Ok guys,
Ive come close(ish) before and for the last 2 years I have been running a Mk3 Golf Estate TDi.
90bhp doesnt sound much but the turbo keeps me happy enough. I get a genuine 55mpg and if im really gentle with it I can touch 600 miles to a full tank.
The boot is plenty big enough to fit the pram and other kiddie bits in or can easily fit a whole bike in with the front wheel removed, plus tons of kit.
Add a roof rack and you've got something very capable. Plus I dont have to be too precious as its pretty much a banger now being nearly 12 years old.
But it might be time to upgrade soon, the wife will be keeping a small super eco car for her longer commute so mine has to be big enough for weekend duties (holidays/in-law visits/riding weekends).
I want pretty much all of the above still, so cant really see past an estate car for my needs but would welcome any other suggestions.
My thoughts so far:
Mk 4 Golf estate Tdi (110bhp or 130bhp?)
Skoda Octavia estate
one of those Seat MPV types (cant remember the name but neighbour has one)
Passat estate
T4 van?..
Funky old school Jeep Cherokee with LPG conversion?
I should probably mention im a VW fan, but am open to any other genuine contenders.
The boxier the better, im a sucker for square cars! I even like those weird imported Japanese boxes, the ones that look like they were made by Tonka.. Nissan Cube etc..
Huge boot cheap to buy is Mondeo estate territory.
My wifes Honda Accord estate will do 55mpg if you never go over 70 on the motorway and be insanely gentle in town etc.. Its huge in the back..
[i]one of those Seat MPV types (cant remember the name but neighbour has one)
T4 van?..
Funky old school Jeep Cherokee with LPG conversion? [/i]
I'd be surprised if any of these get 55mpg myself but I'm weilling to be educated.
Get another Golf. Our A3 will bring back 55mpg if my wife is driving it and that's the 150bhp version. The boot is a joke though.
+1 for Mondeo Estate
My dad drives his like an ape and floors it everywhere. Still gets 40-45ish to the gallon and it goes like a stabbed rat. (his is the 2L diesel one). You could easily get more than that if you're careful.
Funky old school Jeep Cherokee with LPG conversion?
I've got one of those 😉
18mpg. Gas being about 1/2 the price of diesel helps but it isn't anything like 55mpg. Mid-30s is about the equivalent.
Second Honda Accord estate. Mahoosive inside, although 500 miles to a tank full is more realistic for real world driving.
Given you haven't mentioned reliability a Renault Megane estate would fit the bill. I get a real world 62mpg from a 1.5 diesel, 700 odd miles from a tank, good boot, boxy looks.
Sounds perfect if you ignore the electrical issues.
I dunno why people quote how many miles you get from a tank. It's not like all tanks are the same size, is it?!
Prius.
+2 For Mondeo estate. 50mpg and 600miles to the tank. (yep I know Molgrips I just thought that myself!) A full tank in my Mondeo is about £75-£80!
All the toys you could want too.
Passat estate. Simular to the Golf, but it has a bigger fuel tank by 15 litres and so goes past the 600 mile barrier. It's also a fair bit roomier, but not a lot bigger and more refined. I think a journalist had one of the brand new 1.6tdi 105bhp ones for a drive round europe to see how efficiant it was and got over 1300 miles out of a tank. Cheap on the tax too. Of the older VW TDI's with the 8 valve engines like the mk4 golf, the TDI 130 seems to be the most efficiant of the lot for mpg and typically give out 148bhp, so has a fair bit of go. Just make sure that the cam belt & tensioners have been done if it's due or near as they can be expensive and as they are under a lot of tension, they have been known to break if left overdue.
how about an A4 estate, i've got the 130bhp se and it will happily do 50+ mpg and has a bigger boot than a golf, though not as big as a mondeo?
520 miles to a tank in the Prius, 750 miles in the Passat. Prius costs £45 to fill, the Passat £90.
1.6 HDI berlingo ....
Focus estate? Get 650 miles to a tank on my hatch.
I'd be amazed if 1300 miles on a single tank is possible. I believe the theoretical range on that Passat is ~1000 miles.
new vw Amarak 600miles per tank.. BIG tank
seriusly skoda have this greenline fabis estate that'll do 83mpg combined.. 14k new and ZERO annual car tax a cheap reliable economical to run new car..
