Suggestions for a fuel efficient-er 8 year old car

antiskeptic · 19-10-2014 10:55pm #1

I've a 2003 Audi A4 1.8T. I'm getting a steady 40 to the gallon based on:

- 80% motorway driving
- car in decent condition and well maintained.
- gentle on the throttle mostly, driving 60 - 70mph

At 400 miles a week however a shift to a 50+mpg car .. and to something a little cheaper on road tax might be worth considering.

Any suggestions on what to be considering come change time, bearing in mind reliability a desirable trait..

Thanks

bear1 · 20-10-2014 12:33am

If you are not that interested in high speed then id suggest a multijet, fiat. Very good economy or you ould look for a tdi polo. Whats your budget?

Moneymaker · 20-10-2014 9:21am

What's your budget?

Any of the 1.6 -1.9 diesels should easily return 55mpg+

bazz26 · 20-10-2014 10:36am

Do some maths OP, spending thousands to trade-up in order to improve mpg a little might take you a long time to claw back. As you said your current car is running well, the cost to change money could buy a decent bit of fuel.

antiskeptic · 20-10-2014 8:35pm

bear1 wrote: »

If you are not that interested in high speed then id suggest a multijet, fiat. Very good economy or you ould look for a tdi polo. Whats your budget?

On reflection, the OP wasn't giving enough information. Perhaps a 5K budget and hoping for something reasonably large physically. The current Audi was picked up for 3500K 3 years ago with 100K miles up

I wouldn't have supposed myself ever driving a Fiat having the sense they'd be unreliable (I got picked up off the motorway some years back after my first car, an old Escort, threw a timing belt. I was chatting to the lads doing the towing and it transpired that Fiats were the car they picked up most at the side of the road). Is that the truth these days?

antiskeptic · 20-10-2014 8:38pm

Moneymaker wrote: »

What's your budget?

Any of the 1.6 -1.9 diesels should easily return 55mpg+

Question: what's the story on DMF on cars of the kind of mileage and age I'd be looking into? Is it a foregone conclusion that you'd be facing into repairs in this area (which seem to have put a dent in one of the main reasons to buy a diesel) or is it just certain brands/models.

Bearing in mind the comments above on budget and size what would you be reckoning would be a decent fit mileage/reliability wise?

antiskeptic · 20-10-2014 8:41pm

bazz26 wrote: »

Do some maths OP, spending thousands to trade-up in order to improve mpg a little might take you a long time to claw back. As you said your current car is running well, the cost to change money could buy a decent bit of fuel.

Fair point. I knew the Audi's history (it racked up 88,000 of the 100,000 miles it had when I got it in it's first three years so motorway miles and Audi dealer serviced to that point). That's not likely to be the case next time so I'd be in "taking a punt" territory.

Different question: what kind of mileage could you expect a petrol engine like the Audi to last given gentle motorway driving? I'm doing about 20K miles a year and there's 155K miles up on it now.

Maybe that's the way to go - run it into the ground and pay attention to mpg next car.

bazz26 · 20-10-2014 11:13pm

That car is worth more to you than someone else at that age and mileage. Just keep it serviced regularly and keep it going imo, if it needs something major done in the future then make a judgement call on replacing it at that time.

fmcg_scribe · 21-10-2014 9:26am

antiskeptic wrote: »

I've a 2003 Audi A4 1.8T. I'm getting a steady 40 to the gallon based on:

- 80% motorway driving
- car in decent condition and well maintained.
- gentle on the throttle mostly, driving 60 - 70mph

At 400 miles a week however a shift to a 50+mpg car .. and to something a little cheaper on road tax might be worth considering.

Any suggestions on what to be considering come change time, bearing in mind reliability a desirable trait..

Thanks

Considering your current car's engine size, you're not averaging a good mpg.

I've had petrol and diesel cars with more cylinders and much lager engines that would put your car's mpg to shame.

I presume that a 2008 or later A4 1.8T would deliver a better mpg.

Suggest that you check out this link: http://www.whatcar.com/truempg/my-true-mpg

antiskeptic · 21-10-2014 10:50pm

fmcg_scribe wrote: »

Considering your current car's engine size, you're not averaging a good mpg.

I've had petrol and diesel cars with more cylinders and much lager engines that would put your car's mpg to shame.

I presume that a 2008 or later A4 1.8T would deliver a better mpg.

Suggest that you check out this link: http://www.whatcar.com/truempg/my-true-mpg

That link doesn't permit a 2003 petrol driven A4. Indeed, it doesn't seem to permit any petrol driven A4's.

Edit: I stuck in a 1.6 Ecoboost petrol Focus doing 20K miles a year of predominantly motorway driving with an easy (but not easiest) foot on the throttle and it comes in at 34.3 mpg. Making my 2003 A4 seem positively thrifty in comparison. Ecoboost?? Bloody heck. The latest diesel A4's managed early 50's mpg but unfortunately make no economic sense.

