I'm considering buying another vehicle for work.

Most of the time I am driving around South London doing quite short journeys.

I only have 2 requirements:

1. automatic.

2. cheap to run.

I'm considering all sorts at the moment, from a Skoda Citigo to a Nissan Leaf, which should have the range I need. But was also wondering what other cheap little cars are out there. Maybe an old Ford Fiesta auto or something like that. Polo maybe. Got to be cheap on fuel and tax. Not after any frills.

I'm spending about £240 a month on fuel in my TD4 auto Freelander, which around town is averaging 25-30mpg.

A lot of my journeys are 1-5 miles. Probably looking at a petrol. It must be reliable.

Any sensible thoughts?

If serious about a Leaf send BossFox a PM as he's had 4 and knows them well!

To be honest an older small auto wont be much better on fuel around town.

I assume you want it as an additional car so the extra cost of buying and running a second car will out way any savings.

Or are you talking of a replacement car.

Our LEAFs come up for replacement in about a month or so I believe.

They have only done around 6-8k miles and have the faster 32A onboard chargers so charge from almost flat to full in around 3.5 hours instead of 7.

That's a £650 optional extra so a lot of them didn't get it and it's very handy when doing multiple trips per day.

 

Later Gen2 version with the heater that doesn't kill the battery.

2 years warranty left on the car and 4 year warranty left on the battery/motor/air-con etc...

 

Ideal for mainly town work as lower speed = less drag = more range.  We average 90 or so around town, 80 on a run.

 

If that's of interest I can help...

Does it need to be cheap to buy? I can see the appeal of the Note but doubling your economy conventionally would only free up £100-150 a month and come with all the hassle of another car. Going cheap though probably won't make those gains and leave you at the mercy of small auto reliability. Tough choice.

My wife runs an ancient 1.3 cvt micra, seems to like a drink on short journeys, the car is poor on petrol too, boom, boom. It's only OK because of the limited mileage, c. 3k pa. Not sure if the 1.0 are any better but didn't expect anything better from an older auto. The cvt is also a time bomb waiting to go off but the one has proved reliable apart from the regular welding.

Edited 21 September, 201411 yr by 'daiking'

I'm doing about 10,000 business miles a year at the moment. So I can claim costs of 45p/mile against tax as I'm self employed. Plus other benefits if the co2's are low.

What's a citigo auto mpg like?

Oh, and this will be in addition to my Freelander. Not wanting to get rid of in a hurry, I like it too much.

If you are used to DSG the Citigo auto is like going back in time...

If you are used to DSG the Citigo auto is like going back in time...

I've read it was fairly basic and old fashioned system! I'd tend to avoid any autos under about 75 bhp but that's just with the experience of my mums Corsa Easytronic which is an utter heap so that's one to avoid!

Citroen ds3 was nice to drive when i had one they produce some real good fuel economy, i had on on holiday it had the paddle gear box was pretty nice to drive as well 

 

1.6 VTi 16V DStyle 3d Auto

43 mpg

150 g/km

 

Check this site out. We use this to choose our company cars.

Select the time period and annual mileage the select the make and model and it will break down the cost into pence per mile. 

http://www.fleetnews.co.uk/costs/car-running-costs/

If a bicycle isn't an option (which I can understand in London) what about a scooter?

 

You can ride a 50cc on your car license. Should do 100mpg even in town.

 

Or if you think electric might be for you then the slightly very odd Renault Twizy might do the trick.

 

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/renault/twizy

 

It's a bit bonkers but you do get windows for it now.

 

If they made one that could do 60mi at 70mph I'd have one for commuting.

what about a Prius?

what about a Prius?

Banned :P

For £240, I think it'll be hard to break even when you factor in:

 

Insurance for second car, with no NCB.

Tax.

The depreciation/cost of the car.

The fuel it will use anyway.

 

This is all before any additional repairs it will need.

 

Even if you can half your fuel bill, can you run a car for under £120/month?

For £240, I think it'll be hard to break even when you factor in:

Insurance for second car, with no NCB.

Tax.

The depreciation/cost of the car.

The fuel it will use anyway.

This is all before any additional repairs it will need.

Even if you can half your fuel bill, can you run a car for under £120/month?

My thoughts too. It think the objective must be clearer.

If keeping miles off the FL was an aim, it makes more sense.

Smart four2 springs instantly to my mind.

 

Cheap too I guess?

Smart four2 springs instantly to my mind.

Cheap too I guess?

Been sniffing the thinners from the E30 spray job?

They're alright I suppose until they hit 70k and then they're a nightmare

Perhaps my definition of cheap is a little different but a Nissan Leaf ain't cheap!

 

The 1999 silver Ford Puma up for sale on the grass verge near me is cheap at £500 with 6 months tax and 12 months MOT.

 

It wasn't rotten around the rear arches either. Bonus...

 

Twizy's an interesting option - I quite fancy one.

 

What about an Auris Hybrid?  A friend had one over the last two years (gone back recently as leased and she moved jobs).  Wasn't a London stop-start commute car, but averaged 53mpg over the two years.

 

Or one of the bluemotions.

 

Having said that, common sense puts the money on a Prius or Leaf surely?

 

Gaz

Twizy's an interesting option - I quite fancy one.

What about an Auris Hybrid? A friend had one over the last two years (gone back recently as leased and she moved jobs). Wasn't a London stop-start commute car, but averaged 53mpg over the two years.

Or one of the bluemotions.

Having said that, common sense puts the money on a Prius or Leaf surely?

Gaz

Auris Hybrid before this latest model had a lack of compartment space due to not originally being designed for that purpose however from what I've heard the newer models have improved!

Perhaps my definition of cheap is a little different but a Nissan Leaf ain't cheap!

 

When you save £10 per day on the congestion charge, get free fuel and parking it soon adds up.

Congestion charge, paying for parking, you need to get yourself to Yorkshire!

When you save £10 per day on the congestion charge, get free fuel and parking it soon adds up.

Well about £2.5k a year less in fuel

Well about £2.5k a year less in fuel

 

When I ran mine I saved £75 per week and spent around £5 per week on charging instead.

£3,500 per year on a 50 year week over my Yeti that averages a bit over 45mpg.

 

Not too shabby, but based on 20k+ miles per annum.

When I ran mine I saved £75 per week and spent around £5 per week on charging instead.

£3,500 per year on a 50 year week over my Yeti that averages a bit over 45mpg.

Not too shabby.

Whether people like it or not it's the sensible way forward hence why I'm doing the hybrid add on to my course even out here in the sticks it is still making sense!