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?

Thanks for posting the link markrtw. Pity the article doesn’t state under what conditions the test was performed.

Bikebouy.. assume you are talking about the Prius there.. Did you know Thule do a towbar style attachment for a bike rack for the Prius now? Not a real towbar of course, no towball.

Re the Passat ultramileage thing – not sure what the record it set actually is, but several years ago I read of a woman in Japan who averaged 115mpg on a tank whilst commuting to work, but apparently she drove on empty roads and was able to use all sorts of hypermiler tricks that would you get you killed on normal roads.

308SW does 60mpg/700miles for me.

Golf Bluemotion? I can’t quite get the 68mpg in the previous pic but can easily get it over 60mpg without going slowly.

Mk 4 Golf estate Tdi (110bhp or 130bhp?)

I have only avg. 49mpg (comp info?) over the last 3 years with my 130bhp version, boot has a great hidden floor for tools mind.

On the motorway, driving like my nan, can get it up to 60mpg.

Quick ‘Did you know’

That when you fill the tank up, if you press the button/switch with the fuel nozzel just inside the tank neck, it vents an overflow tank & you can fill that up with another 10L apx. of fuel, useful if you are doing a mega big trip straight away, have managed 700 miles to a tank this way.

Be warned mind, filling a tank this might cause spillage if you dont burn some off straight away & we all know how much us bikers hate spilled diesel on the road!

it vents an overflow tank

Bolleaux

All depends how you drive doesnt it. My 50mpg and 600 mile tank in a Mondeo is based on a 100 mile per day commute doing 80-85 on a motorway for most of the commute.

My Vectra fits all of the criteria in the title.

It’s alright… but not perfect.

Wouldnt surprise me, given you can’t vent the tank to atmosphere anymore there probably does need to sbe some kind of overflow/vapourlock arrangement in the tank?

BTW a photo of a mpg trip computer (even when reading ‘average’ rather than instantaneous) is completely meaningless without knowing the distance covered and the journey type (hilly, stop-start etc).

To illustrate my point there is a petrol station 10 miles from my house. On the way home from work the journey from this petrol station is almost all downhill and often I don’t have to stop-start at all. The average mpg reading after this 10 mile stretch is often ~60mpg (from an uneconomical 2.5L petrol). However this is not representative of the economy achieved to-and-from work over a tankful, where the downhill bias is eliminated. So, the average mpg I get over a week of commutes (~40mpg) is a fair reflection of the economy for my car, on that journey, with my driving style. The 60mpg average I got for the first 10 miles of that tank is meaningless.

Noones mentioned Toyota Avensis Estates
55-60+mpg on a run
50mpg round town

I love mine. Hate Mondeo’s – doors sound hollow and boxy.
I’ve never had the wallet deep enough to fill the tank – I normally put £60 in.

With the parcel shelf in I can get two bikes in the boot and two wheels resting on the parcel shelf.

Love it. Will have another. I also looked at Honda Accords – they do have bigger boots but the cars do seem a lot bigger too.

Just a note about the Honda Accord estate – the boot is very wide. I used to have one and could stack 4 bikes with wheels out (hardtails) with wheels on top in the boot without putting the seats down!

Cant do that in my Passat!

Wouldnt surprise me, given you can’t vent the tank to atmosphere anymore there probably does need to sbe some kind of overflow/vapourlock arrangement in the tank?

Only car I ever heard of with that was the US Prius which had an expansion bladder to take up the volume of consumed fuel. Got the impression it was unique.

molgrips – Member

it vents an overflow tank

Bolleaux

I think the proper term is expansion tank not overflow tank. Whatever its called, you can hear the darn thing hiss when you fill it & it lets me add another 10L apx. to the tank.

I had two 7th generation Accord i-cdti estates and they were great cars. However they go have their issues (DMF, DPF, MAF, manifolds, turbos like most diesels). Have a look at the Accord forum http://typeaccord.co.uk/forum/forum/21-faults/ (note how many diesel vs petrol faults are reported here – that’s why for our lower annual mileage Accord we’ve gone back to petrol). Huge boots too with no suspension tower intrusion.

Oh like lots of people say. 600miles? It depends on the size of your fuel tank! My disel estate auto will easily do it – driven reasonably gently +40mpg) but it’s a big old tank +16gallon.

I’d think that any 1.6-1.8tdi “Eco” estate from the big manfacturers has to be on your list. You’ll probably pay a premium for them though and you have to work out carefully if you’ll ever see that back.

