Hi all, hope you can help me. I have recently started a new job which involves a long drive to work and back every day. this has given me 2 problems
the first is that i am spending a forune on petrol- I only have a ford Ka luxury at the moment, but i am thinking of changing to a diesel to try and cut my fuel bills.
The second is that the prolonged periods of regular driving have aggravted my sciatica and back probelms, particulaly in my clutch leg, so I was thinking I ought to get an automatic to help stop this.
my probelm therefore is that i want a small, fuel econonic, cheap to buy (ie around £8k), automatic that doesnt look like a skip on wheels (as i have got used to my little luxuries like electric windows, heated windscreen and cd player). it would be a newish car (maybe 02 plate onwards)
can anyone recommend such a car? I weas thinking of a clio diesel? any comments on this?
i have read some of the posts on the diesel/auto thing, but it mostly seems to cover large/ expensive cars
thanks for your help!
Charlie
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Clio doesn't comes as an automatic diesel. Infact I can't think of any cars in the supermini sector that do. You need to get the next class up e.g Megane/Golf/Focus.
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When i had a Ka, i used to find that it was exceedingly painful driving long distances due to the lower back pain that i used to get. I finally found a partial solution, which may relive some of the pain till you get a new car at least. Firstly if you have the seat base up at its very highest position, drop it a little, so the normal lumbar lordosis (curvature) fits more accuratly into the curvature of the seat back (it doesn't do this if the seat base is totally up or totally down), and secondly try and move the seat slightly more vertical than you normally have it (i.e. about 1/2 a turn) since this will give your back a bit more support. Try and make sure that your hips are in line with your knees when you are sitting.
As for an economical small car how about Fiesta 1.4 TDCi Zetec with A/c, or even Ghia.
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I borrowed an auto Peugeot 106 (107?) as a courtesy car the other day, no idea if they still make them as it was quite an old vehicle and v basic but they might be a bit more luxurious now. ALthough not much up the scale from a KA I imagine.
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Indeed he does, that's why I mentioned that the Pug was an auto
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"Back" reason for change aside, don't forget the cost to change, including depreciation of the new car, as well as the potential diesel savings; With the Ka already being a reasonably economical car, and a newer car likely to both cost more to buy and be on a steeper part of the depreciation curve, it could easily be many years of motoring before you have saved a penny.
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I occasionally suffer from sciatica after injuring my lower back about 15 years ago (moving heavy flagstones on my own).
I find that no matter what size of car you have it can prove a problem (I'm talking from Fiesta right up to S-Class) and the only thing is to stop if possible and walk around to get the circulation moving again. Taking the go for regular walks also helps in my case.
The annoying thing about the back pain is that it can strike when least expected, even when just leaning into the back of the car to pick something up...:-(
No doubt you are already aware, but there are exercises that will greatly help the condition. See:
tinyurl.com/coodl
www.arc.org.uk/about_arth/booklets/6002/6002.htm
www.medicdirect.co.uk/clinics/default.ihtml?step=4...2
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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look at a kia picanto auto. Think it may be only petrol though. Remember there was a diesel coming, but not sure....
Wife has had the 1.1lx auto for a year and loves it. I drove it yesterday on a mixed run and it is really nice to drive.
And you could get a brand new one!
electric windows, cd/mps player as standard.
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The Ka is designed for nipping around towns, not for an extended drive. You've just discovered one of the economies made in the light of that decision.
I used to suffer from back pain after about an hour or so of driving, which was a problem given that my commute was then about an hour and a half. Once, whilst mine was being serviced, I was given a loan car fitted with optional "sports" seats; these have larger bolster cushions on either side and are more the sort of seat you sit 'in' rather than 'on'. A day of that was enough to convince me, and after 150k (ish) miles on various sports seats I have found them to be an absolute boon.
I think that the idea of sports seats is that they give better lateral support when cornering, so allow a more sporting style of driving. However, a side effect is that they hold your back in an upright position more effectively and stop any slouching or bending. They are also more adjustable, and tecd to have a more thought-out curvature to the backrest.
Now, I doubt that this style of seat is available an a factory option at the Ka level of car, but I wonder about aftermarket fitment? You could always keep the old seats to refit before sale if the residuals were a worry.
