Whats the most economical commuter diesel

xual

I've a 180k round trip daily commute to take on. And I'm looking to buy a diesel car. Obviously I want to spend as little on fuel as possible. I was looking at;

Avensis D4D 2.0
Passat TDI 1.9
Golf TDI 1.9
Volvo s/v40 1.9 D
Ford Mondeo ( Maybe )

My preference would be the Passat so far and I'm nervous of veering toward brands other than these.

Any good advice from other commuters.

EPM

For that commute you can scrap the Golf and S40 off the list. Cars in that class simply don't have the comfort of the bigger models. They are far from uncomfortable but the bigger car will eat the miles much easier.

I'd be inclined to go with the Passat if you can find a well minded reasonably priced example.

What's the budget as there are different models of each car mentioned.

smash

xual wrote: »

Any good advice from other commuters.

Your signature is huge!

xual

budget is up to up to €4,000.

And I haven't seen my signature in a while.. might fix that :-)

DubDani

Have a look for a MK1 Skoda Superb. It's a extended Version of the Passat, usually with a good amount of gadgets and a very reliable and comfortable mile muncher.

They can be picked up very cheaply these days, and often present better value then similar Passats.

granturismo

xual wrote: »

budget is up to up to €4,000.

Wont that suggest a 2.2D Avensis? Dont know about the Passat.

The Tyre Dude

A C5 1.6 HDi would be very comfy, quiet and frugal. Worth considering for those kind of mileages.

ongarite

2nd the C5. Loads of them going for bangernomics money.
Reliable diesel, very comfy seats, soft ride. Perfect cheap motorway muncher IMO.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3023119
Nice one here for just over 2K with cruise control, NCT 7/13

Max Power1

How about something like this?
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mercedes-Benz/220/C-CDI-SP/413269218819890/advert?channel=CARS

xual

ongarite wrote: »

2nd the C5. Loads of them going for bangernomics money.
Reliable diesel, very comfy seats, soft ride. Perfect cheap motorway muncher IMO.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3023119
Nice one here for just over 2K with cruise control, NCT 7/13

They are a nice car alright. Only problem is I know two people who have citreons and they have had a good deal of problems. I can do servicing, timingbelts, brakes, suspension myself. As with everything though if you find a well looked after car and continue to look after it if should work fine.

I'm a bit biased to the vw and toyota, although the toyota's are a little under powered and a little less fuel efficent I think.

Noticed an ass load of private sales on carzone up near the border counties. Every car has the same mileage ( between 92-98k ) regardless of the year. Is there something dodgy going on there?

xual

Max Power1 wrote: »

How about something like this?
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mercedes-Benz/220/C-CDI-SP/413269218819890/advert?channel=CARS

Don't want an automatic. Prefer the exercise :-)

ongarite

xual wrote: »

Noticed an ass load of private sales on carzone up near the border counties. Every car has the same mileage ( between 92-98k ) regardless of the year. Is there something dodgy going on there?

Could be clocked and once a car goes over 100K most Irish people think the car is going to suddenly develop major problems.

xual

ongarite wrote: »

Could be clocked and once a car goes over 100K most Irish people think the car is going to suddenly develop major problems.

I've a corolla at 275K. I don't fear a bit of cruft to keep a car going :-)

My gut says no to those adds.

Max Power1

xual wrote: »

Don't want an automatic. Prefer the exercise :-)

Fair enough but if I had that long a commute I couldnt agree

xual

Max Power1 wrote: »

Fair enough but if I had that long a commute I couldnt agree

Its all motorway driving so your in 5th for most of it. And changing gear makes me feel like a big man. And I hear automatics are guzzlers in town. But I would like a Merc. But not that much :-)

You were privy to a moment in the mind of me.

dwsl280

Hi, Have you considered an older BMW 3 or 5 series diesel. I'm driving an 02 530D (Auto), 2926cc. I drive 70 miles a day mainly motorway and I am getting 500 miles per tank. The car has 157,000 miles and is in full working order, no problems so far. It is the most comfortable car I have driven and a pleasure to drive with lots of power when you need it.