The OP wants something with a huge boot and theres people suggesting a Civic?

FFS

the ‘miles per tank’ question is probably a bit of a red herring but dont get too worked up about it eh?

Its nice to know that your car will reach a milestone figure (say 500 or 600 miles) every tank full for a bit of added convenience, and most tanks fall within the 50 to 60 litre range.

Ive had thirsty engines that would only give 300 to 350 miles max per tank full and it can be a PITA.

Very happy with some of your suggestions thank guys, I will check out some of the cavernous boot options mentioned for sure (Accord Estate sounds good). Im also keen to take a closer look at the Passat estate again, might tick the boxes I was looking for, including VW.

Vectra c estate, cheap as chips to buy, dwarfs most of the competitors for sheer boot space, decent mile muncher..ok they aren’t very pretty but very practical. I’m about to change myself and I do fancy the new mondeo estate…

If you actually like driving then the Mondeo 2.0 TDCI is the boy! I have just gone from a Focus to a Mondeo Estate TDCI. Test drove loads. Had my heart set on a Passat until I drove the Mondeo. It is much better in every way. 130bhp version is more torquey and a lot smoother than the 130 Bhp Vag unit. No timing belt and water pump to fail on the Ford, chain cam driven. Bigger and will make the Passat feel like a canal boat in the corners, but it doesn’t have the all important VW badge!

A4 Avant 1.9 tdi 130 here. 780 miles to 65 litre tank if driven very smoothly (my daily commute is 99% dual carriageway and i tend to sit back at a constant 60-70mph) You can take 150 miles off for “making progress”

Boot is rubbish tho. It’s squared off between the arches and has a hidden floor compartment so it’s narrow and shallow. Not sure if passats or cheaper a4’s are the same tho??

Mondeo 2.0 TDCI is the boy

what age is yours, and hwo much does a low miler sell for? You give a glowing review so I may as well take a look

Topic title really does lean to the Mondeo.

The GF’s harp fits in, which puts it in the proper big and boxy boot scale. Only other cheap car to do that was a vectra, but that was dull and flimsy.

I’ve got a 2004 TDCi, 6-speed 130, 50+mpg thrashed around Welsh lanes, 600+ miles from the tank – it is just passing 175k now and has had a lot less work done, for significantly less cost than friends with similar age Passats.

My Toyota Hiace also did 600 miles to a tank, but the tank was 20l bigger.

Time for an Octi mention. My 51 1.9 110bhp TDi has a huge boot, but the estate is bigger. It goes well if you give it a welly, and if you’re restrained on long m-way cruises then the computer on mine has indicated 63.4mpg on a 240m round trip at a steady indicated 70. 42ltr tank, approx £60 to fill up, and I average around 450-550 miles per fill, but most of my driving tends to be short run local stuff, 15-30 miles usually. Terrific car, had mine for five years and it’s great.

Mine is the 2.0 130bhp tdci Zetec Estate. It’s an 04 with 70k on it with full history. Paid £3200 for it and that included 6 months tax and 1yrs MOT. It does an average of 45-50mpg. It has a 6spd box, climate, Cruise control, heated front screen which is worth the price alone in the Winter. It destroys hills, has 240 torques. Put your foot down in any gear and it just goes and keeps going! It is massive inside. I’m 6ft 4 and I don’t have the seat all the way back. Put the back seats down and you’ll get two bikes in easy. I usually put mine and my little lads 24″ bike in no problem. The main thing is the way it drives. I just can’t fault it. It handles superbly for a big car. It’s very comfortable and just eats up the miles. Read the reviews for yourself on Honest John’s site. Fewest breakdowns in tough TUV tests. I’m very happy with mine so far. Mondeo spares on Ebay have everything you will ever need at a quarter of the price of the VW bits. I really wanted a Passat Highline 130 TDI Estate but they were well over 5K for one with 80 to 90K, then you have to factor in the cambelt and waterpump change, 400 notes to do it properly. Service intervals of 9k as opposed to 12k for the Mondeo.

Inbred – wow, that sounds cheap. A quick search on Trader shows similar cars coming in around 4500 notes though?

