Little ecconomical cars Options

[Simon Kirby]

Lots of little economical cars available, typically 1.0 petrol doing close on 70mpg combined - but could you reasonably commute 25,000 miles a year in one? Are they built well enough for that? It's just 70mpg is awfully attractive and I could just about afford one of these little jobs - like the VW Up for example. Thoughts?

[On the edge]

Yes, you can do it, so long as you have a good entertainment system. The biggest issue is the vehicle; which generally won't be built to cope with that sort of journey consistently and reliably. Being a cheapskate, I spent some years doing a daily commute of 75 miles each way. End of year two, got a bigger car, a Ford. It just kept going!

Prior to that, I had a Trojan Bubble Car, absolutely brilliant, but my commute was then just 4 miles! Regrettably, I'm not a mechanic, so it sort of died eventually. Shame they don't have an electric motor and a battery in those!

[spartacus]

Prior to that, I had a Trojan Bubble Car, absolutely brilliant, but my commute was then just 4 miles! Regrettably, I'm not a mechanic, so it sort of died eventually. Shame they don't have an electric motor and a battery in those!

One of my mates had one of those years ago... If you tipped the car on it's side there's a hole to put a giant key in to wind it up in an emergency.

[motormad]

When you take a 1.0 "little" car on a long drive, the economy suffers as it's not designed to really do more than 40, as do you, due to being blown around like a leaf in the breeze in a tiny crap-box. No petrol car will really do 70mpg at motorway speeds. I had an Up for a day as a courtesy car and really liked it actually. It was a right hoot to throw around the bends in Greenham. I found it was geared really stupidly though. It had longer gearing than my GTI and would do something stupid like 65 in 2nd. Although it didn't have the power to really make use of the longer gearing so you had to always be in one gear less than the one the car thought you should use.

If you wanted something economical then buy a 1.9 TDI Mk5 Golf, Focus TDCI or some other sort of regular diesel hatchback. I had a Golf TDI for over 2 years, not only did I take it to over 220bhp (from 105 stock) but it would still crack 60mpg even with the big power (it would do over 65 on the stock turbo and injectors with just a remap) and aside from a few little niggles due to pushing the power up, it was utterly reliable for over 50,000 miles and the only time I ever had to get it recovered was when I blew the gearbox at the drag strip

On long drives it was the perfect companion, even with my uprated suspension, it was utterly comfortable, never once got out of it feeling tired or cramped, I drove it to Newcastle and got out feeling fresh as a daisy.

Infact I regret selling it.

Another option would be a VW Polo Bluemotion, 6r one, not the 9n3. Again I had one as a courtesy car and averaged 75mpg over 180 miles of mixed driving. Couldn't fault it at all.

[Andy1]

I have a Vauxhall Mokka crossover. 1.7cdti, very economical at about 65 mpg combined and £30 year tax. It's the main car of the house, very comfortable. I agree with the VW comment though.

[Strafin]

Prius!

[Andy Capp]

Simon, is your commute mainly on motorway? If so, I agree with the above, 1.9 turbo diesel for motorways. beware of things like turbos and dual mass flywheels on high milage cars; lots of lolly if they go wrong.

[Simon Kirby]

Simon, is your commute mainly on motorway? If so, I agree with the above, 1.9 turbo diesel for motorways. beware of things like turbos and dual mass flywheels on high milage cars; lots of lolly if they go wrong.

No, probably not on the motorway, it'd be single-carriageway A-roads.

[Simon Kirby]

Prius!

Too expensive I think.

[Ron]

Simon, is your commute mainly on motorway? If so, I agree with the above, 1.9 turbo diesel for motorways. beware of things like turbos and dual mass flywheels on high milage cars; lots of lolly if they go wrong.

Just been quoted £700 for a new DMF and clutch on a Focus.

[Berkshirelad]

Too expensive I think.

Also, contrary to popular belief, not ery economical overall

[massifheed]

...like the VW Up for example. Thoughts?

I recently bought a Skoda Citigo. It's basically exactly the same as the VW UP and Seat Mii. Pleased with it so far, but then I plan on staying pretty local with it with the occasional motorway trip. I'm not sure how it would cope with 25k+ miles a year. I'll let you know how it's going in a couple of years time!

