2008 - overall best choice?

Hey it's Shane!

So I've started a job in Dublin, I travel home to Leitrim at weekends. Between traveling home and to/from work I do the guts of 300 mile a week.

I've been looking up several cars to replace my 1999 Opel Vectra that has a month left in it before it runs out of tax and NCT.

I want to budget for around the €8,000 mark. Priorities lie in a high mpg, low maintenance, medium sized car. Going for a diesel, I prefer them in general.

Here's the cars I've been looking at and their stats (could be way off);

Honda Civic 2.2
Boasting 54 mpg at €280 road tax p/a seen one with 118,000 for €7,500.

Ford Focus 1.6
Boasting 65 mpg at €280 road tax p/a seen one with 120,000 miles for €7,950.
Also seen one with 104,000 miles for €6,000 - but seems to good to be true.

Kia Cee'd 1.6
Boasting 60 mpg at €270 road tax p/a seen one with 111,000 miles for €6,995.

Toyota Auris 1.4
Boasting 56 mpg at €200 road tax p/a seen one with 126,000 for €7,995.

Hyundai i30 1.6
Boasting 60 mpg at €270 road tax p/a seen one with 91,000 for €6,850.

Mazda 3 1.6
Boasting 56 mpg at €270 road tax p/a seen one with 81,500 for €7,900.

Seat Leon 1.9
Boasting 55 mpg at €280 road tax p/a seen one with 89,000 for €8,000.

Nissan Qashqai 1.5
Boasting 62 mpg at €280 road tax p/a seen one with 121,000 for €7,500.

Citroen C4 1.6
Boasting 60 mpg at €200 road tax p/a seen one with 81,500 for €6,500.

I can only assume half these mpg figures are way off. But this is the information I've gathered so far. Top three for me are the Honda Civic, Kia Cee'd and Toyota Auris, with the Hyundai i30 and Seat Leon deserving a spot up there too.

Really surprised if the Nissan Qashqai can do that kind of economy for the size of it!

Let your experience and opinions narrow my options!

Thanks in advance,

Shane

Supergurrier

Out of those the i30/ceed/auris but not the focus imo

Hey it's Shane!

Supergurrier wrote: »

Out of those the i30/ceed/auris but not the focus imo

Yeah, was never too inclined towards the focus, but there seems to be a savage amount of them in my price range, that's why they're included!

Cheers for the opinion, if I can find a few owners of the i30, Cee'd or Auris, I'll judge my choice on whoever reports the highest mpg!

colm_mcm

I reckon the Cee'd/i30 would be the most reliable, followed by the Civic/Leon

They'll all do decent mpg. mpg savings can be wiped out if the car throws a wobbler.

Hey it's Shane!

colm_mcm wrote: »

I reckon the Cee'd/i30 would be the most reliable, followed by the Civic/Leon

They'll all do decent mpg. mpg savings can be wiped out if the car throws a wobbler.

The fact that they give a 7 year warranty from new gives a nice bit of comfort for the choice alright, shows they're sturdy built machines. Work colleague's wife has had one for 7 years and not one complaint about it.

You'd pick them over the Auris? If it's the replacement for the Corolla I can imagine the thing to be damn near invincible!

So far Kia is the leader of the pack. Korean's must be doing something right!

JohnBoy26

Another vote for the i30,cee'd.

the mk1 auris is an overrated car and is not as good as the corolla it replaced.

coolbeans

The Toyota is not the paragon of reliability it once was. It's not bad, but no longer exceptional.

Hey it's Shane!

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Another vote for the i30,cee'd.

the mk1 auris is an overrated car and is not as good as the corolla it replaced.

coolbeans wrote: »

The Toyota is not the paragon of reliability it once was. It's not bad, but no longer exceptional.

Reading up on the Cee'd and i30 now, I'm sold. They're both built on the same platform. Both have won several awards for car of the year/hatchback of the year and they seem to come higher than the Golf, Auris and Mazda 3.

So it'll just be a race between which one can throw out the best economy. I'll try get a little test drive in both over the next week or so while I get the funding together.

I've always bought private, but might go for a dealer for this one, get a nice service history with the lowest miles I can find.

Nice to get the list narrowed down so quickly. Cheers guys!

colm_mcm

We have an 08 i30 since 2012 and it hasn't missed a best despite spirited driving on bad roads
If on-paper fuel economy is your bag, then the post 09 89bhp Cee'ds and i30s have a 6 speed box which improves things, but the earlier 116hp version of the 1.6 CRDI engine is a peach and still very efficient.

