So just in commute alone thats some 28k a year, assuming you use the car for nothing else, i'd want a serious car allowance for that because the depreciation is going to be as heavy as the fuel cost and your £15k car worth nothing in no time.

Obviously you've investigated the train, which would be my preferred choice for that distance.

Depending on your knowledge and how you feel about cars i might be inclined to buy something Diesel, competent and preferably no longer fashionable for about £5k tops preferably much less, keep it well serviced, run it till it dies, rinse and repeat...suggest summat like Kia Magentis might fit the bill (Mondeo?), would have suggested Avensis but Toyota car Diesels appear to have CHG's made from the same cheese as BMW timing chains and VW EGR valves.

Buying a brand spanker and putting North of 30K per year calls for putting the thinking cap on and looking at alternatives.

Many years ago a chap I knew had 40+ company cars - 30K per year so after 3 years they were worth very little. He then embarked on buying ex-day rental cars 6 mths 8-10K miles and running them 2-2.5 years. Still not worth a lot but he was buying at 60% of the list ( say 5 cars at the same time) of new rather than say 10-15% off. It worked for him.

Thinking along the same lines why not buy a low mileage car, still under warranty, with 10-15K on the clock and run it until the warranty / car runs out?

Not wanting 2nd hand? My approach running a car for work has been to buy trailing edge technology - buying the run-out version when the new model appears - usually higher spec runoff model than normal spec. Bugs & issues long time fixed and you buy with a BIG discount.

Motorpoint are selling Auris Hybrid Excels £16K brand new - no race car but good for 50-60mpg - local taximan, that my son uses for airport drop offs, is getting 58mpg in his estate version - other taxi people seem to get big reliable mileages out of engines of Prius which is mechanically similar car.

Edited by Falkirk Bairn on 24/09/2015 at 11:01

Gosh!

Surely the perfect time to pick up a dirt-cheap VW group diesel, new, or very fresh.

Otherwise, despite me being a diesel nut, I ud be looking at a Toyota Hybrid.

The 1.6 idtec is very economical and you can pick up a good specced one for 16k through 'drive the deal'.

It was recently entered into the guiness book of records for a ridiculous mpg during a long journey, think it was 100mpg.

If youre doing 30k a year with mainly motorways/A roads then hybrids wont be very economical.