Upgrading from Yaris

hago123

[font=arial, sans-serif]Hi[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]My first car is an 1.0 yaris 2005 reg.[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]Now, i am planning to upgrade to a larger engine. Not sure which one to buy. But my needs are as follows:[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]1) I will be driving around 50 kms a day in rural/motorway roads.[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]2) 20 times per year there will be long trips.[/font]


[font=arial, sans-serif]So which car can you suggest? I am looking from 2008 onwards[/font]
[font=arial, sans-serif]From what I browsed,[/font]
[font=arial, sans-serif]1) Toyota avensis 1.6 petrol 2008[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]2) Ford focus 1.4 Petrol 2008[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]3) Ford focus 1.6 Petrol 2008[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]4) Toyota Auris 1.4 Petrol 2008[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]In the above i read that both focus and avensis 1.6 are noisy on the motorways, under-powered, heavy on petrol and ford servicing can be expensive in Ireland.[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]What is your take on the above? I see too many focus and avensis on the road here but unable to find out the engine and other details.[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]Thanks in Advance[/font]
[font=arial, sans-serif]hago[/font]

colm_mcm

What’s your budget?

fonecrusher1

hago123 wrote: »

[font=arial, sans-serif]In the above i read that both focus and avensis 1.6 are noisy on the motorways, under-powered, heavy on petrol and ford servicing can be expensive in Ireland.[/font]

Well that's complete utter rubbish anyway. Don't know about the ford but the Avensis is actually quite refined on the road and the 1.6 valvematic engine is pretty efficient. Out of the cars you've listed i'd take the Avensis all day.

With your mileage would you not consider a diesel or a hybrid?

hago123

Hi,
What is the link for the new thread? 
Also my budget is around 4000 Euros.
I never had a diesel. Not sure about the maintenance cost.
Regards
G Hariprasad

colm_mcm

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Well that's complete utter rubbish anyway. Don't know about the ford but the Avensis is actually quite refined on the road and the 1.6 valvematic engine is pretty efficient. Out of the cars you've listed i'd take the Avensis all day.

With your mileage would you not consider a diesel or a hybrid?

OP is on about the 03-09 type 5 speed which is noisy on the motorway. Newer model is much better.

fonecrusher1

colm_mcm wrote: »

OP is on about the 03-09 type 5 speed which is noisy on the motorway. Newer model is much better.

Ah ok. Yeah the later avensis is a fine cruiser.

OP you'll get a much better car if you can push your budget to 5k. That'll just about get you into 09 avensis onwards territory. Something like this https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/09-toyota-avensis-61k-miles/17184410

If you're doing 50 km's a day then i'd steer clear of the other 1.4 petrols you've mentioned.

Leonard Hofstadter

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Well that's complete utter rubbish anyway. Don't know about the ford but the Avensis is actually quite refined on the road and the 1.6 valvematic engine is pretty efficient. Out of the cars you've listed i'd take the Avensis all day.

With your mileage would you not consider a diesel or a hybrid?

If it's the Mk2 then the OP's observation is spot on, the 1.6s are very slow and noisy on a motorway, the engine can't handle the weight of the car once you go out of town. Even the 1.8s are no ball of fire in them but they're a damn sight better than the 1.6 and they're a fair bit quieter due to the higher gearing.

For the Mk3 I'd imagine the 1.6 will be fine, there's a six speed box so refinement will be much better on a motorway and the engine is certainly very sprightly in the (admittedly much smaller) Auris although like all naturally aspirated petrol Toyotas it does its best work higher up the rev range.

kerten

I had both mk1 yaris and mk2 focus. Focusobviously offers more but lack of sound insulation can be tiresome on long trips.

If you need to stick to 1.4 lt engines, consider Kia Ceed/Hyundai i30.

Otherwise avensis is a level above from all in list but try to get 1.8.

hago123

Hi everyone,
Thanks for all your valuable suggestions. Yesterday I test drove the above listed cars and found that they are quite heavy on petrol especially ford focus 1.6. The other Avensis was not bad and the 1.4 ford focus was completely powerless..
Also spoke with my insurance regarding the change in my premium and found that all the 3 models will be expensive for me. 
So decided to change back to either Opel Astra/Corsa both 1.4 or Toyota Auris 1.4

Leonard Hofstadter

hago123 wrote: »

Hi everyone,
Thanks for all your valuable suggestions. Yesterday I test drove the above listed cars and found that they are quite heavy on petrol especially ford focus 1.6. The other Avensis was not bad and the 1.4 ford focus was completely powerless..
Also spoke with my insurance regarding the change in my premium and found that all the 3 models will be expensive for me. 
So decided to change back to either Opel Astra/Corsa both 1.4 or Toyota Auris 1.4

The Ford won't be any heavier on fuel than a Toyota (I'm not really sure how you were able to work that out on a short test drive), Fords are as cheap as chips to run really.

Does need to be a 1.6 for the Focus though.

If it were my money I'd have the Focus (so long as it's the 1.6) every time.

Also look at the Mazda 3 (a lot of the same running gear as the Focus and very reliable, a very nice car to drive as well).

hago123

@captainspeed,
With 2008 ford focus 1.6, Before I started the driving, the fuel tank reading was that the fuel will last for 17kms. But Once I reached 12 kms the fuel tank warning sound was heard and I ran out of fuel eventually.

So, I was thinking that it is too heavy on the fuel.
Mazda 3 is a nice option. I will consider that too.

Leonard Hofstadter

hago123 wrote: »

@captainspeed,
With 2008 ford focus 1.6, Before I started the driving, the fuel tank reading was that the fuel will last for 17kms. But Once I reached 12 kms the fuel tank warning sound was heard and I ran out of fuel eventually.

