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

[bunglebus]

  On 13/08/2020 at 15:46, pbottomley said:

Passat B5 1.9 TDI always in the 50's driven gently 60mpg easy

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Yep average about 55-56 overall. Depends what age car you're looking at.

I really don't know how I'd replace it, goes really well, comfortable and reliable

[garethj]

Don’t Passats suffer from leaks and dodgy heater matrix?  I’m sure I remember them being a bit flaky in terms of reliability 

[Jazoli]

  On 13/08/2020 at 16:48, garethj said:

Don’t Passats suffer from leaks and dodgy heater matrix?  I’m sure I remember them being a bit flaky in terms of reliability 

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Yup, and pretty much every other VAG malady, I couldn't recommend one myself, the most sensible one you mentioned is the Yaris D4D, they will do well in excess of 65mpg easily.

[sporty-shite]

  On 13/08/2020 at 16:34, 320touring said:

 

£550 for the car

200 on decent bilstein dampers

170 on good springs (eibach/h&r)

100 refresh of front arms

£99 on a remap

Some decent tyres

Cambelt and servicing

Done

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  On 13/08/2020 at 16:37, Jazoli said:

They are as dull as ditchwater, I had one, it was remapped, the creaking interior plastics and dead handling pissed me off eventually, they are also a significant downgrade from a 2.2 civic.

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Both valid points  to be fair! 

It's a bit dull, but could be made better. Tobe honest, though, you'd probably be pushed to get a constant 55mpg unless you drive like Miss Daisy,  which sort of defeats the brief somewhat.  

[320touring]

  On 13/08/2020 at 16:37, Jazoli said:

They are as dull as ditchwater, I had one, it was remapped, the creaking interior plastics and dead handling pissed me off eventually, they are also a significant downgrade from a 2.2 civic.

42-44mpg out of the civic is pretty poor, maybe have a look at your driving style? my friend gets almost 60mpg from his.

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Back to the 205 1.8d then:)

[New POD]

Who cares about mpg? It's about the style you travel in. 

Try 28 mpg. If lucky and careful.  I've done 60k since October 2016. And rarely see 30 mpg. 

On the other hand negative depreciation. 

[Lanciaman]

Can't argue with New POD. 3.0 outback here, albeit lpg. But hits the dizzy heights of 24 mpg on lpg. 28 on petrol.  But depreciated zero in 2. 5 years as bought cheap and no dpf, dual mass flywheel, cambelt, flaky injector, worn out turbos.... 

Mpg the least of your overall cost worries.... 

[garethj]

Current car is a Honda Civic and my spreadsheet of costs is fuel and a headlight bulb.  Depreciation also zero as it is for most old cars to be honest.

I’m not a complete stranger to running old cars and I’ve had everything from a 10mpg XJ-S (pre HE) to a 60mpg Skoda?

[barrett]

Xantia XUDT obvs. You could probably buy a couple within a tight budget and keep one as a spare incase one starts leaking

[holbeck]

Citroen hdi. My Xantia has done 52mpg over 3000 miles, my commute is A road and urban. Motorway miles would push this up. 

[w00dy]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Renault-Megane-2-0dCi-175-Renaultsport-new-mot-full-service-history/164324644788

[Agila]

  On 13/08/2020 at 19:27, w00dy said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Renault-Megane-2-0dCi-175-Renaultsport-new-mot-full-service-history/164324644788

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Don't know about reliability on these but that looks ace.

I didn't even know they did a diesel version of these.

[808 Estate]

  On 13/08/2020 at 15:28, Mr_Bo11ox said:

What about a Volvo C30 'drive-E' with the fancy smooth alloys, theyre supposedly pretty thrifty and look interesting, not sure how much driver joy is available mind you.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2009-59-VOLVO-C30-S-DRIVE-D-1-6-DIESEL-3-DOOR-HATCHBACK-20-TAX-64-MPG-RED-CLOTH/174386736908

 

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I was about to suggest one of these, although its a bit more expensive.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008062188875?transmission=Manual&sort=price-asc&annual-tax-cars=TO_30&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&advertising-location=at_cars&make=VOLVO&model=V40&fuel-consumption=OVER_60&maximum-mileage=125000&radius=1500&postcode=so157np&fuel-type=Diesel&page=1

 

Tax

Annual tax

£0

CO₂ emissions

94g/km

Fuel

Urban

70.6 mpg

Extra urban

83.1 mpg

Combined

78.5 mpg

[dollywobbler]

Only cars I've owned that regularly topped 50mpg were a Citroen BX turbo diesel and the Perodua Nippa. Only one of those offers comfort...

