I've been trying to decide on a car that is more suitable for driving 60 miles a day than my spec c. I love using it but it hurts my wallet...

Wondering what people's opinions here are? I don't really like BMW or Audi, or French cars... I want something with a little character and probably diesel (swear word for many I'm sure).

I had narrowed down to an octavia vrs but then I thought why not a diesel impreza. Does anyone have an opinion on these? Any known issues etc? Seen a couple of 10 plates for around 8k.

What do others use? I'm ideally looking for 40+ mpg

 

My commute is shorter but my £800 1.0l Polo, on an S plate does +45 mpg if thrashed or run normally, as never let me down and passed it's MOT with flying colours.

 

impreza diesels suffered from very expensive engine failure on the earlier models, snapped cranks I believe but could be wrong.

I used to work for a bloke with a diesel Octavia VRS, they go well enough but he had a few problems with it, turbo, air con compressor, electric window motors etc.

The 1.9 PD engines were better, I'd be looking at mk1 fabia VRs rather than the Octavia. Or petrol Octavia VRs with least amount of options on, VAG cars are not the most reliable when it comes to electrics.

Or trade the spec c for a poverty wrx. I don't want to come across all **** Matt, but I've just come back from Devon. I filled up and reset the trip. Did a tank, filled back up and worked out average mpg. From mid sussex to North Devon, no motorways but some fairly quick A roads, a very steep Porlock hill, Valley of rocks, giving it a bit of wellie now and again and pottering around a few towns I got an average measured over 415 miles of 30.74mpg.

Filled the tank for my return just passed minehead. Drove home via Cheddar Gorge, which I drove up and down a couple of times, and did about 170 miles. Again, all non motorway miles, through Salisbury etc and just driving at an average pace keeping with the flow of traffic, I didn't record the true mpg but was astounded that when I got home the fuel gauge was still reading between half and three quarters of a tank full. I doubt my diesel Volvo would have been significantly better.

 

Had a mk4 GTi turbo as a run about a few years ago, was running 225bhp with big brakes/suspension mods etc, But I removed all GTi badges and the outside looked standard, Had great fun in that car and to be honest had more fun driving that then I did with my hawk STi plus the upside I could leave it in any car park and not worry plus it was decent on petrol/insurance etc.

Sold it to my brother who still has the car with 150k miles on the clock and still going strong, Since I owned it and my brother the only thing that has ever gone wrong was the coilpacks, other then that it was pretty much bomb proof!!

 

WRX is a good idea (wouldn't sell the spec c though hehe) but while 30mpg isn't bad, seeing as I'll be doing about 15k a year I really need to break 40mpg as it all adds up.

 

Fiat 500 arbarth. Perfect commuting car.

 

Fiesta Zetec S TDCi, 55-60 mpg (in the real world, I have one ) Cheap to insure and only £30 (or £20 if the newer model) to tax a year. Relatively nippy for a small engined car too! I get 520-580 miles to a full tank out of mine!!

 

How about a civic type s ? They are creaking cars, reliable and won't hurt the wallet

 

Cracking meaning

 

But does it. My Diesel Volvo which is same engine as Ford TDCi, Peugeot HDi etc, struggles to do 40mpg. In the summer months it fairs a little better (according to trip comp figures), but if you add in other costs then it will level out.

Insurance. The WRX is cheaper to insure for me than the Volvo is. Service costs. Probably fairly similar. Parts, this is where it gets complicated. An impreza needs cambelt at 50k. Volvo 150k. Clutch, many people say need changing on subaru around 80k. Ours was changed at 120k. Diesels nowadays are notorious for lunching the clutch/dual mass flywheels. These are generally very expensive.
My Volvo has had to have new alternator, starter motor, wheel bearing/hub assembly. Modern diesels get dpf issues, injectors, inter coolers, turbos can all give trouble. Many cars that run Bosch (I think, might be Siemens) abs systems suffer with abs faults. Some manufacturers cover it, some partially cover it as it's a known issue. Others (like Volvo) go all IM and you have to pay all costs to fix (around a grand).

I'll touch wood because I don't want to jinx the car, but we've had the WRX nearly nine years and it is now on 130k, other than consumables, brakes, clutch, belts etc (bodywork I think my wife sees as a consumable ) all it's wanted is a radiator and a power steering pump pulley.

Just food for thought. Depends on a certain amount of luck and how long you plan on keeping a car.

 

Why not get an LPG kit fitted. A much easier option?

 

My daily driver is an Audi A1. - 1.4 Turbo Petrol, 150bhp 1,035kgs - 54mpg. Only downside is that you can't fit anything bigger than a shoebox in it.

 

I get the running costs argument, can save or lose a lot of money choosing the wrong make. LPG is an interesting point, does anyone know of m/any scooby conversions?

Civic isn't a bad shout. Not a fan of Audi or Fiat personally. Fords can go either way for me.

 

Seems to be more popular conversion on legacys/outbacks.

 

makes sense, more space for the tank etc

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...code=p&adPos=6

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...code=p&adPos=6

Couple of cars that meet £8k (assuming that's your budget), mpg and interesting criteria. Commuting in the second one might get a bit tiring.

 

The new age coopers I've been told by people who own are them are quite expensive to service etc because it's a bmw engine

 

There's plenty of places around that do conversions.



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