We currently have a Pajero top of range 2010 desial which is no longer suitable for our requirements we want to trade down to a car but I have no idea what would give the most economy with out being too small my husband drives 120 ks to work so it for him.Something around $30,000-$35,000 any suggestions
thejazzpianoma,
Aug 3, 3:43am
Any of the VW/Audi/Skoda range. They are one of the few who offer a Direct Injection engine that is properly reliable. My pick would probably be the Golf which will offer you sufficient room and big car handling while still being absurdly economical. The other good thing about these cars is the DSG transmission which will actually give you better economy than a manual transmission. A traditional Auto will actually reduce economy. Take some for a drive, you will be amazed, they are a lovely vehicle on the open road too. Just be aware that in NZ anything not Japanese will be knocked by those who listen to the car dealer nonsense and have never owned one themselves. Be prepared for lots of tall stories about reliability and other sillyness. In particular there are several trolls on this forum who do nothing other than going around spreading childish sillyness. Not very fair at all when you are trying to make an expensive buying decision. Best of luck!
thejazzpianoma,
Aug 3, 3:50am
Also. why not consider a European Diesel! Modern European Diesels don't require any more servicing than a petrol vehicle and have heaps of grunt and are just as refined as a petrol car.
You could use this website I made to compare actual running costs if you like. With the VW's service costs are much of a muchness.
Edit Just ran the Golf Bluemotion Diesel vs Golf 1.4 Petrol through the calculator. The Diesel would work out around $14 a week cheaper to run for you, that includes RUC, extra registration cost etc.
I assumed 650km a week being 5 days of 120km a day plus another 50km for weekend use. That also assumes the "combined" fuel economy. You may actually do a bit better than "combined" as with those km's I assume much of the running may be open road.
thejazzpianoma,
Aug 3, 4:26am
Another thing to consider is servicing. Many cars will have a 15'000km service interval which will see you servicing the vehicle just over twice per year on average. With the VW/Skoda/Audi product you can switch the car to "variable intervals". What this does is let the car monitor how its being driven and adjust the service interval to suit. If you drive it sensibly with the sort of hot running your husband is doing I would expect you to easily get away with no more than one service a year. This will help a lot with running costs, the VW's are a nice cheap car to service as well.
bellky,
Aug 3, 4:39am
VW salesman^ by the looks ;-)
splinter67,
Aug 3, 4:41am
Go away Belky nobody wants your opinion
msigg,
Aug 3, 5:26am
well at 120ks to work I would be getting something on the larger side, for comfort, safety, one of the big nissans would be great, toyota camry(one of the best cars made), commodore! falcon,smaller passat might be ok. Fleet cars what you want.
johnf_456,
Aug 3, 5:54am
He is
newpenny1,
Aug 3, 9:35pm
Many thanks will try a golf but need to trade in the pajero any other ideas! What about the new Nissan Juke!not sure how the petrol goes
3tomany,
Aug 3, 9:37pm
fg falcon
bellky,
Aug 3, 9:49pm
Have to agree.
bigfatmat1,
Aug 3, 9:55pm
Toyota PRIUS!
slarty45,
Aug 3, 9:57pm
The best trade in price might be at Mitsubishi dealer
3tomany,
Aug 3, 10:00pm
35k will get you into a brand new focus and it will be even more economical than a prius on the type of mileage you are doing
shark574,
Aug 3, 11:57pm
good luck getting rid of pajero. Wouldn't be seen dead in one, especially after going to Spain. lol
countrypete,
Aug 4, 12:15am
Have a look at a Suzuki Kizashi, they are getting excellent write-ups.2.4-litre and either 6-speed manual or CVT auto.It's a bigger car than some that have been pushed at you, some of those may feel quite small in comparison.
vtecintegra,
Aug 4, 3:04am
Yeah Prius is meant for stop/start driving.
I'd consider the Skyactiv 3 too
bigfatmat1,
Aug 4, 4:25am
OP has not stated type of milagejust milage of 120km prius is economical all round. Those who say otherwise are not knowlegableon the subject.
thejazzpianoma,
Aug 4, 4:56am
You would only be looking at a Prius C for the money. That gives you a Honda Fit/Yaris size vehicle for starters which the husband is unlikely to appreciate.
Then you have to consider that the real world economyis really only at best going to be much of a muchness with the likes of the Golf for the sort of running we expect the OP is doing. It's worth reminding people that they don't get the claimed 3.9l/100km economy in real world driving, wheras some of the other options easily achieve their rated economy. You can do it in the Prius but you have to muck about doing "pulse and glide" and other silly boffin techniques that only serve to annoy the traffic around you. Besides, you could just as easily use those techniques for better economy in other cars.
Sure you could argue the semantics and go into the actual conditions and perhaps it might be ever so slightly more economical than some other options.But by the time you factor in the 15'000km servicing against the 30K + expected servicing from the Golf its going to be here nor there.
If it was a good value sensibly sized car with low service costs and sensibly priced parts it would be worth considering.
However, OP get your Husband to drive one and then jump in the Golf. The Prius C is just not in the same league.
slarty45,
Aug 4, 6:49am
Hey Jizz
you forgot to rubbish the Suzuki Kizashi
PS: Hayden's new Skoda crapped itself in Rally Finland yesterday, went good for 5 stages tho, was in 2nd place.
gremlin5,
Aug 4, 7:09am
hahaha haaaaa, I'm pretty sure he wants to get to work lol! If your not spending money on fuel you'll be spending money on parts!
thejazzpianoma,
Aug 4, 7:25am
How many times do we have to go over this johnf_456 its "VW Group Director of marketing Australasia" I am not technically a salesman at all.
vtecintegra,
Aug 4, 7:32am
True but the comparatively bigger gains are stop start.
I don't think a Prius feels at home at high speeds though - its okay on the motorway but not so much on any road with high speed corners
thejazzpianoma,
Aug 4, 7:37am
I was actually politely ignoring that post and just hoping the OP would actually check the economy ratings of the vehicles in question. Thus trying to save us 20 posts of hearing about how one of the most popular and reliable transmissions in the world, is somehow going to explode and kill your first born while salting the ground and invoking a plague of locusts.
thunderbolt,
Aug 4, 8:26am
You biggest hurdle will be finding a dealer that want to waste a spot on his yard with the Pajero he cant move, so expect to take a bath on it when you trade. A dealer with an old stocker that needs to move it off the books will most likely offer you the most towards a changeover figure.
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