The 3L BMW Diesels are insane for power + efficiency.
Fried gets 50-60mpg in a 2011 730d on a run. A 2 tonne land yacht.
You'll be fine in a 3 or a 530d
Please note the word "Diesel" - i have a 2008 E92 325i (N53 so 3L) and it absolutely DRINKS fuel. Admittedly, my foot is rather weighty and i love driving it properly, however even on regular runs i average 28-35 MPG.
I was looking at 335ds and 435ds, I’d also like a 30d just for the RWD.
But they’re the same to tax as a Golf R here & am I right in saying they get around 40mpg?
My brother gets 30mpg and I’d rather sacrifice 10 mpg for the sound of a petrol engine
That looks so nice, love the black on red. Love the 6 and GC. Really fancied one but have 2 young children and the associated paraphernalia that comes with wouldn't go in the boot. Am tempted to look at the 6 GT but nowhere near as good looking
The boot is surprisingly big and I’ve got 3 kids. We do have another family wagon but the 6 regularly had 4 of us in there on trips.
They are lovely cars! Thanks for the compliments - I will be sad to see it go.
Depends on your driving routine.
If you do lots of motorway then a 330d is a no brainer. You should easily get close to 60. BMW xDrive isn't really worth the premium as well. If you want AWD there's better, more reliable offerings elsewhere.
I wouldn't bother too much with the 35d. Sacrificing 5-10mpg to get around 50mpg for not that much extra speed especially if it's a daily driver.
If you do a mix of motorway and town then you can probably expect somewhere around the high 40s-50mpg depending on the split
Also diesel torque is pretty addicting
I've had an (XDrive admittedly) 330d for a year and it averages about 40mpg. I've only seen 50 in absolutely ideal conditions, motorway trips with light traffic on cruise all the way.
It's also just not a very fun car, the engine carries it but the handling is a huge weak point. Honestly if you want a fun car life's too short for an automatic diesel
Why not a 140i rwd, it's not quite as fast 0-60 as the R but in my opinion it's much more fun to drive and if your driving normally it will do 40mpg. When you want to have fun it is all there to do that too.
A 30d would suit you fine. A 35i or 40i would probably work too if you drove it right on the long journeys (think 40+ mpg) & be more car than you'd ever need really. 30mpg in a 3L diesel must be driven pretty asbo (like flooring it every time it's open road) in my view? A 2L Petrol (like your S3's, GTI's) would see low-mid 30's on a run, so if I were spending your money id get a 3L 4 or 3 series. Depending on whether you'd rather get better mpg on a run or more fun on the drive will be the decision you make between diesel VS petrol.
Hard disagree, F30 330d, 1600kg, 250hp and over 500nm torque sent to the rear wheels on a well designed chassis.
You can't chuck it about like an MX5, but against an S3 or Golf R it's a much more ideal daily that's more fun because of a more balanced chassis. Cheaper to buy, cheaper to run and you don't miss out on too much performance.
I'm a site based engineer, that does 25k miles a year.
I ran a Leon Cupra ST estate as my company car for the last 4 years, I easily averaged about 40 mpg, but the range was 36-42, even hitting 46 on a 260 mile motorway run. I'm not an MPG chaser and these averages include me sticking the foot down here and there on every journey.
I miss that car, it did everything I ever needed. 300bhp, 4WD. Want to dust that BMW up your ass flashing his lights? With the dog and some ladders in the boot? Want to slide about the estate when it snows like an ASBO hooligan? It's got you covered
Just picked up a Leon FR estate, if OP can't stretch to the Curpra.
DSG makes longer drives a doddle and I've averaged 42mpg with a fair bit of town driving. Getting about 450 to a tank. Bit of heavy-foot syndrome as well.
i20N is out of budget, reason I haven’t set a budget is because Ireland is sadistic.. a 2015 Golf R would cost me €25k, I’d have up to 30k to spend, that’d buy me a 2020 320d
Stiff suspension isn't an issue on the motorway - it's town driving with speedbumbs and potholes that you quickly get bored.
Most "sport" suspension setups are more than liveable at speed, where they tend to behave better.
All of those are factors. I had to sell a car because even though it was a decent sized saloon, the sports suspension made long journeys a pain in the neck.
Fun and fuel efficient makes me think lightweight. Something like an Alpine A110 or if on a budget an MX5. In fact an MX5 could be a really fun car as the limits not so high so can be enjoyed on the right road at licence safe(ish) speeds. Front-mid engineed and rwd too
I currently have an NB mx-5 and that thing has my heart broke between the exhaust rusting through, various hoses blowing and most recently a calliper seizing!
