Small engines; 200kms/day @ 100km/h?

[PitCrew]

Originally Posted by mcnews

YOu are seeing it yourself in one?
Or the official ratings?
You can always do way better than the official ratings.
If my tuned 730Nm 426hp FG F6 could get 9 per 100km on the highway I am sure the ecoboost would do perhaps 6.

Going by what is on the internet. Forums are the best option to get a better idea on fuel etc.

Was thinking about a Kia Rio as the number of kms I do does cause a very quick depreciation. Will do a test drive.

70% on country road (100km/h) 30% Suburb/City, I start early so not generally caught in traffic.

[danzvtil]

Originally Posted by PitCrew

Going by what is on the internet. Forums are the best option to get a better idea on fuel etc.

Was thinking about a Kia Rio as the number of kms I do does cause a very quick depreciation. Will do a test drive.

70% on country road (100km/h) 30% Suburb/City, I start early so not generally caught in traffic.

My Rio does 6.2-6.5 on the highway cruise with the 1.6 GDI engine or 7.5ish in the suburbs. Long warranty, 5 stars, good looking, you could do worse.

[mik]

earlier somebody put a link to the the racq naming the suzuki alto as most economical car, its fairly basic and you can fit some very thin kids in the back , its about 12.5k drive away and gets 4.7 L per 100 k apparently.
the cheapest diesel powered small economy car on car sales that gets similar fuel consumption i can find at drive away price is about 25k and up.
i assume the alto would be cheaper to insure and service than the more expensive models, it would be hard to beat at that price as long as your not in a hurry ..

[PitCrew]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

My Rio does 6.2-6.5 on the highway cruise with the 1.6 GDI engine or 7.5ish in the suburbs. Long warranty, 5 stars, good looking, you could do worse.

What are the revs at when driving at 100km/h?

[nickdl]

I've driven a six-speed auto 1.6L Rio and with cruise on at 100, it was doing just over 2000rpm. I'd imagine the manual in the 1.4L would be fairly similar.

They're offering a 7 year unlimited km warranty as well now. Can't really go wrong with that.

[danzvtil]

Originally Posted by PitCrew

What are the revs at when driving at 100km/h?

Jeez, you got me there, I reckon about 2k, im never conscious of it being buzzy at cruise though.
The 1.4 will use slightly more (.1 or .2) being a less advanced MPI engine.

[mcnews]

Country Aussie road car I reckon unless you go Falcon or Commodore you will never be as comfortable and safe in some small import. To be honest the perfect country road Aussie car is a GT Falcon :-) Seriously though any Falcon or Commodore variant are the perfect things for Aussie open roads, that is where they were developed, that is where they shine over other competitors. Plus anyone anywhere can generally fix them or find spares for them etc. If economy really is the be all and end all of your end game though I think you would be mad not to consider Ecoboost Falcon.

[ebv8]

another thing to think about seeing as you will be doing alot of k's is road noise and harshenss, the korean cars have not seem to have sorted this out yet and they just don't feel right on the road, I have driven a few Hyundais and noticed this and assume kia is the same as its the same brand...
even my 2013 fiesta suffered from road noise
mazda 3's are bad too in that area
the Falcon and Commodores just seem to have this sorted and my 2001 VX running on 18's and ultra low springs is smoother and quieter than most new budget cars

just take them all for a test drive and don't put the radio on and drive it how you would normally drive....ie fast and angry!...or is that just me

but for under $20k i'd get a 2012 ecoboost falcon and try and get a G6

[JTFG]

Best thing to do is...
Test drive and see what you actually like and what suits you

[danzvtil]

Originally Posted by ebv8

another thing to think about seeing as you will be doing alot of k's is road noise and harshenss, the korean cars have not seem to have sorted this out yet and they just don't feel right on the road, I have driven a few Hyundais and noticed this and assume kia is the same as its the same brand...
even my 2013 fiesta suffered from road noise
mazda 3's are bad too in that area
the Falcon and Commodores just seem to have this sorted and my 2001 VX running on 18's and ultra low springs is smoother and quieter than most new budget cars

just take them all for a test drive and don't put the radio on and drive it how you would normally drive....ie fast and angry!...or is that just me

but for under $20k i'd get a 2012 ecoboost falcon and try and get a G6

yes, because any car not made in this country will surely fall apart when you get beyond the city limits.
Buy a Falcon on gas. Problem solved.
Are you aware that country town car parks mimic those of the city, although you may see more 4bys and Utes, they are still driving in lancers, mazda 3, corolla, focus, cruze hell, even golfs can be found in towns 3 or 400kays away from the big smoke.

