You lot love a ‘which car’ thread, so which cars should I be looking at for circa 5k to offer the following:

Best fuel economy (seeking minimum of 50mpg)
Low servicing and running costs
Reasonably nippy and reasonable handling

I don’t think i’m a badge whore so looks aren’t too important, I’ve always been a fan of boxy daft cars anyway.
Space isn’t a big issue, smaller usually means cheaper to run so happy to go small hatchback size. However i’d prefer not to drive a rattling bag of road hum on the motorway every day.

Due to relocation my commute is potentially rising to 100-120 miles per day (roundtrip), but won’t be feasible if I cant keep the costs down. £500 on a set of 19″ tyres every year is not the kind of affordable I can manage.
Lower tax bands would be ideal.

Front runner in my mind was one of the older Clio DCi’s, although not sure how well they would take 25k+ miles per year.

What do you reckon?

Fabia VRS diesel? Not sure about 50mpg, but you’ll get very good mpg if driven sensibly. Plenty of grunt too if required. VW internals and within budget.

Good shout, I like the look of those.
Have driven Octavia VRS and love the concept of the extra horses, although can’t help but feel I should be looking at a more frugal example of the model?

1.4TDCI fiesta – its what a lot of the lads i know who do arbroath – aberdeen on a daily basis use – they are racking up some star ship milages with no issues. id have one if it wasnt too small for our needs

what are you going to do with the extra horses you have paid a premium for with a VRS ? accelerate faster ? go faster ? get more tickets on your commute while you speed home ? or just sit there smugly knowing you could waste him if you wanted to ?

the older Clio DCi’s

I had a 55plate. go for the 80 bhp, the 65 is woeful.

It was nice, small and french but a decent drive. I did 80 mile a day commute in it for a year or so.

Good shout, I like the look of those.
Have driven Octavia VRS and love the concept of the extra horses, although can’t help but feel I should be looking at a more frugal example of the model?

OK..good luck with the soul sapping 🙂

Life’s short!

whats so amaizing about the VRS diesel anyway ? they corner like a bag of shit – or is that the exciting non soul sapping part – trying to correct the understeer/nosteer that comes free with it ? or is it just the fact that the turbo makes a woosh and then you get pinned into your seat by the resulting kick.

the petrol turbo model on the other hand is fun. it actually goes round corners.

whats so amaizing about the VRS diesel anyway ? they corner like a bag of shit – or is that the exciting non soul sapping part – trying to correct the understeer/nosteer that comes free with it ?

Nothing. They just fit the OP’s brief well. HTH.

I had a 55plate. go for the 80 bhp, the 65 is woeful.
It was nice, small and french but a decent drive. I did 80 mile a day commute in it for a year or so.

What real world MPG did you manage? any reliability issues?

1.4TDCI fiesta

Is that the squarer model following the bulbous version?
Sounds worth investigating.

Nothing. They just fit the OP’s brief well. HTH.

Agreed, thanks for the suggestion – i’ll take a look at Fabia’s I reckon.
When push comes to the shove, I think i’ll likely plump for economy over turbo kick though

What real world MPG did you manage?

65-67 was the average mainly on country a roads. that’s from the dash before STW starts frothing.

Only issue i had was the dash died, and was replaced under warranty.

Rear wheel bearings don’t have a huge life: but are about £100 a side fitted. Airbag plug under the seat is crap: best bet is have it chopped out and hardwired in, sunroofs have a habit of leaking: normally need a coathanger to clean out.

I don’t think that’s a terrible list.

yes it is after checking this out on autotrader –

its defiantly the 1.4TDCI the lads have but it seems you get alot more for your dosh with the 1.6TDCI – dont know if it jumps up a tax bracket or the fuel economy is pish or what but you get significantly less miles and a better spec for similar cash.

for 5k your looking at 45-70k on the clock and anything from base spec to a ghia depending on the age.

For that sort of mileage, if I were you, I’d have something comfy to drive with legroom, an armrest and cruise control

At that sort of mileage the size of car doesn’t have a huge impact on price

You could probably pick up a Mondeo or Passat in reasonable nick and mileage for that sort of money. The Passat in 1.9 TDI guise – lots of versions – would hit that economy easy and would be a nice relaxed drive.

Or maybe a 320d?

slimjim78 – Member
Good shout, I like the look of those.
Have driven Octavia VRS and love the concept of the extra horses, although can’t help but feel I should be looking at a more frugal example of the model?

I’ve got the Ibiza Sport 130 TDi, which is the same car as the Fabia vRS diesel. Once it was facelifted, it became the FR TDi.