Previously to this I had a 2006 VW Passat, Diesel, manual. Averaged 600/650 miles to a tank. The car was comfortable but I would have the BMW anyday over the passat. I hated the manual gearbox, for long journeys like yours I would recommend you go Auto and make sure you have cruise control. Just my 2 cents.

xual

dwsl280 wrote: »

Hi, Have you considered an older BMW 3 or 5 series diesel. I'm driving an 02 530D (Auto), 2926cc. I drive 70 miles a day mainly motorway and I am getting 500 miles per tank. The car has 157,000 miles and is in full working order, no problems so far. It is the most comfortable car I have driven and a pleasure to drive with lots of power when you need it.

Previously to this I had a 2006 VW Passat, Diesel, manual. Averaged 600/650 miles to a tank. The car was comfortable but I would have the BMW anyday over the passat. I hated the manual gearbox, for long journeys like yours I would recommend you go Auto and make sure you have cruise control. Just my 2 cents.

Just saw a BMW 320d does 55MPG and has air con and cruise control. Looks like it would be the ideal car. Never owned a BMW before although people say they are comfy.

bazz26

I'd be looking at the Peugeot 406 HDi, better than anything else on that list when it comes to comfortable cruising:

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=4813301867271890

maidhc

bazz26 wrote: »

I'd be looking at the Peugeot 406 HDi, better than anything else on that list when it comes to comfortable cruising:

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=4813301867271890

Saucy money for that one though.

mercenary2

bmw or ok if you like over priced shinny plastic cars ,i myself steer away from german motors as i fiend most parts or soft ,toyota used to be good but now are made in england just a jap engine,hyundai and kia are making a good name for themselfs,myself having a hyundai along with my sister also driving them for years now and never a days trouble..

as for the bmw a friend of mine made his money from opening a garage dealing in bmw mechanics ,he says they spend more time with him than the owners..

barura

mercenary2 wrote: »

bmw or ok if you like over priced shinny plastic cars ,i myself steer away from german motors as i fiend most parts or soft ,toyota used to be good but now are made in england just a jap engine,hyundai and kia are making a good name for themselfs,myself having a hyundai along with my sister also driving them for years now and never a days trouble..

as for the bmw a friend of mine made his money from opening a garage dealing in bmw mechanics ,he says they spend more time with him than the owners..

I have to disagree, the BMW 316d is a lovely motor, and at 35k, driving like this fellow will be doing, it would be perfect. It would pay for itself in 5 years in comfort, driveability and resell value. Keep it serviced according to the book and it should be good for easily 200k miles and beyond. Though there budget doesn't accommodate for it, I would be loath to say that they should be shirked away from. I understand what their budget is as well in this instance and that car is beyond that...

You get what you pay for, and if you are not thinking of cars as a disposable item, something that you will use day in, day out, would only stand to you if you intend to keep it. I would be very interested in one of them if I was going to be doing that commute. Perhaps not now, but next year after a deposit has been saved up. All the same, a good car for 4k with full service history should easily see them through the next few years.

And about your friend who set up a garage: of course a BMW mechanic that is worth his salt would do good business by the way, if it's cheaper and as good as a main dealers work, the only thing not going for it is that he doesn't have a dealers stamp for the service history, even at that, if he becomes reputable, it would be worth the same.

On topic of what car to get, the C5 is a lovely yoke, it has my vote as something in your price range with a strong engine as well. Some petrols could also be considered since there is a stigma against them and if you save 1k on a car cause it's petrol (with lower mileage I would imagine compared to a diesel equivalent) and only spend 400 more on petrol that year, it could lend to that being an idea.

Eoin

Max Power1 wrote: »

Fair enough but if I had that long a commute I couldnt agree

Cruise control is probably more important than auto for a long commute, provided that a good bit of it is cruising on national/motorways.

EPM wrote:

For that commute you can scrap the Golf and S40 off the list. Cars in that class simply don't have the comfort of the bigger models.

Depends what year; some of the Volvos are very comfortable on a long drive, even the smaller ones.

triggermortis

My wife got a manual diesel Passat for a similar journey (80Km each way, 5 days a week) and its grand on a run. It's got cruise control, but is a total waste of time as no-one knows how to drive properly (always speeding up and slowing down)

EPM

Eoin wrote: »

Depends what year; some of the Volvos are very comfortable on a long drive, even the smaller ones.

The 1.9d is the older model s40. The seats are great in them no contest but they are a little tinny compared to some of the bigger cars mentioned. I've driven one with over 200k miles on it and it wasn't bad at all but I found it a little bit too hard on bumpy roads. The car did close on 240k miles before the engine died due to neglect.

