what with fuel prices the way they are, the fact that the 205 1.9gti needs an mot in a month and a half (which i don't think it'll pass) i was thinking of getting rid asap on ebay and picking up a cheap runabout that the other half could use some of the week as her commute has gotten more expensive on fuel as the prices go up.

any any suggestions for a sub £1k car that will cruise at 80mph on dual carriageways, be reasonably comfortable and do shed loads of mpg? either a small engined petrol or diesel -suggestions?

Ned.

oh and the way i drive it i'm lucky to get 50miles out of £10 of fuel at the moment

[Edited on 15/8/05 by ned]

Hi Ned. i bought a n reg mazda 323f last year it is a fantastic little runaround. 1500 engine so cheap tax and they look ok aswell.

[Edited on 15/8/05 by lewis635]

citroen za diesel none turbo i've had mine since new on a k plate and now my gf drives it i can honestly say i've spent nothing on it and i get 140 miles on 10
mind you it take about 5 mins to get to 80..win some you lose some lol

just been looking at 106's they seem quite cheap and good mpg. its trying to find something with decent mot so i don't have to worry about it. i'd get a couple of hundred quid for the 205 i'm sure. maybe more if i broke it!

I get 50 MPG out of my Passatt And it will do 140

I've got a 1996 Rover 214Si 16v that I use to commute 150 miles a day. Does 45 mpg on the daily run and is pretty nippy..

Now converted it to LPG, so costs pennies to run. Low car tax bracket too...

If u want something small 106 1.5d or a bit bigger 306 td. Both cheap and do superb mpg. especially the 106.

Peugeot 307 XRDTi - go forever and very cheap nowadays.

My M reg Audi 80 1.9tdi cost me £400. It does 48mpg driving like a hooligan and is a well built old shed. Highly recommended.

Ned,

Didn't you ditch a perfectly good 306 TD for the 205 ....I would go back to one of those myself.

I once bought a 106 Diesel by mistake (funnily enough after getting rid of a 205 GTi ) It was a horrible little car and although it was very cheap to run, I just couldn't live with it. I sold it and bought another 205 GTi

Happy Days!

Nick

thats really wierd, all this talk of getting rid of 205 1.9 GTi's and im having to sell mine as well to fund the kit car - and i really dont want to sell it. such fun cars to drive and quick, but i think i might prefer the 1.6 GTi instead - feels a bit sharper to me.

my answer is sell the 1.9, and buy a 1.6

Tom

I looked at small non-turbo diesels but the performance was always appalling.

So I found an Audi A4 TDi (90bhp) for £1200. Ex fleet with 130,000 miles but well maintained. I've now chipped it to 110BHP which does increase the MPG (you dont rev it as much) as they claim

I get 47mpg on a 40 mile daily commute and get 50+mpg on the motorway. Nice big comfy 4 door saloon with lots of leccy toys and climate control.

1 litre citroen ax. Does 85 flat out and is good on the fuel. Damned light.

All the diesels ive had are nowhere near 50mpg cars, the advert/manufacturer claims are lies as far as im concerned.

Clio 1.9 diesel I had never went below 50mpg. It was non turbo but it went alright because of the size. The legal limit on dual carriageways is 70 Ned, are you admitting to speeding.

[Edited on 15/8/05 by Peteff]

My everyday car is a 'K' Citroen ZX 1.9D, does 45mpg+, cost £800 3 years ago , and I've done 50,000 miles in it so it's been good value!!!

The ZX's can be bought very reasonable ,and the turbo diesel is quite quick.but watch out for rust...........

Buy a van, loads of room for bits of car, diesel economy, cheap to insure and rattly. Berlingos/Partners are pretty good, but be careful if you look at a Courier or Astra, these are built to a low budget and don't stand abuse well.

What's this! Seems more people run ZX diesels than Locosts!!
I've got a '95 one with 221000 miles on the clock. Never done less than 50 to the gallon, been 100% reliable, not a spot of rust, but the exhaust fell off today

Marcus

Zx's are cheap 306's really. I nearly bought a zx a while ago. Citreon parts are often cheaper that peugeots too. Rum considering theyr the same.

Id forgotten about the old audi 80's. The tid's seem to be holding a bit of money at the min. Bloody good cars!! Get one of them!

been put off the diesel idea a bit, don't fancy another 306 as i've had one and the zx is a poor mans 306, so...

I'd be tempted if i found a decent audi tdi, but i'd still like something farily nippy with good handling which has ironically lead me to another little peugeot! I'm off to see a 1.4xsi tonight, should do 35-40mpg and is also 4-6 insurance groups lower, cheaper tax and the girlfriend will be happy to drive it. But it should still handle well as is light and nimble and has 100bhp so 0-60 is allegedly 9.7 and about 120mph. Driving the 205 1.9 i recon i was getting around 20mpg, so nearly doubling that would be nice! I hope to get back near what I paid for the 205 as its bottom of the market anyway.

Ned.

[Edited on 18/8/05 by ned]

20 mpg on a pug 1.9 gti!!!!!

You do have a heavy right foot then! I average nearly that in my 2.9 XR4x4, and that's towing a car trailer etc and with fairly binary throttle control!

If you don't mind an oldish car, what about a 205 turbo diesel. Great MPG and not much slower than the 1.6 gti. Much more reliable (cos they're so simple) than the later pugs.

Personally I hate front wheel drive cars (have vowed never to own another one after my 205 GTI!!) and diesels, plus I need something to lug the racer around, so I'm a bit limited! The sturdy £600 XR4x4 is perfect apart from the fuel issue!!

Off topic, but the car that I WOULD replace the XR with is totally elusive, but I know a few were sold in the UK, (bear in mind this is within my £1500 "road abuse car" budget) is a Carlton 3.0 24v manual Diamond estate.

Problem is I have seen 1 for sale in 2 years nationally, and that was an auto!!!

Great cars though. RWD, tough as old boots, 200hp, torquey, nice interior. Yes they look awful but you don't see that from the inside!

Just got to find one.

Thought about an Omega 3ltr but the later v6's seem to have a lot of reliability issues, which the old straight 6's did not.

well i got to my friends house and back and to the tip on my £10 of fuel which was about 50 miles, so do the sums!

driving back to guildford on a sunday afternoon i was overtaking a stream of traffic when I had an odd experience. a mk2 fiesta 3 cars from the front of the queue on a nice open A-road was veering around a little in his lane so I approached (at speed) with caution, then when I pulled in behind (due to oncoming traffic) they were giving me complimentary hand signals in the rear view mirror. Odd I thought, but as I overtook them, they again stuck their hands out of the side windows with complimentary hand signals, I also noticed a 2' diameter gumball sticker on the drivers door of their maroon 1.1 fezzy. made me chuckle, 2 chavs in a 1.1 cruisin at 55 in a traffic queue giving me 'rethpect'

Ned