Advice on what car to get

robobobo

Hey Guys,

Currently I've got an 01 ford fiesta 1.25
I'm looking to upgrade to a car that's better for motorway journeys... the fiesta is great for little town run arounds but the majority of my trips are on the motorway

I've about a 7k budget to upgrade to something a bit more fuel efficient, at the moment I'm barely getting 30mpg from my fiesta with fairly careful driving, its just the engine is working a good bit just to keep at motorway speeds

I know a diesel would be ideal but I'm not sure I could get one with my budget and also they're generally a large engine which will cost me more in insurance (18 year old male)

I'll be interested to hear what you guys would suggest, I've been looking at a 1.4 golf or seat Leon at the moment so far, around 05-07

I assume the newer engines are more efficient aswell?

Thanks

Focus 1.6 petrol or diesel whichever tickles your fancy.

Bluesteel7

Great car for you would be a 04 05 Opel Astra. One of my mates has one. Its a 1.3 turbo diseal. Light on fuel and just couple 100 to tax.

ltdslipdiff

Because it used to be mine and was the best car ever on petrol !!!!

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Honda/Civic/HYBRID-E/201050200596648/advert?channel=CARS

highlydebased

ltdslipdiff wrote: »

Because it used to be mine and was the best car ever on petrol !!!!

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Honda/Civic/HYBRID-E/201050200596648/advert?channel=CARS

Good luck to him getting cheap insurance on that!

I'd go for a Diesel Mondeo- 00' ish. You'd probably get one for 3k ish

bazz26

The 1.4 in the Golf/Leon is not new, it has been around along time and is underpowered and not very reliable. I cannot imagine you getting any better fuel economy from one of them to be honest. The newer 1.4 TSi versions are probably outside your budget.

How many miles a year do you drive? If you do alot of driving then maybe a Corolla diesel might be worth looking at as they are 1.4 litre. You might find a 05 on your budget but anything diesel these days are fetching crazy money due to everyone wanting them.

bazz26

A hybrid is at it's most efficent around town where the electric motor is used, OP is doing motorway driving so a hybrid is a little pointless no?

ltdslipdiff

bazz26 wrote: »

A hybrid is at it's most efficent around town where the electric motor is used, OP is doing motorway driving so a hybrid is a little pointless no?

Not in the Civic, as the electric motor is used in conjunction with the 1339cc petrol under acceleration, so usual rules apply with regards to cnsumption. Its mighty frugal even on the move.

ltdslipdiff

Neon-Circles wrote: »

Good luck to him getting cheap insurance on that!

The OH got insured fully comp with Hibernian for €280 on that Civic, they actually give a hefty discount for hybrids! Worth looking in to !

robobobo

Thanks for the advice guys,

Bluesteel7: I like the sound of a 1.3 turbo astra, my only concern is would it affect my insurance much because of the turbo? Would there be much difference between a 1.25 petrol and 1.3 diesel turbo insurance wise? And also performance wise? Obviously the diesel is much better on fuel

RoverJames: A 1.6 focus was mentioned earlier, but I think that's just too much for my insurance

ltdslipdiff: Yes that civic does look nice, but the second I ring up and try to insure a honda civic my insurance company will just hang up the phone, or might as well...

bazz26 : That's interesting what you say about the 1.4 engine in the golfs and leon, I've a couple of friends with 1.4 golfs who seem to get fairly decent mileage out of them

Is there any other cars out there that have a smallish diesel engine 1.3/1.4?

Cheers

veetwin

Take it from me robobobo the 1.4 Golf or Leon is gallactically slow. It hates being pushed and the mpg is not great. They are ok around town but woefully underpowered on long journeys. I know because I had the displeasure of having to use Mrs veetwin's Golf for a year before I persuaded her to get a TSI one.

The 1.6 Focus would be a much better bet for you and is a great car to drive. Plenty of power and good economy and reliability and because of the Irish mentality that 1.6 is too big they are great value. Also anything other than the base spec is reasonably well equipped and much better specced than the equivalent Golf.