Mine does 55mpg without trying, currently getting nearer 60-62mpg and the best I have had this year is 68.8mpg over a tank. All measured, not based on the trip computer. Worst I have ever had was 46mpg, driving down to Cornwall in a bit of a hurry with two bikes on the roof and a boot full of camping gear.
Mine has been very reliable; still on it’s original clutch, exhaust, turbo etc. and it’s on 241k miles. It needs a cambelt every 60k miles.
Mine is on 205/46/16 wheels and I use Matador MP46 tyres. I’ve tried all sorts and they seem as good as any other. I get them from Camskill for £110 per pair delivered and my garage fits them for £12/tyre.

Insurance is cheap; I pay about £350 including breakdown cover.

I used to do a 120 mile commute in my Ibiza and it was fine, although the ride quality in the Fabia is better. I’m now down to 80 mile/day so can easily do a week worth of commute on one tank, plus enough for the weekend.
They also do a 100bhp version in the Ibiza (not sure about the Fabia), which is still had a bit of get-up-and-go but does feel a lot more sluggish off the line. Supposedly you’ll get a few more mpg out of it.
And they do the Cupra TDi, which has 160bhp from (essentially) the same engine. It has a different intercooler (larger & mounted on the front, rather than the side), bigger injectors, bigger AP racing brakes etc. The Cupra should still do 50mpg on a run.

trail_rat – Member
whats so amaizing about the VRS diesel anyway ? they corner like a bag of shit – or is that the exciting non soul sapping part – trying to correct the understeer/nosteer that comes free with it ? or is it just the fact that the turbo makes a woosh and then you get pinned into your seat by the resulting kick.

the petrol turbo model on the other hand is fun. it actually goes round corners.

Are you talking about the Fabia or the Octavia? They didn’t do an Fabia vRS petrol in the original shape; it was diesel only. And the latest Fabia vRS is petrol only, no diesel.

Oh, and regarding the Fiesta…..the 1.4TDCi is sloooowwww. I’d go for the 1.6TDCi instead. Fuel economy is close and the 1.6 is a much better engine for motorway work (in my opinion, of course).
I nearly bought the Zetec S TDCi when looking, but it was more expensive for the same age car as the Ibiza, but with more miles, less kit and it’s slower…..so i rather trepidously went down the Ibiza route and 8 years on am very pleased I did.

Bought it 3 years old with 24k miles on, and like I say, it’s now on 241k miles at 11 years old.

octavia petrol & diesel

fabia diesel.

all original shape. both diesels as bad as each other but the petrol was nice – im more a fan of the power delivery but i swear the diesels both went round corners worse than my van.

all straight line fast though. – petrol had atrocious fuel economy – which was a shame.

I’ve got the Fiesta in 1.6 TDCI Zetec S guise. I’ve had it 3 years and reckon i’ve spent about £300 all in on it, new exhaust, 2 sets of new tyres and a seal went on the injectors (£30 quid fitted). Its got the sports suspension so handles like a go kart! Its also £30 tax per annum and easily 50mpg even if you drive like a loon. I love it tbh, its a bit battered and old now but i think i’m gonna keep it till it blows. I picked mine up for £5700 3 years ago with 49,000 on the clock. But i’ve seen them recently still going for £2 or 3k.

However, the engines are supposedly a bit iffy, and when i got mine my mechanic warned me not to keep it past 120k or so becuase the engines aren’t known to last much longer. But as i say, i’ve only ever had to replace consumables on mine and the seal was a quick easy fix when it did go.

Hope that helps.

trail_rat – Member

all original shape. both diesels as bad as each other but the petrol was nice – im more a fan of the power delivery but i swear the diesels both went round corners worse than my van.

Yeah, my Ibiza is also quite understeery but does actually get round corners OK.
It’s no Mini Cooper S, but not sure the OP is that concerned about cornering prowess on a 120 mile daily commute.

“when i got mine my mechanic warned me not to keep it past 120k”

My mechanic says that about anything common rail diesel due to the pressures involved.

that previous post should have read – more a fan of the diesels power delivery.

Nice one guys. Plenty of good suggestions so far. I like Ibiza’s too, so the testimony above sounds great.

I could live with most of the suggestions, although would need to be the slightly more modern Fiesta shape, the blobby one sends shivers down my spine.

EDIT: Just checked out the 1.6 TDCI Fiesta and its the ‘good’ shape – economy indeed seems to rise too over the 1.4?!

erm….it’s actually on 205/45/16 tyres, rather than 205/46/16 wheels as quoted in my original post. That would be a niche too far!

/\ lolz

We’ve got an 05 plate Ibiza FR Tdi and I can confirm it’s a nice car. We paid £2300 for it with 80k miles on it, has cruise, climate, nice cockpit, decent drive. does 55mpg easily all day long.

We came from a Cooper S that was just too expensive to run. Sure the Ibiza isn’t anywhere near as good around the corners, but batters the mini on every other level for a lot less cash!