The trouble about a 2008 car, whilst doubtlessly delivering better mpg, is it's a price tag that renders the extra petrol of the 2003 unit nigh on irrelevant. I've no objection to driving shinier models .. it's just that I'm not prepared to sacrifice elsewhere in order to obtain one.

fmcg_scribe · 21-10-2014 11:55pm

antiskeptic wrote: »

That link doesn't permit a 2003 petrol driven A4. Indeed, it doesn't seem to permit any petrol driven A4's.

Edit: I stuck in a 1.6 Ecoboost petrol Focus doing 20K miles a year of predominantly motorway driving with an easy (but not easiest) foot on the throttle and it comes in at 34.3 mpg. Making my 2003 A4 seem positively thrifty in comparison. Ecoboost?? Bloody heck. The latest diesel A4's managed early 50's mpg but unfortunately make no economic sense.

The trouble about a 2008 car, whilst doubtlessly delivering better mpg, is it's a price tag that renders the extra petrol of the 2003 unit nigh on irrelevant. I've no objection to driving shinier models .. it's just that I'm not prepared to sacrifice elsewhere in order to obtain one.

I'm confused about your budget and whether you are for or against diesel. At your current annual mileage, diesel is the obvious choice.

Fuel economy and CO2 emissions of diesel and petrol cars have moved on a lot since 2003, so your current car is from a very different era.

If you're open to buying a more recent car, this link provides a useful starting point:
http://www.fuel-economy.co.uk/stats.html

If you want to browse mpg data for different cars from different eras, sites like Parkers should be useful:
http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/used-reviews/audi/a4/saloon-2000/facts-figures/

toyotaavensis · 31-10-2014 12:15pm

OP have you considered LPG?

bear1 · 31-10-2014 12:18pm

antiskeptic wrote: »

On reflection, the OP wasn't giving enough information. Perhaps a 5K budget and hoping for something reasonably large physically. The current Audi was picked up for 3500K 3 years ago with 100K miles up

I wouldn't have supposed myself ever driving a Fiat having the sense they'd be unreliable (I got picked up off the motorway some years back after my first car, an old Escort, threw a timing belt. I was chatting to the lads doing the towing and it transpired that Fiats were the car they picked up most at the side of the road). Is that the truth these days?

Only saw this now.
It was true of the past but the present fleet of Fiats are a very different story.
You'd need to go and test one but the diesel engines in them are very very good.

Lex Luthor · 01-11-2014 6:49pm

fmcg_scribe wrote: »

Considering your current car's engine size, you're not averaging a good mpg.

I've had petrol and diesel cars with more cylinders and much lager engines that would put your car's mpg to shame.

I presume that a 2008 or later A4 1.8T would deliver a better mpg.

Suggest that you check out this link: http://www.whatcar.com/truempg/my-true-mpg

i would have thought 40mpg was fairly decent mpg for what he has considering

Hachiko · 01-11-2014 7:35pm

antiskeptic wrote: »

I've a 2003 Audi A4 1.8T. I'm getting a steady 40 to the gallon based on:

- 80% motorway driving
- car in decent condition and well maintained.
- gentle on the throttle mostly, driving 60 - 70mph

At 400 miles a week however a shift to a 50+mpg car .. and to something a little cheaper on road tax might be worth considering.

Any suggestions on what to be considering come change time, bearing in mind reliability a desirable trait..

Thanks

keep the audi and buck the trend of spending a good few grand to save a few hundred on cheap tax joe

cerastes · 02-11-2014 1:27am

toyotaavensis wrote: »

OP have you considered LPG?

This might not be a bad idea?
How much would a conversion cost, might depend on whether LPG is available near the OP.
Wonder what the economy increase would be? or the performance reduction? maybe worthwhile enough to keep going over getting a mistreated diesel.

Hachiko wrote: »

keep the audi and buck the trend of spending a good few grand to save a few hundred on cheap tax joe

Op said he wanted an 8 year old car, that wouldn't come into the category of a cheaper to tax option, which would probably up the purchase cost too, 8 years would be 06-07 max, going to 08 might jump the price a bit?

gooner99 · 02-11-2014 7:15pm

Would an 06 prius be an option. Good big cabin , fuel efficient , known for reliability , probably a good chance to get one with a full service history. Having said that I've not owned on myself.

Casati · 02-11-2014 9:38pm

i'd suggest a Renault Laguna - one like this would be worth looking at - 1 owner, low miles 2008 so low tax, and good economy - power will be down versus your A4 but you should get mid 50's mpg

This was the car that Renault used to turn around its quality and I believe it worked

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Renault/Laguna/3-1.5-DC/201441227671340/advert?channel=CARS

Suggestions for a fuel efficient-er 8 year old car

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