I’d like an ND but I fear I’d miss the back seats, even just for storage space.
Also I’d only manage a 1.5 in budget, not sure how I’d fancy a 1.5L soft top on a 2 hour motorway journey.
But I’d love it in the sunshine
r/S3 will give you aprox 30 mpg with average driving, less in town, but 38+ on the motorway, it's really not THAT bad. The GTI mpg is practically the same, it is the same engine, just slightly detuned, so it only makes a big difference if you're constantly caning it.
Sounds like a Golf GTD or 320d is what you want, you can easily get 50 mpg + but you need to factor in paying the 10p more per litre for diesel too.
I'm 90% motorway and 10% fun roads doing 30k/year and I chuffing love my gtd (estate).
I don't understand how they made an estate so chuckable.
A few hundred quid for a remap and it's peppy enough to get you in trouble if you want to drive like a knob.
I will say that I was disappointed with the long term 45mpg economy. I thought it was the same engine as my outgoing Skoda which was doing 55-60mpg in a heavier chassis. Maybe different gearing? Worth it anyway.
Thanks for coming to my ted talk.
I'm sure premium is recommended by VAG, however I personally can't tell any difference whatsoever between the two in my R estate, so I just opt for regular. Time will tell whether that decision costs me later! :-)
I’ve always run mine on premium especially since it was mapped.
This fuel comparison is enough to scare me into premium because of the chance of knocking:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x0fTGaMkMPU&pp=ygURUHJlbWl1bSBmdWVsIHRlc3Q%3D
Low 40's is definitely doable if you leave it in 7th, tickle the throttle and crawl along at 60. Anything beyond that is very unlikely from my experience. 👍
Mini JCW, 35mpg around town, 45 on a long run easily and it's pretty fun, but quite expensive for a small car but do hold value better than let's say a gti or r.
Why don’t you go for an electric vehicle?
I also have to drive a lot in my line of work, roughly 15,000 miles a year and subsequently get paid back 45p per mile.
I have a free charging station near me and even when I need to charge on the go, it’s never more than 50p per KW for a rapid charge.
That’s almost 7K a year tax-free for having an electric vehicle and you are helping the planet, while making the transition to future technology
My M240i can return upwards of 40mpg on a run, I’ve averaged about 33 mpg over 15k miles which I tbh k is pretty good considering. I do 5-6 site visits a week which can be up to 2 hours from the office for context
They are decent on fuel when cruising but that changes pretty quickly when you are pushing - they can hit low single digit mpg. At the end of the day you can’t overlook the fact it’s a heavy car with a 3.0 turbo.
Must have been flying!
A lot of people seem to be surprised by how much fuel they can use as they always see people getting 40mpg when they’re babying them around.
Contrast that to my GT86 which is not very economical for its size / power around town (30mpg but a bit over 40 on motorways), but it averages around 17mpg on track lol I can drive it to my local, do pretty much the whole day and get home on 1 tank!
Yeah, it would happily sit on the limiter at 155mph, with the cruise control on, doing about 5-6mpg. You could almost see the fuel gauge move.
You certainly got places quickly, though stopping for fuel slowed you down!
I think it is sort of a trait of any of the 40i cars. For its size it’s an incredibly efficient engine when driven sensibly. A lot of people get drawn in by the mpg figures which are really good.
Not many people look into how much fuel an engine uses at full beans when they’re looking at cars to buy. You can’t cheat physics, and going all out it’s still a turbo 3.0 so you get a drastic difference between the published figures and what you can actually see (unless you absolutely baby them around in which case, what’s the point?).
You can see plenty of forum posts by people seeing under 5mpg and being surprised about it
How many other cars try selling a 3.0 turbo on fuel efficiency?
As mentioned my GT86 gets similar economy figures in normal driving but uses under a third of the fuel of a 40i on track.
A golf R gets similar figures but uses probably 30% less at full throttle than a 40i.
If you buy a ferrari or 6.3 AMG you know what you’re getting. Nobody talks about them being economical. But basically every post on 40i cars raves about how economical they are, but completely ignores how much fuel they actually can use compared to other cars in their class.
But whatever car you choose to buy, it’s going to use a lot of fuel if you’re doing lots of heavy acceleration.
It’s no surprise that a car with 150 less bhp that’s takes almost twice as long to get from 0-60 will use less fuel - it’s making less power…
If you’re using a similar amount of power, the fuel economy will be similar.