MaxyJazz

What are the Citroen C5 like? I think they are great value and look ok

bd2012

Audi a6 1.9tdi? Have a 02 200k miles on the clock. A bubble of comfort on motorway drives still. 50 mpg too. Just a suggestion

MugMugs

granturismo wrote: »

xual wrote: »

budget is up to up to €4,000.

Wont that suggest a 2.2D Avensis? Dont know about the Passat.

2.2D-4D is muck. Stay clear. I went from a Passat to an Avensis..... For economy The Passat was better. For reliability and less spuds cone fix her up time the Avensis tops the passat somewhat supported by the less going wrong too. Personally, been there, done that, bought the Avensis.

Raskolnikov

I haven't encountered a more economical car than my Skoda Fabia 1.9 SDI for motorway driving. When driving on English motorways, I once got 74mpg on two long runs (travelling at a steady 65mph with only one passenger). On Irish roads with a reasonably economical driving style, I will average 60-65mpg. Complete disregard for any economical driving and going at 80mph will yield 50-55mpg. Tax will be a bugger, but insurance will be less than a 1.25 Fiesta or 1.0 Yaris, never mind a Golf TDI. No DMF or DPF means no €500+ repair bills, infact, it's almost unknown to hear about any mechanical problems on the Skoda forums.

Idbatterim

320d could be a good buy, id be looking for something with cruise control anyway op!

xual

bazz26 wrote: »

I'd be looking at the Peugeot 406 HDi, better than anything else on that list when it comes to comfortable cruising:

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=4813301867271890

Friend has a 406 hdi and it has an everything is okay alarm glitched on it. I'm avoiding french cars period. That's just my choice, they're are probably lots of good ones out there.

xual

triggermortis wrote: »

My wife got a manual diesel Passat for a similar journey (80Km each way, 5 days a week) and its grand on a run. It's got cruise control, but is a total waste of time as no-one knows how to drive properly (always speeding up and slowing down)

You got that in one. I know a guy with cruise control on a skoda superb. Drove to dublin with him and he spent more time switching on and off cruise control. And switching wipers from auto to manual and back and... Fiddling with bluetooth ..... . . zz z z z z z ...

Its a wonder he doesn't smash the car into a wall trying to watch DVDs in it whilst driving. Cars man... Seriously full of crap gadgets at times.

xual

MugMugs wrote: »

2.2D-4D is muck. Stay clear. I went from a Passat to an Avensis..... For economy The Passat was better. For reliability and less spuds cone fix her up time the Avensis tops the passat somewhat supported by the less going wrong too. Personally, been there, done that, bought the Avensis.

Family car is a 1.6 vvit avensis 05

Good cars alright. Passat is a little more comfy. Timing chain in the avensis saves a few pound. In saying that I service both cars at home myself anyway so I never feel that pain.

xual

Raskolnikov wrote: »

I haven't encountered a more economical car than my Skoda Fabia 1.9 SDI for motorway driving. When driving on English motorways, I once got 74mpg on two long runs (travelling at a steady 65mph with only one passenger). On Irish roads with a reasonably economical driving style, I will average 60-65mpg. Complete disregard for any economical driving and going at 80mph will yield 50-55mpg. Tax will be a bugger, but insurance will be less than a 1.25 Fiesta or 1.0 Yaris, never mind a Golf TDI. No DMF or DPF means no €500+ repair bills, infact, it's almost unknown to hear about any mechanical problems on the Skoda forums.

I have a lot of people telling me skodas are muck cheap to run and are reliable. Test drove a fabia. I felt it was a bit of a tin can but if it does the job. in saying that for the same price and fuel costs the 2002 BMW 320d is attracting me. . . Plus driving a BMW will make up for my very small . . feet

MugMugs

xual wrote: »

I have a lot of people telling me skodas are muck cheap to run and are reliable. Test drove a fabia. I felt it was a bit of a tin can but if it does the job. in saying that for the same price and fuel costs the 2002 BMW 320d is attracting me. . . Plus driving a BMW will make up for my very small . . feet

What type Fabia ?

Wasn't the 03 Low end Diesel troublesome ?

xual

MugMugs wrote: »

What type Fabia ?

