Suggest a car, 21,600 miles a year!

metalgear2k2

Well lads, my other half is doing a lot of mileage and is currently driving a 01 1.5 petrol Nissan almera.

She is doing 450 miles a week, by 48 weeks = 21,600 miles a year :eek::eek:
It’s mostly motorway driving, I’d say 400 of the weekly miles are on the motorway. She wants the change the car in a few months and is interested in a few different cars, I'm on here to try to get a few more suggestions.

She would like a 07 sline Audi a4 or a Volvo c30, I’m trying to get her to look at the Skoda Octavia vrs but I think I’m losing the battle!

So any suggestions welcome, around €14,000-€16,000 to spend on a good comfortable (must be diesel) motorway muncher!

Leonard Hofstadter

I'd be looking at something larger than an Octavia to be honest.

A Mondeo is a nice drive and will be far more comfortable than an Octavia.

metalgear2k2

captainspeed wrote: »

I'd be looking at something larger than an Octavia to be honest.

A Mondeo is a nice drive and will be far more comfortable than an Octavia.

Would there be much of a size difference between an Octavia and a Mondeo, I thought they would be nearly the same??

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1727509

I think she wants the audi A4 but I want to test drive a good few before we decide, so I'll add the Mondeo to the list.

vectra

Octavia vRS is fine for motorway driving.
I have my one around 12 weeks and have 7.5k on the clock and feel no discomfort.

It is a pleasure to drive.
I am averaging 43 mpg as well.

That red one looks nice.

doOh

Lexus IS 220d or IS 250. Great models, very reliable. Very good motorway MPG

metalgear2k2

doOh wrote: »

Lexus IS 220d or IS 250. Great models, very reliable. Very good motorway MPG

How much is "very good mpg"?

johnos1984

Everyone will whince but my Passat has been great on the motorway

I put the cruise control on and relax Average MPG is 47.5, goes to over 50 if I turn cruise control off. Thats at an average speed of 120kph

Very relaxing to drive and its the first car I don't suffer tiredness or back pain after a long jaunt.

I got it in mid Nov and so far have covered 4500k miles. It has 116k on the clock and feels very solid. No issues listed in the history either

Henry Ford III

vectra wrote: »

Octavia vRS is fine for motorway driving.
I have my one around 12 weeks and have 7.5k on the clock and feel no discomfort.

It is a pleasure to drive.
I am averaging 43 mpg as well.

That red one looks nice.

Isn't that a little...erm....thirsty?

cgarrad

Had a company mondeo, 08 absolutely ate motorways for breakfast

Squall19

johnos1984 wrote: »

Everyone will whince but my Passat has been great on the motorway

I put the cruise control on and relax Average MPG is 47.5, goes to over 50 if I turn cruise control off. Thats at an average speed of 120kph

Very relaxing to drive and its the first car I don't suffer tiredness or back pain after a long jaunt.

I got it in mid Nov and so far have covered 4500k miles. It has 116k on the clock and feels very solid. No issues listed in the history either

They are very hit and miss though, where I work they had about 8 of them ( 06 models ) and 6 Avensis's and they were a bit of a nightmare reliability wise, Avensis had much less issues over the 3 years and last year they sold of the Passats and replaced them all with Avensis's.

metalgear2k2

cgarrad wrote: »

Had a company mondeo, 08 absolutely ate motorways for breakfast

vectra

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Isn't that a little...erm....thirsty?

Well,
Lets say that I do not like driving behind cars as stones flying may crack my screen or chip my paint so I prefer to be in front of everyone

Sometimes that can be a lot of fun in A Vrs :pac:

Why?
What MPG do you think I should be getting?

bazz26

metalgear2k2 wrote: »

Would there be much of a size difference between an Octavia and a Mondeo, I thought they would be nearly the same??

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1727509

I think she wants the audi A4 but I want to test drive a good few before we decide, so I'll add the Mondeo to the list.

Octavia is based on the smaller Golf/Jetta which is a class below the Passat/Mondeo.

Would she consider a Citroen C5 HDi? Should be able to pick up a new shape diesel on her budget:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201050200564448

Others worth looking at:

Alfa Romeo 159:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201047200372429

Honda Accord diesel:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201029198944407

Honda Civic diesel:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201045200197389

Opel Astra:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201047200355668

metalgear2k2

Some good choices there, not sure about the Citroen, its been bred into me that french cars are bad!

doOh

metalgear2k2 wrote: »

How much is "very good mpg"?

