big MPG car for 5k

[stepmeek]

Hi all,

I now have a bike for fun and run an 18 plate diesel x trail as our family which isn't the most frugal of things. So I am looking for something that is cheap to run as a second family car. I am thinking something small and diesel, now that diesel prices are dropping at the pump. This car is about me being as tight as possible so be extra useful if it is zero or very cheap road tax

Thoughts so far. Peugeot 208 hdi, fiesta 1,5 tdci, polo 1.2 tdi bluemotion

Anything else? Especially keen to hear from anyone who drives something similar as I know how different the manufactures MPG claims can be compared to the reality.

[MissChief]

Buy an old golf with the 1.9PD engine. Or an Octavia. Small cars are awful places to be and you'll still get 50mpg from a small, modern petrol engine these days. Buy a Panda 100HP or a Fiesta 1.25 or 1.0 Ecoboost.

[colin79666]

Audi A2 1.4Tdi.

[nobrakes]

Cheap motoring includes servicing, too.

Diesels cost more to service than petrol a due to the turbos etc bla bla.

So the benefit of 10?mpg more could soon get wiped out , especially if you are not doing many miles in it.

[lornemalvo]

MissChief said:

Buy an old golf with the 1.9PD engine. Or an Octavia. Small cars are awful places to be and you'll still get 50mpg from a small, modern petrol engine these days. Buy a Panda 100HP or a Fiesta 1.25 or 1.0 Ecoboost.

Octavia PD, great suggestion. I had one as my previous car, bought as a workhorse while I restored a house, I kept it for six years. Really, all the car you ever need. Plus, no DPF to worry about so suits any style of driving. Watch out for ex taxis. Good selection here, https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?postcode=S...

Edited by lornemalvo on Saturday 1st July 17:19

[Cakey_]

I recently bought a megane diesel, £20 a year to tax and currently getting around 50mpg with a fair bit of town driving and the occasional run.
They do the same engine in a clio which would no doubt be even more frugal.

To the poster saying diesels cost more to service due to turbos etc care to explain?
Most modern little petrol are also turbocharged so I don't really see the difference.
Also turbos are hardly a service item so don't see the relevance.

[clockworks]

Diesel Panda. 70mpg without even trying.

[ZX10R NIN]

Laguna GT Line 150:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306068...

2.0d Astra GTC SRI:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306228...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306279...

All the above are reliable cars that are nice places to be too & all will be high 50's on a run.

[Don Roque]

I used to have an GTC SRi 2.0 CDTi - a very nice car to drive and live with, easy enough to get 50mpg out of. I sold it for an R53 Cooper S and I don't miss it, in fairness, despite it being very reliable and giving me some good drives over three or four years of ownership.

For this brief I'd recommend a 9th generation Civic 1.6 i-DTEC. My wife bought one at three years old eight years ago and it has been faultlessly reliable, frugal and pleasant to drive. Probably the best car we've ever had in that respect.

[OutInTheShed]

Cakey_ said:

I recently bought a megane diesel, £20 a year to tax and currently getting around 50mpg with a fair bit of town driving and the occasional run.
They do the same engine in a clio which would no doubt be even more frugal.

To the poster saying diesels cost more to service due to turbos etc care to explain?
Most modern little petrol are also turbocharged so I don't really see the difference.
Also turbos are hardly a service item so don't see the relevance.

I think a lot of people would agree diesels can be dearer to maintain, due to things like DPFs if they are doing too many short trips.

The actual MPG you get will depend on the driving you do, a medium diesel can be very economical on longer trips but town will hurt your averages.
If the OP is keeping the Xtrail for longer runs, a small car might be my choice for local trips.

But the Xtrail has the aerodynamics of a beach hut, so equally if you do a lot of motorway trips then moving this mileage to a medium car might save a lot.

If you look at the total cost over two years or so, then could you save enough on fuel to pay £7k for an electric car?

I am a bit keen on mpg, because I like my motorway car to have good range, I like the feeling of 'I can go there it won't cost me much'.
But do some numbers.

Second car. 6000 miles a year. 45mpg = 600 litres = £912 at £1.52 a litre
35 mpg £1172
55 mpg £746
65 mpg £631

Electric night rate 15p/kwh, 3 miles/kwh £300 (don't take my word for any of that!).
You don't need much to go wrong, or much depreciation, or tax or insurance, to put sensible changes of mpg into the shade.

I think diesel will cos more per litre than petrol in the winter? That's normal, because diesel and heating oil use the same fractions of oil?

For less than £5k, you have lots of choice of 2 wheelers which will do better than 60mpg...

It's all about how many miles you can shuffle onto the second car and what sort of trips they are.

[biggbn]

Mini One D, f56 shape? OK, mine had now done over 100k, 60k of those my miles, but probably only worth @3k. Great wee cars.

[georgeyboy12345]

Volvo V40 D2
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306238...


Renault Megane 1.5 dCi
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304186...


Audi A3 1.6 TDI
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306018...