Effect of Engine Size on Motorway Driving?

golf7

I'm going to be starting a daily commute to college of 90 miles (round trip), almost all of it motorway. I'm buying a car for this, and have narrowed it down to 2 that are inside my limited budget;

2005 Ford Fusion 1.4 diesel 5D (c. 80k miles)
2003 Toyota Corolla 1.4 petrol saloon (c. 90k miles)

The main advantage of the Fusion is on fuel (64mpg v 42mpg), even though I know I probably won't get that efficiency in reality. The Corolla is a more comfortable car, bigger (we have 2 small kids) and €800 cheaper.

Other than any general comments people might have about the cars, my question is about the importance of engine power for motorway driving. The Corolla has 97bhp against 68bhp for the Fusion.

I know the Fusion will be slower to accelerate, but will it have difficulty reaching or staying at 120kmph, or would it cause too much engine wear to be driving at that speed for 70 miles or so each day?

Any advice or comments would be much appreciated.

visual

Try get a 6 speed as it better suited to motorway driving. Allowing you cruise at lower rev and better economy.

For that type of driving you will want a diesel

shuffles88

I have a Fusion and am doing a similar commute. I find it a comfortable car to drive and the fuel efficiency is a huge plus I only have to put 35-40 euro of diesel in to fill it each week

It has no problem getting up to and staying at 120.

colm_mcm

The cynic in me would verify the mileage on a 10 year old 80k car.

The fusion uses the 1.4 HDI engine also found in citroens and peugeots.

What is your budget?

316

I wouldnt get too caught up in the hard on for a 6 speed box.

Polydamas

Thanks for all the replies.

@visual / @316: With our budget, I doubt I'd be able to get anything with 6-speed that was worth buying. I'd definitely like to go for the diesel, even though I think with the higher price it'll take about 8 months to make the fuel savings worthwhile. Options for diesels are limited though, since in our price range it's hard to find one that has decent mileage and where the tax doesn't cost almost as much as the car because of the engine size.

@shuffles88: That's great to know. Most of my family are tied to Toyotas, so going for a Ford feels like a leap into the unknown. Hearing of someone that's happy with theirs relieves some of my concerns. If you don't mind me asking, are you driving a 1.4l or 1.6l, and is it around the same age (2005)?

@colm_mcm: Our budget is up to about €4,000, but could go a bit higher if it was really worth it, probably only for a diesel. To address your cynical side, the Fusion looks in very good condition inside and out, but there's only one service recorded in the book, at about 11,000km. I'd never driven a diesel before so I don't think I'm a great judge of how it should feel or sound, so other than my generally positive impression of the dealers I couldn't say for definite that the mileage matched the car.

[Just in case you're wondering, I posted earlier from another computer in my sister's house without logging her out, which is why I'm under a different username now.]

shuffles88

1.4 ltr Diesel and its 2006. I've had it 7 years now and its been a really reliable car

colm_mcm

€4k gets you a myriad of options. I don't know how you ended up with a shortlist of a petrol Corolla and a diesel fusion.

Ref different power figures, the figures are peak bhp figures and don't take into account torque, power band, mid range ability etc. don't get too hung up on bhp.

I would also consider going privately as well. A large chunk of €4k is the garages margin. At this price level the money could be better spent on a newer/better car.

Polydamas

colm_mcm wrote: »

€4k gets you a myriad of options. I don't know how you ended up with a shortlist of a petrol Corolla and a diesel fusion.

Ref different power figures, the figures are peak bhp figures and don't take into account torque, power band, mid range ability etc. don't get too hung up on bhp.

I would also consider going privately as well. A large chunk of €4k is the garages margin. At this price level the money could be better spent on a newer/better car.

I know what you mean. Neither car is ideal. I could probably get something better if I spent longer looking, but unfortunately I don't have the time for that. My wife got a job offer out of the blue last week, starting immediately, so we need the second car asap.

Because my course is pretty much full-time, I can only really view cars fairly close to home, but since I'm in Tipp that really cuts down my options. For example, I've seen a low mileage 2005 Focus 1.6 diesel listed in Roscommon, but that's a 2 hour drive up just to see what condition it's in.

I don't feel I know enough to go private. At the price we're looking at you'd expect some wear and tear, but it's beyond me to tell which is just aesthetic and which is potentially serious. I know it probably makes more sense though. From the garage the most I've been offered is a 3 month warranty, which isn't nothing, but it's probably not worth paying a premium for.

316

Bring a mechanic with you for buying private. Often a car is bought cheap and a fine money pit it becomes.

chicorytip

A Nissan Almera (N16) 00-06 is worthy of serious consideration. A well maintained example should provide reliable and relatively cost effective motoring. For a 1.5 litre petrol it's pretty thrifty fuel wise - capable of 48 mpg if driven steadily.

colm_mcm

I honestly never got that sort of mpg from a 1.5 Almera,

316

Would struggle to do 40mpg I would have thought.

colm_mcm

At 120kmph you would struggle to get 30mpg. Even at 100kmph you'd have to be careful to get 40.

Of course it's possible to get good mpg on any car. I can get laid to late 50s on my 1.8 petrol civic if I try really really hard but it requires huge effort and driving well under normal speeds, avoiding towns and traffic, and is not practical in real life.

Polydamas

@chickorytip: I'd thought about an Almera, since they seem to be reasonably priced and have a decent name for reliability. I saw a couple not too far from me online last week but they were gone by the time I was able to go view them.

@316: Unfortunately I didn't plan ahead and befriend a mechanic for occasions like these. I've seen that you can hire one online for this on some sites, but the price seems a lot given our budget. It's one thing to pay €200 to check a €10,000 car, but it looks a lot more expensive when it's for a €3,000 buy. I know it could save you longer term, and would only be worth doing for a car I was otherwise sure of, but so far I haven't seen anything on private sale that would make me go to those lengths.

@shuffles88: Thanks for that. That's the same as what I'm looking at so. Hope it does as well for me if I go for it.

Toyotafanboi

I will just chip in and say that the 1.4 corolla is well capable of the 42mpg if you drive it right, I was commuting around 110 miles a day in mine and the trip computer in the dash read an average of 41mpg over a number of months and that was always keeping to 100/120 where I could.

Henry Ford III

Get a 1.6l diesel of some sort. 6 speed isn't that critical. You should manage 55mpg+ easily enough.

colm_mcm

Might be worth considering. They're actually quite good to drive in diesel form.
http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2008-hyundai-accent-1-5-diesel-nct-06-16tax-10-15/10122295?offset=25

millington

4k will buy you a good 1.9 TDi Golf or Passat but if you don't want to pay the tax on a 1.9, then you could go for an 06/07 Peugeot 207 1.4 HDi or a 407 1.6 HDi. Or a Focus 1.6 HDi. I'd assume a Fusion would be hard to sell on in time.

JohnBoy26

A corolla is a step up from a fusion and it ticks most boxes very well. It still probably isn't the best car for motorway driving but it isn't bad either. Oh and for the love of god please don't buy an n16 almera, they are dreadful cars.