IS 220d around 177 horses probably will do 45mpg. Ofcourse its not good mpg comparing to fiesta 1.4tdi ...
IS 250 around 210 horses and does 30/35mpg on motorway.

By "Very good MPG" i meant good power to consumption ratio :P

metalgear2k2

Fair enough

So what would be the better MPG cars out there?

metalgear2k2

Are the corolla/auris d4d as good as what I have been hearing on the MPG side of things?

Matt Simis

Alfa 156 2.4JTD 200bhp, 10years old does 48mpg and thats not driven slowly... Presumably newer Diesels should do a lot better, I know a 2005+ 520d is mid-50s mpg wise.

Leonard Hofstadter

metalgear2k2 wrote: »

Are the corolla/auris d4d as good as what I have been hearing on the MPG side of things?

They're probably very economical, but I don't know why anyone would put themselves through the sheer misery of driving one of these cars - they're so $h!t!

Matt Simis

captainspeed wrote: »

They're probably very economical, but I don't know why anyone would put themselves through the sheer misery of driving one of these cars - they're so $h!t!

Ill put my Alfa hat back on for the OP.
You can get a 2006+ Alfa GT (diesel) for like EUR10k. Prolly not the most amazing drivers car (but a lot better than the average junk like an Auris) but quite pretty:
http://www.carzone.ie/search/results?searchsource=finder&nParam=0&channel=CARS&cacheBuster=1294330912333667#nParam=200590%2B4294910247%2B102456&sortby=Make|0&channel=CARS&currency=EUROS&searchResultsView=THUMBNAIL&maxrows=10

bladespin

Alfa JTdM should return well into the 50 mpg range without too much holding back on motorways, the mondoe is a little heavier (I think) it's been returning just under 50mpg for me, varies between 46 and 48 mpg.

Have to rate the Mondeo very highly for your needs, the Alfa was lovely though.

vectra

Persuade herself to have a look at the Octavia vRS as it was your first choice.. She wont regret it.. I had to take my wife for a drive in one before she was convinced.. 2 weeks after owning this she is planning ahead as to what color vRS we will get next time
As for mpg... My 43 mpg is of a very mixed driving average.. I would imagine I should be getting close to the 50mpg on a motorway run.

metalgear2k2

Ya thats the plan, have a lot of test driving and homework to do, really want to see what the MPG is for some of the cars mentioned.

CabanasBoy

captainspeed wrote: »

I'd be looking at something larger than an Octavia to be honest.

A Mondeo is a nice drive and will be far more comfortable than an Octavia.

With all due respect, your talking out your exhaust pipe, Octavia is one of the comfiest cars on the road. I regularly pull 12-14 hours (though the longest I've sat in in one go is 8hrs without a break) in mine and you could not ask for a more comfortable seat/wheel/pedals combo.

As for economy, an Octavia diesel at motorway speeds will easily achieve 53-55mpg.

metalgear2k2

CabanasBoy wrote: »

With all due respect, your talking out your exhaust pipe, Octavia is one of the comfiest cars on the road. I regularly pull 12-14 hours (though the longest I've sat in in one go is 8hrs without a break) in mine and you could not ask for a more comfortable seat/wheel/pedals combo.

As for economy, an Octavia diesel at motorway speeds will easily achieve 53-55mpg.

is yours vRS?

Leonard Hofstadter

CabanasBoy wrote: »

With all due respect, your talking out your exhaust pipe, Octavia is one of the comfiest cars on the road. I regularly pull 12-14 hours (though the longest I've sat in in one go is 8hrs without a break) in mine and you could not ask for a more comfortable seat/wheel/pedals combo.

As for economy, an Octavia diesel at motorway speeds will easily achieve 53-55mpg.

53 mpg is nothing special for a diesel.

This obsession with the Octavia on boards is really getting out of hand now....

You may think it's fine, but I think it's average. A larger car will be more comfortable. An Octavia is just not as good as say a Superb for high mileage driving(now that is good on a motorway), and of course it can't possibly be, since it costs less to make and to buy.

CabanasBoy

metalgear2k2 wrote: »

is yours vRS?

Mine has the 1.9TDi, the VRs has the 2.0TDi which is a newer design engine and is more economical, mind you, if you drive any diesel with you foot nailed to the boards it's going to drink the gogo juice.

CabanasBoy

captainspeed wrote: »

53 mpg is nothing special for a diesel.

This obsession with the Octavia on boards is really getting out of hand now....

