Change to a 1.6L diesel

brian1983

Hi,

I bought a 1.8L petrol Ford Mondeo back in November 2011. It's a 2006 model with 45,000 miles on the clock. I paid 4900 for it. The car is in fanatastic condition and have never had a single problem with it.
The only thing that annoys me is that I only get about 30 miles per gallon and am paying a good bit on petrol each week, also as it's a 1.8L engine I'm paying 592 a year in car tax.
I knew the mpg before buying the car but figured I'm only driving short distances and it won't be an issue. But with petrol costs rising and with the car tax so high I'm thinking about changing.

I'm quite tall (6 foot 5) and I find the mondeo a good car for my size. I'm not cramped while driving and I can fit a person behind me even when the seat is as back as far as it can go.
This was one of the main factors in buying the mondeo. I used to drive an Almera and found it too small. I've tried an opel vectra and a ford focus and they're a bit tight. I test drove a Peugeot 407 and found that very roomy and comfortable like the mondeo. I ended up buying the Mondeo because I liked it, it had good mileage and seemed like a good deal.

Now getting to my point. I think I'd be interested in changing to a 1.6L Diesel car. I should be able to get 60 mpg or thereabouts I think from such a car. Factoring in my size, is there a car do you think would suit?
I said 1.6L diesel as I'd also like to reduce the amount I pay in tax and also save on fuel.

I'm leaning towards a Peugeot 407 1.6L diesel. But I know that a lot of people on here don't rate them that highly - any opinions? I'd like to hear any good stories from 407 owners?

Or is there a car out there that would suit?

Thanks

p.s I only do about 150 miles a week

166man

I wouldn't bother, the savings at your weekly mileage won't be significant enough to warrant changing.

sean1141

if you can buy a 407 for the same money you can sell the mondeo for then go for it imo. if its going to cost you much to trade up them there is no point. why spend lots of money to save very little

brian1983

Yeah, I'd be aiming to not spend any more than the value of the mondeo.
On occasion I'd take long trips, and we have family in Wales so we sometimes drive over there or down to Cornwall. And I was looking at a driving holiday to France too. I know they'd be rare one off trips but even up to Dublin or down to Cork the odd time too.

I thought I'd save more, no? Would 60mpg compared to 30mpg not essentially halve my fuel costs?

And any opinions on the 407?

vandriver

What kind of driving do you do? IE town,motorway etc

brian1983

brian1983 wrote: »

...........
I knew the mpg before buying the car but figured I'm only driving short distances and it won't be an issue..............

brian1983 wrote: »

.................
On occasion I'd take long trips, and we have family in Wales so we sometimes drive over there or down to Cornwall. And I was looking at a driving holiday to France too. I know they'd be rare one off trips but even up to Dublin or down to Cork the odd time too.

I thought I'd save more, no? Would 60mpg compared to 30mpg not essentially halve my fuel costs?

And any opinions on the 407?

On a long trip the Mondeo should return over 30mpg, on mainly short spins the 407 won't return 60mpg.

How many miles have you covered in the Mondeo since buying it?

sean1141

i dont know much about the 407 but my sister had a 307. dont think she was getting 60mpg on normal driving. car was not very powerfull either. some of the 407s had a dpf which can be very expencive if it needs to be replaced. you will run it cheaper than the mondeo but a clutch/turbo/dpf fail will wipe out any savings very quick. it would be different if you were doing 400+miles a week

vandriver

I have a C4 1.6 Hdi,and round town I get 40 mpg,and on a long run about 52 mpg.I certainly wouldn't expect to ever average 60 mpg

brian1983

RoverJames wrote: »

On a long trip the Mondeo should return over 30mpg, on mainly short spins the 407 won't return 60mpg.

How many miles have you covered in the Mondeo since buying it?

I've done 5000kms in 6 months since purchase, what do you think?

brian1983

vandriver wrote: »

What kind of driving do you do? IE town,motorway etc

Mostly Town, I only live 5 miles from work. But have to do a 20 mile round trip twice a week and a 30 mile trip once a week to a childminders and then at the weekend maybe onto the motorway somewhere on a sunday and thats my driving for the week.

