Having horses and cars..

hollyandivy123 said:
ok i know its a bit boring but..............skoda fabia green line estate.............it is ment to do about 82 mpg, we do about 77 mpg and i think i am right in saying that it is now £0 tax ours is the older model and we have to pay.................................£20 a year

boring
but you can fit loades of stuff in the boot!
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I want your car!!! ... Swap please?! ;)

I made an epic fail buying the Fiesta!!! Never paid so much for petrol in my life... and it's only a 1.2! :mad:
 
My OH bought me a gorgeous little mercedes slk sports car when we first got together and I loved it! Unfortunately my horsie lifestyle did not love my car :(
Pretty soon it was covered in mud and hay and bits of tack. I got fed up with the cost of fuel but mostly I got fed up of it constantly getting stuck in the mud! It was getting scratches and generally starting to look a bit unhappy.
So I swallowed down my tears and sold it.
I now drive a little vauxhall corsa, the new designs. It's a 1.7 diesel so is nippy but costs nothing! It's cute and because it's quite a cheap car I don't feel so guilty that it's plastered in mud and smelling of horse! I love it actually.
I have an older Jeep Cherokee that I drive in the snow/to pick up horse feed ect but that's a 3.7ltr petrol beast so far too expensive to use every day :).
 
Merlywerly said:
yes I would think it was cheap lol, and of course where I am used to my VTEC kicking in when I want it to I will struggle like mad with a lesser engine ha ha ha.
I will have my hubby's car to drive still too for the speed, we have the same cars at the moment.

I did think of diesel's but thinking that the 1.2 petrol would surfice enough for the journeys I do each day..
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I have a kind of grudging affection for the 'beast' now but I can't wait to get back in the Audi!
I work for a car sales & service company and I was asking why my Fiesta stinks - I was informed it was the cat - I said 'oh no I don't need a new cat do I?' and our chief technician told me that I don't need a new part I just need to stop thrashing the car!!!!! It sobs when I park it on the drive at night, I don't think it ever went above 40mph in it's previous home! :o
 
I have an R reg Corsa, the only time he's got on fuel is doing long journeys, I got back to Southampton from Manchester in half a tank of fuel, and his tank is only 45 litres. Generally he's just a run around but going up and down from my parents house, about 20/25 miles, he's not that fuel efficient.

But he does have a good size boot for a small car and even though his previous owner, my sisters boyfriend, crashed him numerous times and he's 13 years old, he's still running pretty well! He has had numerous parts replaced but I love driving him.

My sister has a 54 reg 1.5 [I think] diesel clio and it's fantastic, £30 tax, economic to run and good size. Before I fixed my car again I was going to get a clio too.
 
Merlywerly said:
I recently bought myself a 2.2ltr sports car one that I do like as I am also a petrolhead gal, BUT.. I am having to sell so soon as the cost of fuel and having a horse just do not agree with my bank balance currently and so one of them had to give..... no competition my horse stays!

I am going to get a 1.2-1.4 little 5 door car to pootle about in, as my job also entails me to do lots of little driving about and horse is a good 10miles away and in order to keep him where he is and give him what he needs I have to downsize.
Cost of fuel is too steep.

Just interested to know what cars you all drive and your reasons?
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Fiat 1.3 multijet
diesel well over 60 mpg running round goes ok.. but not like the mustang boss 302 only about 25mpg oh well gets rubber in the first 3 gears and is faster round a track than an M 3 bmw :D
 
Merlywerly said:
wow thats mad!

I do think though that some of the older cars are far more economical, not all.

So if a fiesta is more to run about what on earth do I get instead?

I've had the 4x4's, the sports, 1.6's and that was worse than my 2.2 is now.... mmm!

so frustrating having to find a good economical car to run about with..

Someone please help ha ha ha
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Unfortunately, I don't know what to advise (being stuck with the damn Fiesta and all! :rolleyes:)

TBH, it's ok-ish on petrol, for a full tank, which costs £55 (which is about 40l), I get 350 miles. However, in my Megane, I got 450 miles for the same sized tank!