So, I was thinking that it is too heavy on the fuel.
Mazda 3 is a nice option. I will consider that too.

Could be something wrong with that one or else someone had driven it very economically before you and that made the computer think there was more miles in the tank than there really was. They certainly wouldn't have a reputation for being heavy on fuel that's for sure, I would expect to get around 40 mpg on a motorway for example which would be competitive. In the real world the 1.4 will use more fuel than the 1.6, engine is too small for a Focus sized car.

Most of the mechanical stuff in a Mazda 3 is the same as the Focus in any case.

JohnBoy26

captainspeed wrote: »

The Ford won't be any heavier on fuel than a Toyota (I'm not really sure how you were able to work that out on a short test drive), Fords are as cheap as chips to run really.

Does need to be a 1.6 for the Focus though.

If it were my money I'd have the Focus (so long as it's the 1.6) every time.

Also look at the Mazda 3 (a lot of the same running gear as the Focus and very reliable, a very nice car to drive as well).

Having owned both I disagree. Toyota's are definitely easier on fuel.

JohnBoy26

captainspeed wrote: »

Could be something wrong with that one or else someone had driven it very economically before you and that made the computer think there was more miles in the tank than there really was. They certainly wouldn't have a reputation for being heavy on fuel that's for sure, I would expect to get around 40 mpg on a motorway for example which would be competitive. In the real world the 1.4 will use more fuel than the 1.6, engine is too small for a Focus sized car.

Most of the mechanical stuff in a Mazda 3 is the same as the Focus in any case.

I've found the opposite on my two mk1 focus's. The 1.6 was harder on juice, more expensive to insure and also more expensive to tax. It was more lively though but only about on par with a vvti 1.4 corolla and not as economical.

Also the mazda 3 has a different (better) engine than the focus but it also rusts a lot more and still doesn't have a great deal of power(circa 80bhp for the 1.4)

DaveyDave

Is the focus known to have some sort of sensor issue that dumps more fuel because it thinks it's cold? A friend's 05 had that problem and was using around 10-12l/100km, same with my mam's 2012. Ford said they fixed it and it was still faulty. Fuel consumption was noticeably bad and kept showing a fault.

hago123

captainspeed wrote: »

hago123 wrote: »

Hi everyone,
Thanks for all your valuable suggestions. Yesterday I test drove the above listed cars and found that they are quite heavy on petrol especially ford focus 1.6. The other Avensis was not bad and the 1.4 ford focus was completely powerless..
Also spoke with my insurance regarding the change in my premium and found that all the 3 models will be expensive for me. 
So decided to change back to either Opel Astra/Corsa both 1.4 or Toyota Auris 1.4

The Ford won't be any heavier on fuel than a Toyota (I'm not really sure how you were able to work that out on a short test drive), Fords are as cheap as chips to run really.

Does need to be a 1.6 for the Focus though.

If it were my money I'd have the Focus (so long as it's the 1.6) every time.

Also look at the Mazda 3 (a lot of the same running gear as the Focus and very reliable, a very nice car to drive as well).

Hi Captainspeed,
In one of your older posts dated back in 2012, you mentioned that Auris is horrible little car with underpowered engines.
But from what i have seen, the Irish version of the Auris is 97bhp (T2 1.4 VVT-i 5 Dr). Is 97 bhp not enough for motorway cruise? Is Auris that bad?
Anyone else can share the experiences?
Thanks

bazz26

You can get UK imports from early 2009 with the newer 1.33 litre dual VVTi engine. It has 100bhp and a 6 speed gearbox which is quieter and better for motorway cruising. It is also more fuel efficient than the older 5 speed 97bhp 1.4 litre. My father has a 09 UK imported Auris with the 1.33 litre engine and it's grand for motorway driving. Hasn't given him any bother in the 7 years he has owned it.

hago123

Thanks bazz, but I am afraid my budget will not allow me to go that far.. From the quick search I found that this 1.33 model starts from 4000 GBP plus VRT plus NCT which will be around 6000 Euros.

bazz26

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/toyota-auris-1-3-petrol/17334381

hago123

Thanks bazz. That is so kind of you..

hago123

Hi Folks,
I would like to know all your opinion about Suzuki SX4, Mazda 3 1.6 petrol and Skoda octavia 1.6 petrol.
Anyone owned the above mentioned cars? What is the difference between Suzuki 1.5 and 1.6 SX4? Which one is better suited for a comfortable long drives?
Thanks in advance
Hago

colm_mcm

With the SX4, on emissions based tax, you’re either looking at €570 or €750 tax for the petrol ones. This is a good indicator that they’re not that fuel efficient. Obviously any of the, registered before July 08 will be on cc based tax.
That aside, I don’t think they’re that appealing as a motorway cruiser. Suzuki’s just generally aren’t up there with other manufacturers when it comes to refinement.
I believe they only ran the 1.5 version for a year or so.

hago123

Thanks. My budget is around 3000 Euros.. Only the above mentioned cars fell into the category..

colm_mcm

Have you driven the 02-07 type Corolla, or the Hyundai i30/Kia Ceed?
Is it €3k plus what you get for the Yaris, or just €3k?

hago123

Hi,
It is just 3000 Euros.. Corolla what ever I saw was high mileage or too expensive.. Hyundai and Kia I will consider them now..

colm_mcm

Dunno if you need back doors

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2007-toyota-corolla-1-4-vvt-i-3dr-petrol/17475180

I30
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/07-hyundai-i30-1-4-petrol-with-tax-and-nct/17773093

hago123

Thanks.
I saw one more
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/mazda-3-1-6-nct-03-18-tax-06-17/17177294

colm_mcm

Wouldn’t bother, any garage selling a car with a months test isn’t worth dealing with.

hago123

you mean NCT?

colm_mcm

Yes.