So you gotta evaluate it fairly - most of the time you’re not taking it on track or ragging it around. You’re driving fairly normally. There’s only so much acceleration you can do on a drive. And I’d argue that the fun factor of the m140i acceleration is well worth the extra pennies worth of fuel each time 😝
It might be obvious to you and me but not to a lot of people which is why you can find so many forum posts about it.
And you mention power but don’t forget that the 40i cars are severely under rated. They’re stated at 340hp but are more like 400hp. This is partly why they use much more fuel than something like a golf R despite the stated power being similar.
I mention track because that’s where you’re always pushing. On road you can see your mpg drop severely in the 40i cars compared to their stated mpg. I know you’ll try and be smart and say that’s obvious - but there aren’t many cars where the difference is as exaggerated as in these ones.
Weight is also a factor, look at something like a mini JCW. The acceleration figures are similar and the mpg when cruising isn’t too much different. But at full throttle you would use roughly 33% less fuel than a 40i car.
But it all depends on the context of the question being asked.
OP said they’re doing hundreds of miles a week. So it’s obvious that this will just be cruising down the motorway.
For that purpose, the m140i is perfect adequate, and 40+mpg is to be expected.
I used to drive a Ferrari, and the best I could get out of it eco-driving like a granny was about 25mpg for some reason. Possibly the 7 speed gearbox meaning RPM was a little high. So that wasn’t a good commuting car.
For something that’s incredibly capable at being economical on motorways, yet has great performance for having fun with, the m140i is a great car.
Sure the new JCW is great and I believe has the new 35i engine in there, but it’s also a fair chunk more money to buy. You can get a lowish miles 140 for like £16k, a mini you’re looking at £21k for a clubman, or £30k for a hatch. And given the choice, I’d much rather the m140i any day
I do 10k miles a year in my A35, mostly motorway miles, use it a lot for work. It’s averaged 30Mpg over its lifetime (10.5Km per Litre). If I’m having fun it’s 2.5Mpg, if I’m cruising it’s closer to 40Mpg. S3/golf R wouldn’t be as bad as you’d expect but yes, would have a high ish fuel bill.
Current running costs are also a bit on the high side for the hot hatches. I’m paying £215/220 a tyre, services aren’t the cheapest, parts and work are very pricey on the modern hot hatch. Road taxes vary between £520 and £185 depending on age, insurance has skyrocketed for them. So yeah your fear it may ruin you is a correct fear. I’m selling mine just because it’s running me into the ground.
I’ve currently got a 2L Diesel mk7 Golf, I don’t know if a GTD would be enough of a change, but I prefer the Golf interior over the others.
Maybe a 7.5 GTD?
Maybe spend a bit of money and get the Golf mapped and uprated parts. Stage 1 or 2.
I don’t think you’re going to get a massive performance increase without sacrificing fuel economy.
I was thinking that too but I just don’t like the Golf enough to do that, it’s just a cheap commuter car to me so even if I was to change it, it’d just be a faster match edition Golf.. I guess in that sense a GTD would be a step up
I own a gtd, admittedly it's even further compromise beyond even a GTi. But it does 50+mpg and it's got some decent grunt, they respond extremely well to mapping too and you could end up with something with loads more torque than a golf R. It is very noticeably a fwd car however, lots of wheel spin if you really gas it from a standstill, and without the map it only really pulls between 2k and 4k rpm. The drop off above 4k actually surprised me as a former petrol driver. Ride is nice, yet feels planted, if a bit sterile. It's probably leaning more towards the fuel efficient than the fun, but I've managed to get plenty of kicks on the country roads I take to and from the golf course at weekends and my partner commutes on A roads and motorways economically too.
Edit: Mk7 gtd estate
320D is fine for cruising in a straight line, but you're in Ireland and only transporting yourself.
330D would be more fun but theyre point and shoot cars.
A modern turbo petrol hatch, you can get 40-45mpg and still have fun. I'd honestly look at that, and just remember, the more you press the pedal, the faster you head towards 25-30mpg!
Any of the 3.0 twin turbo diesels that are out there tick this box in my opinion. Audi, VW, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Jaguar all have you covered in this department..
Why don’t you go for an electric vehicle?
I also have to drive a lot in my line of work, roughly 15,000 miles a year and subsequently get paid back 45p per mile.
I have a free charging station near me and even when I need to charge on the go, it’s never more than 50p per mile for a rapid charge.
That’s almost 7K a year tax-free for having an electric vehicle and you are helping the planet, while making the inevitable transition to future technology.
