Cruiser suggestions

[scooters]

Returned yesterday evening from a business roadtrip in the BX.

 

Edinburgh to Herts - 420 miles

Herts - Essex 63 miles

Essex- surrey - 110 miles

Surrey - herts - 51 miles

herts- Edinburgh 420 miles

 

Total - 1064 miles

 

driving time:

Monday - 7 hours

Tuesday - 4.5 hours

Wednesday 8.5 hours

 

20 hours total -

 

Ave speed - 53.2mph

 

Fuel used - 50,42, 31, 28, - 151 lits = 32.28 MPG

 

Oil used - 1lt

Screen wash concentrate - 1 lt

LHM - none

Coolant - none

 

pretty good show from the old BX but I am concious that doing this to a car like this every month is going to result in some pretty serious issues. The BX needs to be in the toy category rather than the tool one methinks.

 

The only issue I have noticed and this manifested itself on the drive back was hesitation and misfiring under load usually going up hills, usually in top gear and usually when the pedal is floored - gentle acceleration is OK. Now I have put this down to the fuel I used - I normally shove in some cooking Esso or Shell but when in Chelmsford I gave it a dose of TESCOS POV UNLEADED which it really did not like - and the pinking as described was pretty bad under any load. I lobbed in 40 lts of Shell Unleaded which made a difference but this is still intermittent.

 

Anyway, either I am still far from 100% at the moment or I must have been bonkers doing these drives but I am absolutely fekked and found yesterdays 8 hour slog up the M6 pretty tough - if it hadn't been some escapism in the superb audiobook - this time A Perfect Spy unabridged with Michael Jayson reading - I would have found it very hard indeed.

 

Whilst the BX has superb suspension and sits very nicely at the 70mph mark you do get a fair old dollop of wind and engine noise and for these long distance work related slogs it is becoming increasingly apparant that I need somthing a wee bit more luxobargey for these drives - doens't have to be quick but must sit well on the road and ideally have some decent 'legs' Slushbox would probably be preferred I suppose.

 

When I did these old drives in the past I used to frequently by XJ40s but that's no longer an option.

 

So - it's got to be:

1/ 1.8 or above

2/ motorised sofa

3/ quite in the cabin

4/ reasonable MPGs

5/ cheap to buy (ideally under £500)

6/ easy to work on with good and relatively cheap parts avaliability

7/ has to be reasonably respectable (client visits etc)

 

Anyway here's a few condenders

Xantia Tdi

Saab of some sort

Ovlov - maybe a 900 saloon

190 Merc

Granada Scorpio

Rover 800

Mondeo Ghia of some sort

A Vauxhall with a reasonable engine - maybe a Cav?

 

any other ideas?

[John F]

I'd certainly recommend a Cav... a few years ago I drove my '94 SRi from Geneva to Calais, caught the ferry, then drove from Dover to Yorkshire in one journey - and felt absolutely fine, no back-ache at all.

 

Mine was a 2-litre (X20XEV) and I didn't pootle about in it, but I still used to get about 35 mpg on average. The 8v engines are reputed to be bombproof.

[Shep Shepherd]

A non-turbo 2.5 Volvo 850 or a series 1 S/V70? I regularly get 32-34mpg overall from TV2

[messerschmitt owner]

I think you need a French barge - I wouldn' t ignore the 1.9 diesel Xantia

 

or the Pug 406 saloon.

[Bren]

TBH clocking up those kind of miles, for me, a car that was only giving mid 30's is unacceptable.

 

It would have to be a diesel. I would say a xantia with the XUD diesel engine, however, good ones are getting thin on the ground, and TBH, I thought mine was noisy on the motorway, especially around 90mph. There are still plenty of HDi's knocking about, but if one of these starts giving you grief, you'll be sending it over the bridge.

 

Another thing to bear in mind is at the mo' everybody wants a cheap diesel, so a lot of stuff in the £500 bracket is probably being sold because it is fooked.

 

Best of luck with your search.

