The Chief

Like a lot of people on here my consumption and running costs of my Scoob are killing me.

I need to buy a cheap runabout 2-2.5k and i'm not sure whether to go petrol or pay the extra and get a diesel. thinking of a punto/clio/fiesta.

i'd say a diesel commands at least 500-1000 extra plus the extra servicing.

i'll be doing around 6k miles a year.

I know this has been done to death before so sorry 'bout that


What are the 1.2 petrol clio's/punto's/fiesta's like on juice.


Cheers

Petem95

Unlikely to be worth getting a diesel if you'll only be doing 6k/year.

1.2 supermini's should be returning about 45-50mpg without too much trouble.

The Chief

has anyone experience of any of the cars listed? and what are they like on a run up the motorway??

chiark

My wife had a 2001 Clio 1.2 8v. It was fairly happy at 80 on the motorway, and not a bad car. No excitement at all, and boring handling - the saxo she had before was a nicer handling car.
but cheap... and would habitually get 45mpg

The Chief

To be honest i've never thought of a Saxo/106

hades

Personally I'm still quite fond of the 306's. Ran a D Turbo until very recent as I was doing high miles. Cost ~£1500, the servicing was tiny (about £20-30 quid DIY every 6k) and G5 insurance, a fair bit more poke than the older 1.2 superminis: particularly good in top at normal speeds on the motorways - albeit at "only" 45 or so to the gallon at a "normal fast motorway cruise". It had most of the toys you'd need, plus a very entertaining chassis, and was generally a surprisingly pleasant way to get about. The older 1.9 TDs run for for ever, and are quite easy to tweak to 110-115bhp for sod all outlay as well. If you prefer petrol, anything less than the 2L 306 was also cheap to insure, although not necessarily that fuel efficient.

chiark

The saxo was plastic, nasty and generally a cheap car: in comparison, the clio felt a hell of a lot better put together. However, the paxo was light, and a little bit of fun...

mattbeef

Get a clio mine has done me for the last 3 years, good economy considering i drive around with my foot to the deck average 30mpg (1.4 8v)

Only thing its ever needed was an alternator and clutch cable!!