Which car do I lease?

I'm looking for a recommendation for a company car choice that will keep my cost down, suite a family and that will suit 25k - 30k miles motorway driving a year...

My question is whether I need to be going for the obvious choices of BMW 320ed for example, which I would have to contribute about £50 over the allowance (which has to include lease + maintenance) per month to get, or whether the quality of cars + engines these days opens my options to family hatchbacks for example?

2 big factors are:

- I contribute even £1 pm above the allowance I keep the car for 3 years, otherwise its 4.

- I would like the car to be a good family option, ideally hatchback.

I've driven the Ford Focus five-door 1.6 TDCi Zetec 115PS for example, which I thought was great and with my allowance I could get very highly spec'd without paying anything myself. The lower list price and good BIK (16%) keeps that cost down too.

I'm not a fan over the large family cars such as Mondeo etc.

But what in your opinion is going to be my experience keeping a car like that over 4 years/25-30k a year vs. something more 'obvious' like the 320ed for C220 CDI, which would also mean I keep for three years?

Asked on 5 May 2013 by T

Answered by Honest John
Nothing else in the same class gives anything like the real life fuel economy of the 320dED. I averaged 63mpg calculated brim to brim over 7,000 miles, v/s 55mpg over 8,000 miles from a Focus 1.6TDCI 110 Econetic. On one 250 mile motorway run I averaged 82mpg on the meter. I have seen reports that a Mazda 6 2.2d 150 Skyactive SE-L nav (about £23k) will do close to 60mpg, but my SEL-Nav auto is only doing 50mpg. I'd go for the 320dED for the consistent pleasure of the drive. Keep it on standard 205/60 R16 tyres.
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