Does it exist? 55mpg, reliable, not tedious?

[Matty]

4 hours ago, Cavcraft said:

He wants something reliable and not tedious.

Are them not one and the same? ?

[garethj]

45 minutes ago, Matty said:

Are them not one and the same? ?

Maybe if it’s going to be tedious it had better be fucking reliable ?

Something with a bit of fizz about it somehow would be good

[jonathan_dyane]

You need something with LPG

[garethj]

Just now, jonathan_dyane said:

You need something with LPG

No filling stations on my route?

[Matty]

Tedious and reliable are definitely bedfellows. If I were you I'd set my sights differant. There's plenty of reliable economical n/a petrol engines out there. I can get 38mpg out of my old straight six bmw on a run without trying. Modern diesels, especially well worn ones are unreliable pieces of shite which will erode any savings made on fuel in repair costs or catastrophic failure. Id sooner get a dose. My vote on your budget would be a really clean mark 2 focus with the 1.6 petrol in it. Nicely nailed together, reliable and not totally soul destroying to drive. Most important theyre durable. That's probably the biggest thing to consider when buying a car

[Noel Tidybeard]

2.2 type-s sounds like the ideal hector with a remap for moar torques

after a spaceship a ford crocus will seem duuuuuulllllll

[Talbot]

If you fancied a massive project to get your ideal car, a 2.0HDi 110 or possibly a 2.2HDI 137 engine shoe-horned into a BX would make a very interesting and very economic car.  Given that an IDI-engined BX can achieve 50mpg, with the benefit of Common-rail and DI, you'd be looking at 70mpg without even trying, and have something that accelerates faster than anything the engine originally came out of.  Plus it's a BX, which is immediately not tedious.

Chuck that lot together in a weekend, and Robert is your Mother's Brother.

[Rocket88]

nuff said.........'

[garethj]

3 minutes ago, Talbot said:

If you fancied a massive project to get your ideal car, a 2.0HDi 110 or possibly a 2.2HDI 137 engine shoe-horned into a BX would make a very interesting and very economic car.  Given that an IDI-engined BX can achieve 50mpg, with the benefit of Common-rail and DI, you'd be looking at 70mpg without even trying, and have something that accelerates faster than anything the engine originally came out of.  Plus it's a BX, which is immediately not tedious.

Chuck that lot together in a weekend, and Robert is your Mother's Brother.

Yes.... but no?

Is a 406 coupe any good or likely to be fucked by now?

[leanycan]

What you need is something from the VAG group with the SDI engine. Mega MPG'S and will run on veg ?

[sierraman]

For £1500 chances are it’ll need the DMF doing fairly soon, I think this sounds like a false economy to save a few quid a week. I’d get the sense if it was a move from 30mpg to 55mpg but I can’t see you saving anything at this rate.

[loserone]

7 hours ago, garethj said:

406 coupe

Wrong sort of commute, these are what you want for a weekly jaunt to Spain.

[garethj]

26 minutes ago, sierraman said:

For £1500 chances are it’ll need the DMF doing fairly soon, I think this sounds like a false economy to save a few quid a week. I’d get the sense if it was a move from 30mpg to 55mpg but I can’t see you saving anything at this rate.

Saves about £600 a year which is the same as a £1000 pay rise.  Agree about reliability which is why it’s in my list of must-haves

[Sir Snipes]

Mondeo 2.0.

Or a 1.8 Vectra if you don't mind the mpgs and want the STYLE. 

[Dick Longbridge]

106 derv? My mate's 1.5d 106 was a great little car in the late 90s. Mind you, acceptable levels of comfort and safety may have moved on slightly since then.

[spartacus]

I just came to this thread to post that exact suggestion, the 106d I had from Krujoe was an excellent car, low on gizmos and gee-gaws but relatively high on driver involvement and enjoyment. It was easy and cheap to repair and very frugal, I easily got 60mpg but when Bucketeer, (where is he), took it on he cracked 70mpg I believe.

[95 quid Peugeot]

Clitroen Cactus.

68.9mpg over 2 years  and 27k miles 

[Liggle]

How about the newer version of what you have, with the 1.6 iDTEC? They are <£5k now

Although sounds like you want a similar value swap? Gotta be a later PD car, getting thinner on the ground though now. 

[Asimo]

Honda £1500 Easy 60+ mpg. (But to the skip with that hateful top-box)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-nt650v/184396291621?hash=item2aeee01e25:g:xZYAAOSwHAdfJ84~

[drewd]

From my personal experience I'd echo the above, any car that's not dull encourages you to drive it a bit harder, and economy suffers. To consistently achieve near the top end of the quoted MPG you need to drive smoothly and conservatively which for me at least always feels dull. I don't drive quickly but I do enjoy the driving experience on B roads as they're more engaging. For me that's where good cars shine but it's not ideal for maximum economy. Sitting at 60mph in top gear will help with economy but it's hardly fun.

