Small car long motorway commute

[fatpatsthong]

This will be 'my' car not the family car so just used for my commute (65 miles each way, 55 of which on the motorway, the rest in city traffic).

That said it will get used as the spare car or for the odd family trip so needs to fit in 6ft 4 dh as well as 2 tween dds.

Needs to be safe, reliable and economical. Am looking at second hand but not more than 5 years old.

Any ideas? Possibles are Skoda citigo, Skoda Fabia or Hyundai 120 but am only at first stages of looking so open to anything.

I'm using a Ford Focus 1.6 (£8k for very tidy 3yo 32000miles) for my 150 mile motorway commutes. It's comfy, 55mpg, and doesn't get blown about by all this wind we're having lately - it hardly even notices it! Quite a bonus, that.

I drive a lot on the motorway, in fact I’ve got a 375 mile round trip tomorrow and I have a Fiesta Titanium 1litre eco boost. It’s 65 plate you’ll get one with your budget, I’ve had it since new but about to purchase it. It’s feisty, economical on fuel and I pay no road tax. Before this I had a big 1.8 engine car which was so expensive so run.

Maintenance is low and it has all the gadgets I wanted, puddle lights, day and night lights, all the automatic heated windscreen/wipers etc and parking sensors which were not included without a much higher cost in the other small cars I looked at.

Cheap on insurance as well!

I'd go for a bluemotion golf or Seat Leon (same engine). Very comfortable for adults in the front and back. As a teen I hated being in the back of a small car so something like a VW Up would have been a vomit inducing nightmare for me.

Also have a look at the B-Max. It's taller than the Fiesta, so should have more head room.

Seat mii would cope well with that run.

Me and dh (6'4") use ours, I love it, dead easy to park.

Ford Fiesta without a doubt. Solid built and excellent MPG

Unpopular opinion but I would suggest something like a diesel hatch back.

I have switched my 1.4l petrol hatchback for a small 2l diesel 4X4.

I have a similar commute to you, although the first part of my commute is on tiny and hilly country roads, so the 4x4 is convenient in that respects. Especially in winter.

I am actually buying less fuel in the larger diesel car, it’s just much more efficient on the motorways. I am spending approx £50-70 less a month on fuel.

I am prepared to be flamed though as I have no idea how much the environmental cost is v petrol, I just know I am getting a much better MPG and it’s costing me £££ less.

A Corsa or Astra are really cheap to maintain and are also relatively cheap to buy

Id suggest a Ford fiesta. The 1.0l ecoboost model is very economical, does 70-80 mph with very little effort and if you get one a few years old they are free of road tax

...... What fairie demon suggested. I do an 80 mile round trip commute and picked up the above car today as I will no doubt save lots with this car. Managed to haggle a little and got a 2016 plate with 3800 miles on the clock. Bargain. Have been paying a fortune with my old car!

How about a Mini? I have a 1.6 diesel - it's great on the motorway, loads of power but very cheap to run

Do not touch an Ecoboost - also known as Ecoboom. Do your research - there's a class action building against Ford not only because of problems with the Ecoboost but because of the way Ford has been covering it up. It's been on Watchdog, on BBC Inside Out just yesterday and on BBC radio - 4, Ithink.

Skoda and Hyundai would be far more reliable and better built.

DD2 has a 16 plate diesel corsa SE 5 door and does a similar commute. It’s a great car I must say has a few mod cons you’d expect in a bigger car like a heated windscreen, heated seats and steering wheel it also has the Apple Carplay in it so she just plugs her phone in and she can get texts read out through the car and use her maps etc. Can fit DS3s buggy in the boot and DD1s babies big pram as well so lots of room. Also has cruise control and a speed limiter as standard and it has a city mode so you can make the steering lighter - she loves it and I’ve driven it a few times and it’s lovely

Have you thought about a Kia Cee'd?

7 year manufacturer warranty is a major bonus. Plenty of 2014 cars for sale below £8k, they'd have warranties until 2021!

Mazda 2 here!! Love it!!

I do a lot of motorway miles and a few years ago went from a Skoda Fabia 1.2 to a Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost. The Fiesta knocks the Fabia into a cocked hat for fast acceleration; it's the same size as the Fabia but feels a lot roomier inside. 70 is comfortable, running costs fine. I would definitely test drive one

I drive a kia Rio sport, and fit two 6 foot plus teens in the back, and its brilliant!
Super cheap on gas and maintenance, room enough for all our gear, and because the car is so light weight , it accelerates quickly

My Mini Cooper is economical for motorway driving (not so much around town). It's easy to drive, comfortable and nippy. It's also a heavy solid car so doesn't struggle past high sided vehicles or on blustery days.

Insurance is around £200 a year fully comp. it's also a doddle to park.

The eco boost issue affects only a tiny number of the cars, you can check on the Ford Etis site to see if it’s subject to recall, mine isn’t.

Citroen c3

I have a Kia Rio, 5doors, reasonable boot space. Similar in size the the Corsa/fiesta but cheaper and it's a nippy wee thing and equally comfortable to drive on motorways/in town. It's a fab wee car.

The eco boost issue affects only a tiny number of the cars, you can check on the Ford Etis site to see if it’s subject to recall, mine isn’t.

I'm glad you're so confident, Villanelle, but the problem has affected a huge number of cars which have never been on the recall list! There is only a recall list now because the problem has arisen in so many. It's thousands of cars, not hundreds, and that's just the ones reporting it thanks to the current publicity. Ford was made aware of the problem years ago.

Thanks for all these suggestions - I'm going through them all and making a list.

Really appreciate the responses

I used to commute 60 miles each way in a Polk - 1.6 TDi engine. The. I got a company car, and got a Fabia estate with the same engine.

Kia’s are fantastic. Hard wearing if you do a lot of miles and a really good warranty. We have a second hand Kia Venga that is a small ish car but big enough to use for a family and we live rurally so travel a lot. We’ve had it nearly 3 years now (it’s a 2013 model) and had no issues whatsoever. Touch wood! I wouldn’t hesitate to get another Kia.

The last car I had was a Vauxhall recalled for sudden clutch failures, lots recalled, BMW have ongoing recalls, Volkswagen have numerous recalls.

Confident with my car it’s a small number compared to the numbers sold and restricted to certain years, not great for those who’s cars resulted in a fire and they are luck there has been no deaths that is for sure!

However unrealistic to discount a whole brand for something like 0.30 % recall.