Need economical cheap runaround for commuting. Advice?
 

I've had my WRX wagon for a couple of years now and originally bought it as a go anywhere, do everything car. Which it is marvellous at. However the one weakness is fuel economy and with V-Power now over £1 a litre I've got to say enough's enough. Problem is whether I'm cruising, commuting or going round the town it never does much better than the low 20's in mpg. I'm seriously considering keeping the wagon as a family car/weekend runabout/trackday toy (bet that combination doesn't come up often!) and buying a little econobox to commute every day in. I do 25 miles of commuting a day along pretty good driving roads, never in traffic jams. My requirements are:

• Target 40mpg, no lower than 30mpg in normal driving
• Less than a grand to buy
• Don't need back seats so maybe a 2 seater?
• Reliable and cheap to maintain
• A good fun drive (e.g. I used to have a 1.4 Tipo that was hideous to drive, so nothing like that)
• Nothing TOO old that will start to become a money pit unless it has a reputation for reliability.
• Petrol or diesel, but a good economical small petrol preferred.

I've really not done any research yet so any suggestions welcome. If I could get something newish and bulletproof like a Kia or something for a grand that would be nice, but I reckon I won't. Help!

First thoughts are a Mazda MX-5, Fiat Seicento or VW Lupo if my budget will stretch.

mk1 MR2?

And i know of a great one for sale - not sure it does 40mpg though:wonder: although maybe 30mpg

25 mile daily x 5 days per week x 46 weeks per year (the average people work taking off holidays) = 5750 miles per year

Even if you double your fuel economy in a best case scenario (going from say 20mpg to 40mpg) it will only save you 144 gallons per year which equates to £647. That isn't much to tax, insure and maintain a car.

I'd stick with the WRX and enjoy driving to work :)

Gary.

Nissan Micra (92 onwards shape) a 1ltr or the 1.3, both are good drives and will give you excellent MPG, can be quite fun also ;) with more room in than you think!
Something like this ;) and this was on page 5 of a search (under a grand at 995) :eek:

1998 NISSAN MICRA 1.0 Ally 3dr Special Editions (private)

65,000 miles
Manual
ELECTRIC BLUE
Petrol
Manual, 65,000 miles, Electric Blue, 3 door, 16v engine, 1 lady owner for last 8 years, sunroof, face off CD player, Immobiliser, SH, Tax 10/07, MOT 05/08. Very Good Tyres, loads of receipts. previous


Tony:)

I used to get around 30 mpg during mixed driving. Low to mid 20s if having fun (one of those great cars where you can have a real laugh at relatively low speeds) and about 35-40 at <70mph motorway.

Suzuki Cappucino? Fun, economical (40+mpg), cheap to run and cheap to buy and tunable.
Seat Arosa 1.4 TDI
Saxo VTS/106GTI
Clio172 mk1
Toyota Starlet/Glanza turbo

306 dturbo............. :)

Can you get clio 172s for under a grand now?

Another option if not done already, have it ecutek'ed might release a bit of torque etc for smoother acceleraton and cruising.

ray t

MX-5 would be a great choice. As already said, you'll have to sell your Scoob to make it worthwhile

Easy solution. Sell the scooby and buy a brand new LCR with 240hp and get 40mpg with it. Plus you dont need to use that expensive fuel to get the 240 ponies :thumb:

But that is getting away from the whole issue of saving money.

not stated if is wagon is brand new or second hand but if its say sh worth about 5 grand then he will need to find another 13-15k to buy a car that when hoofing it is not that much better on fuel and slower point to point than his current car.

seems pointless to me.

but his wife will love him more :D

A cheap diesel pug for sub 1K :thumb:

errr no, unless its got 150k miles plus I would think.

:wonder: never looked at it like that, have fun and keep and drive the car you love thats why you spent all that ££ on it

LOL I've been persuaded - I'm keeping the wagon thanks to Scoobynet! I was trying to do the sums in my head and didn't really think about the costs of running a second car - tax, insurance etc. Actually I've done it a number of times in the past and run around in a ****ter while my main fast car was off the road and now I come to think of it it always cost me a bloody fortune running two cars. What the hell was I thinking. But I like the idea of a Micra if it comes to it.

And if anyone's actually got an old Mk1 172 for under a grand, I'll have two.