If You Had £4K To Spend On A Commuting Car (20K Miles A Year)...

[tomcolinjones 26]

My Leon TDI150 wil give me 60/65 on a clear run motorway driving at the speed limit and no more, and thats a mk1.

 

i get 50/60 in mine driving a mixture of b,a and motorways at overtaking lane cruising speed if you get my drift ;-)

[Lasource 0]

My 15,000 miles a year workhorse is an Alfa 156 2.4 20v JTDm and its absolutely brilliant.

My Jag XF owning boss was really impressed with its comfort, power and economy on a recent 800 miles round trip.

I can get 48mpg on a long run and the 175bhp engine is a classic.

For less money and more economy, the 1.9 16v version is also excellent, and remaps are very cheap and effective.

 

 

I have to agree with this. That 5 cylinder engine is a peach, 4th gear lets you overtake 3 cars at a time on the right road, and it sounds great doing it. Trouble is, you have to be lucky with the reliability, and if you're not, you're then dealing with the Fiat spare parts network...

 

I sold mine just in time: the next owner had a £1000 bill on his hands 2 months later, and I had one breakdown myself which took over a week to get the parts for. But I did get to look at it every day while I had it :-)

 

Nowadays I walk to work, hence the 205. I swore that if I needed a get to work car again, it would be a 320d. Plenty around, many with lots of service history, and they'll easily do 200,000m (as my mates did). Just find one that's been pampered.

[BlueBolt 156]

i get 50/60 in mine driving a mixture of b,a and motorways at overtaking lane cruising speed if you get my drift ;-)

 

Yea the 60/65 was 64.8 on a trip from Sheffield to Maidstone, didn't hit any traffic and just sat in 6th gear the whole way, even through the 50 limits, VERY boring but a good test to see what could be done...

I average about 52/5 on a normal motorway trip...

And I average about 45/7 on a normal daily driving week... depending on how many idiots i get stuck behind on the way along the bypass to work lmao

[allye 530 3 Cars]

and they'll easily do 200,000m (as my mates did)

 

ppfffttt, my 21 year old 309 is on that and still does 60mpg.

[Masekwm 2]

My own view would be to look at lings website and rent something, doing 20k per year means you depend the car so why not get something that is yours for 3 years and then you get another lovely new car.

 

I'd not be buying something a four grand car and hoping it lasts me 3 years when I can rent a car for little more and know it will.

[welshpug 1,657]

but not have anything to show for the cash you paid out for three years....

 

choose wisely and it WILL last 3 years, and a lot more to boot.

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

Stay away from any Vauxhall cdti. I had a 1.9 cdti astra. Way to many "common" issues on them which are not cheap to resolve, main one being gearbox rebuild needed at any given time due to rubbish bearings inside from factory.

 

Chopped it in for a 09 Fabia 1.9 tdi. Lovely little car that the misses now drives and I now have a 2.5tdi Volvo 850 estate. Even the 16year old Volvo feels better quality than what my 07 Astra was. If you want a newish car then I would say it has to be from teh VAG group, if not buy a Volvo work horse

[welshpug 1,657]

heh, that Volvo has an AUDI engine

[tbooth 0]

wouldnt bother with a car , id get a bus pass.

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

heh, that Volvo has an AUDI engine

 

And a very good engine it is too. Lovely noise when you get to about 3,000rpm, almost forget that its a diesel.

Edited April 8, 2012 by arwel

[Alastairh 47]

Honda Accord CTDI. i have a 05 plate, covered 152k, still pulls like a train and built very well.

 

Al

[kyepan 291]

A friend who is six foot two and quite franky massive (muscles) has an audi A2 1.something tdi, he gets some kind of rediculous economy out of its three cylinder direct injection diesel turbo, it's happy pootling round town and does well to roll up and down the motorway to see his girlfriend in scotland.

 

I don't think he pays tax, or very little anyway, he's had a clutch change recently, and i think something in the ecu / imobiliser too that cost quite a lot.

 

Something to think about, go sit in one at a dealer.

[Batfink 201]

Problem with new cars with all their fancy electronic systems is when they go wrong they are expensive to fix. My mums Audi A4 diesel needed a new ECU at a stupid expense! For a workhorse a cheap mechanical diesel should do nicely.

[sam-barker 2]

Diesel Civic

[coombsfh 2]

So,

 

I have been looking about and these are the conclusions I am drawing:

 

BMW's are too thirsty, too breaky and too much for a goodun

 

Don't like the volvo diesels

 

Have a mate with an astra diesel and it has indeed shredded the gearbox. Liked the 150bhp sport 3dr but not really in budget for a goodun

 

French = no

 

I am leaning heavily towards a honda 2.2 CTDI Accord:

 

-The engine was and still is to an extent a groundbreaking powerplant

-low tax

-looks good (to me at least)

-good ride, handling and economy

-ridiculous spec for the money when compared to VAG/BMW

-Almost all reviews and videos draw the same conclusion: BUY ONE

 

£4000 gets you one about 85-90k, FSH, exec spec, etc.

 

Anyone with gigantic objections - anyone care to give a little review; seems like "the elephant in the room for the money"

[welshpug 1,657]

 

Don't like the volvo diesels

 

 

why?

[BlueBolt 156]

Thought about the 2.2 hdi 406 coupe??

[allye 530 3 Cars]

French = no

 

Thought about the 2.2 hdi 406 coupe??

[coombsfh 2]

why?

 

Boot looks funny on S60, S40 is bad, S80 is for 55+ C30 too much, 850 and v70 a bit old...like them tho

[BlueBolt 156]

Ali, the coupe wasn't just designed by the Italians, it was engineered and in many cases built by them too.....

Not that a French/Italian would be any better than a plain French lol

Edited April 9, 2012 by BlueBolt

[SAW 1]

E46 320d Compact M Sport would be my choice, or a nice VAG diesel, plenty to choose at £4k

 

Mk4 Golf Anniversary TDI is a car I looked at recently, very nice cars.

 

Think every car has its negative points around that price/age for a diesel.

 

Civic, or even the Accord diesel, are still very good cars.

[laldy875 6 1 Cars]

I know it's out of your price range but the BMW Alpina Bi-turbo diesel is sick for the money, you can pick one up between 7 and 8k

52.3MPG http://www.bmwalpina.co.uk/?3134

 

If you want to go the whole boring vag route then seat are really good mpg to performance. I can't believe how many of you guys recommend the golf. Boo! haha

 

Make sure you get cruise control- some of these cars are major dull to drive You can't go wrong with a honda

[BlueBolt 156]

If you want to go the whole boring vag route then seat are really good mpg to performance. I can't believe how many of you guys recommend the golf. Boo! haha

 

I'm with you on the "anti-golf"!!

I really don't see the greatness of them... Way prefer my mk1 Leon to the same year golf!! And more room in the boot and back seats...

 

The "boring vag group" isn't the most exciting, but they are reliable!!

[Zara 41 1 Cars]

Audi A3 in white 1.8T nuff said! Lol

[Zara 41 1 Cars]

Audi A3 in white 1.8T nuff said! Lol