Motorway miles - 2000 per month

[Seventymilesperhour]

Hi - long time lurker, first time poster.

Looking for something (sub 8k) to put 20,000 miles per year on.
It’s a 250 mile journey 2x per week.
We already have a sensible family car so really only needs to transport me in relative comfort.

Has to be ULEZ. Auto preferred as it’s cruising then traffic into central London. MPG is a factor but not too bothered if it’s 30 or 50mpg as it’s marginal cost

Am I mad for thinking a high miles (130k +) 320d?
Suggestions welcome!

[ChocolateFrog]

It's £1800 a year difference. Seems fairly significant on a £8k car and will only increase in the future.

[Jimjimhim]

Mazda 6 2.2 Diesel

[ZX10R NIN]

Infiniti M30d ULEZ compliant under budget & a good car:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202402196...

Q50:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202402116...

[GreatGranny]

Even twice a week that journey sounds horrible.

Is the train any better or drive part way and tube it?

If not then:

Auris Hybrid

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403167...

308

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202405179...

Astra

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202406241...

i40

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202406281...

V40

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202407011...

XE (£20 tax)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202406221...

Mazda 6

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401295...

[Hugo Stiglitz]

Jimjimhim said:

Mazda 6 2.2 Diesel

Budget additional 8k for the engine replacing.

[7 5 7]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

Jimjimhim said:

Mazda 6 2.2 Diesel

Budget additional 8k for the engine replacing.

That's what I thought, look great on paper these, lovely looking family cars especially in Touring form, but the engine issues are worrying unfortunately, is this the Skyactiv gen?

[RazerSauber]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

Jimjimhim said:

Mazda 6 2.2 Diesel

Budget additional 8k for the engine replacing.

Mine is on 170k on the original engine and turbo. Service properly with quality fluids and they seem to be decent. I run an engine flush every oil change as well. Only time mine left me stranded was when I left the interior lights on for 48 hours on an 8 year old battery. The pre-facelift ones don't have adblue either, one less thing to think about.

[Aiminghigh123]

Comfort comfort comfort.
I used to have a 150 mile daily round trip which I did in a Honda Civic. Had a niggling back issue which if I didn’t do my physio exercises regularly would become unbearable. Had a car accident in Civic and needed a car quick. Got a £500 Saab 9-3 petrol as it was round the corner and saw it as a stop gap. Within 2 weeks of driving it I had 0 back trouble. The only thing that had changed in my life was the car. Kept it for 2 years taking it from 120k to 170k miles. Don’t have a long commute now but have another Saab at the moment which I have used on some long trips. Drove London to Edinburgh only stopping once for 10 mins. No pain at all and felt fresh as a daisy.
Saabs getting a bit old but heard Volvo S60 is comfortable.

To reiterate comfort comfort comfort.

[Wheel Turned Out]

Some manner of Lexus IS would probably be my port of call.

[CivicDuties]

Insignia:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202406271...

[LeeM135i]

Finding something you are most comfortable in is key for this kind of milage.

With a bigger budget I bought a Volvo XC40, it's really not my kind of car but the seats are so comfortable, they are depth adjustable, tilt (lift the front of the seat and lower the back) and have a great lumbar support. It was off the road for a few days and I had a Nissan Juke as a courtesy car and my back was killing me in the evening when I got home.

[Chris Peacock]

Something with the most supportive / comfortable seats you can find.

Having done a big commute in the past, that (and an auto box) is really all I cared about.

[halo34]

Volvo estate d5? Not a looker but comfy, solid engines and a nice place to sit and can be had for the cheaper end of the spectrum.

I wouldnt Mazda 2.2 diesel if you paid me after killing one.

[Ankh87]

I can vouch for an Insignia. As long as you do things like Oil seal and regular maintenance, then its a great motorway car.

I've got a manual and when I set at 70mph with no traffic, I see 50+mpg. Even with traffic I'm getting no less then 48mpg so overall its a brilliant car but it is dull. It is just a work horse car to me and gets me along the motorway perfectly well.

Mines a 2012 which doesn't come with many toys but there's plenty to pick from.


Other cars I looked at were the usual VAG group, BMW 3 series. Looked at a Kia Optima but felt a little lack luster, was fine, just seemed a bit meh. Overall the Insignia has served me well and I've had it rammed full for UK holidays on several occasions. You'd be surprised how much you can get in the thing, so could be useful if there's an issue with your other family car.

[OutInTheShed]

RazerSauber said:

Hugo Stiglitz said:

Jimjimhim said:

Mazda 6 2.2 Diesel

Budget additional 8k for the engine replacing.

Mine is on 170k on the original engine and turbo. Service properly with quality fluids and they seem to be decent. I run an engine flush every oil change as well. Only time mine left me stranded was when I left the interior lights on for 48 hours on an 8 year old battery. The pre-facelift ones don't have adblue either, one less thing to think about.

The non-adblue ones probably are not euro 6, so don't meet the ULEZ criterion?


As ever with these questions, when people say their budget is £x,000, it would help if they gave some idea of how long they expect their new car/shed to last.
You could buy a comfortable Merc for £8k, but it might throw bills next year.
You could buy something like a Focus which for the same money should have several economical years left in it?

What's your attitude to risk?
Can you shrug off a £3k bill? Can you be relaxed about the possibility of this car being the one lemon of your motoring lifetime?

You could probably get a nice 320i for £4k, with SE wheels (for comfort and low road noise) and comfy seats, reasonable mpg and tax, should do two years easily, very likely run to 150k miles or beyond.

£8k is not enough money to guarantee motoring happiness, but it's a lot to lose on a car IMHO.
£2k is shed money these days? Going on 'ELV in waiting'?
There are some tidy cars on forecourts between.

I value quiet motorway cruising, can't say I've tried every car though...

[P700DEE]

Don't forget OP wants ULEZ compatible. 2016 Mazda 6 look easily in budget, I ran my 66 plate one for only two years, sold in Covid and bonus no Adblue. No idea about long life on them though. You will struggle to get a 2016 320D or 520D for the budget but I ran my 520F11 for 200k miles and it still drove fine. Would easily take 2K a month and these are Euro 6 from about 2014 so maybe lucky