I prob spend 50 euro a week. Probably guys out there spending way more. I just thought I could save a bit and also save a bit on car tax?

heffo500

I wouldnt reccommend the 407 my brother had one for a year and he had the dpf fail the turbo then went along with slight electrical faults so he traded it back in for an 06 1.6 petrol avensis and he does similiar driving to you.

Nice car to drive but I think it has too many negatives.

ednwireland

have a 06 407 SW 1.6hdigets about 50mpg according to the cars computer (but then up here it aint town driving) dpf had to be refilled, egr valve was causing spurious ecu errors all over the place, which took several analysis sessions to get cured (it was knocking out the traction control (very low to the ground as well)

its ok again for the moment (like i say lovely car to drive doesnt feel underpowered not convinced about the reliability

brian1983

brian1983 wrote: »

I've done 5000kms in 6 months since purchase, what do you think?

That's 6000 miles/annum, let's call it 10,000 for the sake of it.

30mpg over 10,000 miles at €1.65/litre is €2500/annum, 6000 miles is €1500/annum.

Doing 150 miles/week in a modern diesel isn't the best strategy really.

There are probably other ways you could cut your expenditure by €15 to €25 (running a diesel won't save much over the €15 anyway if that) per week, changing cars doesn't seem to be overly viable as it will no doubt cost a grand anyway at least unless you buy a rough 407 with lots of miles, not a good idea.

ecospace

Having owned both cars i would stick with the Mondeo, i know it can be hard on juice but you will still only get about 40 to 45 with the 1.6 hdi 407 on short spins. Longer trips you should get 55 but not a hope of getting 60.

Also your saving on tax will only be 100 or so per year assuming your not going post 08. The 407 has a lot of niggly faults too and one or two abs sensors alone will wipe out your fuel and tax savings in one go.

Stick with the Mondeo would be my advice, at least they are reliable if not overly frugal.

Nissan doctor

A modern diesel simply doesn't suit your current needs IMO.

Tax, 1.8 V 1.6 is a minimal saving and fuel savings on 150 miles of city driving a week would also be very small. And as your savings would be so tiny, one modern diesel fault, DPF(which would be almost certain with your usage), DMF etc and it could take you a couple of years to make back up the savings over your Mondeo.

A much simpler way of saving the same amount of fuel....if you live only 5 mins from work...why use a car at all?

brian1983

Thanks for the comments! Really helpful! I like the look and feel of the 407 but again and again I always hear the same bad points

I had a thought of changing but will probably stick with the mondeo. If I ever have to drive further for work I'll consider a diesel then but for now I'm probably good as I am.

Its a curse being this tall, if only I was a foot shorter I could be happy in a one litre with low tax and low fuel cost!!!

vandriver

Maybe get a better handle on your current costs before looking to change. You say you average 115 miles a week(5k km on 6 mths) and get 30 mpg (how do you calculate this?).This only costs about €28 per week.If you got 45 mpg out of a 1.6 hdi this would cost about €18.You are happy in your current car and changing will save you nothing when you factor in huge one off costs.I wouldn't even be thinking of changing.

Idbatterim

easiest way to save fuel is to just read the road well ahead, this can significantly reduce fuel usage. maintain steady speed on a motorway...

tom traubert

brian1983 wrote: »

............
Its a curse being this tall...........

Hey, don't knock the height until your back is fubar! My two cents; keep the mondeo for now. When you do want to change and if you can downsize bear in mind the Toyota Yaris and also the Nissan Note.

I say this as a 6' 6'' lump who has driven both and been surprised at the comfort I got. Worst yoke (for driving position / comfort) I ever had to drive was a mid 90s Escort.

brian1983

vandriver wrote: »

Maybe get a better handle on your current costs before looking to change. You say you average 115 miles a week(5k km on 6 mths) and get 30 mpg (how do you calculate this?).This only costs about €28 per week.If you got 45 mpg out of a 1.6 hdi this would cost about €18.You are happy in your current car and changing will save you nothing when you factor in huge one off costs.I wouldn't even be thinking of changing.

It comes up 31.4 mpg on the computer, and it's about right I calculated it myself by filling the car, zeroing the clock and the next time I filled I calculated litres per miles and converted to gallons. It ended up at about 32mpg so about the same as the computer.

I know I can keep the ac off, tyres at the correct psi and by driving well to keep the mpg up.

But it seems to be heavy on juice. I do drive a few too many short journeys though and needless ones so I could just cut those out I think