Wasn't the 03 Low end Diesel troublesome ?

2002 fabia 1.4 combi. I'm used to Toyota's. The seats felt a bit cheap and the car was light but they're a reliable machine and essentially a volkswagen under the hood.

I'll probably end up taking an octavia or something along those lines. It will be cheaper and the money I save on diesel can go toward a better car later.

downburst

I recommend the Passat or the Skoda Superb. I have a Volvo S40 which has more toys and is faster, more nimble. Issue is small fuel tank. And cruise is handy when you can use it, like late at night. Can't be used in Ireland as noone does 120kph, if someone sees you in front they will overtake and then slow down to 115kph. Or my fav the folks in the overtaking lane brkaing every so often and moving in and out immediatley even though no one is in the inside lane. God help you come to think of it

BTW, I have driven the Accord, the Passat, Avensis (briefly) and now Volvo for a good few hundred of thousands of miles on the motorway. Passat the cheapest all in, fuel and servicing. The Toyota is not a nice place to be for long periods in my opinion. Hell of a price to pay for reliability to have the same dashboard from 1983?

xual

downburst wrote: »

I recommend the Passat or the Skoda Superb. I have a Volvo S40 which has more toys and is faster, more nimble. Issue is small fuel tank. And cruise is handy when you can use it, like late at night. Can't be used in Ireland as noone does 120kph, if someone sees you in front they will overtake and then slow down to 115kph. Or my fav the folks in the overtaking lane brkaing every so often and moving in and out immediatley even though no one is in the inside lane. God help you come to think of it

Those people slow down for a bit to make up for the speeding they did before so on average they can say they obey the law.. Only in Ireland... Actually I'm more worried about meeting some loon driving on the wrong side of the road, its not happened yet BUT..

downburst wrote: »

BTW, I have driven the Accord, the Passat, Avensis (briefly) and now Volvo for a good few hundred of thousands of miles on the motorway. Passat the cheapest all in, fuel and servicing. The Toyota is not a nice place to be for long periods in my opinion. Hell of a price to pay for reliability to have the same dashboard from 1983?

I'm a Toyota man. But you are bang on the mark. Extras are measly, dashboard hasn't changed and the trip computer looks like something v-tec produced in the 90s

Raskolnikov

xual wrote: »

I have a lot of people telling me skodas are muck cheap to run and are reliable. Test drove a fabia. I felt it was a bit of a tin can but if it does the job. in saying that for the same price and fuel costs the 2002 BMW 320d is attracting me. . . Plus driving a BMW will make up for my very small . . feet

Hey now, you never said anything about comfort in the original post

I would just be careful that a 10 year old BMW could be a false economy with expensive repair bills and higher tax/insurance.

xual

Raskolnikov wrote: »

Hey now, you never said anything about comfort in the original post

I would just be careful that a 10 year old BMW could be a false economy with expensive repair bills and higher tax/insurance.

It probably would be.

Just discovered that ford mazda and peugeot us an engine from a collaborative base. So they're all more or less the same. And the peugeot 1.4 and 1.6 hdi is the bomb.

Idbatterim

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-reviews/bmw/3_series/15460

I highly doubt the insurance on a 2l 320d would be any more than the other cars. Also at that age you are hardly using a main dealer, you dont need to use OEM parts in most cases either, so the cost would be pretty much the same as the other cars that have been mentioned. Also with a remap according to DMS automotive, the 320d is good for 190bhp! which would put it in the mid 7's for 0-100kph (id guesstimate).

bbam

I did a similar commute for more than 12 years...
Few different cars over the time..

1.6 Diesel golf, economical but not comfortable enough
Renault 19 diesel, comfortable and economical, but there was always a rattle somewhere or other..

99 B5 1.9TDI Passat, Great car, reliable, comfortable and economical 50+mpg..
02 B5.5 1.9TDI Passat Comfortline.. extra comfortable, very reliable but not as economical as previous, about 45-48 mpg on average..

BMW and Merc, real nice cars but no getting away from the RWD, and when your covering that mileage having to go extra slow when its any way frosty will be tiresome. My sister has a 05 200 Kompressor and she's sick of it, high maintenance costs and even on a wet road she finds having to ease off the pedal compared to their Carisma diesel... I know there will be the "purest" brigade backing up RWD as the only cars on the road... Thats fine until there is a smear of snow and it's 5am and your all over the road..

