I’m after a new car. My commute’s a 70 mile round trip, most of which is either motorway or DC, so I’d like something fairly economical and comfy. I also want something that’s mildly entertaining – handling is probably more important than outright power. I’ve no real need to carry passengers in the back, and it would be handy to have something that a bike can go in the back of.

Given the length of the commute, it might sound a bit odd to want something fun, but I had 406 HDI once – it was quick, chipped, and it gripped like mad for such a big car, but I hated it with a passion. It was horrible to drive on a B-road and seemed to fight being driven fast, with the brake assist kicking in on the way into corners.

My current thoughts are:

Clio 182 – cheap, fast, 2 litre engine, not a great deal to go wrong. I’m unsure about what comfort and reliability would be like though.

BMW E46 318 compact. RWD, fairly quick, pretty comfy, not an amazing image amongst car fans, but very cheap. I’m put off by the propensity to rust and the amazing list of things that can go wrong on an old BMW. And the number of cars which have had two dozen tightwad owners.

An Alfa diesel – either a 147 or GT. I like the looks of Alfas, and they drive well, but I’m not sure I could be doing with the servicing costs. The 2.0 T-spark petrols do 30mpg ish in the real world, so they’re not an option.

RX8 – there’s one with LPG on Autotrader. It’s a serious curve ball, but running costs ought to be bearable on LPG.

BMW Mini – look presentable, not a fan of the ride at all, major aggro with the gearboxes blowing up on the older ones.

Ford Puma – a bit of an odd choice, but I love the way old Ka’s handle, and this is basically the same chassis with a bigger engine. They may disintegrate at the same speed as a Ka though.

Has anyone else got any ideas for quickish cars that aren’t going to bankrupt me to run? I’m not really after a diesel as I’d be buying something 10 years old with 100k on the clock with my budget, which is liable to mean big bills in the future…

Mx5.

If I was doing 70 miles a day I’d be looking at something that returns at least 50mpg as an absolute minimum. Which would knock pretty much all the cars you’ve suggested out of the way.

How about a 330d? They’re quite economical, pretty quick and will handle like a proper car.

Puma is a hoot but finding onethats not made of rust is getting hard. Clios 182 great fun and youl laugh at just how many bits fall off it. Fiesta St would make my short list of fun practical hatches that are cheap to run. The citroen c4 vtr coupe would aswell just because I like the look of it.

A3 Sportback 170 DSG 😉

Clio 182 – cheap, fast, 2 litre engine, not a great deal to go wrong. I’m unsure about what comfort and reliability would be like though.

Are your commuting miles on motorway? 182s are far from good mile munchers, good seats (as long as it’s not the nasty Cup ones) but loud at motorway speeds, especially as it’ll probably have an aftermarket exhaust on (The Renault exhaust is £750 to replace and comes pre-rusted from the factory).
Similarly the aren’t the nicest to sit in lots of town traffic in either.
If your commute is all A/B roads it’d be great.

Reliability wise…. they tend to be ok. Mostly electrical niggles (well it is French and nearly 10 years old) and you need to make sure the belts have been changed – preferably by a specialist. Otherwise there’s nothing terribly exciting to report.

Standard models and those with added Cup packs have auto lights, wipers, cruise control, climate control, xenons, etc. Cup models…… don’t.

P.S. Low to mid-40s mpg is possible depending on how you drive it. Lolz at the typical STW diesel suggestion

I drive a Golf gti mk4. Do 150 miles a day round trip on mostly motorways, but when i hit a real road i have a nice handling car. Cost me two grand and only get 32 mpg, but main thing you have to factor in is running costs as things inevitably go wrong on old cars…

For a cheap 10 year old fun car a well looked after MG ZS 180 could be worth a look and should be in budget. An MG TF would be a lot of cheap fun as well but you would need to be sure the head gasket and other usual gremlins have been sorted especially since you’d need to rely on it to get to work!

I had a 2003 Mini Cooper S which was great did 90,000 in it with no problems – just new tyres and brakes etc.