[garycox]

My suggestion would be a Mk3 Astra 1.7TD, the 5dr GLS I had was pretty good.

[kinkersaab]

Saab 9000 FTW.

[Lord Sterling]

If you're looking for a long distance cruiser, then a slushbox would make more sense, being caught up in start stop traffic of motorways and towns can be annoying in a manual.

 

My Rover 827 Sterling is great on longer motorway cruises and with 'cruise control' it makes the journey less stressful so I would say something like a Rover 800, Volvo 850/900 series, Granada Scorpio or Saab with slushbox and leathers would make more sense, certainly if you are doing alot of motorway miles.

 

Good luck in your search.

[RobT]

If you're doing regular long trips I'd suggest upping your budget to buy the best you can afford, otherwise you'll be buying a sub-£500 shitter that needs constant attention, rather than the odd bit of tinkering.

 

One suggestion being a mint Volvo 740 with LPG conversion, if you can find one that is.

[scooters]

prob is Bren - as you say - decent Xantia tdis or hdis are getting rare now at this money.

 

the 32mpg I got out of the BX was for combined use BTW and a good 3-4 hours of the 20 hours drifing was spent sitting in traffic on the M25

[scooters]

If you're looking for a long distance cruiser, then a slushbox would make more sense, being caught up in start stop traffic of motorways and towns can be annoying in a manual.

 

My Rover 827 Sterling is great on longer motorway cruises and with 'cruise control' it makes the journey less stressful so I would say something like a Rover 800, Volvo 850/900 series, Granada Scorpio or Saab with slushbox and leathers would make more sense, certainly if you are doing alot of motorway miles.

 

Good luck in your search.

 

yeah -

 

agree -

 

there's always Kinkers 940 sport edition!...no slushbox but great motorway bullyboy

 

#RobT- £500 is ample for a luxobarge with a big petrol engine. you need more for a diesel though. There are several very good examples for sale at the moment including a 2.0l granny scorpio with full leather, MOT and 6 months tax on it for £400 locally at the moment

[maxpower]

or a volvo v40 2ltr that's taxed n mot'd for £500....

 

just like the one that's sitting in my drive

[ashmicro]

Rover 600 diesel? Should be cheap, and not a bad looking motor.

[scooters]

recalling the wonderfulness of my old Mondeo Ghia X 2.5 V6

 

#maxp - sorry the old V40s never done it for me

 

600 dizzlers - any 600 TBH they seem to crop up on gumtree quite a lot round here usually in full on giffer owner mode

[mnde]

XM

 

 

I never had the time/energy/money to got to the bottom of the hesitation/misfiring under load although I was able to improve things, and yeah, it definitely likes 97/98 RON. But there's some issue with vacuum advance or... something.

 

Mark.

[Cavcraft]

For comfort and economy you'd struggle to beat a good Xantia diesel.

 

190s ok but the manual aren't actually that nice to drive imho.

 

Cav: 1.8 fine though 2.0 a better bet. How about a 1.7TD though? Go well, ace on fuel, soak up huge mileages and veg oil friendly.

 

Mondeo: For under £500 you won't get much, you're probably looking at a mint Mk2 (is there such a thing?) or a doggish Mk3. Mk2 diesels are vile things though if going down the dizzler route.

 

Saab: no experience of them.

 

Volvo: Probably a bit juicey but a damned nice drive, especially in automatic format.

[eddyramrod]

My first choice for such conditions would always be Volvo 2/7/940, with the 2.3 injection engine and auto box (which you've already sussed). Be sure to get one with velour upholstery. Leather looks lovely but will be exactly as cold (or hot) as outside, whereas velour will cosset you a bit until the seat warms up. I know you've been there before, so it shouldn't hold any terrors for you, and you know you'll find one at the right price. Unless you really need the cargo space, go for a saloon, as it's a smaller box to heat!

 

Having said that, an XM or Safrane should give you similar levels of comfort, if one falls in front of you, and there are plenty of people, even here, who would swear by a Merc W123 or 4. Again, you'd probably want the 2.3 engine for your purposes.