I'm certain there are better cars for fuel than the fiesta, just keep looking :)

Good Luck!! :D
 
2.5l diesel frontera, big juicy 4x4 but can't go smaller as need it to tow caravan with, plus need a 4x4 to get to the horses, the farm track is ermm rather rough and i've already knackered the suspension on 3 cars:eek: we did think about getting a little run around for me to use but taking the tax, MOT and insurance into account it wouldn't save us anything long term.
 
crikey so it actually sounds as though the little ones are not as they should be then? hmmmm

I too nip back to Portsmouth as and when I can to see my parents and his family, but it will be primarily for work and yard.
My car is great on long runs costs me £40 for half tank to get there and perhaps another £20 to come back to top it up, really depends on how I drive it.
I won't have a huge budget to buy a decent enough little car i'm looking at spending about £500 on it really and fiesta's well and truely fit into this budget with good mileage etc...

So for the money what else could I get?
I want to try and keep to the little luxuries like e/w, pas a/c and c/l.
 
Merlywerly said:
only thing is I will be going from 200bhp to about 80bhp..... OUCH so will have to rethink the pulling away at junctions and roundabouts lol.

still having a little cheap car will do the job which is what its all about so I can keep my boy.
oh and having cheaper tax and insurance will be nice and save me about £100 in insuarance a month alone lol :)
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My first clio was the 106 bhp one, and I didn't notice a huge difference (although my sports car was less powerful), I now have the 86bhp one which is less sporty feeling.
 
I cant believe the price of petrol. Its gone up so much.

I dont have a economical car. Everyday car is a 4L range rover but I love the car so much. Its a god send I dont have far to travel everyday so it doesnt cost that much to fuel as we do around 8 miles a day. haha. The 2nd car we have is a vr6 golf. Its not good on fuel either but its away to die and become a parts car so my OH can finally get his project car finished ;-)
OH is the car person in out family but since having the rangie I have to say I have fallen in love with it. haha.
 
Merlywerly said:
crikey so it actually sounds as though the little ones are not as they should be then? hmmmm

I too nip back to Portsmouth as and when I can to see my parents and his family, but it will be primarily for work and yard.
My car is great on long runs costs me £40 for half tank to get there and perhaps another £20 to come back to top it up, really depends on how I drive it.
I won't have a huge budget to buy a decent enough little car i'm looking at spending about £500 on it really and fiesta's well and truely fit into this budget with good mileage etc...

So for the money what else could I get?
I want to try and keep to the little luxuries like e/w, pas a/c and c/l.
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For that money get a polo, you'll have to go a bit older than a fiesta but will appreciate the difference in reliability and build quality.
 
I think smaller engines are fine as long as you're willing to drive really steady - when you put the revs on is when you start using fuel faster!
I would have a look for a diesel if I were you - if you could get a 1.4 or 1.5 diesel then I think it would probably be very economical but make sure it's a TDI model or it won't pull you out of bed in a morning! My sister had a 2.0 SDI golf and she says never again! It had no guts at all.
Before the Audi we had a 1.7 DTI Astra and that was brilliant on fuel and though not a speed machine it was fairly nippy.
 
I had a 1.4 02 plate petrol Fiesta, found it expensive to run and irratating to drive (but that was more down to the continual fun with the 'EAC Fail'- pray you never come across that!). So I spent a lot of time researching into my next car, which is a 1 litre 05 plate Yaris, and so far I'm very pleased with it. It does further than the Fiesta did on a tank of petrol- my driving is city stop/start for work and good country roads for the horse. And the car tax is much cheaper, think the fiesta was around £145 for a year, and the Yaris is £115.
 
I drive a 1.3 Skoda estate. I love it, and it is decent on juice. (£20-30 quid a month, doing ~120 miles a week in town. Spend more time sitting at traffic lights than driving some days!)

It can fit two bags of shavings and a bale of hay in the boot, more with the seats down!
 