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The answer to the question "Am I asking the impossible?" is "Yes". How close, however, can you get. That depends on whether you are flexible on things like a heated windscreen which are very limited availability. I think too that there are currently no small diesel automatics, apart from a French microcar or two, so it has to be petrol if you want an automatic in the small car class.
I commuted 100 miles each way for a year in a top of the range automatic Fiesta with heated screen etc and it was excellent for mostly M40 motorway plus M25 Heathrow section. MPG from memory was lower 30s so I can't imagine it is very different from the Ka although I was using whatever speed could be justified for that commute. The standard seats were comfortable enough but Patently has hit the nail on the head regarding buying a seat you can move from car to car in the interests of your back and health. It will easily cost £1000, or double that for an orthopaedic version, to get a Recaro seat but only you can decide how much you value your back in 10 years time.
Do the maths very carefully, however, and don't just assume that diesel is going to be cheaper. The cost to change may easily outweigh any perceived advantage, particularly since you have to go up in vehicle size to get a diesel auto. Maybe someone else can comment on the cost and value of getting one of the hand control systems available for disabled drivers who can't use a normal clutch pedal. This could then be be fitted to a small diesel car.
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Best way to relieve back pain when driving long distances is to keep your leg stretched out as much as possible. I discovered that it wasn't the action of pushing the clutch that caused the pain, it was the fact I rested my foot on the floor or tucked it under my right leg on long motorway segments.
Also, while my back pain had symptoms similar to sciatica, it wasn't actually that. It was caused by a muscle tensing, and made itself evident when walking as my left leg would rotate at the hip every time I took a step.
(It's just taken me five minutes to realise that he means sciatica in terms of the back pain, rather than the flaking-skin problem...)
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I do not know what type of roads your commute uses but maybe installing a cruise control would allow you some additional feedom to move your position.
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HJ recently gave the new Kia Rio a very favourable review - you might want to think about the auto version of that.
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If you are suscetible to back pain, you want a car with good seats and a good ride. I hesitate to suggest a C5 diesel auto, as you would probably consider it too big (and it's a Citroen). However, it fits the bill with my wife's back problem and arthritis in her knees. You would get a 02 for £8k or less. There will be plenty of advice from this forum to steer clear of C5s, but when they are sorted out, they are fine cars.
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I haven't driven a C5 but I can echo machika's experience with Citroen ride and seat comfort. I have occaisional back problems and have found that they are the only vehicles which I can drive over long distances without discomfort. The BX's were very good and the Xantia is even better. The lengh of the seat also helps support the thighs. I cannot think that the C5 would be any different in ride and comfort.
I have not found Citroen cars to be unreliable.
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The seats in a C5 are a class above the Xantia.
For those who can't abide the thought of a Citroen, there are now plenty of Mondeo diesel autos on the used car markent. I even found one on Autotrader at under £6K. There are plenty of C5 2.0 HDI autos at under £8K, even some 2.2 HDI autos too.
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There is a lot more legroom for the driver in a C5 too, for those of us with long legs. I have always found the Xantia a little cramped.
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There are some smaller sized diesel auto's around - the Citroen C3 1.4HDi is available in sensodrive mode, renault Megane has a 1.5dCi auto option and there is also a Ford Focus 1.6TDCi CVT auto available.
I'd imagine the megane and the focus being out of his reach but the C3 might be an option
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Are Ford autos still crap Blue? Would the Megane be a better car solely because it wasn't a Ford automatic?
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Are Ford autos still crap Blue? Would the Megane be a better car solely because it wasn't a Ford automatic?
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The diesel auto Focus and C-Max have a CVT gearbox, about which there has been much discussion in this forum, so not the traditional Ford auto.
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There are some smaller sized diesel auto's around - the Citroen C3 1.4HDi is available in sensodrive mode, renault Megane has a 1.5dCi auto option and there is also a Ford Focus 1.6TDCi CVT auto available. I'd imagine the megane and the focus being out of his reach but the C3 might be an option
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I have tried out a C3 with Sensodrive and, frankly, the gearchange is terribly jerky, so not for me. The Megane and Focus diesel autos are far too new to be avaiable at £8k.
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