Reply With QuoteSkoda Fabia? I would have thought it was fairly close to the required specs.
I've recently relocated to Peterborough and the nearest office is in Hitchin, 50 ish miles from home.
I don't want to put a gazillion miles on my XC90 each week and it's not particularly economical, so I am looking for something cheap and cheerful for commuting down the A1(M) with the following criteria
- 60+mpg would be good
- under £1k to buy
- cheap RFL
- low insurance group
- cheap to maintain (ie small wheels / cheap tyres, long service intervals etc)
- reliable (so nothing Italian)
- a comfy interior would be a plus as I will be sat in it for 3 hours a day
I don't care about make, model, colour etc. as long as it ticks the above boxes.
First thoughts are a Smart City car, or Toyota Yaris
Any other suggestions ?
Cheers,
Daniel.
Skoda Fabia? I would have thought it was fairly close to the required specs.
MKV Ford Fiesta every time. Solid build and parts are everywhere. Yaris a good bet too.
a Hybrid?
I think the amount he's looking to spend rather precludes that....Originally Posted by Xantiagib
You nailed it with the Toyota Yaris.
Had one for 12 years as a runaround and bullet proof and cheap to run.
I'd definitely see the Fabia as a good option. Aren't many in budget but there are a few:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...OVER_60&page=1
VW Lupo? Toyota Yaris? Ford Fiesta?
If you can get over the boring cliche of Italian cars being unreliable, a Panda would cover your bases pretty well. Simple motoring overlooked by those who think Japanese means devastating reliability and Italian means rustbucket.
No, Japanese usually does mean more reliable and a £1k Panda could get very expensive.
Id take the Yaris over the Fabia too.
It's just a matter of time...
C220 diesel. If you're doing 100 miles a day you want to be comfortable.
You'll not get 60mpg but should be able to get over 50.
Peugeot 407 HDI. As comfy as they come... 50+mpg all day long. Had mine 7 years now and it hasn't missed a beat. Used prices are through the floor now... drive it till it dies. (just watch out for juddery clutch/flywheel). 2.0 models take big miles.
Lupo gets my vote. I commuted in one, motorways included, some time ago (bought it for my Mrs' and had to use it for a while) and it was surprisingly comfortable, easy to drive and felt a lot bigger than it is.
The little 1.4TDi has enough power to get you around easily, but is very cheap to run and maintain.
How about a low mileage older Honda Civic?
Some nice ones about for around £1K
.
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Thanks for the suggestions chaps... A C220 sounds good (I had an E320 a few years ago and that did 50mpg easily).
Will get around to the local main dealers this weekend and see what they've got sat out the back to go to auction.
Daniel.
As Dave said you dont want to do 100 miles a day in a noddy car, it's very tiring. Plus larger cars are usually built a bit better.
Honda or Toyota mid sized something would be a good bet, or the Merc for a bit of Panache but they are far from the holy grail of reliability.
Honda Jazz
Old shape Nissan micra.
My friend had one that we nicknamed the donkey. It kept going through everything and was used twice as a rescue vehicle when my cars broke down (BMW and Alfa gtv)
became a standing joke that it would survive the apocalypse.
No services in 8 years and the only thing that ever went wrong was a battery terminal connection and somehow an egg shaped tyre.
Good shout - I actually quite like the Micra
Really liked our old 407 we got rid at 224k we had the flywheel go bit style made a hole in the bell housing but that was around 150k we got shot when the turbo went it didn't have an easy life.
Loved the mondeo before that as well.
I would be looking at cheap and unfashionable mid-size Japanese - Avensis, Accord, Primera perhaps - think like a taxi driver!
Just out of interest, can I ask a couple of Qs about Bangernomics?
Where do you generally find them, private, locally (say within 10 miles) and via Autotrader?
To make Bangernomics work for you, do you need to know a thing or two about cars? Or is the approach taken a bit of a lottery, low price/low risk whatever happens?
Lupo TDi is decent buy, Arosa TDi is good too, both run the same 1.4 TDi engine, great MPG & £30 PA road tax is a plus. The SDi versions are less perky but the MPG is amazing, most of those fall into the same road tax band, apart from the very early SDi I think?
MK1 Arosa SDi can be had for shed money. Lupo is nicer inside though & a bit more £.
Audi A2 TDi can be had for not too far off £1k now, £30 road tax & their MPG is the stuff of legend, the lack of weight means running costs are so cheap, brakes last forever, tyres last forever, nice inside too.