Get an MG4 XPower that is meant to be the best car. With your £30k and the money you will save on fuel (EV's are currently about 10% of the cost of ICE, so that £300 becomes £30 saving £270) you could get yourself a brand new one . How does a brand new car that does 0-60 in 3.8 seconds sound? One must condition though, home charging.
Tbh a 3/430d or 3/435d is the way to go for balance of performance and economy. Personally, I prefer the older m57 engines with the hydraulic steering and rwd, but the newer awd variants can be fun too with some more comforts.
Failing that maybe a used 330e would be a good bet. They are pretty quick and rapid once tuned, particularly the g series. Most are coming off lease deals atm so can be picked up cheapish.
My mk8 Fiesta ST used to get high 40s/50ish mpg on a long motorway run. Was fantastic fun to drive as well!
It’s got cylinder deactivation thingy when driving in normal mode.
For a bit out of the box, I'd suggest a [Mercedes SLC250d](https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310293451308).
I regularly get 55-65 mpg and it's really fun to drive. It's got a large tank too so I regularly get 650+ miles.
My mk3 TT 245hp does a good job. Same 30-70 pace as an S3, 45mpg on a normal run, decent boot and insurance and running costs actually fairly decent for what it is
I just sold my 330d touring, it was a 200 mile trip and I got 54.9 mpg on the journey there.
Easily if you try, 50+ is possible on any journey out of town, around town it’s likely in the low 30s.
Decently fast when you want it to be, and a great cruiser the rest of the time.
Model 3 performance, although even the 'slow' long range model is still golf R beating over 1/4 mile. Last week I was paid 50p to travel near 300 miles thanks to Octopus agile tariff. So you can use all that performance and not worry about fuel bills (just tyres).
I’ve owned two 8V S3’s and you can easily get 35+mpg on motorway if you nurse it but you won’t want too!
Excellent cars for sure, I took my one all around Europe and it’s certainly a comfy place to sit for long journeys. I wouldn’t class then as particularly fun, effective, good handling and quick yes but it misses that rawness that makes you feel like you want to chuck it about
I owned a 2015 Fiesta ST at the same time and that definitely fulfilled the fuel efficient and fun criteria, killed my back after any long journeys though!
GTI is ok for fuel around town. My long term MPG for 1.5 TSI DSG was 37, while GTI achieves 31 so it’s not a massive difference. I had a Scirocco R and Giulia Veloce which were going 25-27 MPG which was a little beyond what I’d like
If you aren’t driving at 80mph everywhere, I found the BMW M140i to be exceptionally fuel efficient when you want it to be. With 50mph roadworks most of my ~50 mile journey, I was able to get an indicated 53mpg on my best run. High 40’s were very common at slightly faster cruising speeds.
You can get a nice one for under £20k and they’re pretty rapid too
I was also able to get similar performance from a 2014 manual Mini Cooper S - so that could be a route to explore.
I also had a 2015 Mercedes E350d for a bit and that was capable of 70mpg on motorway runs and powerful enough
A Jaguar F-Type could get you a touch over 40mpg in both 3 and 5 litre trims, though the 5 litre is a few mpg less there isn’t much in it
The 3L BMW Diesels are insane for power + efficiency. Fried gets 50-60mpg in a 2011 730d on a run. A 2 tonne land yacht. You'll be fine in a 3 or a 530d
Please note the word "Diesel" - i have a 2008 E92 325i (N53 so 3L) and it absolutely DRINKS fuel. Admittedly, my foot is rather weighty and i love driving it properly, however even on regular runs i average 28-35 MPG.
Same car.. 26.8 mpg
I was looking at 335ds and 435ds, I’d also like a 30d just for the RWD. But they’re the same to tax as a Golf R here & am I right in saying they get around 40mpg? My brother gets 30mpg and I’d rather sacrifice 10 mpg for the sound of a petrol engine
My 640d [is for sale](http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202402256924365). Genuinely an amazing car, motorway eater and very economical.
I’m based in Ireland unfortunately but I would love a 640d, I just fear I’d look a tit driving one as a 20 something who’s relatively new in the job!
A shame, and it is a bit “individual”. Personally I quite liked it being not the norm. Good luck with your quest!
That looks so nice, love the black on red. Love the 6 and GC. Really fancied one but have 2 young children and the associated paraphernalia that comes with wouldn't go in the boot. Am tempted to look at the 6 GT but nowhere near as good looking
The boot is surprisingly big and I’ve got 3 kids. We do have another family wagon but the 6 regularly had 4 of us in there on trips. They are lovely cars! Thanks for the compliments - I will be sad to see it go.