I have a Land Rover Defender - which as I commute about 90 miles a day, is frankly absurd. But I can't run two cars (probably could have if I'd thought to buy a little one at the start of my contract before I spent half my wages on bleeding diesel) and I need the Defender for towing and all that.

Oddly my mother has a Ford KA which I have borrowed in the past and I spend the same amount in petrol going to work in that as I do in diesel for my LR. Now that is depressing. Almost as depressing as if I worked out how much I'd spent on diesel in the last 3 years. And then the tyres and the service bills and ... :eek:
 
I drive a Suzuki Grand Vitara 1.6 Sprt and spend a fortune on petrol (£80 a week). :mad: I really begrudge it when I'm filling her up! I drive from home, to the stables, to work, to the stables, to home or to friends.
But, its a nice car, when the fan belts not squeaking and the windows play ball :rolleyes: And it will be super in the bleak winter. :
 
JFTD said:
I have a Land Rover Defender - which as I commute about 90 miles a day, is frankly absurd. But I can't run two cars (probably could have if I'd thought to buy a little one at the start of my contract before I spent half my wages on bleeding diesel) and I need the Defender for towing and all that.

Oddly my mother has a Ford KA which I have borrowed in the past and I spend the same amount in petrol going to work in that as I do in diesel for my LR. Now that is depressing. Almost as depressing as if I worked out how much I'd spent on diesel in the last 3 years. And then the tyres and the service bills and ... :eek:
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Ford Ka's scare me. They're so tiny. There was a few bad accidents around here that involved Ka's. I don't think I'd ever want one.
 
God yes, wouldn't touch a KA with a bargepole, have had one as a courtesy car and it was quite frankly the most hateful car I have ever driven, I used to have a micra (97 plate, owned it over 10 years ago now) and it felt so much more comfortable and safe and powerful than the KA. The micra only had a 1.0l engine and was cheaper on petrol than the KA which had a 1.2 or 1.3 if I remember correctly.
 
I've got a BMW 1 series 2L diesel

I love it not huge but big enough for family of 4, 2 dogs and a few weeks ago- 50 timber fence posts- don't tell hubs :o) I get on average about 55+ mpg. It's cheap to pootle about in about £65 every 2 weeks and smart enough for hubs to go to meetings in when he's in the country. It feels safe and solid and can really fly when you want too

Also an H reg transit horsebox I fill it up once a month - about £60 and that last for all my shows and lessons and everything.
 
KristmasKatt said:
I've got a diesel Renault Clio - because at the time I bought it I was doing over 500 miles a week and needed something super efficient but also comfortable enough to spend a serious amount of time in.

Mine only costs £30 a year in tax and easily does over 50mpg, if I am careful it will do over 60mpg. There is a model that is more efficient than mine but I wanted the slightly speedier one.

I looked at the Seat Ibiza Ecomotive and the Polo Bluemotion but decided that they had compromised too much to get the fuel economy and that I couldn't live without things like electric windows and aircon but if I did less miles I might change my mind.

My clio is powerful enough to cruise in the fast lane, big enough to get four adults in and has a decent boot. With the back seats folded down I can get in five bales of shavings. It is also halfway cool..... the previous one I had was the sporty one which satisfied the petrolhead in me as it was quick and had the sports kit so looked the part, this one is less cool but not one you have to be ashamed of! It saves about 4mpg compared to the sporty one and about £100 a year in tax.

Only miss my sports car on "top down days" :(
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Can I ask what approx year your clio is?
 
KristmasKatt said:
God yes, wouldn't touch a KA with a bargepole, have had one as a courtesy car and it was quite frankly the most hateful car I have ever driven, I used to have a micra (97 plate, owned it over 10 years ago now) and it felt so much more comfortable and safe and powerful than the KA. The micra only had a 1.0l engine and was cheaper on petrol than the KA which had a 1.2 or 1.3 if I remember correctly.
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Really? Gosh I've driven micras and hate them with a passion. I'm not a big fan of the KA to be honest, but it's not mine so not really my business. I've driven it a fair a bit over the years though and I've always found it quite forward thinking - certainly more so than micras and corsas I've had the misfortune to drive - horses for courses?! I do agree that they're not very safe though. I'm trying to convince mother dearest to upgrade to an old style Disco.