There shouldn't be any massive difference in insurance between a 1.6 Focus and a 1.4 Golf

Dilbert75

My concern about a 6 year old hybrid would be the life left in the battery and the cost of replacement (how long is the battery warranty?).

Astra 1.3TD sounds like an option. Won't be a ball of fire but worth a test drive surely. Nobody here can answer on insurance costs - but there are probably a dozen insurance company websites which could tell you definitively.

For Forks Sake

Bluesteel7 wrote: »

Great car for you would be a 04 05 Opel Astra. One of my mates has one. Its a 1.3 turbo diseal. Light on fuel and just couple 100 to tax.

Had one for 2 years as a company car, mostly motorway miles.

Absolute cart of ****e, more stupid niggly problems than any car I've had before or since. Awful spec. Seats are dreadful if you're putting up the miles. Not as efficient as you'd imagine either.

MrDerp

Your age is the killer here.

I've just switched from a 1.4 Focus to a 1.8 s40 because of the motorway miles I do. I'm getting the same mpg (around 35) overall.

To be honest with you, upgrading to a 1.4 hatchback would make you happier in the short term, but won't improve your economy much, and you'll still feel like you're pushing it around on the motorway.

If I were you, as annoying a recommendation as this might be, I'd try and suck it up for a year until you've another year of NCB under your belt, and maybe even a bigger budget if you feel like spoiling yourself. If, next year, you still have a need for a lot of motorway driving, I'd then look at getting a motorway appropriate car.

I changed from a 1.2 Corsa to that 1.4 Focus thinking I was making a step up. I learned pretty quickly just how **** a 1.4 family hatch can be. I loved that car for other reasons but it pissed me off in situations where I needed the bit of power, and it wasn't that composed on the motorway (admittedly I typically drive 130-140 per speedo in 120 zones)

robobobo

Hmm it is a tricky decision to make alright, i do like my fiesta, but it's not the most ideal car in the world for me, it's small and quite noisy on motorways, and I just have a couple of niggles with it,

I'm not looking for a rally car, I know people think most 18 year olds rally around the place, but when you're paying for fuel, insurance and tax you don't go doing that sort of thing.

Another question, I've seen a fair few vauxhall astras as opposed to the opel astras

Is there any difference? I always thought Vauxhall was just opel in england? are the vauxhall's here imports?

thanks

Ardennes1944

what about a 1.7 astra diesel? or the 1.3 grande punto diesel?

For Forks Sake

robobobo wrote: »

Is there any difference? I always thought Vauxhall was just opel in england? are the vauxhall's here imports?

thanks

Think the Vauxhalls had a 1.7 diesel. Probably a bit nicer to live with.

robobobo

So there isn't really any difference between a vauxhall and opel then?

I like the idea of the diesel grande punto aswell, it's a nice looking car, anyone any opinions on it's performance etc..?

djPSB

I'm driving a 00 corolla 1.4 petrol at the minute, but will be upgrading to a golf mk5 or and audi A3 1.9TDI in the near future for about €7000.

My insurance is €1000 for the year, 22 years old.
When i get the new car and want to go fully comp, do ye reckon it will drive the premium up much??

or would i be better off to just stay 3rd party??

Raskolnikov

robobobo wrote: »

I know a diesel would be ideal but I'm not sure I could get one with my budget and also they're generally a large engine which will cost me more in insurance (18 year old male)

For the millionth time, insurers are far more concerned about the horsepower in the engine, and the type of car that you're driving.

I drive a 1.9 litre diesel and it costs me less to insure than a 1.1 litre petrol.

robobobo

For the millionth time, insurers are far more concerned about the horsepower in the engine, and the type of car that you're driving.

I drive a 1.9 litre diesel and it costs me less to insure than a 1.1 litre petrol.

I don't know about that now, when I was first looking for insurance, the insurance company told me that they weren't willing to insure me on anything over a 1.5.... so clearly the size of the engine plays some role in it?

C4Kid

1.4 Golfs suffer very bad MPG on motorways. It's difficult to reach the 41 MPG specified through normal driving.