VW Polo 1.4 Bluemotion/other high mpg cars?

Boring thread ahead.. Once again looking to change my car for something more economical as I’m getting tired of spending £45-50 to get me to and from work for 4 days! Currently driving a Fiesta Zetec S 1.6 petrol which will get about 42-43 mpg if I drive conservatively. Have been looking at cars such as the Polo Bluemotion 1.4 diesel and the Seat Ibiza Ecomotive and their 72-75mpg is looking very appealing as apparently they’ll get around 700 miles from one tank – I currently only get about 375! I know diesel is a bit more expensive but seems like I’d still be saving a considerable amount if I’m getting around twice as many miles per tank.

Any thoughts on this? Any other cars I should be looking at? I would be hoping to sell or trade my car in, should get around £6000 for it due to its condition and mileage, so my budget should be around there.

Fiesta 1.4 Tdci – never get less than 52 mpg even with learners driving.

Can get 70 mpg @ 56 mph and as you already have a Fiesta…..

The MPGs quoted by manufacturers should always be taken with a bit of a pinch of salt as these will be acheived probably on a closed track with a proffesional driver eeaking out every last drop of fuel.

Cars like the Polo Bluemotion and the Seat ( both VAG group ) have things like low rolling resistance tyres fitted so its worth bearing in mind the price to replace these when required.

How about about the Fiat 500 1,3 diesel ?
I get 60-65 ish if driven carefully, 55 the rest of the time.
£20 p.a. VED.
Quite fun, nippy, feels spacious due to the large windows, glass roof. Normal tyres.

The problem with the 500 is that it looks gash and looks pretty small.

The MPGs quoted by manufacturers should always be taken with a bit of a pinch of salt as these will be acheived probably on a closed track with a proffesional driver eeaking out every last drop of fuel.

Yeah I thought this. However my commute is all A roads and motorways so I would think I’m probably getting the most out of it as there’s hardly any urban driving involved.

Yeah you will be getting the best out of the Zetec S ATM with that drving on the Mways and A roads.

You are actually doing well to get that out of it.

Is it the latest MK7 model ? If its worth what you reckon, you could probably do a swop / PX for a Fiesta Tdci as they can be picked up for around £6.5 – £7k

Its £20 a year VED on this as well

The problem with the 500 is that it looks gash and looks pretty small.

You didn’t mention looks in your criteria, each to their own. Have a go in one you might be suprised.
It’s not massive but I bet that 90% of the time you’ll be in there by yourself

It’s a 2008 old shape. Might see what my local Ford dealer could do then. Although I had a newer one as a courtesy car and didn’t really like it. Weird feeling steering wheel and gear stick, plus I reckon the old shape looks way better.

The Wrong Trousers, I was thinking more about getting bikes in easily rather than people. I can just about get 2 bikes in the back of my Fiesta with the wheels off.

Clio 1.5 dci would be my choice at that money – things like the Polo Bluemotion are overpriced and not as nice to drive IMO.

It’s a 2008 old shape. Might see what my local Ford dealer could do then. Although I had a newer one as a courtesy car and didn’t really like it. Weird feeling steering wheel and gear stick, plus I reckon the old shape looks way better.

The Wrong Trousers, I was thinking more about getting bikes in easily rather than people. I can just about get 2 bikes in the back of my Fiesta with the wheels off.

The new one has electric power steering so it takes some getting used to. I had a earlier shape one, like yours, that was a 1.4 Tdci and it was brilliant, the only reason I changed was to keep up with the other instructors around here.

The boot on the new one is bigger than the old so better for getting the bikes in, but dont discount “ordinary” diesel as the ones that claim higher MPG’s always come at a premium price.

Why not swap it for the 1.6 diesel version? It’s supposed to be pretty economical. I test drove one a few yrs back & was very impressed with it performance-wise although it was expensive for what it is & the dealer refused to budge.
I ended up with an Ibiza Sport Tdi – later updated to the FR name. It came with more kit, is faster and for a newer example (than the Fiesta) with less miles it was about £1k less. Doesn’t handle as well as the Zetec S, but that’s not so important for me on the A1!
In normal driving I get 55mpg out of it, currently getting about 62mpg driving like a grandad.

Older versions will be called Sport & encompass the 100 & 130 bhp versions. Later the FR was introduced which is the 130 version & the 100 version remained the Sport.
To be honest, the 100bhp version is plenty quick enough & should get you a few more mpg.

Mine has been very reliable.

Interesting consumer submitted results on Honest John’s website regarding real world car mpg that is then compared to the claimed. Some are realistic and other clearly a trade puff.

How about a Panda twin air thing ? Petrol engine so fuel cheaper, a hoot to drive and still return 60mpg+

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/road-tests/fiat-panda-twin-air-7544632.html

Edit: From the above article ” Be warned, though, you’ll still struggle to hit the 67 mpg promised by Fiat. On my test run, the best I managed was 58 mpg, still a very good figure (take my word for it) and one that would improve as your car ran in.”