I'm happy with my Defender though :D I look down on people in their tiny little toy cars :D
 
I have three VAG 1.9 diesel engined cars and they all return 50mpg+ during day to day driving and will get up to 70mpg if you can bear to drive slowly (60mph) on the motorway.

Two are Tdi, A4 saloon at 90bhp and Skoda Octavia Estate at 110bhp and the other is a non-turbo Golf at 64bhp. The Golf does feel a little pedestrian to drive!
 
lara b said:
Can I ask what approx year your clio is?
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My current one is 2008, my previous one was 2006. I did loads of research and looked at all sorts of cars before I got rid of my sports cars and my criteria was that it had to be economical and comfortable for a long motorway commute. When I bought my second one I still couldn't find anything that was anywhere near as good for the criteria I set.
 
JFTD said:
Really? Gosh I've driven micras and hate them with a passion. I'm not a big fan of the KA to be honest, but it's not mine so not really my business. I've driven it a fair a bit over the years though and I've always found it quite forward thinking - certainly more so than micras and corsas I've had the misfortune to drive - horses for courses?! I do agree that they're not very safe though. I'm trying to convince mother dearest to upgrade to an old style Disco.

I'm happy with my Defender though :D I look down on people in their tiny little toy cars :D
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I'm sure it is a bit of personal preference, and a bit on the model you have driven. I had a 1997 micra, and it was lacking power but generally pretty good, I used to drive about 70 miles a day in it.

DH had a 1998 KA and in comparison it was hideous. I had a slightly newer one as a courtesy car and it was no better. The driving position was nasty, it had no more power than the micra (possibly less), used more fuel and felt like a tin can. It was also less reliable.

Having said than my mum had an older micra, about 1994 and that wasn't as nice as the slightly newer one. The interior felt much older, more basic and less solid, the steering wheel was big and not adjustable, the gear stick was long and changing gear felt a bit like stirring a cauldron of thick lumpy porridge......

I've not driven the newer ones, although I did check the spec against my clio as I would happily have a nissan again. I wouldn't touch any ford though, I've driven fiestas and they were pretty grim too, in fact I've never sat in a Ford that hasn't made me want to get out quick!

But if I was after a cheap small car now I'd get a 1990s VW polo. DH had one after his KA and it is fab, I've sung its praises enough times on here before.
 
KristmasKatt said:
My current one is 2008, my previous one was 2006. I did loads of research and looked at all sorts of cars before I got rid of my sports cars and my criteria was that it had to be economical and comfortable for a long motorway commute. When I bought my second one I still couldn't find anything that was anywhere near as good for the criteria I set.
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Very interesting, currently have my tt which I love but keep thinking that must trade it for something more econimical at some point (get about 30mpg so not too but running costs are bit pricey). Have had a clio before a long time ago (02 reg) and liked it, so wouldn't mind another but like you must be comfy for the motorway, also in an ideal world would like to still have heated seats/leather but think I am dreaming!
 
I had a new KIA picanto fab little car, even when I racked up 90,000 in 3 years for social use, didn't even use it as a work car :o. And at my local countrywide we had a competition going between the lads as to who fit as many shaving bales into it, the one managed 8, but he did tie one to the roof. Cheat!

So not a great horse car.

Went up a disco, which I loved, not huge on desiel I was thinking a lot worse. I got a total bargain too, pretty much in mint condition for the year. No problems with it at all. However I managed to write it off, poor disco.

Couldn't find a good one for the money I had, all rust buckets, silly miles, or over priced.

So found a Nissan terrano, cheap as chips! And so far it great, got a few minor things to get done, but the tyres on it are worth then what I paid for it :D
I prefer driving the disco on steering but the terrano is easier to park and a lot quicker off the starting block, not that I drive fast of anything but the disco didn't ave much pep in it, but a strong work horse.

