RB5201

Hi, looking at getting a cheap 2nd car to commute to work in, to do a 60 mile round trip. Looking at spending around 500-700 pounds so not fussed what it is etc as long as it is economical as possible. I have so far been considering a rover metro, peugueot 106 or 205, or escorts. Most the escorts seem to be 1.8 vs the rover/pugs 1.4 or 1.5.
Has anyone owned any of these or have any idea what mpg I would get out of these, would the 1.8 still be economical. Need something soon as the scoob is costing me a fortune in petrol and Im putting on the miles.

Any views/thought welcome

Many thanks....Richard

logiclee

All the models you suggest are indirect injection old style mechanical injector pump diesel.

They wont be as economical as modern diesels and dont have anywhere near the power and torque of modern diesels.
As a comparison the top spec Escort diesel has 90bhp, 132lbft and a compined economy of 41mpg. The new Focus 1.6TDCI has 90bhp, 159lbft and a combined economy of 60.1mpg. The 2.0TDCi Focus has 134bhp, 236lbft and cobined economy of 51mpg.
Even the little 1.5 Pug 106 only manages 53mpg combined and comes with a crawling 58bhp and 70lbft


Forget the Metro it's the worse car NCAP have ever tested, probable death from an offset frontal impact at 30-40mph.

At the price point you are looking at it may be worth considering some small cc petrol cars like the Fiesta or Corsa.

Cheers
Lee

Clett

At that price point the Astra 1.7 TD (Isuzu engine) makes a lot of sense. Economical (50mpg), lasts >200k miles, v. reliable (apart from the astra's own niggles eg elec window switches). Not the most powerful (82bhp) but by a good margin the smoothest and most refined of the indirect injection era.

Focusbird

What about a VW Polo diesel? A friend of mine bought one after writing off his Supra and found he was saving himself about £400 in fuel each month.

Duck_Pond

It seems that in some cases, the manufacturers' claims for how economical their cars are, are somewhat exaggerated. AE magazine found that some had claimed that their cars were as much as 30% more economical than they actually are, and if you look at how the figures from road tests compare to those in brochures, there is a significant difference.

And I am on about diesels, not petrol... we Scooby owners already know what fibs they claim about our cars' economy!

What modern diesels have got over the older ones is more performance, definitely.

logiclee

A degree of truth in that but my wifes old 1.9D Felicia (Same as Polo 1.9D) used to average around 40mpg. We now run an Octavia TDi and a Fabia TDi, both cars average over 50mpg, they are a lot heavier than the old Felicia and have double the power and torque. Never managed to get 68.9mpg as quoted for the extra urban figure but did achieve 63mpg on a 100mile run to the coast. If you try a bit the Octavia will do 700miles between fill ups and its only got a 12 gallon tank.
Makes a change to the scoob, I never manage to get more than 300 miles on a tank full.

Cheers
Lee

Duck_Pond

Aye, VAG engined cars are superb - hence my use of the word "some"

A w*rk colleague of mine has just bought a Skoda Fabia estate, and she's getting 60+ mpg out of it, which for a car of its size is fantastic.

The article was critical of several leading manufacturers... and readers had added their own comments about the false claims too.

I trundle round in a Rover 420Di which does average 50mpg, and isn't that slow either. (Sorry Daz, I'm off again ) - though it needs to be driven smoothly, mainly because it has a James Bond weapon of a blinding cloud which appears if the loud pedal is pressed too hard

If I can find the article, I'll list the main offenders.

Silvafox

iTrader: (1)

I got myself a 205 turbo diesel for £400, L reg. Superb car and with a 1.8td engine its surprisingly nimble since it weighs sod all! Got about 500 miles out of a tank diesel (thats only a 45 litre tank too). Very basic and simple but perfect for a runabout......scoobys now a weekend car.

RB5201

So a 10 year old 1.1 fiesta or a 1.0 nissan micra or similar may be just as economical??

jpor

iTrader: (1)

Same here. The STI I have was costing a fortune in Petrol and tyres, especially working on an industrial estate where loose screws are not a rarety as I found out with a bill for £288 fro 2 tyres dues to unrepairable punctures.

Got a 205 Madri Gras 1.8 D Turbo as a runabout the only issue you need to consider is service intervals with them. On the 205 and most older Diesels they have to be serviced every 6000 miles. Luckily I picked mine up with 8 months road tax and 1 years MOT, All I have to do is fill up with diesel which at the moment costs £3 less than the scoobs for filling up and get twice or more the mileage.