 

Best of luck!

[Cavcraft]

Actually, I think something outside of your list would be better. Something, for example, like a Peugeot 206 1.4 petrol in bright red. Probably a five door with aftermarket white alloy wheels for example. And a shit CD player. needs to be a five door though. Yeah, definately all of that.

If only you could find one for sale somewhere you'd be laughing

[Cheggers]

If you're looking at Vauxhalls, how about an Omega? - Decent motorway car and cheap as a cheap thing.

[alf892]

Omega 2.5 diesel auto.......proper barge and ideal cruising weapon

[Father Ted]

Vauxhall Vectra 1.9CDTi

[scooters]

all very interesting...thanks...

what I end up with will probably depend a lot on avaliability at the time. Looking in early/mid January realistically probably to coincide with my next trip down sarf as I can then plan a fly/train in to collect and this opens up whole new acres of chod to be drooled over as Scotland is pisspoor for quantities except for the occasional wee gem!

[The Moog]

Is that 605 still for sale in milanthort? Was 600 quid with 3l auto and fully loaded. That has to be a mile muncher

[dieselnutjob]

I was going to say 605.

The V6 will be juicy but the 2.1 turbo diesel was good and the four cylinder petrol ones shouldn't be that thirsty either

[mnde]

I'd say uh-uh to Safrane Auto...

 

Omega 2.5 diesel auto Estate sounds like a good weapon. Like this (which is a manual)

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2002-52-Vauxh ... 0944206315

 

 

Mark.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Spend a couple of hundred extra and get something LPG converted.

 

If buying a 2.0 DOHC Granada (and I would recommend against a 2.0 Pinto- never driven one but on paper it looks miserably gutless), do a compression test and, if it's all clear, make a coolant change the first of your jobs. It may not be a Kettle-series, but it really doesn't enjoy being neglected.

 

A 1.8 (16v) Xantia will give you near enough 40mpg on a motorway while having plenty of power in reserve.

 

The Lack Of Charisma 1.8 GDI also happens to be a very economical car (I think about 45mpg) and I am sure I've seen some with leather seats and all the toys.

 

By the way, the difference in price between petrol and diesel seems to be hovering around 11-12p nowadays. That means that a diesel needs to exceed 43mpg in order to be cheaper to run than the 40mpg petrol (which I am sure it still is, although not by an exciting margin). Unless, of course, you run on veg oil, which obviously is an entirely different ball-game.

[RoadworkUK]

Re. Rover 800s, Of Course....

 

My 825 returned 34.8mpg overall on a 340 mile trip to Cornwall via the A303, mainly due to my ultra-rare (or so it would seem) manual box. To be honest, for motorway use I see nothing wrong with a row-your-own, unless you're in a powerful-ish diesel where it should be almost obligatory. I've always prefered autos in more urban surroundings.

 

I'd be mighty tempted by an Omega MV6 Elite or a Late repositioned-badge Scorpio 24v.

[woolleyiain]

How about this? Bit over budget, but these seem to be startlingly cheap now.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-VAUXHALL ... 43abce0494

[406V6]

Another vote for a Pug 406 but then I am biased. A V6 auto will soak up the miles and sensibly driven on long runs will give about the same mpg as your BX. The great unwashed think it will drink fuel so they can be picked up cheaply. Cambelt change (every 5 years) is mega £££ though.

[Pete-M]

406, Xantia or at a stretch an Omega.

 

Unless you like the hard shoulder I'd be avoiding R800s, and they're shit on fuel anyway. I did two late night return rips to Luton in a week. One in the 827 and one in my old W123 280TE. The Merc used HALF the fuel. Half, and the 280 is hardly a mega mpg mobile.

 

I think the main issue you'll have is finding a cheap dizzla you'll be happy to live with for a 1000 mile trip. I'd rather burn a 1.7 Cav than even consider doing that kind of trip in one. The 2.0 Mk3 wasn't a bad thing though.