I recently sold my 2000 toyota caldina GTT which was a great car but just guzzled the gas too much for my liking. Looking for something economic, and between 1500-2L. Don't need anything gruntier than that. Needs to be able to accomodate a 7ft surfboard inside preferrably.
I find cars I like but have been told to steer clear of the mitsi GDI engines and I'm a bit weary of the european vehicles, I'm not so concerned with looks so much but with the fuel economy being the main thing. Have a budget of 6500-7k. any suggestions!
outbidyou2,
Feb 6, 2:20am
corolla stationwagon, cheap
sorayaking,
Feb 6, 2:32am
I've been looking but there's not a lot out there (I can only drive an auto) *cue the sighs. so I'm more limited. I am a bit biased towards toyota but those available seem to have really high kms.
andy61,
Feb 6, 2:34am
Toyota Corolla Fielder 1.8 S .awesome wagons,reliable,economical,rea- sonally powerful.My one is up to 215kms,totally reliable.The passengers seat has an extra fold down backrest ,ideal for carting long items. I`ve just ordered a new shape Fielder 1.8 S from Japan,hope it will be just as good.
sorayaking,
Feb 6, 2:36am
I actually like those but they're a bit out of my price range :(
andy61,
Feb 6, 2:37am
Buy mine when the new one arrives
toyboy3,
Feb 6, 2:45am
Try looking at Nissan expert
trdbzr,
Feb 6, 2:45am
Nissan Wingroad, Nissan Primera and Honda Civic Partner are also good options. Just avoid a Nissan and Honda with the CVT transmission and avoid a Toyota with a D4 engine.
sorayaking,
Feb 6, 3:01am
dont most of the wingroads have the cvt transmission!
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 6, 3:10am
Wingroads are notoriously thirsty anyway. The Nissan CVT is fine if serviced when its supposed to, not sure about Honda's offerings other than what they use in the Jazz which has a design flaw causing it to fail early.
trdbzr,
Feb 6, 3:17am
No, most of the Wingroad's have the standard automatic. The Civic partner also has a standard automatic. Its the P12 Primera i'd avoid and the particular P11's with the CVT. Its the Avenir's that are very thirstry, not the Wingroad. Nissan and Honda CVT's are good but need to be fully serviced around every 50,000km and the proper oil for them is expensive so most people don't do it. So unless its NZ New and has a full service history, I would avoid it.
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 6, 3:32am
LOL, the Honda Jazz CVT would have to be about the most unreliable CVT ever made. Even servicing the Honda Jazz CVT every 20'000km dosn't prolong its life very much. Like I said its a design flaw, as the Jazz has no transmission filter it just swims in its own filth until dies. I don't have in depth experience with the other Honda units though. I think the one on the insight for example has a filter, but I would suggest OP that you research the other Honda units further before buying one.
The 1.8 in the Wingroad is the same unit used in the Avenir (although other motors in the range differ). So perhaps the magical pixie fairys make is so much more economical. In general though you are right the Avenir is even worse on gas than a wingroad. The funny thing with the Wingroad is the economy figures look good on paper. but never seem to add up in the real world. Anyhow, they are a horrible over-rated vehicle aside from any economy issue, you can do better.
trdbzr,
Feb 6, 3:44am
A friend of mine had a Jazz and she managed to do around 60,000km in it without any problems, just kept having it serviced on time. But in saying that, I wouldn't buy a Jazz with a CVT.
No, the Wingroad also comes in a 1.5L and those ones are quite economical.Its mainly the 2L Avenir's and 2L + 1.8L Primera's with the SR engines that drink a lot of fuel, the QG ones from 1.3-1.8L tend to be economical.
They are reliable and did depreciate a few years back but have picked up alot of value again recently. You can still find good bargains but you just have to be fast because they go like hotcakes.
jmma,
Feb 6, 3:50am
I think Wingroads are out of op's budget and would a Jazz fit a surfboard!
sorayaking,
Feb 6, 12:51pm
I had also considered a jazz as I had heard they are really good on the gas. Wingroads seem to have jumped a lot in price recently, probably given the import laws you can get more for them now as they'll be gone soon before long.
I have my eye on a 1998 toyota caldina 2l, just a standard non 4wd, non turbo one. I did love my caldina but it cost a fortune to run. I would assume the lack of 4wd and turbo would make a big difference!
kcf,
Feb 6, 1:51pm
I was about to suggest that if you liked your Caldina other than the gas consumption, look for a non turbo.
As always if you don't *need* 4wd, avoid the 4wd version if you're after economy.
What about a diesel Caldina!Be slow like a slow thing, but should be relatively easy on the fuel bill compared to a GTT.
If you can handle smaller, the AE11x series Corolla's with the 4AFE engines are cheap as hell to run (13-14km/l in manual) and last forever if they've been well serviced.Should be able to get a nice one for $5k or less.
kazbanz,
Feb 6, 2:18pm
Soraking--YES ditching the turbo and awd will make a big difference. Something you may not have concidered isa Toyota probox. If you can get over the name they are in essence a corolla feilder -just more commercial. The other one comeing on the market is the Nissan Expert-its a nissan avenirbut set up for commercial use-so ideal for surfboards etc
sorayaking,
Feb 6, 2:35pm
My previous car was a 94 levin with the 4AFE engine and i had that for 7 yrs and it never missed a beat. Just became too small for me but it continues to be faultless I sold it to a workmate. Makes me want it back for it's fuel economy! I don't need 4wd either so am looking to avoid that.
Haven't heard of the probox will look it up.
sorayaking,
Feb 6, 3:00pm
Also this may seem like a daft question but do most of the newer engines run on 95 fuel now! I ran my gtt caldina on that because I was supposed to but cost a fortune
kazbanz,
Feb 6, 3:10pm
sora--most of the newer jap stuff runs just fine on 91. you'll notice a huge improvement over your older car economy wise
stevo2,
Feb 6, 3:12pm
My daughter has an 01 Wingroad 1500cc auto and it is quite economical. I have driven it and it goes quite well at 100kph but its no speed machine. Overtaking is best left to passing lanes etc. The 1500cc and 1800cc are standard autos and the 2000cc is cvt trans.
sorayaking,
Feb 6, 6:00pm
Unfortunately I can't drive a manual haha. Don't have the time or the patience to learn now either after this long driving an auto.
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 6, 10:35pm
So why not buy an automatic one! The V40 is an excellent vehicle, very reliable and very under priced in NZ. Economy is no worse than the other stuff you are looking at and you get a much nicer car for it. Parts are a little pricy from Volvo themselves but there are ways around that and you shouldn't need much other than regular service items anyway.
sorayaking,
Feb 6, 11:10pm
I'm a bit weary of european cars, and due to the fact I live in a small town currently also about the expertise around here maybe to fix them. I did spot a 2001 mitsi cedia touring wagon for $7k but the GDI engines worry me a bit. There are always pros and cons with everything though
jason18,
Feb 6, 11:12pm
Most cars you buy provided they are serviced will give you good motoring. There are alot of bad and good. I have had a tt legacy, 2 x nissan cvts one bad one excellent. Had a mitsi lancer mazdas etc. Just look after them.
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