[mash again]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

yes, because any car not made in this country will surely fall apart when you get beyond the city limits.
Buy a Falcon on gas. Problem solved.
Are you aware that country town car parks mimic those of the city, although you may see more 4bys and Utes, they are still driving in lancers, mazda 3, corolla, focus, cruze hell, even golfs can be found in towns 3 or 400kays away from the big smoke.

Yep we even have bitumen and color tv!

[ebv8]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

yes, because any car not made in this country will surely fall apart when you get beyond the city limits.
Buy a Falcon on gas. Problem solved.
Are you aware that country town car parks mimic those of the city, although you may see more 4bys and Utes, they are still driving in lancers, mazda 3, corolla, focus, cruze hell, even golfs can be found in towns 3 or 400kays away from the big smoke.

i wouldn't go so far as falling apart but i have a seen a golf spew its whole front suspension after hitting a pothole....anyway
go to bathurst and you will see holden, holden, ford, holden, landcruiser, holden, ford, hilux, holden, ford, holden, holden.....you get it.
must be something in it unless they are all bogans

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

yes, because any car not made in this country will surely fall apart when you get beyond the city limits.
Buy a Falcon on gas. Problem solved.
Are you aware that country town car parks mimic those of the city, although you may see more 4bys and Utes, they are still driving in lancers, mazda 3, corolla, focus, cruze hell, even golfs can be found in towns 3 or 400kays away from the big smoke.

Now that is just talking crap. What we are saying is there are some very big benefits to having the Aussie developed on Aussie roads Falcon/Commodore for long country driving trips in Australia at Aussie speed limits. Weird that huh.....

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

Are you aware that country town car parks mimic those of the city, although you may see more 4bys and Utes, they are still driving in lancers, mazda 3, corolla, focus, cruze hell, even golfs can be found in towns 3 or 400kays away from the big smoke.

There's a good reason for this. Contrary to myth, a lot of country driving is shorter distance than the big cities. Reason: a lot (even most) of the activity is in towns. A lot of the population live and work in towns or live not far from the local town and don't drive far to get to it. A small imported car is perfectly adequate - even when you have to do the occasional long drive, e.g. to the capital city.

And as I said before, nowadays most small cars are designed for long-distance driving. No model would survive on the European market if it couldn't sit on 130-150 for prolonged periods. Look at what sells in Europe and you'll identify the motorway/highway-compatible cars.

Once you're off the bitumen, I agree you're looking at something a little different.

[mcnews]

Euro highways though are a lot different to Aussie country roads, particularly if you are in Nsw

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by ebv8

another thing to think about seeing as you will be doing alot of k's is road noise and harshenss,

You know you boys are onto something with the road noise, my EL Fairmont Ghia is a lot quieter on our country B roads than my WS Fiesta and my LV Focus. Thats not bad for an old car from 1997.

I solve the problem by turning up the stereo lol.

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by mcnews

Euro highways though are a lot different to Aussie country roads, particularly if you are in Nsw

Not in parts of Europe I've been in!

Funnily enough, just recently we picked up an old (19 years) BMW 3 series coupe for our son who took a fancy and we have some pretty rough bitumen roads out here. The Beamer is a smoother, quieter ride than our much younger Territory (with new bushes) - so much so that we're starting to use it to go into town instead of the Tezza

Better fuel economy too. Just as long as we stay on the bitumen

[EA2BA]

They do tune cars for local markets with small differences so that they can cope, or even for emission reasons only, or local market laws, I believe for a while USA cars had to have different seats for such reasons.

[blackf6]

Look mate. Just get a supercharged outlaws hemi with a 2 speed air shifted lenco. With 2.7's for great top speed and fuel economy. We have pretty hi tec engines to choose from now days. 200 clicks a day is a walk in the park.

[PitCrew]

I fully agree, a nice falcon or commodore is a smooth comfy drive and would be perfect for long drives (built for ozy roads), but they do have a slight drinking problem and would not be the cheapest option.

