we are looking for a family runabout. I travel 130km's on a very windy road every weekday so it needs to be as economical as possible. we are looking at spending around the $8k mark.
any vehicle you would recommend/avoid!
Thanks heaps.
edangus,
Apr 9, 9:00pm
Mitsi Chariot - for economy, but possibly also one to be avoided, but definately in ya price bracket. Unless you go for a cheap mid 90s one
This one looks pretty good
mugenb20b,
Apr 9, 9:10pm
$8k.most economical 6+ seater vehicle! A Mazda Premacy or Toyota Spacio maybe (only some are 7 seaters though), but they have virtually no rear legroom. If you can drive a manual and can live with 6 seats and ugly looks, a 1.9 litre turbo diesel Fiat Multipla is a "good" choice also.
Be aware that just because a vehicle you may be looking at is economical on fuel, doesn't necessarily mean that it will be reliable or cheap to maintain. So all the money you may save on fuel might end up being spent on keeping the vehicle going, if you get what I mean.
ola.thorsen,
Apr 9, 10:00pm
Multipla - as above if you can cope with the looks and it being a manual. I get 6.1l/100km in the city. Just back from easter 700km for an indicated slightly-more-than-half of a 65l tank.
intrade,
Apr 9, 10:39pm
yea multipla be most economical not long ago there was a vw sharan tdi diesel cheap for sale here also that would be about as economical as the fiat diesel.
crsdbl,
Apr 9, 11:30pm
thanks for the replies. i had to go and parent my children.
as much as i would like to say im not a shallow person, its seems that i am. i don't think i could be seen in that car. and i also only have a automatic drivers licence so a manual is out.
thanks heaps for the suggestions though.
i think the reason we are finding it so hard to find a vehicle is because, as mugenb20b said above, just because the vehicle has a small engine, doesn't mean its not going to swallow its savings (and more) through repairs and maintenance. We liked the look of the peugeot 307 S/W but the reviews are pretty crap and i am far too unlucky to 'wing it' and hope mine is one of the good onesso we scratched that. we are currently looking at the honda Stream's, not sure if we should lean toward a 1700 or a 2ltr. there is also the spacio and also the odyssey which has a slightly bigger engine but seem to be reasonably economical for the engine size.
aagghh, it all makes my head hurt.
mugenb20b,
Apr 9, 11:37pm
Yeah, it is bloody hard looking at vehicles. If buying a Stream, get the 2 litre (no cambelt and has a bit more power), however, test drive one and see if you are comfortable in it. Personally, I find them awful in the comfort department. If you could stretch your budget a bit more, maybe a Toyota Ipsum (2.4 litre) would suffice. It's about as economical as the Odyssey, maybe slightly better, but, the car itself is bulletproof and reliable, as long as it's been regularly serviced.
intrade,
Apr 9, 11:44pm
spacio 4 cilinderpetrol engine is what i would look at then
mugenb20b,
Apr 9, 11:45pm
I looked at one of these myself, but after some research, I found they have too many issues. Nice cars though, especially with that glass roof.
intrade,
Apr 9, 11:46pm
forget anything other then toyota if its got to ba automatic you want a toyota slush box nothing else. and you wont find one cheap and reliable 8 grand upwards is what you got to pay today for cars that have likely been maintained. like dont go out and buy a toyota enema previa because it sells cheap. they sell cheap because they are crapheaps.
hfc2,
Apr 10, 1:22am
Hiace 2.8 auto, we run an 11 seater x taxi vehicle has 401000 and still run s really well . The only thing with them is you need to learn how to work the auto as they hold on to each gear for ages.
mugenb20b,
Apr 10, 1:32am
Once you start paying road user charges, high licencing and servicing costs, it won't make it an economical vehicle. Apart from that, Hiace is a good van.
hfc2,
Apr 10, 1:37am
true mugenb20b but reliability taken into account probably a good buy.
mugenb20b,
Apr 10, 1:47am
Reliable, yes. But (and there's always a but), Hiace is a very pricey vehicle, so you end up paying heaps for it, even it's an old high mileage unit. Purchase price and running costs aside, they are not the easiest to work on (cambelt, radiator, fan belts, etc) which can gobble up a lot of labour. Also, the L series diesel isn't as bulletproof as most people think (even though, they can do high k's), as they can and do crack heads when overheated. Even then, at higher k's, a new head can put more stress on the bottom end, resulting in big end bearing failure (engine out job).
A Hiace diesel can be a good buy, if the price is good and if it comes with a FSH.
crsdbl,
Apr 10, 2:11am
a van (or any high vehicle) wouldn't work for us at all because of the roads we drive.the road is very windy and i don't want to feel like i am going to roll right over the edge of the road.
if you know the road between Kimbolton and Mangeweka then you will know what i mean.
your advice has been fantastic thanks mugenb20b, we really appreciate the help.
crsdbl,
Apr 10, 2:12am
advice taken on board. thank you :)
bubbles244,
Apr 10, 2:28am
1998 ish nissan mistral averaging 850 kms per tank 2.7 TDI
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