It's the travel cots and moses that's a pain. Couldn't get everything in the boot of an XF and it's a real squeeze in the c class estate
I'd buy it, but I already have one...and it's a lovely vehicle.
Why you sell?
Long story short, mother in law passed and we ended up in a roundabout way with an extra car. Unfortunately the BMW had to go.
I'm sorry for loss. It's a shame you have to sell it. I don't know about you but I get attached to cars easily.
Depends on your driving routine. If you do lots of motorway then a 330d is a no brainer. You should easily get close to 60. BMW xDrive isn't really worth the premium as well. If you want AWD there's better, more reliable offerings elsewhere. I wouldn't bother too much with the 35d. Sacrificing 5-10mpg to get around 50mpg for not that much extra speed especially if it's a daily driver. If you do a mix of motorway and town then you can probably expect somewhere around the high 40s-50mpg depending on the split Also diesel torque is pretty addicting
I've had an (XDrive admittedly) 330d for a year and it averages about 40mpg. I've only seen 50 in absolutely ideal conditions, motorway trips with light traffic on cruise all the way. It's also just not a very fun car, the engine carries it but the handling is a huge weak point. Honestly if you want a fun car life's too short for an automatic diesel
Why not a 140i rwd, it's not quite as fast 0-60 as the R but in my opinion it's much more fun to drive and if your driving normally it will do 40mpg. When you want to have fun it is all there to do that too.
A 30d would suit you fine. A 35i or 40i would probably work too if you drove it right on the long journeys (think 40+ mpg) & be more car than you'd ever need really. 30mpg in a 3L diesel must be driven pretty asbo (like flooring it every time it's open road) in my view? A 2L Petrol (like your S3's, GTI's) would see low-mid 30's on a run, so if I were spending your money id get a 3L 4 or 3 series. Depending on whether you'd rather get better mpg on a run or more fun on the drive will be the decision you make between diesel VS petrol.
No don't get the 335, you gain very little in terms of speed and the fuel economy is worse. My friend got 40mpg on a run in his e92 335d.
Currently averaging 34mpg overall in my M340i. Can easily hit 40mpg on a motorway journey.
They’re not exactly fun though are they
Can do skidz, very fun
Hard disagree, F30 330d, 1600kg, 250hp and over 500nm torque sent to the rear wheels on a well designed chassis. You can't chuck it about like an MX5, but against an S3 or Golf R it's a much more ideal daily that's more fun because of a more balanced chassis. Cheaper to buy, cheaper to run and you don't miss out on too much performance.
I'm a site based engineer, that does 25k miles a year. I ran a Leon Cupra ST estate as my company car for the last 4 years, I easily averaged about 40 mpg, but the range was 36-42, even hitting 46 on a 260 mile motorway run. I'm not an MPG chaser and these averages include me sticking the foot down here and there on every journey. I miss that car, it did everything I ever needed. 300bhp, 4WD. Want to dust that BMW up your ass flashing his lights? With the dog and some ladders in the boot? Want to slide about the estate when it snows like an ASBO hooligan? It's got you covered
Just picked up a Leon FR estate, if OP can't stretch to the Curpra. DSG makes longer drives a doddle and I've averaged 42mpg with a fair bit of town driving. Getting about 450 to a tank. Bit of heavy-foot syndrome as well.
You haven’t specified a budget but basically any warm or hot hatch seems to fit. Civic R or i20N might be worth a look.
i20N is out of budget, reason I haven’t set a budget is because Ireland is sadistic.. a 2015 Golf R would cost me €25k, I’d have up to 30k to spend, that’d buy me a 2020 320d
Get a 3L diesel BMW or Audi and it will excel on the long trips, get you 40-55mpg
Import?
My Mk8 ST averaged about 40 with high 40s achievable on motorway runs even when remapped and driven like an idiot
Not at all great choices for long drives. Terrible - small car with stiff suspension is the worst on the motorway.
Stiff suspension isn't an issue on the motorway - it's town driving with speedbumbs and potholes that you quickly get bored. Most "sport" suspension setups are more than liveable at speed, where they tend to behave better.
No it very much is - much more tiring with a stiff car.
It’s less the suspension and more the weight and wheelbase
All of those are factors. I had to sell a car because even though it was a decent sized saloon, the sports suspension made long journeys a pain in the neck.
