Time to choose another car - Grenache

Hello, I'm looking to change my car and would be grateful for some suggestions.

I drive over 15,000 miles/year, mainly motorway miles with a 270-mile each-way trip once a fortnight. My trusty 2012 Mazda 6 2.2d at nearly 200k miles is going from trusty to rusty, so time to think about replacing it. I average around 56mpg on the motorway, and do very little town driving. The other car in the family is a Renault Captur, which I enjoy driving but it's not been reliable unfortunately, as it doesn't like periods of not being driven, e.g. 3 weeks between being used.

My wish-list includes:
Good fuel economy at motorway speeds
Must be reliable car, cheap to run, and easy to obtain and fit parts
Boot big enough for 2 large suitcases
Must have space for a full-size or space-saver spare wheel, the foam stuff is useless if the tyre gets shredded on the motorway at
midnight.
I'd prefer small SUV/crossover, but not essential. Economy and reliability are the top factors.

My budget is in the £10k-£12k range though might go a bit higher for the perfect car. I'd be happy with another diesel, never had a problem with them, but would need to be Euro6 ULEZ compliant.

Thanks in advance!

Time to choose another car - Oli rag

Toyota auris estate should do all you need.

Time to choose another car - John F

I'd prefer small SUV/crossover, but not essential. Economy and reliability are the top factors.

Assuming your trip computer gives an average speed of around 40mph, do you really want to spend around 400 hours of your life, many on a M-way, in 'a small SUV/crossover'? I would sacrifice some economy for comfort and choose a saloon with a good cD, e.g. Ford Focus, Audi A4.

Time to choose another car - Adampr

I'd prefer small SUV/crossover, but not essential. Economy and reliability are the top factors.

Assuming your trip computer gives an average speed of around 40mph, do you really want to spend around 400 hours of your life, many on a M-way, in 'a small SUV/crossover'? I would sacrifice some economy for comfort and choose a saloon with a good cD, e.g. Ford Focus, Audi A4.

What makes you think a Focus would be any more.comfortable than a small crossover?

Time to choose another car - John F

....... I would sacrifice some economy for comfort and choose a saloon with a good cD, e.g. Ford Focus, Audi A4.

What makes you think a Focus would be any more.comfortable than a small crossover?

I was thinking probably slightly smoother and quieter than an SUV with brick-like aerodynamics (e.g. cD.35 for our Peugeot 2008)

Time to choose another car - Adampr

Does it need four seats or just the two?

Time to choose another car - Grenache

Does it need four seats or just the two?

Needs 4 seats. I also have a Renault Captur and have used that a few times for the same long trip and not found any issues with that, apart from slightly more affected by sidewinds on exposed motorway sections shuch as Shap. I don't need as big a car as the Mazda 6 and frankly it can be a pain to get into a short parking space, but other than that no issues with it.

Time to choose another car - SLO76
“Economy and reliability are the top factors”

I’d shortlist the Toyota Auris 1.2T - the hybrid is good, but economy on longer motorways runs is no barely better than the 1.2 and you’ll get a much lower mileage car for the money as demand from taxi fleets for the hybrid is pushing prices too high, especially the estate. Not exciting but reliable, long lived and it’ll do 60mpg on a run with care but doesn’t suffer all the emissions related trouble modern DPF equipped diesels do. I’d leave the diesels as the 1.4 is weak and suffers DPF problems while the 1.6 is a BMW unit that’s known for timing chain problems among other issues.

The Mazda 3 2.0 Skyactiv petrol SE - Great to drive, reliable, nice to look at and sit in than the Auris and it’ll still do 50mpg plus on a run. Don’t touch the skyactiv diesels, they’re notorious for failures, don’t mix them up with your older gen car.

Mazda 6 2.0 skyactiv petrol SE - As above, a genuinely nice thing and not bad on fuel for a large petrol car.

Honda Civic 1.6 DTEC - The only modern diesel engine I’d recommend to anyone. These are reliable (if looked after) practical and they’ll do 70mpg on a run while still feeling plenty muscular on the road. Steering is numb as per the norm with Honda’s, but otherwise good cars. Don’t touch the 1.0 3cyl petrol.
Time to choose another car - barney100

Volvo v70 d. Eats miles, swallows sofas.