Berlingo/Partner. Cheap as chips, meets all other requirements (including boxiness, in spades!), but a total dog in the corners. Or, if you prefer VW, Caddy Life, but that's considerably more expensive.
current:
audi a4 avant 2.0 litre - does 60mpg on a run with no bikes on the back, 600 to a tank; more like 45-50 mpg fully laden with bikes on towbar. boot isn't huge either.
previous:
vw t4 van lwb 2.5tdi - huge, powerful, fit all your kit - but only 40mpg, 400 to a tank
Dave
dave360 - Member
Second Honda Accord estate. Mahoosive inside, although 500 miles to a tank full is more realistic for real world driving
I find it hard to leave the throttle alone too..
My old Mondeo ST TDCI used to easily get 600+ out of a tank and had a huge boot. So boggo Mondeo estate would be cheap to buy and run. I'd get the 6spd box if possible though - made it that slight bit more economical than my mates 5spd ones.
Not quite 600miles, but my (1.6 petrol, 100ps)focus C-max does 43mpg on the motorways, 36mpg on the B roads, about 480miles to a (~50ltr) tank. And none of the expensive diesel bits to go wrong.
Bonus, the rear seats unclip completely and can be srored in the garrage, giving another foot of space over most estate cars.
seat alhambra, bought one recently as a bike wagon. Same as the Ford Galaxy and VW Sharan. Got the 1.9TDI, averages 50mpg+ over a whole tank (~600 miles a tank) which was a pleasant surprise for such a big car. Briefly considered a van (many of my riding buddies have vans in one shape or another) but this has more creature comforts.
My criteria was something that could get bikes in upright and inline which ruled a lot of smaller MPV (and even vans) out. Taken all the rear seats out but could easily leave some in and get bikes in (I guess having 2 seats inline one behind other would be most efficient). Like most MPVs the seats are individual units so (as long as you have somewhere to store em) you can have any combination that would suit whatever task.
this is bikes in, seats out (front wheels turned for stability, they can be inline with room to spare). Cheap improvised "rack" is straps between rear grab handles that support the saddles to keep the bikes vertical.
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Yes its called a Mondeo. 700+ miles between refills, low 50s mpg mixed bag motorway/town driving. Boot is big enough to make the word 'packing' redundant you just throw stuff in - fold the seats down and there's enough room for a party.the perfect car - 600miles to a tank - huge boot - cheap to buy - does it exist?
Massively torquey 2.0 diesel destroys all hills - passengers/luggage/headwind it makes no difference.
Plenty of choice sub 10k miles less than £10k
MC - flippin heck that's a barn! I have car envy. How many does it seat, and when the seats are up whats the boot size like?
series one multipla JTD, you dont get more boxey than that. unless its a box 🙂
From my Mk5 (6?) 105bhp 1.6Tdi Golf Estate on a very gentle 200 mile motorway run last week. That's from the computer obviously, so maybe factor in 10% error. I can't believe the Passat can do better than this.
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how about an A4 estate
will take a look, especially if the boot is bigger than a golf
Focus estate?
Used to have a focus, but the estates make my eyes puke
1.6 HDI berlingo ....
probably not as daft an option as some might think..might look into it
+2 For Mondeo estate. 50mpg and 600miles to the tank
Havent looked at Mundaneo's for a while, might have a butchers at one. Tend to prefer the build of a german car but you never know.
Renault Megane estate
I love the look of the hatch, a colleague has the estate and it doesnt float my boat but ill ask him if I can take a closer look.
Ive heard horror stories about Renault service costs though..
Second Honda Accord estate. Mahoosive inside, although 500 miles to a tank full is more realistic for real world driving.
Very interesting proposition, what are 2nd hand values like in comparison?
Get another Golf. Our A3 will bring back 55mpg if my wife is driving it and that's the 150bhp version. The boot is a joke though
Is the boot that bad? Im prepared to drop the seats when carting bikes around. The boot in my Mk3 golf has been fine for me.
Funky old school Jeep Cherokee with LPG conversion?
I've got one of those
Kudos to you, they are fab looking cars. Always wanted one, dont think my wallet can take the weekly bashing though 🙁
How do you find it for lumbering gear around?
I wonder what mileage the 2.5TD would give if run on chip fat?...
I'd be amazed if 1300 miles on a single tank is possible
If you drive at 50mph maybe.. And do the dodgy tricks that are not practical in real life...
How huge is huge? My c-max diesel would seem to fit your criteria, and you can take out the rear seats completely for extra load space.