Ya not asking for much are ya,I'd go with the others and say Fabia or maybe a 307
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I know nothing of the 407 diesel but the 406 was a work of art. The fuel gauge never moved, it handled well and was glacial in its acceleration, which meant once you were up to speed you had a lot of fun keeping it there. I'm talking about the non-turbo here. Something like this:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...=406&logcode=p
"A man of little significance"
+1
Known in Nissan terminology as a K11 (1992-2003). Superb little cars get a 1.3 or 1.4 & they're surprisingly brisk & capable.
Check sills & front cross member.
Avoid the later ones (K12's) they've a lot of Renault parts & are frankly, crap.
MX5
you know it in your heart to be true.
My son has a mk1 Skoda Fabia VRS and it's bloody marvellous. 1.9 turbo diesel gives great mpg and it's a little rocket. Seems well made too.
Edit. Ok, maybe not for £1k but not too much more......
Can you get a Focus diesel for that sort of money? Pretty decent to drive and crucially Fords are cheap to repair if they do go wrong which might be important if you are unlucky and find you've bought something that needs some work
Drive the Volvo. You'd wish you were in that if you have a nasty crash.
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^^^This!^^^Drive the Volvo. You'd wish you were in that if you have a nasty crash.
3 hrs/a day in the same chair? My list would be the other way around. Comfort and safety are your most important points. And, let's be honest: when you're able to own and drive an XC90, you're not going to get away with 60+ to the gallon and 1K purchase price and other 'on a shoestring' items on your list!
You have one of the safest cars money can buy on the drive and then you lower yourself for a 3 hr commute in all sorts of weather etc into a 'bangernomics'? Is the XC90 the family car? Transporting everybody safe and sound? The Volvo is a good choice. However... what's the use of that when you end up in a misery because you opted for an old car with dated safety features!
(And the XC90 has a hybrid version as well, if you decide to use it instead of your current uneconomical XC)
Menno
Last edited by thieuster; 24th October 2016 at 23:02.
indeed sorry misread as under 10K not 1K
VW did a 3L version of the lupo, which had lightweight parts and a diesel engine and would do 3l / 100km
I'd avoid the smart cars
I've had two and they're great (remapped fortwo passion and brabus) but standard the passion is limited to 85..any slight incline and you have to change down. nothing worse than overtaking someone who decides to speed up and you have to drop back. Also mpg is not great (30-35 mpg on the brabus and <40mpg on the passion) because of shed like aerodynamics and a small engine meaning turbo is constantly on song
Lupo 3l is great call if you are happy with lHD
These cars were a marvel of engineering with aluminium doors and a lot of bespoke magnesium parts
If it was my choice I'd try and stretch the budget and go for a polo bluemotion. I bought one as a winter spotter a couple of years ago and it's fantastic
Easily will do 80mpg plus. Zero road tax and parts are cheap..I just put on 4 Michelin eco tyres for £180 thanks to 14 inch wheel size
Plus as it's a 1.4 tdi it has a fair bit of poke and doesn't feel gutless like some small petrol engines
I've got an 04 plate 1.3 Yaris....use it for commuting (approx. 1300 miles a month, mostly motorways) and general knocking about...had it for 2 years and its been faultless....50+ mpg, 1.3 engine is excellent, nippy and fine on the motorway...very cheap to run (cheap consumables etc, £40 a tyre max)...I also change the oil myself and that's incredibly easy....the wife is looking to have a big op on her foot later in the year and we might have to replace it with an auto...it'll be a sad day to say goodbye to the yaris
I ran a 1.7sdi Lupo for close on two years. Slower than a week in jail but bulletproof and laughably cheap to run and insure.
Coming at this from a different angle, we have a new XC60 and a new Fiesta - and I commute 50 miles a day not that far from Peterborough actually. I swap between the Volvo and the Fiesta (a D5 and a 1.0 ecoboost) and have to admit I far prefer to drive the humble fiesta, and leave my wife with the big, stodgy, hard to park, uneconomical and overpowered Volvo. The ford is easier to drive and park, fun to squeeze out maximum mpg and not quick enough to tempt you into any risky overtaking manoeuvres! - apart from the heated seats on a cold winters morning, I look forward to driving the Fiesta whilst the Volvo just feels like pointing a big sofa vaguely down the road!
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Yaris = 100% car for you.
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