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I'm getting 48 from my S80

 

[ProgRocker]

Kia Rio 1.1 diesel?

[DoctorRetro]

I get 43 - 49 MPG, and my car is certainly not tedious! 

If you could find a nice one, it would be perfect (ish) 

?

[maxxo]

Laguna 2 DCi of course, comfortable and looks fantastic.........oh wait you want reliability

anything peugeot citroen with the old 2.0 HDi will do low 50s quite comfortably

1.9 TDi passat is another good contendor

weird how you're getting such low fuel economy from a spaceship civic, my dad frequently got low to mid 50s

[hairnet]

mtfu and scooby flat six obvs

or v6 japanese

or if youre a complete plant sniffer diesel spaceship civic or civic ima or mk2 honda insight

not tedious - interesting anyway

 

[garethj]

  On 13/08/2020 at 20:31, maxxo said:

Laguna 2 DCi of course, comfortable and looks fantastic.........oh wait you want reliability

anything peugeot citroen with the old 2.0 HDi will do low 50s quite comfortably

1.9 TDi passat is another good contendor

weird how you're getting such low fuel economy from a spaceship civic, my dad frequently got low to mid 50s

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Mid 50s mpg from a 1.8 petrol Civic?  I’m like driving miss Daisy and 47mpg is my best ever

[maxxo]

his was the 2.2 diesel, but i've heard you can get 50ish from the 1.8

i can't help but feel i'd be tempted to stick with a car that will probably never go wrong

maybe just part of me is getting sick of diesels and how long they take to get up to temp (i live near a dual carriageway and i hate merging with a cold engine)

could try a 2.2 civic? those are pretty bulletproof (my dad got 257k from his before he traded it in with zero issues) and sound fantastic for a diesel

[angle]

Early Mini One D? On a quick look most of them seem to have done big miles, but they have the 1.4 D4-D out of the Yaris, just with a bit more torque. Something like:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293662845902

[angle]

Diesel Swift? I know the Fiat 1.3 probably hasn't got the best reputation, but I stuck 1500 miles on one in a month round Hungary and it was pleasant. Or a Panda with the same? 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202006059844847

[Tadhg Tiogar]

VW Bora TDi 100S. 60mpg is easy. Plenty of momentum from low down for maximum coasting. Extreme coasting may see you within 80mpg (I once squeezed 86 for a trip), if the car is in good condition, and tyres are inflated to max allowable pressures ...

[loserone]

Yes, but not tedious

[Bazfr69]

Surely hypermiling everywhere will make just about any car tedious?

I think my Smart is fun to drive and I can get almost 60 to the gallon out of it, but I wouldn’t want to drive it like that everywhere.


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[Cookiesouwest]

MG ZT with the oil burner and auto to negate the weak manual (unreliable) clutch 

[Talbot]

Nothing with an old IDI engine is going to cut it when it comes to fuel economy compared to a modern common rail injection system.  If an old IDI can get very good fuel consumption (Citroen AX 1.5d for example) it's going to be glacially slow.  Even a BX Turbodiesel, which will just about achieve 50mpg if you're careful is actually a remarkably slow car these days and will be tiresome in modern traffic.

Has anyone mentioned a Mercedes A-class Diesel?  They are supposed to do fairly decent empeegees and are now quite cheap.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

  On 13/08/2020 at 20:54, loserone said:

Yes, but not tedious

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There is actually a fun element chasing that extra last mile. Never found it tedious. The whole point of the game is to push that envelope. 

[Bren]

Anything pd engined will give good mpg. But what you save in fuel you'll spend on repairs as most are now driven into the ground.