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Petrol or diesel used estate for outdoor lifestyle?
I'm looking for a 2-3 year old estate. I live in Cumbria and do about 18k miles per year so the car needs to be good on hills. I have a 12 mile (each way) commute to work in mixed start-stop and B road driving. Along with longer A road and motorway trips during the weekend.
I've heard many stories from you and others about buying used diesels because of DPF problems and expensive dual mass flywheel repairs etc.
I like the reliability and practicality of the Honda Civic Tourer 1.6 i-DTEC but I have heard the 1.8 i-VTEC isn't great on hills and fuel economy. The Ford Focus Estate 1.5 Ecoboost looks like a good petrol alternative, however I've heard of a few issues with the Focus.
I like the Seat Leon ST, however it doesn't look too appealing at the moment because of the Volkswagen emissions scandal affecting both TDI and TSI engines.
Would you go for the Honda Civic Tourer or Ford Focus Estate in petrol or diesel guise?
I've heard many stories from you and others about buying used diesels because of DPF problems and expensive dual mass flywheel repairs etc.
I like the reliability and practicality of the Honda Civic Tourer 1.6 i-DTEC but I have heard the 1.8 i-VTEC isn't great on hills and fuel economy. The Ford Focus Estate 1.5 Ecoboost looks like a good petrol alternative, however I've heard of a few issues with the Focus.
I like the Seat Leon ST, however it doesn't look too appealing at the moment because of the Volkswagen emissions scandal affecting both TDI and TSI engines.
Would you go for the Honda Civic Tourer or Ford Focus Estate in petrol or diesel guise?
Asked on 29 November 2015 by Mike
Answered by
Honest John
On a run the Civic 1.6 i-DTEC will give you 67mpg and the 1.8 i-VTEC will give you 48mpg, which is not bad at all for any petrol engine, let alone a 1.8. In the hills everything suffers, including diesels. The Civic Tourer rides surprisingly well even on 18-inch wheels with low profile tyres. I'd go for the Civic 1.6 i-DTEC Tourer on 16-inch or 17-inch wheels and tyres.
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