Berlingo/Partner. Cheap as chips, meets all other requirements (including boxiness, in spades!), but a total dog in the corners
dude - change your tires ....
mines was scary on the original ditchfinders but i stuck on some conti van contacts ... job done - gokartesque handling - corners quite well for a box on wheels now !
Me Prius is happnin man.
Ok so the boots nowhere near as big as an estate, but it does hold my roadie with the front wheel removed and the 29er too.. I can get my kite stuff in the back and wsurfing stuff on the roof. All good IMO.
Ok so they're expensive to buy new and the wait for it seemed to make an iceburg melt in a fjord somewhere near Osaka.. But a lot on my journeys are <30mph where the battery drives the car. On the m'way the engines kicked in and all's normal like.
I like it, it's not something I'da gone for before but hey..
series one multipla JTD, you dont get more boxey than that. unless its a box
I love them...wife will divorce me though 😆 , hang on a minute..
I reckon a Prius would have too small a boot for the OP with the seats up. Paradoxically massive with the seats down tho, although not in the same league as Berlingos and Alhambras.
I do like it tho and they are cheap s/h now.
molgrips - Member
I dunno why people quote how many miles you get from a tank. It's not like all tanks are the same size, is it?!
Exactly - there are a number of adverts about quoting how many miles a car will do from a tank and it's all rubbish! My audi a2 will do 400 miles from it's 34l tank easily and i've never put more than £35 of fuel in it. brilliant that a massive merc will do 800miles, but they don't tell you in the ad that it's got a 120l fuel tank...
Passat Estate.
Mine's an 03 and does about 46mpg on the short journey to work and back. Longer journeys I would expect a lot more. Two bikes are not a problem, and as they all have roof bars, I can fit a 5m sea kayak on top as well. Dogs optional with the bikes inboard.
Very comfortable too.
Kudos to you, they are fab looking cars. Always wanted one, dont think my wallet can take the weekly bashing though
How do you find it for lumbering gear around?
I wonder what mileage the 2.5TD would give if run on chip fat?...
They're actually a small car. They just look big. More hatchback sized than estate sized.
You get about 30mpg out of the diesels.
slimjim
2nd hand accords are probs 30% -40% more expensive than say an equivalent mondeo. I just went through this and was looking at 05 plate accords vs 05 mondeos - less than 100k . Mondeo 3.5k , Accord 5-6K
This was the passat economy thing. I remember reading about it in Autocar or something at the time: http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/volkswagen-world/news/320/new-passat-bluemotion-sets-the-economy-standard
I don't think normail people would get anywhere near this figure, but goes to show.
Honda Civic diesel. Currnetly averaging 62 MPG and can easilly get two bikes in with back seat down
Yeah seats down only when the bikes are in, the kite'll go in the "boot" with the seats up tho' but can't get the wsurfing gear in it. But then really.. it's not designed for anything other than a Victoria Sponge Display contest is it hahaha..
I toiled for months whether to buy one, having a decent large engined diesel estate before made me think "Mrs Precious" wouldn't be quick enough, but it's really quite sparky (pun intended) and so easy to live with.. You do have to weigh up the "overall" mpg mind, I get 70mpg regularly but again reitterate I drive in on battery for 2/3rds of my journeys.
Stereos amazing BTW. And it's not always tuned to Gardeners World either.. hahaha.
And my Panama Hat looks decidedly "tipper" on the parcel shelf... OMG!
Passat Estate
Average 50mpg
600-620miles out of a tank
cheap to run, cheap to fix
Just ticked over 200k in mine and it still runs perfectly.
Boot is vast and even bigger with back seats taken out.
Toys it has 7 seats in total, as you can see with the seats out the rear is humongous!! You could easily sleep 2 people with kit in the bikes (obviously you'd have to take the bikes out). It's awesome.
Having returned from the STW weekender in my mate's big Citroen people carrier - which is much like the Alhambra - I've got to say how ace it was to just through stuff in the back without worrying about careful packing. I did have a Mondeo and it got 2 of us, 3 bikes and all accompanying kit back from weekend's away economically and comfortably, but it did need to be "packed" rather than just throwing stuff in. Lots of fun to drive when not loaded up tho'
Depends on priorities I guess. Do you want an economical fun-to-drive car that needs a lot of load space, or is the space the priority? Would you be fed up driving an empty people carrier around for the majority of the time when you could be driving something more fun?
