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My Mileage is about to increase from around 10k a year to around 18k.
At the moment I drive a 10 year old 2.0l petrol mazda 3 and on a long motorway drive I get around 38mpg @ 80mph yet my friends and colleagues that have a German diesel of similar capacity seem to get 50-55mpg.
I am aware of the issues surrounding modern diesels and would like to stick to petrol, but surely these new super efficient petrols will also suffer from issues due to the complexity of the engines?
Some will point me towards VW's 1.4 TSI engine, but I don't like any of their cars so that's a no go really. I would like to stick to Japanese if I can.
Is there a petrol car of around 150bhp which anyone can recommend? I would like to see economy in the mid to late 40's if I can
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There can be some extra costs with these mega MPGers, my friends 10 plate 40k Golf has just had a cambelt kit @ roughly £400, and there's another similar bill on the near horizon as the EGR valve is playing up, would appear thats normal.
That extra 15 mpg can get expensive to buy and maintain, and is it really 15 mpg difference or a bit of impressive figuring going on, brim to brim figures?
Unless you really want another car, wouldn't the most economical car be the one you already own.
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I imagine most figures wont be brim to brim, however last week me and a friend both travelled the same 257mile journey.
I took around 5 minutes longer than him, so you can assume similar speeds
Mine averaged 38mpg while his E250 did 52mpg, bearing in mind the weight of his car in relation to mine.
My car is 'ok' but little things are starting to annoy me such as the lack of soundproofing and rusty wheel arches. i'm looking to change in around 6-8 months time, which would make it just over 3 years that i've had the mazda.
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Lovely car that but i wonder how many petrol miles one could cover on the difference in cost price alone between your Mazda and an E250, i suspect your fuel costs for a whole year are less than a years depreciation alone of that Benz.
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There are still some good non turbo petrol engines about, the Avensis range -Valvematic are very economical .I'd be looking for one of those and very possibly have it converted to LPG if you're going to keep it long term. Also the Accord range---great petrol engines. If I was doing that kind of mileage I would pick up an Avensis or Mazda 6 with maybe 50 or 60K on it --cheapish--- service it well and run it 150k or so. That would be the cheapest way of doing it. The depreciation on a fancy new super eco petrol TSI will cost you far more than a bit of extra petrol---and I am still not convinced by their high mileage robustness.
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I was looking at the 1.8 petrol Civic and the 2.0l mazda 6 but wanted to see if there was anything else I should be considering
Mazda's 2l petrol in the MK2 mazda 6 lacks torque, something it didnt have much of in the first place! makes it sluggish in 1st and 2nd gear
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Try driving at 70mph not 80mph. The saving in fuel will be remarkable.
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Try driving at 70mph not 80mph. The saving in fuel will be remarkable.
Sound advice from Happy Blue.
It sounds as though you are determined to change your car howver, so I would echo some of the opinions above: An Avensis 1.8 VVTi, a 1.8 Civic or Accord 2.0 have engines with better than average economy. You don't mention budget, I would be aiming for the 2008 on versions of the Avensis/Accord. The Civic is capable of high 40's plus but has a hard ride, so check before you buy.
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Modern petrols have closed the gap on diesels. Whilst not having 150 bhp I have just covered 1600 miles touring Scotland in my B class and average over the trip was 44 mpg.
On a number of days where we could take advantage of the quiet Scottish roads the computer showed 50 mpg by the end of the day, we also went on a lot of single track roads which means slower speeds and waiting in passing places.
None of my previous diesels would have bettered this by any significant margin and my last petrol engine, a 1999 Focus would just about manage 40 mpg.
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I can comment on two of the recommendations so far. I have a 2012 Civic petrol and easily achieve low 40's (44 according to the computer). Ride on the 2012 model has improved from the previous model and of course it also has the rear wiper and other improvements. I like the dash, have no problem with rear visibility that some people criticise and it has a chain cam engine, sensible tyres and, to my mind, looks good. My previous car was an Avensis diesel and I achieved similar mid 40's economy. However in day to living though I was never at home with the Avensis. Several controls and functions were not intuitive and the manuals (sat nav, audio and general) were over 1000 pages long and well-thumbed by the time I changed cars. This was far beyond anything I've needed to do with the 4 brand new cars I had in the preceding 12 years. So my vote would be the Civic. One thing that struck me is that online user reviews are generally much more positive than professional reviews but I have to admit opinion is divided so see how you get on with a test drive.
