I'd second the Octavia suggestion. They're suprisingly nice. Honest John does some good comparisons of boot size for different vehicles too.

However, I really like my Mazda 6; even the hatchback version fits a single bed in with the seats folded down.

On the Octavia? Word would have it that the 1.8L TSI is a decent one and very nippy. However, Honest John reckoned a 1.4L chain-cam petrol with a water-cooled turbo...

The query is similar to your own:

www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/caradvice/honestjohn/...l

The diesels are thirsty and if you're doing low mileage then have a petrol I reckon. They're quite low on VED as well.

Nope, not the 1.4L. Quite new. Just an interesting read. You can get a 1.8L for under £4.5k though, like this one:

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20111538455...p

Thanks for the thoughts and efforts guys, Skoda Octavia's look good but the turbo petrol is going to be too thiristy I think, or have i got that wrong? I have a heavy right foot and ride a motorbike, consequently my driving style is best described as 'agressive' so im not sure a turbo would help me be econominal. what about the other models in the range?

Edited by Nickski2 on 05/06/2011 at 14:17

You can check out 'hypermiling'. Not saying use all the techniques; I like to do what cars are intended for - drive! But I keep my car well serviced, carry no unnecessary weight, I check my tyre pressures every few weeks and make sure they're pumped to the right PSI, I keep my windows shut at speed and try not to use my aircon unless it's very hot, I try to drive in shoes I can feel the pedals through properly, I coast small hills, roll to a stop and come out of gear at lights and I don't use the car if it's a very little journey. The mpg I get is not bad at all, and I certainly don't creep on the motorway.

I echo Avant - check out Autotrader; it is eminently searchable! If you just whack in a £4k limit, automatic, petrol estate cars you get a lot of Chevys and Renault Scenics, and loads of those Kangoos that look like Postman Pat's van, but I did spot a BMW 316 estate, a Passat and a Golf, and a couple of very low mileage Fords (C-max and a Focus).

I still like the look of the Octavia but most of the autos are 2.0L. Sorry that really doesn't answer it!! I'd be off out test-driving ;-)

Ooh what about a Skoda Fabia estate? They apparently give very decent mpg.

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20112038759...p

Edited by Bobbin Threadbare on 05/06/2011 at 18:01

No indeed. I drive a 1.8L and it's fine. My F-i-L drives a diesel Audi A6 2.0L and he gets excellent mpg out of it. My mum gets worse mpg out of a Toyota Aygo than you might expect - she never uses the flaming thing and it does short journeys when she does.

It's that balance though - you have to decide whether petrol or diesel going on what journeys you'd use it for.

Quoted mpgs have become the 'in' thing for helping to sell newer cars though, because of the banded tax system. Half of them are utter bunk! I bet there's some Jag drivers on here that get good mpg out of them.

Mwahahahaha

Humour me and try

Now thats just uncalled for.

Well at least ive stirred some emotion in you.

To an extent I agree with you, Avant. There's a simplistic mentality that a 1.0l engine will use half the fuel of a 2.0l and this is entirely false.

That said, trying to eek out economy out of a very large displacement engine strikes me as slightly perverse. You don't enjoy the benefit of the potential power and your economy is still below what you would get out of a smaller engine.

I think it's about picking an engine that's appropriately powered for your use. This is particularly applicable to diesels.

Marine users are terrified about idling their diesel engines for an extended period of time-because the engine just doesn't warm up properly at idle and there is a threat of bore glazing. If you think about it, a 250hp 3.0 turbo diesel is running at little more than idle for the vast majority of normal road driving. That makes me nervous.

At the other end of the spectrum you have people trying to wring out 90+ hp out of a 1.2 petrol. No road engine could sustain this power output for a long period of time without overheating critical components. If you look at car derived engines used for constant power eg the excellent VW 1.9 TDI, the rated outputs are very low.

As with many things, the middle road appears to offer the best compromise-but in a world of superlatives this 'boring' option often gets overlooked.

It's drifted a little off thread! Think the recommendation was an Octavia, then a discussion about small vs big engine started!

My dad had until recentley had a 2001 2.0 Octavia Auto which proved very reliable. As expected It drank petrol around town but he used to top 40mpg on long continental runs - he was a steady driver though.

The engine design was the old 8v design complete with throttle cable - remember them? Probably not as efficient as some but very robust an straighforward - capable of starship miles. It never used a drop of oil between services.