Skoda Superb, same as passat and as mentioned before is longer than the Passat, remember though this si behind the drivers seat and so will mean little to the driver..

Cruise control would be an absolute necessity, as is Air con if you buy a Passat, they tend to get hot in the cabin and the wind noise when you open a window is like a jet engine :eek:

SO my advice is to get a well spec'd Passat, good service history and you should be happy out...

_Kaiser_

+1 on the Passat - I do 1000km per week in mine (motorway mileage for 99% of it) and it's a very nice comfortable place to be.

Few notes/warnings though...

- They're not as flawless as the rep would have you believe and if you go for a 05-08 2.0 TDI model, make sure the injectors have been replaced under the current recall. Ditto check if the timing belt has been done and the flywheel (all expensive too)

- Servicing costs aren't cheap. Even with normal wear-and-tear stuff, mine has never cost me less than €400 per time (NI main dealer prices though - down here expect to pay more unless you go indie) and with that kinda mileage you'll need it looked at every 3/4 months.

- A full tank of diesel in the 140bhp 2.0 TDI will set you back about €100 at the min, give you about 70L and do 1000-1100km of the aforementioned motorway miles.

- In the earlier B6 models (05-08) you'd really want the 2.0 in my opinion. After 2008 the injector problem above disappears as they switched to Common Rail engines and others will rave about new 1.4 diesels etc, but I think you'll need the bigger engine/power for the size of the car.

- Road and tyre noise will be an issue as the cabin isn't that quiet. Decent tunes sorts that out tho

- Anything less than Comfortline spec I wouldn't even bother with. Climate and Cruise Control is a must (better again if mated to the DSG gearbox)

- It's a big car and rear visibility can be awkward at times. Watch the multi-stories for the first while


But on the plus sides...

- Very comfortable car, will eat the miles without much going wrong - you'll just need to keep it serviced on time and accept the extra wear-and-tear

- Acres of boot space and rear leg room. Cabin is well laid out (although if you like a million buttons to play with you'll be disappointed) and feels solid (I once had a Focus for a day and the doors felt like paper)

- Economical considering the engine size and mileage

- Plenty of power when you need it (if you don't go for the base spec models)

xual

@Kaiser2000, @bbam

After a good trawl I've determined that the VW t.9 TDI engine is the most reliable. There are a few variations 100bhp 130bhp and that accounts for the 53MPG vs 48MPG difference.

Skoda are not as comfy and usually lower spec'd although I found a pristine 02 Octavia with climate control for 3.5K @ 113,000miles on the clock.

In saying that I found an audi a4, and a comfort line passat for around the same price 01 and 02 years with the same mileage. My preference would be an audi or passat as they would be more comfortable.

boredatwork82

DubDani wrote: »

Have a look for a MK1 Skoda Superb. It's a extended Version of the Passat, usually with a good amount of gadgets and a very reliable and comfortable mile muncher.

They can be picked up very cheaply these days, and often present better value then similar Passats.

Bought one of these for my similar length commute 2 years ago. Everyone that drives it can't beleive how comfy they are.
Big, spacious, powerful enough at the top level model. My Father has a Passat, its not a patch on the superb.
I have a very heavy foot but still acheiving 50mpg.

To be honest I couldn't imagine changing it.

Soarer

Vel Satis?

snaps

I recently brought a Mk2 Citroen C5 (06) 1.6HDI Exclusive. Has all the extras, leather etc. fuel returns on a motorway run 4.5-5.2l/100km. Has enough power for overtaking and is also very comfortable. Huge boot on it. Did not break the bank either, cost 4.5k from a dealer with some warranty along with 4 brand new tires. Seems to have virtually all service history. Cheap enough to Insure and tax too.

Would never have considered a Citroen, but time changes. Don't regret it all. Superb car so far.

Soarer

Soarer wrote: »

Vel Satis?

........ a Vel Satis with no NCT.... tempting.

annacanna

im looking to buy a automatic diesel within the next few months. il be travelling 150km a day, 5 days a week. whats good fuel consumption wise? my current car is very bad, 30mpg i think, so i need to get rid before i start college. id prefere a smallish car e.g. peugeot 206 within 3000 euro

any advice on what kind of car to be looking for?

thanks;)