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It's not so much the economy that bugs me, but if I am to upgrade my car then I would like it to be more economical, if possible, than the one I have
I do drive at 70 for some journeys but I find that I have to weave in and out of lanes far too much at 70 as you have the lorries and the super slow doing 55-60mph.
75-80 seems to allow me to spend most my time in the middle lane on the majority of my journeys.
I'm after a 2011 plate car, which is the old shape civic. I liked it on the test drive but the sound proofing was poor when the speed was above 60mph, has this been sorted in the facelift?
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Sorry I can't personally compare noise levels as I've not been in the previous model. However most reviews say the newer model is more refined and quieter than before. Noise is very subjective of course and while I find the levels OK - and quietness is something I look for in a car - I wouldn't claim its whisper quiet. Some reviews criticise noise under acceleration but I like the note the VTEC makes when I floor it. One thing I notice after having a succession of low-revving diesels, is that revs are high at cruising even with the 6 speed box. Its about 3000 revs at 70 which although not unduly noisy, sometimes I wish 6th was a bit higher. Having said that it makes for good progress on the motorway as 3000 rpm is when (I assume) the VTEC cuts in so its ideal for flexibility at motorway speeds.
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My experience with the Civic and Avensis has been opposite to catsdad.
The last three cars on our drive consists a 2004 Honda Accord 2.4 saloon, a 2009 1.8 Civic and currently a 2010 Toyota Avensis 1.8 Estate. All have been automatic/CVT transmissions. The Accord was a great car and I loved everything about it but in the end it had to go because of age and what seemed to be a noisy final drive. The wife's car was the Civic which I also drove a fair bit. I liked everything about the Civic except for the ride. It was very harsh and on anything but the motorway was an unpleasant ride. We now have just the one car, the Avensis, and before buying that we drove a few cars that seemed to fit our requirements including the latest Civic.
The latest Civic does have a better ride than the earlier one but not better enough to want to own it. I accept that everyone's idea of ride and comfort is different but we found the Accord far better than the Civic and now find the Avensis far superior to both. The ride in the Avensis is far more supple, it is much quieter than either the Accord or Civic especially at motorway speeds and to top it all is more economical. I have managed 40mpg in the Avensis on a long Motorway run in France cruising at 80mph where possible. Typically though I get 38 in the summer and not less than 35 in winter which I think is good for such a large petrol engined car which is not driven slowly.
Of course the only real way to judge is to get a long test drive in those you are interested in.
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Don't forget the Auris 1.6 Valvematic, which is a much better car in reality than road test journos would have you believe. Also capable of 40 plus mpg. If you really need extra mpg, there's the Auris hybrid, which will give you 50 to 60 mpg, if you don't mind a CVT transmission and a different driving experience--- perhaps not at its best on motorway though.
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Just bought Avnsis tourer 1.8 CVT. had it 1month first 500ml = 40 .5mpg now showing 43.3.
Great car to drive'
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ive test driven the Auris with the 1.6 petrol engine. The ride was uninspiring compred to my mazda and it wasnt powerful enough for my needs.
The avensis is a little too big for my current needs
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Yes. I can see coming from a 2.0 petrol, a 1.6 might seem a bit flat, then again, you should get the mpg out of it you're looking for. A friend of mine has the 1.8 Civic, an 06 version. That's a really nice car and one of those would be on my shortlist, the digital readout is always around 40 mpg and she doesn't hang about. There's the Type S as well if you want the extra performance. What's wrong with a newer mazda 3?
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I don't like the look of the mk2 model and the new mk3 doesn't come with the 165ps 2 litre in a saloon. I'm not a fan of hatchbacks
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I don't like the look of the mk2 model and the new mk3 doesn't come with the 165ps 2 litre in a saloon. I'm not a fan of hatchbacks
That's the Civic off the list then! Avensis or Accord.
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I don't mind the civic though for some reason - it doesn't look like a conventional boring hatchback such as the focus or golf
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