What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

Which comfortable, economical car do you recommend?

I drive about 12,000 – 15,000 miles per annum, minimum journeys 15-20 miles. My new car would need to be very economical and in VED Bands A, B or C, with air con and good rear carrying capacity, petrol or diesel, and manual or auto (but not DSG). I'm not particularly concerned with performance. I have looked at the Skoda Fabia Estate Greenline II, 1.2 TDI CR (which seems great on paper); the Skoda Fabia 1.6 TDI SE (hatch and estate); and a Dacia Sandero (on the small side, and would prefer a Logan MCV, but not yet available in Peterborough). I didn't find the equivalent Hyundais at all comfortable, so would not have one. I will be grateful if you can advise me of other similar cars that will be worth considering.

Asked on 11 May 2013 by AS, Peterborough

Answered by Honest John
A Dacia Sandero is a bargain, though to get one with a/c the price goes up, and you still need to buy a spare wheel. The best one to drive is the 0.9 TCe 90 petrol. The top model of that with a/c is the Laureate at £8795 + £395 to extend the warranty from three years to five years plus £50 for a spare wheel (diesel Laureate £9795). Why waste more money? Tax is £30 a year. Test: www.honestjohn.co.uk/road-tests/dacia/dacia-sander.../
Similar questions
I drive around 20,000 miles per year on business. I currently have a leased Mercedes-Benz SLK (a bad move for long distances) that goes back in March. I want to buy something reliable, stylish, maybe an...
Thanks very much for your recommendation, in the end we found a 2010/59 KIA cee’d 1.6 EcoDynamics CRDi estate for £8500 (with £4500 p/e for our 2005 Sportage). We are very pleased with it and it seems...
We acted on your advice when we bought our Citroen Picasso and have been very happy with it, but 175000 miles later it needs replacing. We do about 18000 miles a year, lots on country roads, motorways...
Related models
Decently built and good value. Cheap to run. Greenline models are very economical with low CO2 emissions.
Unbelievably cheap for this size of car, generous interior space and a big boot, reasonably comfortable to drive.
 

Value my car

Save £75 on Warranty using code HJ75

with MotorEasy

Get a warranty quote

Save 12% on GAP Insurance

Use HJ21 to save on an ALA policy

See offer