The last 4 cars I've owned were a gen 7 Celica 1.8, a K11 Micra, a 1.6 HDi 307 and a Bora pd130.

The Celica used to average 38-44mpg but had the best chassis so was the most rewarding for me to drive. The Micra used to average about 44-48mpg, the Bora was around 45-50mpg and the 307 is closer to 60mpg all the time.

The Bora felt better to drive than the 307, it was faster and the 6 speed box made it easy to keep the revs low at any speed, but it couldn't touch the 307 for fuel economy. It was a nice place to be and stupidly quick for what it was, but it's not exciting. The 307 is really dull and the ratios in the 5 speed box aren't ideal but it's great economical transport.

The K11 was cheap to keep on the road and ok to drive but it's easily outclassed by the other 3 cars. The Celica was great, reasonable economy, good handling and cheap to run.

I'm planning to run the 307 until it dies, but when shopping for my next car I'd probably go for a reliable and easy to maintain car that is fun and can do 45mpg over a dull 60mpg with potentially expensive repair bills.

All of the above is just my opinion, YMMV etc.

[bunglebus]

I tend to sit at 60 with cruise on for motorway driving, which then balances out a spirited drive through the countryside.

That's how I justify it to myself anyway

[sierraman]

4 hours ago, Sir Snipes said:

Mondeo 2.0.

Or a 1.8 Vectra if you don't mind the mpgs and want the STYLE. 

The Mondeo diesel isn’t too bad reliability wise, the older Mk3 TDCIs were smoky old bags of shit but a 2.0 Mk4 should be reliable.

[Zelandeth]

Late HDi Xantia would probably be my vote.  Not sure if you'd quite hit the target MPG in general use but it must be close.

Yes there are plenty of horror stories out there, but they are absolutely a dependable car once the well documented bits of preventative maintenance are taken care of, and the hydraulics are nowhere near as terrifying as rumour would have you believe.

They're worth pennies so it should be easy enough to get one and give it a thorough going over without breaking the bank.  Comfy car to spend time in that won't make you want to gouge your eyes out with a dull spoon or need to hire a chiropractor during the commute.

[Luxxo Waftybarger]

Manual BMW E46 320d with the old M47. You won't get 60mpg but it will at least be a bit more fun on A roads. They are worth tuppence now as well.

[Jazoli]

I have to say that a lot of these suggestions are crap imo, the OP already had a spaceship diesel civic, to go from that into a 106 diesel would make zero sense, i had one, it was shit.

[Mrcento]

2 hours ago, Jazoli said:

I have to say that a lot of these suggestions are crap imo, the OP already had a spaceship diesel civic, to go from that into a 106 diesel would make zero sense.

I agree.

Sticking with the civic is best.

Not sure why the OP seems to think they get more then the claimed figures when they're so far short of Hondas figures, mind. Maybe more use and longer types of runs would see an increase in MPG's.

A mate picked one of these 2.2 cdti spaceships up just after i got my Vec. I'm getting a little more MPG but what little i'm gaining there will be more than wiped out many times over with various maintenance like the cambelt and repairs i need to do.

The civic is a good all rounder IMO.

 

 

[bub2006]

90bhp 2.0 hdi is a good bet. Certainly not quick but can be a damn comfy old bus in a xantia or a 406 like mine. The 90bhp models aren't plagued with dmf,coded injectors,variable geometry turbos etc. I've had a 1.4 206 hdi and found it cramped and it's not built for high mileage motorway runs in my opinion. 

[Dick Longbridge]

2 hours ago, Jazoli said:

I have to say that a lot of these suggestions are crap imo, the OP already had a spaceship diesel civic, to go from that into a 106 diesel would make zero sense, i had one, it was shit.

A derv spaceship Civic would be my personal hell. Tedious wouldn't cover it.

Give me a lightweight, revvy 106d any day of the week. In fact, give me about four, allowing for their value against one Civic. 

[Mudster]

Is OP's a diesel? 42-44mpg seems very low so I assumed petrol. The diesel has a fair bit of shove from low down which I find pretty decent. I quite enjoy driving the thing although I accept it wouldn't be for everyone.

My last half tank of diesel over 274 miles was this  

[motorpunk]

Depends on your driving style and routes, I guess.

My 525d estate shows 45.5mpg average over the last c.30k miles, incredible for c.200bhp and 2 tons of barge. Big old unstressed 6 banger. Very pleased overall.

Mini diesels.. are they any good?