which is best for long commute

blacksmith105

ok landed a job at last after 2 years .. but drawback is i will have a long commute every day 49 miles each way ....

should i go for a small 1 l car petrol or a larger 1.9 l diesel i have 2.5k to spend so guess looking at a 01-02- 03 , will be mostly motorway driving and early starts

Diesel, VAG 1.9 stuff is generally over prised. 406 diesel, C5 or Rover 75 would be not bad if you buy wise.

fonecrusher1

The likes of the diesel vw passats & golfs being sold here have silly asking prices. 9 or 10 year old passats being sold for 3 or 4k is hilarious.

Mazda 626 Td (the old school diesel lump, NOT THE MAZDA 6!!)is a nice enough car. Took one for a spin the other day & i was fairly impressed. Its not very quick but as a budget motorway cruiser it would be fine. Might get one myself soon.

Are the C5's really as bad as what im being told??? Dodgey electrics & some fragile suspension components im hearing are the main culprits, or is this yet more online pub talk?

The suspension isn't too bad at all, dunno about the electrics, never heard any C5 horror stories.

At 50 miles a day on the motorway a 1.4 petrol wouldn't be too bad either, could get something for less than your budget easily

analfabets

This is like driving a tractor, but it is reliable and economical (I manage to get 60-64mpg)

Matt Simis

As per other threads, I wouldnt be on for doing that mileage in a 1.0 (or even 1.4 got to admit) old Petrol engined anything. That engine class is designed for short Urban commutes, not 100mile motorway trips.

Get a diesel something.

unkel

analfabets wrote: »

This is like driving a tractor, but it is reliable and economical (I manage to get 60-64mpg)

Bargain!

high horse

The Seat Toledo is a VAG car that seems to be quite unloved so it has a much more realistic pricetag compared to other models but has the reliable old 1.9tdi engine. They should be a comfortable place to pass 100 miles per day

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2134987

bazz26

On a daily 100 miles round trip I'd be looking for the most comfortable cruiser possible. I would not fancy doing it in a supermini irrespective of whether it is diesel or not. I'd be looking at the Peugeot 406 or Citroen C5 HDi, they just soak up the miles and bumps while still giving great fuel economy, not as overpriced as VAG TDi stuff either.

Peugeot 406:
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2110775

Citroen C5:
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2076601

colm_mcm

analfabets wrote: »

This is like driving a tractor, but it is reliable and economical (I manage to get 60-64mpg)

That's described as a sports model.
It's an estate
It's yellow
It's SDI
It's base spec

Yellow D reg estate SDI fabia estate in base spec only means one thing.

Thought these taxis all got crushed as a tax write off or something once they'd reached end of service?

fonecrusher1

colm_mcm wrote: »

That's described as a sports model.
It's an estate
It's yellow
It's SDI
It's base spec

As you probably know yourself - very reliable but horribly horribly slow engine. A fella i know has an old sdi VW caddy....2 words, slow & noisy.

slimjimmc

RoverJames wrote: »

Diesel, VAG 1.9 stuff is generally over prised. 406 diesel, C5 or Rover 75 would be not bad if you buy wise.

+1 on the 406/c5, personally prefer the super smooth c5. Both well kitted for the price.
(Know little of the 75 so can't advise)

Guy:Incognito

colm_mcm wrote: »

That's described as a sports model.
It's an estate
It's yellow
It's SDI
It's base spec
No mention of mileage

Yellow D reg estate SDI fabia estate in base spec only means one thing.

Thought these taxis all got crushed as a tax write off or something once they'd reached end of service?

FYP:)

_Conrad_

I would not like to be doing approx. 500 miles per week just for work in a 1 litre petrol car, no way. Something cheap, basic, solid and diesel if what you need for that job within that budget. Doing big-ish mileage in a very small car is not a great plan as it'll be cramped and overworked

Drummerboy08

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2131809

This is what i'd buy. Bags of spec, comfortable, decent engine once the turbo has been done, shouldn't give trouble once you look after it.

And most importantly, you'll have at least an extra 500 quid for fuel!

YouTookMyName

Diesel Avensis.

analfabets

colm_mcm wrote: »

That's described as a sports model.
It's an estate
It's yellow
It's SDI
It's base spec

Yellow D reg estate SDI fabia estate in base spec only means one thing.

Thought these taxis all got crushed as a tax write off or something once they'd reached end of service?

I see. Didn't realize that. I thought they only use Octavias. Still I've seen one with 600000 kilometers on the clock and still running healthy so there might be plenty of life left in it. Or maybe not.

GTDolanator

colm_mcm wrote: »

That's described as a sports model.
It's an estate
It's yellow
It's SDI
It's base spec

Yellow D reg estate SDI fabia estate in base spec only means one thing.

Thought these taxis all got crushed as a tax write off or something once they'd reached end of service?

and what?its still a cheap reliable run a round,those things got new parts and repairs whenever they needed it prob do another 200k no hassle

zilog_jones

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Mazda 626 Td (the old school diesel lump, NOT THE MAZDA 6!!)is a nice enough car. Took one for a spin the other day & i was fairly impressed. Its not very quick but as a budget motorway cruiser it would be fine. Might get one myself soon.

I drove one of these when looking at cars earlier this year, the engine was very tractor-like compared to the more modern diesels and I hated the very light steering on it.

I ended up with a '02 Peugeot 406 HDi 90, not the most powerful thing around but it's a godsend compared to my crappy old Fiesta. It's a nice relatively smooth common-rail diesel but from just before they started making things too complicated with particulate filters and DMFs. Getting about 45 MPG in mixed driving (I'm sure I can improve on that ), very comfortable on long journeys. Suspension isn't as magically smooth as the C5 but it's still very smooth and the interior is nicer IMO (I have the Rapier with half-leather). There is a small oil leak which I haven't been able to track down yet, but hopefully it won't be anything serious

Are the C5's really as bad as what im being told??? Dodgey electrics & some fragile suspension components im hearing are the main culprits, or is this yet more online pub talk?

The suspension spheres need replacing every 5-6 years so take the cost of that into account when buying, but besides that I haven't heard of any horror stories with them. HDi engines are generally reliable from what I've seen. Small electrical problems like windows are as common as any VAG car. They don't take neglect very well but it will be quite obvious if one hasn't been looked after.