Most economical petrol car for mainly city driving

who_ru

Hi.

currently i have a 10 year old passat 1.6 petrol - not at all good for petrol but extremely reliable, i've not really had a single issue with the car in the nearly 5 years i've had it.

as you know petrol has sky rocketed in price so it makes less sense to keep driving it long term even though i'm slightly attached to the old girl in many ways.

as regards diesel it's not realistic for me as i do mainly city driving with the occasional motorway trip.

so i'm looking for a petrol motor, 2007 to 2009, up to 1.8ltr that has a decent sized boot for the golf sticks.

few examples below that i'm thinking about

http://tiny.cc/1znllw

http://tiny.cc/f5nllw

http://tiny.cc/v9nllw

the ceed & leon have small boots but i'm sure i'd beat the clubs in somehow.

what do you think would be the best medium sized petrol car for city driving.

budget no more than 10k, even lower ideally.

NIMAN

I'd say you would be best to look at a 900CC car if you want the best mpg.

May not be big enough for your passengers/luggage though. If its only golf clubs you need to fit in, then you might get away with a tiny engined car.

Idbatterim

or you could keep the car and save 10k! your driving a 1.6 petrol, not a 3L. youd get next to nothing for passat now...

650Ginge

Toyota Prius, no problem with golf clubs.

who_ru

Idbatterim wrote: »

or you could keep the car and save 10k! your driving a 1.6 petrol, not a 3L. youd get next to nothing for passat now...

yeah i know, possibly 1k max perhaps lower. i know there is an argument for keeping it, but a change is going to happen at some stage, this year or early next year.

@650Ginge

i heard the prius isn't all it's cracked up to be in terms of mpg.

Gary ITR

I always found it kind of ironic that I couldnt fit my golf clubs into the boot of my Golf

Bigus

who_ru wrote: »

yeah i know, possibly 1k max perhaps lower. i know there is an argument for keeping it, but a change is going to happen at some stage, this year or early next year.

@650Ginge

i heard the prius isn't all it's cracked up to be in terms of mpg.

The official mpg of previous 2nd gen Prius is 67 mpg it won't do this .

but in reality it will do 50 to 55 except in very cold weather when heating the car in traffic will drop it to 48 mpg.

I know one Dublin sales rep getting 63 out of his with effort.

Prius and the landcruiser are two of the few Toyota s still built in Japan so they are ultra reliable, plus no turbo no DMV no timing belt no starter motor to go wrong the engine runs a fraction of the time and they don't use brake pads.
Google million km Prius .
2nd gen gave No traction battery problems either.

leeroybrown

I'd agree with the post above about hanging onto the Passat for now. As you say yourself you are a low mileage driver. While the Passat keeps rumbling along without any major repair bills I'd say that you'd save more money per year by not spending your €10k than you will by replacing it. Once it doesn't fall over and it passes the NCT it should be that much dearer to run per year.

650Ginge

Driving a hybrid is different. To get the most out of it you have learn to drive it.

Here's my data http://www.fuelly.com/driver/650ginge/prius

Town driving is its strongest point, motorway not so good but still 50mog average at 120k/h. I don't mean flashed on board computer, I mean for a 690kms with the cruise control on 120.

You won't find anything for the same money, that's auto, seats 4, has a boot, cruise. That was my criteria before I bought one. I never thought of it before but it was the only thing that met the criteria.

Have you ever heard anyone that's had one long term say they don't like it. They are also incredibly smooth due to the cvt.

colm_mcm

Civic ima

alias no.9

Swapping a 35mpg petrol for a 45mpg petrol will save you <€5 per 100 miles or <€100 every 2000 miles. Go for a new motor by all means but those savings don't really justify it on financial grounds if you do low miles.

bazz26

colm_mcm wrote: »

Civic ima

Don't the hybrid batteries restrict some of the boot space in the Civic IMA? A regular Civic saloon might do the trick though and they are good on juice for a 1.8 litre.

colm_mcm

Not a lot bazz, you can't fold the rear seats though. Its more conventional than a prius, prius has a better drivetrain in my opinion but id prefer the Honda overall. Its not as in your face about being a hybrid

who_ru

i don't mind the look of the prius has to be said, although some of the hondas i've seen online look good as well.

so now it's a straightforward Honda v Toyota decision.

Youssef Chippo

alias no.9 wrote: »

Swapping a 35mpg petrol for a 45mpg petrol will save you <€5 per 100 miles or <€100 every 2000 miles. Go for a new motor by all means but those savings don't really justify it on financial grounds if you do low miles.