Choosing between the i30 and Cee'd is a tough one. The kias tend to often have nice stuff like cruise control that is hard to get on the Hyundai.
Interior wise, an early ceed vs early i30, the Hyundai is clearly nicer inside, the kia has a number of annoying touches like the heating controls, door cards and speedo, which all show signs of either under development or cost cutting.
Exterior wise, the Kia is more conservative, very like the Corolla 02-07, I didn't like the look Hyundai for a long time - I thought the bonnet was too flat or something. It has definitely grown on me though.
Here it is in English plates before coming home.

Hey it's Shane!

colm_mcm wrote: »

We have an 08 i30 since 2012 and it hasn't missed a best despite spirited driving on bad roads
If on-paper fuel economy is your bag, then the post 09 89bhp Cee'ds and i30s have a 6 speed box which improves things, but the earlier 116hp version of the 1.6 CRDI engine is a peach and still very efficient.

Choosing between the i30 and Cee'd is a tough one. The kias tend to often have nice stuff like cruise control that is hard to get on the Hyundai.
Interior wise, an early ceed vs early i30, the Hyundai is clearly nicer inside, the kia has a number of annoying touches like the heating controls, door cards and speedo, which all show signs of either under development or cost cutting.
Exterior wise, the Kia is more conservative, very like the Corolla 02-07, I didn't like the look Hyundai for a long time - I thought the bonnet was too flat or something. It has definitely grown on me though.
Here it is in English plates before coming home.

I'll be sticking to the '08 as the budget is being pushed hard as it is. Colm, I couldn't have asked for a more extensive response, fair play to ya!

Cruise control seems like a luxury I can happily do without, I've never had it - and ignorance is bliss. As the i30 has a nicer interior I'd say it wins the argument, the outside doesn't bother me at all, I had a Renault Megane Megavan a few years ago and the weird back on it bothered me at the start but I grew to love it in no time.

Reading reviews on the Parkers.co.uk now, all other car options have fallen out of view, basically going to be aiming to get an i30, but won't turn down a good deal on a Kia if I see it first.

Again, a huge thank you for helping me in an area I really had little knowledge about, you're a legend!

christy02

Fuel economy can depend an awful lot on how you drive them. Would say that in real world there will not be much between i30 and cee'd. Your right foot will dictate from there lol.

Hey it's Shane!

christy02 wrote: »

Fuel economy can depend an awful lot on how you drive them. Would say that in real world there will not be much between i30 and cee'd. Your right foot will dictate from there lol.

I'd consider myself a very efficient driver. Was squeezing 50+ mpg out of 2004 Megavan I had a couple of years back, closer to 60 if I wasn't driving the back-roads of Leitrim, wouldn't get one of those again due to spending a nice bit per year on servicing and replacing parts.

Half the reason I drive efficient is that I started listening to audiobooks a while back, you've no problem driving under the speed limit if you're listening to a good Stephen King book or finishing off the Game of Thrones series!

Guess it's down to what ones are on the market, lowest milage and in my budget. I'll be scanning Carzone and Done Deal like a hawk for the next couple of weeks while sorting out the finance!

Hey it's Shane!

Just an update to say I went with a 2008 Kia Cee'd for €7,500.

A little over the 50k mile mark. Couldn't be more pleased with it.

Cheers again for the help guys, happy motoring!

Y2KBOS86

Hey it's Shane! wrote: »

Just an update to say I went with a 2008 Kia Cee'd for €7,500.

A little over the 50k mile mark. Couldn't be more pleased with it.

Cheers again for the help guys, happy motoring!

That's a good deal, what engine?

Warranty left?

Not 7 years/100k miles done yet.

Hey it's Shane!

Y2KBOS86 wrote: »

That's a good deal, what engine?

Warranty left?

Not 7 years/100k miles done yet.

It's the 1.6 diesel, so nice cheap tax and high MPG. Exactly what I was looking for.

My 5 mile commute to work is coming out with 45 MPG which is crazy for Dublin.

Went for after work soccer yesterday, brought one of the lads to hospital after he tore ligaments in his leg, left him off home, then back to the house, so a lot of city driving, coming out at 50 MPG.

Taking a spin to Leitrim Friday, so I'll see what it's like on the main road.

For a 1.6 diesel with 88bhp it's got some acceleration to it too, very surprised!

It's the GS version too, so might not be top spec, but it's a step up from the basic model.

The manufactures warranty will last till February 2015, along with the NCT it came with.

Brake pads just done too, life is good!