
    Free Member

    If I had to chose it'd be a Cayman for me and bank any difference.

    br
    Free Member

    And thanks to the few people that did actually help with my original question… Polo/Ibiza/Fabia it is then.

    We did answer your original question, just not the answer you wanted.

    'cos you said 'am I missing anything'…

    hora
    Free Member

    b r he wanted a small city car for a very long commute 😯

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Polo is NOT a small city car. It's a small normal car.

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    Daveyboywonder – I still can't see why you would want to change.

    My wife has a diesel Polo, all be it only a 1.4 and there is no way I would want to do 25k + miles a year in it, its just not a comfortable enough car, and it doesnt do a great deal more mpg, plus has a MUCH smaller fuel tank. I can assure you that when you have been used to getting 600+ miles from a tank, having to fill up after 350-400 miles will make a big difference. Oh also Polo's are extremly dull to drive and IMO the build quality is quite shocking.

    How old is your Mondeo, and when did you buy it? The Mondeo depreciates at a greater rate than most cars, so if you have had it from anything like new it will have already depreciated big time regardless of putting more miles on it, hence why I paid £4k for mine and get a 4 year old one with all the toys.

Viewing 22 posts - 41 through 62 (of 62 total)

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