New car

Puggy 107. Free road tax too.

Don't touch the Corsa. Have had one from new about 10 years ago:

1) Fuel economy is poor - a much bigger Toyota Avensis of similar age did better.

2) A/C needs refilling every year. From new, it was refilled under warranty for the first three years - usually the dealer got it wrong and had to do it twice on each occasion.

3) Water leaks in through failed seals in bulkhead around brake servo - necessitating complete removal of carpet for drying. Expensive !!!

Timing chains are notorious too. Corsas are a heap of crap.

I only have 1700 miles on my new Focust 1L Ecoboost, but apart from the ridiculous mpg figures claimed, I love it, and the zero road tax. Don't let the 1L fool you, the acceleration is surprising, which may explain why I only get an (accurately measured) overall average of 37/38 mpg. ;-)

Is this the 123bhp version? Same power as a 1.7 Puma (123bhp) but with a whole heap more turbo torque in the mid range (200 Nm v's 157 Nm), so not too surprising.

The 100bhp 1L Ecoboost has more power than the last Mazda 323F 1.6L before the "3".

Drive it to the old granny acceleration profile in the EU tests and you should do better.

But if you got it, you gonna use it.

Fiesta ST 1.6 L EcoBoost Ti-VCT 180bhp, 197 bhp for 15sec (1/4 mile blitz), 290 Nm, now that's just mad.

Keep your foot lighter on the accelerator and the MPG will double. I get 65MPG on my VW but only 35MPG if I rush about.

*yawn*

No, the puny 100ps.

Same power as a 1.7 Puma (123bhp) but with a

It feels livelier than the old 1.8 Mondeo, but it's much lighter of course.

Only usually get in 5th on motorways, that's the problem.

Why did they choose that hideous orange colour though?...

Gordon H put finger to keyboard:

Which Mondeo?

I've had three 1.8s, the Mk I, Mk II and Mk III. The Mk I was OK, the Mk II was surprisingly agile but the Mk III accelerates like an asthmatic tortoise. Of course the Mk II was made of Bacofoil whereas the III is a tank.

Thanks for the info. I hope to start having a look and a few test drives next month, just looking for ideas to help get me started for now. Rab.

Consumption figures are often down to journey patterns. If I do a 15 mile commute to work at 6am I get 20% better fuel consumption compared to the same journey at 7am or 8am.

If I do a 4 hour motorway journey at 70/80 mph I get around 25% more mpg than I do with my best consumption figures on my normal commute.

The weather also seems to make a difference to the MPG.

[...]

Yep; wipers, headlights, HRW et al don't come for free!

FWIW, unless you are doing huge annual mileages, fuel consumption between different makes of similar sized cars is not as significant to the overall cost of ownership as might be thought.

As ever, it's depreciation that is likely to be the biggest cost.

Chris

I'll bet you couldn't reliably measure the difference those make to the MPG. Air-con is a different matter.

It certainly is with the average new car.

I'll bet the car manufacturers can and do!

Chris

Whilst I'm sure they are less easy to change than some belts, they do often seem to rattle on for a good few thousand miles? Daughters 2001 Corsa 1.2 16V has just clocked up 185,000 miles and AFAIK, on the same timing chain?

I did just have to take out the carpets and fix the pedal-box leak but all it cost me is a tube of Tigerseal. ;-)

I guess that may depend on your interest and POV.

Daughter had a Ka before the Corsa and whilst it went ok she hated it. She picked up the Corsa for 200 quid ~3 years ago, put a new set of tyres on it and apart from a bit of wear_and_tear, hasn't really been an issue (and at ~50 mpg, about as cheap as motoring can get on that sort of outlay).

And that is in spite of it being loaded to the gunwales several times on it's ~400 mile trip up to her b/f's place in Scotland (including on one trip a solid (kit form) workbench (I'd built) and woodturning lathe. along with all the 'stuff' they typically packed)!

One of the things I like about it is this:

... as that means there are plenty of s/h and bits available for them (cheap) in the breakers and eBay etc (plus all the new / pattern etc).

We picked up a rear wiper motor for a tenner, an aerial for a fiver and new rear springs for 15 quid each (and she changed them herself).

Oh, when she bought it (with a new MOT and 6 months TAX) it had not long before had an argument with a deer (the deer ended up the worst off). New headlight (27 quid), 10 quid for a number plate and a 'straight' s/h crash bar thingy (ally box section behind the bumper), delivered for 15 quid and all was well again (with the Corsa at least).

Three quid spent in the carwash and it still looks pretty clean and tidy. ;-)

Ok, it was still £200 more expensive than the 1.1 Fiesta her b/f had given to him (that just clocked up 99999 miles today) but the paint / bodywork is in much better condition.

But then they are all 'just cars' to us so as long as they get us from A to B and at the least possible cost and discomfort that's all that really counts.

Come to think of it, I spent more on my last (s/h) motorbike than we have spent buying and running cars as a family (excluding fuel, tax, insurance and MOTs etc) for the last 20 years. ;-)

Horses for courses and all that. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

p.s. I replaced the cam belt on the 2L GL Sierra Estate when it failed at some local lights one day. I think the belt was 12 quid and took about 1/2 hour mins to do. We had the belt changed on the Meriva as we were having the thermostat changed. Stat, belt kit and water pump (as it was all 8 years old), 250 quid. I think that's not far short of what we might pay for a s/h engine for the Corsa, as / when the cam chain gives up?

Strangely my own car gives far better MPG in wet weather.

I had a MK1 and a MK2. The MK2 felt heavier to handle at first to me, despite the Bacofoil but I got used to it.

It used to be said that moist air helped in carburation, I'm not sure about PI. :-)