I need a 4x4 as live in the middle of nowhere, horses, snow, and of course to tow (one day)
 
KristmasKatt said:
I'm sure it is a bit of personal preference, and a bit on the model you have driven. I had a 1997 micra, and it was lacking power but generally pretty good, I used to drive about 70 miles a day in it.

DH had a 1998 KA and in comparison it was hideous. I had a slightly newer one as a courtesy car and it was no better. The driving position was nasty, it had no more power than the micra (possibly less), used more fuel and felt like a tin can. It was also less reliable.

Having said than my mum had an older micra, about 1994 and that wasn't as nice as the slightly newer one. The interior felt much older, more basic and less solid, the steering wheel was big and not adjustable, the gear stick was long and changing gear felt a bit like stirring a cauldron of thick lumpy porridge......

I've not driven the newer ones, although I did check the spec against my clio as I would happily have a nissan again. I wouldn't touch any ford though, I've driven fiestas and they were pretty grim too, in fact I've never sat in a Ford that hasn't made me want to get out quick!

But if I was after a cheap small car now I'd get a 1990s VW polo. DH had one after his KA and it is fab, I've sung its praises enough times on here before.
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Interesting. My mum's is a 2001 - it was bought for my brother to learn to drive in as it was the only small car (in our price range) which accomodated his 6'4 rugby player's build - he tried loads and the head room was lacking in everything else (apparently, I wasn't there!). Hence we have the KA. It's not good in the back or boot, space-wise - really is very small, but it has a lot of head room.

I quite like the driving position (except my mum puts the seat practically horizontal :eek:) but then I find my Defender to be the most comfortable car I've ever driven, so clearly I am derranged :D I found the micra - which was a mid 00s car, but automatic so clearly the spawn of satan - to be completely lacking in power (and I'm used to the landy!) and I kept hitting my head when I got out of it :o I also thought the interior felt plasticy and cheap - I prefer the tin can feel of the KA and my Landy!

The worst, most unreliable car we've had was a peugeot 206. The Ka's been pretty good for reliability (though now it will probably die on my poor mother as I've said that). The peugeot was just never done dying on me - and it was newer than the KA! I thought the gearbox was totally lacking in precision - you could get lost in the bloody thing! I always wanted a sat nav to direct me to the gear I wanted. The worst was the corsa (hire car) though. Dear god, that wasn't a gear box, it was a jar of treacle with a stick in it!

I learnt to drive in a Fiesta, so maybe that's why I find the drive quite nice (well familiar :p) in Fords.

I couldn't agree more about Polos though - I love them. I've hired them a couple of times - last time we had a polo I did about 1600 miles in about 36 hours and it was an absolute dream. If I didn't hate it at the end of that trip, it HAD to be a good car. If my mother decides against the Disco, I would certainly be pushing her towards a Polo :D (Sadly more likely an earlier model - the hires I've had have been almost brand new which is way out of our price range!).

Anyway, enjoying the car chit chat - I love rambling on about cars, I normally get told to shut up pretty quickly though :(
 
I drive a Ford Ranger pick up as I need a car to tow my trailer with, go to work in (arriving dog hair free) and the separate back us great for throwing a grubby spaniel in. Am looking at buying a motor bike in the spring a nice little 500cc or something around there, yum yum
 
I've just been made redundant and so lost my company car

I've just bought myself a Mercedes A class 1.7 diesel which does 50mpg+

As its a year 2000 model the road tax is £215 which is a heck of a lot but newer ones are cheaper on tax I believe

I bought it because I wanted something easy to park but that had a big boot aperture which will take lots of bales of shavings and bags of animal feed (I have a smallholding) the boot of the A class is high and squared off so lots and lots of room, the back seats also come out with little hassle to make it in to a little van - its ideal for me and I like it very much

Its not very fun to drive, being tall you cant throw it in to corners lol but the high driving position is excellent and easy on the old knees getting in to it!

For a small older car I dont think you can beat the Renault Clio 1.5 diesel for frugality, I had two from 2003 and 2004 and the economy was brilliant on a straight motorway run I got 75mpg, lots about nowadays that do lots of mpg but not so many older ones
 
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