Only driven the newest style mondeo but not sure what they go for. Was the 2.2 tdci estate with 6 speed semi/auto box and was a bloody rocket and just kept gripping. Yes it was big and you never forgot that but it felt smaller than it really was and when up to speed the extra size worked to it’s benefit not it’s detriment which I found with the older Passat estate (2002 model but I am sure the newer ones are better). Only problem was it was black and is so big it looked like a hearse.

Oh, saw a Skoda Superb estate today which looked nice. But the reviews point towards the Mondeo as being almost as big but better handling and better engine.

How about one of these as a wild card: http://www.lingdalemotors.co.uk/used-cars/mg-zt-t-2-0-cdti-5dr-cleveland-201129403343830

VERY big and cheap with BMW engines.

I had to travel to Bradford from Durham to get mine. Wharfdale car sales. I think the diesel cars have all shot up a little bit at the moment.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201128402250164/sort/priceasc/usedcars/engine-size-cars/2l_to_2-5l/body-type/estate/transmission/manual/fuel-type/diesel/model/mondeo/make/ford/radius/60/page/1/postcode/dh12bb?logcode=p
This one is only 115bhp but its only 2700.

HAINEY, has your mate reported the bike thefts to the police? Get him to ring:
Elaine Elliott
Station Enquiry Officer
Contact Management Department
Derbyshire Constabulary
Wyatts Way, Ripley
Tel: 0345 1233333 (Internal 790 1752)
It may all be in hand but just in case.
You posted in another thread a while ago but I didn’t see a reply.

I wonder what mileage the 2.5TD would give if run on chip fat?…

Not sure which Cherokee you mean (old boxy one or slightly newer rounded ugly one like mine) but I believe the Cherokee KJ (what the Americans call a Liberty) won’t run on bio-diesel. The VM / Merc engines use hoses and seals that won’t stand up to the corrosive nature of bio-fuel.

Might be bollox but I’m sure I’ve read it somewhere.

I have a 2004 2.5 CRD, I get about 27-29 MPG with all-terrain tyres and no thought for fuel consumption, a little higher is possible with a light right foot but you move at a glacial pace. With one back seat down you can get three bikes in (front wheels off), gear and three people.

It’s a great car, it’s slow, it’s ugly and it’s not fuel efficient but in six years it’s cost me about 400 quid in parts & labour (apart from servicing which hasn’t been too bad at my local independent garage). Most reliable car I’ve owned, which is good because I believe parts are horrendously expensive.

thanks again chaps, lots of options to weigh up.

Ive just come into a small inheritance so have some time to think about the perfect upgrade from my current car.
Also fighting the temptation to let the heart rule the head and buy something ive always fancied over something more practical!…

Landy Defender anyone? (gonna have to start a thread on these to guage opinion)..

I love Landies… Really do… however, you compromise a lot with them.

How tall are you? The driving position isn’t great if you’re around 6 foot tall, the cabin area is cramped as they still are designed for three seats in the front (look for tales of ‘Landrover shoulder’), if you’re not handy with a spanner then expect to be your local garages best customer (its never over, with a ‘rover) assuming you can keep it on your driveway long enough (you think bikes get nicked often?) and the noise on long distance trips could drive Ghandi to consider genocide.

Still…. just look at them, beautiful things!!! I want a 110 soft top, with a V8, auto box and big wheels… *continues planning dream-build*

I went from a Golf Estate to a Octavia (1.9/105pd) hatch.

The boot is pretty big, about the same space/volume as the Golf. Estate would obviously be bigger.

Did a camping/climbing trip last week (3 people, a biiiig tent, etc and 2 rucksacks). Averaged 62mpg (according to computer) and over 600 miles in a 55L tank. As the fuel warning only came on about 640 I could probably have pushed to 700…

Oh my old Golf struggled to get 50 mpg but the guy I sold it too found that the rear brake pistons weren’t fully retracting so brakes were always slightly on… Apparently a common issue.

Personally I’ve found the Skoda has most useful room internally. Audi’s much smaller inside for some reason. Golf is a smaller car overall…

VW touran? I quite fancy one as a biking car. Not as big boot as an estate but shorter (and easier to get into tight spaces) and you can chuck the bikes in easily with the seats down.

Mondeo!! i have a 2.2ST TDCI easy gets 46 mpg on a good run. Huge boot.
Great fun to drive.

Had a landy defender but not as a daily. Great fun again but have got to want one as they are a pain to live with.(No soundproofing,rubbish mpg,uncomfy seats,heavy clutch, crap door/window seals e.t.c)But i would have one again but only as a toy.