Im soon going to have to update the family taxi so im on a bit of a budget. So $15000ish so a new car would be a small one or an older car with some kms on it. If I had the car I want to drive it would be a dualcab diesel, in that price range (and lowish kms) Im looking at a great wall and everyone I have spoken to has had bad issues with them plus the insurance company I usually use do not cover them.

I have done a test run in a Rio, it was surprising large in size and had room in the back (more than some others cars I looked at). I had planned to Hire a Rio and do a full day drive of my normal route so I could check it out at high speed, but the Dealer is letting me take one home as a free loan over night.

So we will see.

I do also like the (sorry guys not a ford) Holden cruze 1.8, fuel efficient and a little bigger, but at my price range would be an older model with some kms.

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by PitCrew

I do also like the (sorry guys not a ford) Holden cruze 1.8, fuel efficient and a little bigger, but at my price range would be an older model with some kms.

What's wrong with a Ford Focus instead?!

The Cruze is the biggest pile of mediocre junk. I've driven an Octavia and a Cruze (which overlap in price bracket) back-to-back as lease cars and honestly they're at opposite ends of the automotive spectrum. The Octavia is a well-finished, well-sorted car that's beautiful to drive, the Cruze has an indifferent interior, torque steer, acceleration lag and generally boring to drive. Considering the price similarity I found myself wondering why anybody would choose a Cruze over an Octavia - or a Focus for that matter.

[JoshXR]

Could always look at the golf blue motion 3.8l/100kms couple of years old http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de.../?Cr=1&sdmvc=1

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by new2ford

What's wrong with a Ford Focus instead?!

The Cruze is the biggest pile of mediocre junk. I've driven an Octavia and a Cruze (which overlap in price bracket) back-to-back as lease cars and honestly they're at opposite ends of the automotive spectrum. The Octavia is a well-finished, well-sorted car that's beautiful to drive, the Cruze has an indifferent interior, torque steer, acceleration lag and generally boring to drive. Considering the price similarity I found myself wondering why anybody would choose a Cruze over an Octavia - or a Focus for that matter.

Cruze may be boring but that will be my choice. Sorry, till Ford fix the diesel tranny you would be mad to choose one. (Great if you own one and never lifted the bonnet) but that wasn't my experience...

[XR Martin]

Buy an old diesel Mercedes and convert it to run on bio diesel.
It will literally cost you nothing to run.

[danzvtil]

[QUOTE=PitCrew;
I do also like the (sorry guys not a ford) Holden cruze 1.8, fuel efficient and a little bigger, but at my price range would be an older model with some kms.[/QUOTE]

Cruze does feel like a bigger car to drive in day to day, though I wouldn't touch the 1.8 boat anchor, my work car is the 1.4 turbo and the thing goes like something brown off a shiny shovel. It will even spin an inside wheel when you give it a boot full entering a busy road without traction cutting in.
I get 600 kays from a tank in the city, 650 on the highway.

[PitCrew]

Endless choice!

So many auto's, I want a manual (unfortunately reduces a lot of cars to look at)

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by joshxr

could always look at the golf blue motion 3.8l/100kms couple of years old http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de.../?cr=1&sdmvc=1

brave very brave indeed

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by mcnews

brave very brave indeed

"AWN Warranty"

A quick Google search will explain why that quoted phrase is a joke...

[jstanovic]

My missus 2007 Honda Jazz 1.3 manual got 3.4L/100km on a flat cruise at 90kph. Used to drive it Adelaide/Melbourne once a month and went pretty well, pretty noisy and buzzy though!!

[PitCrew]

Finally got the right plates and was able to test drive the Rio home so was able to see how it would handle at 100km/h for 70kms.

1.4L Manual, was very surprised with the engine, did the speed without any issues and didn't struggle to get to speed (very responsive).

However did lack power going up a steep hill (going back to hill tomorrow morning to see if I can get a better response).

At 100km/h was rev'ing at 3000, but was still responsive (bit worried driving a car at high revs for very long period)

Handling on windy roads at 100km/h was very loose.

Car was driven normally but when I got home the radiator fan was going, but the radiator is tiny (so could be normal)?

Due to the type (length) of driving I do, might need to just go up an engine size, but equals more $ so will increase the other cars /I should be looking at.

Demo Cruz, Lancer, Outlander (which is a lot more)