I now drive a 407 1.6HDI remapped which isn’t bad but a bit boring… I’m thinking about swapping it for one of the coupe’s with a V6.

As a Clio 197 owner I’d be selling it if I had a 70 mile commute and doubtless the same if not more so if it was a 182 for all the reasons legend listed above. We do use ours for longer journeys but its absolutely not what what it’s for. They only really make sense on A/B roads.

imo the only thing you want for motorway miles is quiet comfort and efficiency – “sporty” is an irrelevance. I might be horribly wrong but a big diesel with 100K on it is only just run in – a clio 182/197 with that sort of miles will be ragged to hell and is near the end of it’s life.

If you can find one, a3 tdi Quattro sport, S3 drivetrain and handling, torquey pd130 Diesel engine and 45mpg

Skoda Fabia VRS…..diesel pretty exceptional all round car

personal fav and one that I own after buying for daughter who failed het test and I never gave it back a car that does 70 miles plus commute per day with motorway and A road …….
VW Lupo tdi 75 bhp returns 60mpg and is a blast to drive.
Would get a gti 125bhp if you can find one. TDI 30 quid to tax per year both wheels off can get a large Turner 29er in.

Polo gti consider as well

Toyota Yaris T sport some low miles models around for cheap money

Toyota corolla t sport 150 bhp reliable and suprising fun

Seat Ibiza…fr models in petrol or diesel vw pinning and reallyquite nice

I’m after a new car. My commute’s a 70 mile round trip, most of which is either motorway or DC, so I’d like something fairly economical and comfy.

Good Idea

Given the length of the commute, it might sound a bit odd to want something fun,

It is odd, I watched people sat in “fast cars” at 5mph looking really uncomfortable from my Van. If this is what your doing then get something comfy that will do huge mpg.
I need to knock up one of those “this is how” posters, I think I drive the nurbering to work but really I sit in traffic for hours…

Lolz at the typical STW diesel suggestion

Whereas pretty much everyone else is Lolzing at the thought of driving 70 miles a day in a 182. It’d be an absolute nightmare. I’ve raced one on a track which was fun (the only time I lifted off was to get the back end moving round a bit faster) but driving one further than down the shops would be horrible.

To the OP, I appreciate you want some fun but that’s a long commute and the best thing you could do with that IMO is get something economical, torquey and pleasant to be in. The 182 is none of those things.

With the money you save by running a VAG diesel, buy a little rocket for the weekends.

I know you said you don’t want a diesel but Similar to others but slightly different have you thought about a mk4 golf gt tdi 150? Yes it’s a diesel yes you will have to pay slightly more but they do go on and on my mates has just hit 190,000 😯

If you want a laugh you can chip it and get another 40 bhp (although the clutch won’t like you) will easily see early 40’s mpg even with spirited driving and it has bags of torque. Only downside is the under steer through corners if you boot it too hard too early.

If i was doing 35 miles each way morning and night – id want something comfy and fast enough to keep pace with traffic that was very economical.- if it was stop start traffic it would be an autobox. Fun would be the bottom of my list. Just about all those cars listed make a lovely noise for. Asunday morning. First thing in the morning every morning – no thanks

I also know that if i had squirt under my right foot id get pissed off at the time wasted commuting and end up loosing my license.

Golfs go on and on because like t4 and t5 folk has spent so much to buy that they throw good money after bad fixing the things with parts at stupid prices( even fitting them my self – even service items wernt cheap) . I speak from bitter experiance of 2 big bills( steering rack and siezed calipers) and a blown engine on a mk4 golf with fsh from the dealer. Was underwhelmed by the supposed ” handling” as well my escort on ditchfinders was a nicer car to drive – even with the golf on hankook optimos.- mines was prone to understeer in corners and lift off over steer – and i dont even drive fast!

In true stw fashion I’ll recommend what I drive, Civic Type R (<2006).

Driven conservedly it’ll see high 30s mpg. Reliable and great handling. Service interval is 12k too.