[motormad]

Prius!

I thought Simon wanted an economical car?

Simon, is your commute mainly on motorway? If so, I agree with the above, 1.9 turbo diesel for motorways. beware of things like turbos and dual mass flywheels on high milage cars; lots of lolly if they go wrong.

Turbos are subjective to how they have been looked after. When I fitted the upgraded turbo at 143,000 miles my old one was in VGC condition with no bearing/shaft play and no oil, no marks on any of the blades or the housing.

If you let them warm up and cool down they will be fine.

If your DMF goes, what's the big deal? Stick a SMF in instead. With a single mass flywheel conversion (this drives and feels no different to a dual mass, I had two different single mass kits fitted, a stock and an uprated one) you avoid the problem in the future, and neither vibrated or caused any noise, for half the cost.

On a Golf 1.9 Mk5 the basic (stock) single mass flywheel conversion kit is around £300 complete and around 3-4 hours labour to fit.

[Andy Capp]

On a Golf 1.9 Mk5 the basic (stock) single mass flywheel conversion kit is around £300 complete and around 3-4 hours labour to fit.

The point is, some 'old scrote' will not appreciate things like flywheels fail. For me, spending ~£500.00, or more, on having a fly wheel replaced is a big deal.

As for tubos, it is not always easy to tell if one has been looked after and is OK. I know people who have had these things go on them, so I felt it reasonable to advise people to beware.

[Claude]

Lots of little economical cars available, typically 1.0 petrol doing close on 70mpg combined - but could you reasonably commute 25,000 miles a year in one? Are they built well enough for that? It's just 70mpg is awfully attractive and I could just about afford one of these little jobs - like the VW Up for example. Thoughts?

In my opinion, I believe a car like the VW Up could quite easily complete 25,000 miles per year without failing, and if you're considering buying one new then I would expect any issues to be resolved under warranty or at least with support from VW UK.

Is the VW Up a comfortable enough place to drive 25,000 miles a year in? That's subjective and only you will be able to answer that after you've bought one and tried it for a year. Let us know how you get on. I don't see why it wouldn't be up to the job.

Personally though, I'd struggle without having mountains of torque to assist with overtakes and keep the drive each day interesting. The trade-off I'm happy to make is paying more in VED, fuel & maintenance costs etc to own a 'performance' car, but I do sometimes wish I could settle for being happy with optimum mpg.

Onwards and Up-wards

[Blake]

I disagree, you could easily get 60+ MPG on a motorway in such a small car if you get it in its top gear (and cars now often have six gears) and just keep your revs down. As long as you don't overtake to much and keep a steady speed, it's quite possible.

Google: Wayne Gerdes and hypermiling to learn of ways to boost your gas-mileage. You'd be amazed at how far a gallon of gas can take you!

[motormad]

You reach a point where your 55bhp engine has to work harder to maintain a certain pace.
If you're going to be driving long distances do you want to be sat at 50% of engine power and 4000rpm as you often are in a little eco-box or at 20% of your engine power at a more refined 2000rpm

[Andrea]

I bought the new Fiesta 1.0T 125PS engine (Has won engine of the year apparently). It's not a bad car at all however so far it hasn't reached the MPG that is advertised (what car does though?). I use it mostly to just drive to and from places in town so have only done about 1700 miles in 4 months and average 40mpg. It's tax free (handy), good on insurance, has the power of a 1.6 and is comfortable to drive.

I'd suggest taking several out for a test drive to see how you feel. If you do go for brand new, visit a website such as drivethedeal.com and get a quote for a new car from there. That's what I did and Gowrings matched the price (eventually - took 2 weeks) therefore saving over £3k!

[Squelchy]

Prius!

Prius

[Nothing Much]

If the VW UP is a grown up version of the Lupo I would be happy with that kind of make.
We bought Miss ce a new one when she went off to "study" at Nottingham. It proved totally reliable for the 10 years she owned it.
I got the chance to drive it around London and it was great fun. The driving position was slightly raised, like a
transit which gave a good all round vision, and you felt like a white van man!

She got a good price from webuyanycar and a letter from the new owners thanking her for looking after it so well.
NO mention of the service charges,tyres,petrol, parking fines paid by doting Dad.
ce