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/skoda-fabia-monte-carlo-cr-16-diesel/1075305237

That or a Fiesta Zetec S (newer model, not the boxy one which is a horrible car). I have the MC and it was a toss up between those two and an Ibiza but the Fabia won on space, dealers, economy and comfort. Quick enough to be a reasonable laugh but has fiddled suspension compared to the standard Fabia and as a result is much more fun in the corners and much grippier with the wider tyres. Still wriggles enough to be exciting, but isn’t as good a drive as the Fiesta. 60mpg on my country B-road commute to work, have done Gloucester to Leeds at 80mpg.

Have driven a low powered Clio of that vintage and while a nice car avoid the low power models.

Apparently a Smart Roadster can return 50+ mpg.
I would imagine it’s a bit marmite though.

buy two or three cargo bikes 😉

Or just one and a few years of awesome holidays

I’d spend a little more and get a 1.0 Ecoboost Fiesta.

really … the eco boost ? has there been an ecoboost return near fords economy figures yet ?

Yup. 55 Urban, 65 Motorway.

PistonHeads MPG Wiki

My mum is getting around 57 zipping around the Lakes.

Just spotted a nice looking ‘Renault Clio 1.5 dCi 106 Dynamique S’

and the ‘ 1.5 dCi 86 Dynamique ‘ looks a good bet with better tax and economy figures..

This may well come down to simply sitting in the various suggestions and seeing which fits best.

The new shape Fiesta, 58 plate onwards is defiantly not slow in 1.4 tdci guise.

I’ve had 3 and the latest one I’ve got is a 62 plate that feels the fastest I’ve ever had. Its on 53k now and I intend to keep this one for a while.

I’m not selling this really well saying I’ve had 3 cars in 5 years but I don’t keep them long as I lease but I do put big miles of 30k + a year on them and they have been great despite being driven by learners who don’t have any mechanical sympathy.

interesting daffy as the uk review mags and sites pretty much universally slated the 1.0 ecoboost fiesta for the economy figure being nearer 35mpg.

either they all tested the same broken car or they all had the same lead foot.

they did like everything else about it though.

simmy – Member
The new shape Fiesta, 58 plate onwards is defiantly not slow in 1.4 tdci guise.

I know 0-60 isn’t everything, but there’s no getting away from the fact that >14s 0-60 isn’t exactly ‘quick’.

The OP asked for something ‘reasonably nippy’.

For frequent motorway commuting, I’d want something with a bit more ooomph for joining from slip roads and general motorway driving.
I know you don’t need a powerful car for motorway duties, but I find it makes things more relaxing when you aren’t constantly planning your next overtake and stirring the gearbox to muster the available power.
Round town, I’m sure they are fine. But for predominantly motorway-based journies I’d want something with more clout.

Parents used to have one of the above mentioned 1.4tdci fiestas and it couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding.

I’d be looking at a 1.9tdi passat or something. The tyre rumble/road noise would piss me off no end on a Clio or something of that ilk on a 100+ mile journey. I used to have an 04 Passat and it was VERY quiet and comfortable cruising on the motorway.

I like Passat’s, I just don’t know if I can regularly scrabble together the chunky tyre prices, and tax at £200+ means once a year I have a really miserable month.

Although I totally agree with aiming for a bit more oomph and less road noise for longer journeys so wouldn’t write off a bigger car.

Having said that, I’ve heard that utterly brilliant results can be had from stripping a cars interior out and properly insulating it with sound deadening material (dynamat etc).

My Dad reckons he averages around 60mpg in his Skoda Fabia diesel estate. Arguably unfashionable but I once drove it all around Ireland and it was ‘invisible’ to drive, which could mean many things depending on one’s requirements.

Im sure my Passsat tax is £175pa.
I can only get around 50mpg from my 130 6 speed, my colleague with a Fabia VRS however easily gets 60mpg from his.
He paid £2600 for a 54 plate with 82k on the clock. Very quick effortless overtakes as long as you are over 1600rpm , no need to change down it just scoots off.
Tyre noise is an issue , mainly down to the 45 profile tyres. I would look to fit 50 or 55 profile which would raise the gearing but might combat the rumble and firm ride.

Pd engines are very robust, as long as you use the correct oil and flush. No common faults , just intercooler seals weep under boost , there is an upgrade I believe . Then as with all deisels clutch and DMF.

Fabia commmon faults leaky rear windows and worn seat bolsters

Not sure if you’d get one quite as efficient for £5k but my new Golf is so good on petrol. I’ve done 460 miles on just over half a tank. I wouldn’t get close to this in my old Fiesta on a full tank so I’m very pleased 😀 £30 a year VED. The Bluemotion ones are even better apparently.