If I was in the market for something petrol (and had a pass from the fun sponge), I’d have another Rover 220 Coupe (turbo or NASP) in a heartbeat, with a few quid to spend on polybushing the suspension and Brembodge-ing the front brakes.

Not everyones idea of a nice, exciting motor, but I loved mine.

I’ve been there done that with a big comfy diesel car, and the comfy didn’t outweigh the “WHY ON EARTH DO I OWN THIS?” feeling every time I hit an A or B road.

Cheers to everyone who’s pointed me towards specific models, rather than “get the cheapest running costs possible” which obviously isn’t what I’m going for. If I wanted to do that, I’d buy a Bluemotion Golf and a pair of elasticated M&S slacks.

you don’t hear mk 4 golf gti’s handling talked about in glowing terms very often.
i commuted 58 miles round trip for 4 years or so in a tvr chimaera. the money i spent on servicing i could literally have gone and bought another one. 😯 i never counted the cost of fuel. it was a hell of a lot of fun, and people did just move out of the way when they saw it in their mirrors. those who didn’t just gave you an excuse to drop a cog and boot it later on. on this basis i’d recommend getting something absolutely bat-shit crazy. later on you’ll be glad of something quiet and a bit boring. 😉
watch out for excise duty on some of those cars you’ve mentioned. the newer RX8s are 400 quid annually i understand. 😯

I’ve been there done that with a big comfy diesel car, and the comfy didn’t outweigh the “WHY ON EARTH DO I OWN THIS?” feeling every time I hit an A or B road.

fair enough. If I see when you’re in your 182 and I’m in my 330d I’ll give you a wave as I fly past you. 😉

I reckon the post above with the civic type r has a lot going for it. That’d be my choice.

My current car for my 35ml each way commute is a golf mk7 GT 2l tdi, and it’s blooming marvlouse. Properly good in the corners, fast enough in a straight line and economy is good as well. High initial buying price though, (mines a company car so I don’t mind).

an Eco car with engine remap 😀

I’ve got a 70 mile round trip and was doing it in a focus st-3. Loved the car, absolutely loved it. Very quick, nice inside and looked smart in the gunmetal grey. But, and there is a big but, it returned 24.5 mpg on average. With a weekend biking trip thrown in, it was costing me 150 quid a week in petrol. Switched to a 09 golf gt tdi, one trip to the pump a week, really notice the extra money in my pocket now. I’d say deffo go diesel, or if there’s a place by you that sells it, get something no-one can afford to run, like a 3 litre bmw/merc/audi, and get an lpg conversion.

Suzuki swift sport is what you want ,group 12 insurance , 127 bhp ,very light and an absolute hoot on a b road .

Seat Ibiza FR or Cupra TDi – I used to have a remapped FR and did a 120 mile daily roundtrip in it. Id did sound like a bag of spanners but went like stink. It was fairly comfortable for long distances and was reliable, nothing went wrong in the 80,000 miles that I owned it.
With the work mine had done on it it was putting out around 190 bhp and was probably the most entertaining car I have owned. I would still have it now if I hadn’t emmigrated.

70miles per day?

Tbh a S60 or S80. A Clio would wear me down

I’ve been there done that with a big comfy diesel car, and the comfy didn’t outweigh the “WHY ON EARTH DO I OWN THIS?” feeling every time I hit an A or B road.

Honestly, every time on an A road the diesel was fine (and the transit), I’m not racing it, if I was there are cameras all over the place and slow people. Hammer it on B-roads – accident waiting to happen.

Ride your bikes for fun.

S80? 😆

I could go for a big V8 Jag or Merc on LPG, but not an S80…

07 mini copper here and love it. so much fun but still good for long days drive ( just not much room ) cheap to run on fuel
Had many others and only caterham 7 is the next for fun but would never want to use they every day as would soon become hell !

Not sure what the lols are about? My S80 gave me over 50mpg, was far more fun to drive than you might imagine and was faster than a quite fast thing. Not to mention being comfier than my sofa. The only issues were that when the electronic toys packed up, it was incredibly hard / expensive to sort them.