Oh and bare in mind diesels do require more servicing than petrols and generally cost more before you are blinded by high mpg.

How’s about the Hyundai i10? Was eying one of these up as our second car, but the lady doesn’t like the look of it (she has a point, to be fair). Cheap to buy and run and the ‘blue’ version is meant to be very economical and exempt from road tax. It’s a lot bigger inside than it looks. I’m 6’5″ and had plenty of room.

i10

Our local dealer was knocking them out for less that £7k new.

The MPGs quoted by manufacturers should always be taken with a bit of a pinch of salt as these will be acheived probably on a closed track with a proffesional driver eeaking out every last drop of fuel.

Yes and no

Yes in that the figures should be taken with a pinch of salt, but the rest of the statement is untrue. The manufacturers don’t provide the figures, the government does. All cars are tested to the same standard levels under controlled conditions by an independent body. They are really for comparison between models only. I don’t even think it’s done on a track, I think it’s done on a rolling road.

Oh, and just because it says ‘bluemotion’ ‘ecoactive’ etc on a car doesn’t mean it will use less fuel! It just means the emissions are lower. Big difference. AFAIK there is no requirement for fuel consumption in the Euro emissions rules. Low emissions can make fuel consumption worse, as a car will run so lean to pass the tests that you have to open the throttle more to get it to move!

The MPGs quoted by manufacturers should always be taken with a bit of a pinch of salt as these will be acheived probably on a closed track with a proffesional driver eeaking out every last drop of fuel.

AFAIK its a theoretical number, achieved by a computer and a rolling road. I usually look at whatever the lowest quoted mpg is (urban often), and work on that.

I don’t even think it’s done on a track, I think it’s done on a rolling road.

Its not even that, the engine is not in the car at all. Its just the engine on a test jig with a simulated load.

Not long watched an older fifth gear program that took 12 folk out in 3 or 4 cars and gave them mixed route driving. average fuel consumption real world was only slightly less than the manufacturers quoted combined cycle. the conclusion was that the combined cycle was a reasonable guesstimate of what to expect.

You also need to include the loss to change your car in the calc – say £1000, which I’ll buy a fair bit of fuel…

Real world mpgs here… remember to change from US to UK gallons though!
http://www.fuelly.com/

I doubt you’d ever get much more than 60mpg as a long term average, even with the tiniest most efficient car? Then you’ve got extra depreciation, or if its older extra servicing/repairs etc..

Basically, drivings expensive.

Tests are done with a complete car, but to a prescribed “route” on a rolling road. The driver has to stay very close to the speed given on the computer or the test is voided.

Combined MPG used to be a fairly good measure, but for the last decade or so consumers (and manufacturers) have obsessed about CO2 and MPG so the cars are engineered to do better on those specific tests. As a result, we have spectacular figures which are actually much harder to achieve in real world driving.

I used to get about the combined MPG figure on my usual mix of trips, any new stuff it’s a little above the urban MPG one.

Big disadvantage of diesel IME is in the winter – they can take an age to get up to temperature so you can sit there freezing for 15+ minutes. Especially on the newer more efficient diesels which allow less energy to be converted to heat in the first place. Posher cars have auxiliary heaters so they warm straight up, smaller more basic ones don’t. This also means diesels can get pretty poor MPG if only used for short trips as they barely have time to get warm.

Basically, drivings expensive.

Yeah, I think this is the conclusion we came to last time I made a thread like this and I decided not to bother in the end 😆 Another point to consider is that a lot of these cheaper to run cars have crap interiors. I like the comfortable and nice interior of my car, considering I spend so much time in it it’s something I need to consider as well I guess.

What’s considered a short trip for a diesel? My commute’s about 35 miles and can take 40-50 minutes depending on traffic.

I think it’s unlikely you can switch cars and save money, by the time you factor in the depreciation and other costs of changing you’ll not save any money. You are already averaging 40+mpg which in the “real world” is pretty good.

I like the Polo but it’s relatively large car (same size as the original Mk1 Golf I am told). If it’s economy you are after you want to go smaller. Aygo/106 or smaller like a Smart Car or Suzuki. FWIW I think the 500 is a great looking car and it’s surprisingly big with the rear seats folded down but it won’t be “transformational” vs the Zetec

We got a 1.4 TDI on an ’08 for the GF, it’s superb car to drive and the economy is fantastic.

Instead of a 500 try a panda multijet, mines averaging 60mpg (with 15inch alloys) and fits 2 large 29ers in the back with the seats down..
It’s a hoot to drive with decent sized Tyres as well.. 😀
Group 2 insurance and £30 a yr road tax