You may think it's fine, but I think it's average. A larger car will be more comfortable. An Octavia is just not as good as say a Superb for high mileage driving(now that is good on a motorway), and of course it can't possibly be, since it costs less to make and to buy.

I have regularly seen 60+ mpg on main rds with the cruise set to 110-120 but a real world figure of 53-55mpg is easily achievable.

As to your claim that the Octavia is merely average?:rolleyes:

I fear however that Skoda in general are in danger of disappearing up their own holes soon and are starting to alienate the very people who have made them successful (in this country at least).

metalgear2k2

Ya she doesnt drive that fast though, would be at 120kph for most of her journeys so would be hoping to get the best MPG out of the car she buys, and obviously with the mileage she is doing she would like some comfort too!

vectra

metalgear2k2 wrote: »

Ya she doesnt drive that fast though, would be at 120kph for most of her journeys so would be hoping to get the best MPG out of the car she buys, and obviously with the mileage she is doing she would like some comfort too!

Then buy the 1.6 Tdi
elegance
dsg
23K ish.
good value

metalgear2k2

vectra wrote: »

Then buy the 1.6 Tdi
elegance
dsg
23K ish.
good value

like this one:

http://www.carsonline.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201050200538586

a lot of love for the Octavia on here!

Triangla

I do 750 a week at the moment in a 98 Astra 1.4L petrol.

Very good thread as I'm looking to upgrade asap too.

My driving is 90% motorway, spending around €100 a week on petrol.

I was thinking of Peugot 407 1.6L Diesel. Any thoughts/opinions on those?

vectra

Triangla wrote: »

I do 750 a week at the moment in a 98 Astra 1.4L petrol.

Very good thread as I'm looking to upgrade asap too.

My driving is 90% motorway, spending around €100 a week on petrol.

I was thinking of Peugot 407 1.6L Diesel. Any thoughts/opinions on those?

I do about 700 kilometers a week also..Maximum spend on diesel is approx 60 ish euro per week..That was before the recent increase, Will be back at it from next week so will see how it changes things

CabanasBoy

Triangla wrote: »

I do 750 a week at the moment in a 98 Astra 1.4L petrol.

Very good thread as I'm looking to upgrade asap too.

My driving is 90% motorway, spending around €100 a week on petrol.

I was thinking of Peugot 407 1.6L Diesel. Any thoughts/opinions on those?

Peugeot had a great reputation for their diesel engines, probably still do but the 407 seems like a very big car for the 1.6 engine, 1505kg kerb weight.

Triangla

vectra wrote: »

I do about 700 kilometers a week also..Maximum spend on diesel is approx 60 ish euro per week..That was before the recent increase, Will be back at it from next week so will see how it changes things

I do 750 miles, not km. Kilkenny to Dublin and back each day.
That's 1200km per week.

At 60 for 700km for you and 100 for 1200km for me mine is working out slightly cheaper.
You're 8.6 cent per km versus me at 8.3 cent per km.

What do you drive?

af_thefragile

Get this:
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Jaguar/X-Type/2.0D-LUX/201101200789611/advert?channel=CARS

Yes its only a Mondeo in a fancy dress. But when you're gonna be spending that much time in the car, you really wanna be in a comortable, relaxing and nice place. Which is what the Jag offers. The driver's seat is just such a nice place to be!!

And there's even the added bonus of telling people you drive a "Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag!!!"

Triangla

CabanasBoy wrote: »

Peugeot had a great reputation for their diesel engines, probably still do but the 407 seems like a very big car for the 1.6 engine, 1505kg kerb weight.

Thanks, what about the 2l version, are they economical?

vectra

Triangla wrote: »

What do you drive?

This

2.0 Liter - 170BHP of pure pleasure :pac:

reilig

metalgear2k2 wrote: »

Are the corolla/auris d4d as good as what I have been hearing on the MPG side of things?

I've an Auris 1.4 d4d. I do an average of 1100km per week. A tank of 45 litres will go somewhere between 980km and 1020km from light on to light on. Its a nice comfortable car to drive, tax and insurance is relatively cheap. A set of tyres will do 60K km. Servicing is cheap. Most importantly, at 160,000 km on the clock it has never refused to start nor conked out. The only part that I had to put into it was break pads at 120k km. Its not a very fashionable car, but I don't buy cars because of how I look in them. Its a trusty commuter car. It has a lot of space both leg wise and width wise in the front and passenger seats (the back might be a little tight as all hatchbacks are) in comparison to other cars that I have driven.

metalgear2k2

reilig wrote: »

I've an Auris 1.4 d4d. I do an average of 1100km per week. A tank of 45 litres will go somewhere between 980km and 1020km from light on to light on. Its a nice comfortable car to drive, tax and insurance is relatively cheap. A set of tyres will do 60K km. Servicing is cheap. Most importantly, at 160,000 km on the clock it has never refused to start nor conked out. The only part that I had to put into it was break pads at 120k km. Its not a very fashionable car, but I don't buy cars because of how I look in them. Its a trusty commuter car. It has a lot of space both leg wise and width wise in the front and passenger seats (the back might be a little tight as all hatchbacks are) in comparison to other cars that I have driven.

jasus thats good going!