Even though Samuri has the middle-manager BMW horn currently, the BMW 320D is a good choice. Try one.

what about a dci 100 clio? over 60 mpg & same torque as the 182.

I had a dci 80; & did a 70 mile a/b road commute. Wasn’t a terrible choice although something bigger would be more comfy.

Getting a bike in the back was both wheels off most of the time.

306 GTI-6 should be on your list.

I’m in the same boat as you with a 70 mile commute and hate my diesel company car and once the lease is up will be taking the cash and buying something cheap and fun. A 182 is very high up on the list.

They’re find for longer trips; they’re more of less the same inside as the lower models but have more toys. They’re no way as annoying as the 197 on the motorway. If you keep the engine out if the VVTi they’re quite civilised, just not as much as a newer small car. My uncle who did big miles had a 172 and a 182 and loved them. He chopped an A8 in for a new 172 which was then chopped in for a 735 which was changed for a full fat 182.

The Mini’s are tube if you by so Cooper S because they always had the 6 speed Getrag box. The earlier Coopers and Ones had the 5 speed Midlands box which had chocolate internals. I’ve seen a few good MCS’s for around £4k. I did my commute in a Mini One for a while (trying to be sensible to got shot of my MCS) and it was fine.

Avoid the 318ti, it’s poop. That engine is horrible, I had a 325ti which was great and averaged 31.7mpg no matter how I drive it but the bills did mount up hence it went. Many E46’s are heaps now because they’re rusty. The big issues aside from rust is that this era of BM’s munch through suspension components and the cooling systems are dire. If I could find another good one, I’d take a punt. The six cylinder engine is fab.

BM diesels are a bit of a risk, there are so many stories about dodgy turbos, that I’d give them a wide berth.

Mini Cooper S good on fuel?? must be relative to the owner I guess! as much as I love our MCS, economical and comfortable it is not!

Ours is a mk1 with the super charger so the new ones maybe better but I can only dream of 30mpg and it loves the taste of high octane. coupled with the £285 a year tax disc I think you can see why there’s a fair few about for keen money.

Would highly recommend a micra 160sr, 1.6 110bhp but great fun comfy and cheap ish to run. Does 40 odd mpg round town near 60 on motorway taking it easy.
Good ones 2000-2500

I had an R53 Cooper S and used to see 30mpg if driven sensibly (75 on cruise on the motorway). I never found it that uncomfortable, the ride wasn’t that bad (certainly no worse than our 330 M Sport on run flats). My One never saw more than 38mpg.

It depends on what you see as acceptable fuel consumption.

We picked up a Saab 9-3 convertible (Aero spec) for just under £5k towards the end of the summer. more precisely £1800 and a battered 08 plate Fiesta that I didn’t believe was worth what the dealer paid us for it!

Saab is very comfortable, reliable engines (as far as I recall from the old Saabs I used to own) 210 BHP is fun when it needs to be or just very refined. It a joy to drive. Saabs never were the sort of thing to throw down a country lane, more of a fast A road and motorway thing.

roof down is always nice if a bit poncy.

probably does 36mpg.

To answer the question above, a modern diesel with 100k on it is not ” just run in” but rather ” just about to cost a fortune”. 100,000 miles is about the point turbos let go, and DPFs and DMFs finally cry enough.
If you are really lucky the previous owner will have already done this, if not then you need deep pockets

I 100% agree with bikemike. I’ve had a lot of leggy petrol cars, and every time the engine has carried on whilst the interior and bodywork starts to get ratty. Diesels are great first owner / company cars, but mean bills are just a matter of time once you’re past 100k.

I’ve been and had a nosy at an one of the 130 Ibiza TDIs with the PD engine today. They go well enough but the power delivery isn’t very pleasant. I think BMW have it well sorted in the 3 series engines that pump out 150+ brake but they do blow up turbos…

the swift is a good call, drove one and was impressed

add in

mitsubshi colt czt……interior dash awful but comfy seats and a jolly good drive.

Not been mentioned

Fiesta st petrol or diesel………..

for 4k Mercedes C class coupe????