You would be in diesel territory for that mileage, but I did a very similar commute in a petrol car and it worked out about the same as having had diesel, with the extra few pence on the diesel price. But then I like how petrol cars handle and I found a good car that I could afford, which is important.

If you're set on a Fiesta, I can say that they really aren't bad on the motorway; pretty comfortable and it's only the big hills where you'd want some extra power. On a commute, the car has to be comfy (and for me it has to have a good stereo). So a decent alternative would be the Mazda 2. The Toyota Yaris is also good.

Oh also - www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/34968/best-small...l-

You might find that and the review helpful.

Edited by Bobbin Threadbare on 05/09/2012 at 18:32

A petrol Fiesta is a decent motorway car, although if I wanted a small car to handle 20K miles per year motorway commutes the Fiat Panda diesel is an excellent (long legged) motorway cruiser, as is the Citroen C3 1.4 HDI. You'll see around 60mpg crusing at 60mph in the latter, around 10mpg less in the Panda.

For less than 8k you'll get a nice Fiesta 1.6 TDCi (around 2 years) for that money. Driving at around 60mph you can expect massive mpg.

Also lots of 1.4 TDCi's around but the engine is less refined than the 1.6 TDCi, economy is good.

Not so many 1.6 petrol around, plenty of 1.4 so a larger choice.

Personal choice, depends on your preference for petrol or diesel engines and the differing handling characteristics as a result.

Travelling 20k/year I'd choose the 1.6 TDCi with a spec. suitable for my needs. The Econetic offers a more comfortable & quieter ride than the standard 1.6 TDCi models due to it's higher & narrower profile tyres and suspension tweets.

Of course the Peugeot had more power which is nice, but i'd be cursing along around 62 / 65MPH

Thanks again for your advise.

K.

Good typo Ketan - you probably would be cursing if you bought a Peugeot....