Ardennes1944

Triangla wrote: »

I do 750 miles, not km. Kilkenny to Dublin and back each day.
That's 1200km per week.

At 60 for 700km for you and 100 for 1200km for me mine is working out slightly cheaper.
You're 8.6 cent per km versus me at 8.3 cent per km.

What do you drive?

someones got alot of time

vectra

Triangla wrote: »

I do 750 miles, not km. Kilkenny to Dublin and back each day.
That's 1200km per week.

At 60 for 700km for you and 100 for 1200km for me mine is working out slightly cheaper.
You're 8.6 cent per km versus me at 8.3 cent per km.

What do you drive?

Actually,
I have covered 7,467 kilometers to last fill which has cost me €928 = 8.046 c per kilometer :pac:

metalgear2k2

vectra wrote: »

This

2.0 Liter - 170BHP of pure pleasure :pac:

sweet ride by the way!

Tea 1000

captainspeed wrote: »

53 mpg is nothing special for a diesel.

This obsession with the Octavia on boards is really getting out of hand now....

You may think it's fine, but I think it's average. A larger car will be more comfortable. An Octavia is just not as good as say a Superb for high mileage driving(now that is good on a motorway), and of course it can't possibly be, since it costs less to make and to buy.

I'd agree. After all the hype I drove a VRs recently, and the interior is quite cheap looking, unlike the new Superb, which could be considered class leading. The Octavia feels like a smaller car when coming from a car the segment up from it.
If it's comfort you're after, go for the Superb if it must be a Skoda. Many options though, depending on requirements.

vectra

Tea 1000 wrote: »

I'd agree. After all the hype I drove a VRs recently, and the interior is quite cheap looking, unlike the new Superb, which could be considered class leading. .

You must have driven the wrong one.
I actually think the interior of my one looks quite good compared to some of the higher class cars I previously owned/drove.

Tea 1000 wrote: »

The Octavia feels like a smaller car when coming from a car the segment up from it.

Isnt that the case with any car a segment down??

metalgear2k2

wow thats savage, is that the standard for a vRS or have u speced it up?

vectra

metalgear2k2 wrote: »

wow thats savage, is that the standard for a vRS or have u speced it up?

When I ordered it I specked it to Full Leather,
As it is the vRS it only cost an extra €700

Full interior is now black inc. door panels..Roof etc..

These are the standard seats


Stereo is standard equipment

As a matter of interest
Where in Cork are you based ?

metalgear2k2

They look pretty good too.

I'm living in Glanworth at the mo, working in Mallow, yourself?

GTE

johnos1984 wrote: »

I put the cruise control on and relax Average MPG is 47.5, goes to over 50 if I turn cruise control off. Thats at an average speed of 120kph

Any idea what your revs are at when at 120kph?

Just while you mention cruise control that really should be a must on the extras list if we are talking about comfort.

I installed CC onto my Golf over the Summer and last week I did about 400km of Motorway driving in a non CC car and I was nearly dead!
The difference the next day back in my Golf to Belfast was great. Ive had the CC a while before I started doing a lot of motorway driving and I appreciate it so much after drive last week.

johnos1984

bbk wrote: »

Any idea what your revs are at when at 120kph?

I think around 2500rpm but I'll have to check it when I'm driving up the motorway again.

Its a 5speed 105bhp TDI if anyone else knows

GTE

johnos1984 wrote: »

I think around 2500rpm but I'll have to check it when I'm driving up the motorway again.

Its a 5speed 105bhp TDI if anyone else knows

I should have asked also was yours the 5 or 6 speed.
Im at 2900rpm on a sat nav 120kph and defo not getting 55mpg anymore.
I was curious if the 6th gear would be longer (i think is the word) for less revs at cruise.

Anyway, dont wanna derail anything but it could be worth a check for anyone who wants to buy an MPG wagon.