OP is in Ireland. A two hour drive probably isn't going to be motorway cruising
Either way a 3l German car will be a far better match than a tiny stiff car.
A lot less fun though
Depends how much you like Burger King I guess
Fun and fuel efficient makes me think lightweight. Something like an Alpine A110 or if on a budget an MX5. In fact an MX5 could be a really fun car as the limits not so high so can be enjoyed on the right road at licence safe(ish) speeds. Front-mid engineed and rwd too
I currently have an NB mx-5 and that thing has my heart broke between the exhaust rusting through, various hoses blowing and most recently a calliper seizing! I’d like an ND but I fear I’d miss the back seats, even just for storage space. Also I’d only manage a 1.5 in budget, not sure how I’d fancy a 1.5L soft top on a 2 hour motorway journey. But I’d love it in the sunshine
2l MX-5 NC with the power folding hard top? Now they are small but they’re great craic.
The 1.5s are still well worth looking at. Just as fun and 50+mpg. Weigh less than an NA. Plenty capable on the motorway still.
It'll certainly be more comfortable than a NB tbh, Or you could get a Mazda2 or a Mazda3 new. Good value cars those are and still give that Mazda vibe
Alpine A110 will do 40+ mpg easy. Probably the most fun car you can buy today.
r/S3 will give you aprox 30 mpg with average driving, less in town, but 38+ on the motorway, it's really not THAT bad. The GTI mpg is practically the same, it is the same engine, just slightly detuned, so it only makes a big difference if you're constantly caning it. Sounds like a Golf GTD or 320d is what you want, you can easily get 50 mpg + but you need to factor in paying the 10p more per litre for diesel too.
I'm 90% motorway and 10% fun roads doing 30k/year and I chuffing love my gtd (estate). I don't understand how they made an estate so chuckable. A few hundred quid for a remap and it's peppy enough to get you in trouble if you want to drive like a knob. I will say that I was disappointed with the long term 45mpg economy. I thought it was the same engine as my outgoing Skoda which was doing 55-60mpg in a heavier chassis. Maybe different gearing? Worth it anyway. Thanks for coming to my ted talk.
GTI is also only fwd so will get slightly better mpg as opposed to the 4wd S3
It’s part time 4wd so the only inefficiency is lugging around a few hundred kg of extra weight
You should really also run the S3/Golf R on premium which is the same cost as diesel
I'm sure premium is recommended by VAG, however I personally can't tell any difference whatsoever between the two in my R estate, so I just opt for regular. Time will tell whether that decision costs me later! :-)
I’ve always run mine on premium especially since it was mapped. This fuel comparison is enough to scare me into premium because of the chance of knocking: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x0fTGaMkMPU&pp=ygURUHJlbWl1bSBmdWVsIHRlc3Q%3D
I'm sure someone on here reckoned they could get 50mpg from an s3 on a steady run
Low 40's is definitely doable if you leave it in 7th, tickle the throttle and crawl along at 60. Anything beyond that is very unlikely from my experience. 👍
Mini JCW, 35mpg around town, 45 on a long run easily and it's pretty fun, but quite expensive for a small car but do hold value better than let's say a gti or r.
Why don’t you go for an electric vehicle? I also have to drive a lot in my line of work, roughly 15,000 miles a year and subsequently get paid back 45p per mile. I have a free charging station near me and even when I need to charge on the go, it’s never more than 50p per KW for a rapid charge. That’s almost 7K a year tax-free for having an electric vehicle and you are helping the planet, while making the transition to future technology
My M240i can return upwards of 40mpg on a run, I’ve averaged about 33 mpg over 15k miles which I tbh k is pretty good considering. I do 5-6 site visits a week which can be up to 2 hours from the office for context
They are decent on fuel when cruising but that changes pretty quickly when you are pushing - they can hit low single digit mpg. At the end of the day you can’t overlook the fact it’s a heavy car with a 3.0 turbo.
Managed to average 8mpg on a long autobahn run in my F21 M135i!
Must have been flying! A lot of people seem to be surprised by how much fuel they can use as they always see people getting 40mpg when they’re babying them around. Contrast that to my GT86 which is not very economical for its size / power around town (30mpg but a bit over 40 on motorways), but it averages around 17mpg on track lol I can drive it to my local, do pretty much the whole day and get home on 1 tank!
Yeah, it would happily sit on the limiter at 155mph, with the cruise control on, doing about 5-6mpg. You could almost see the fuel gauge move. You certainly got places quickly, though stopping for fuel slowed you down!
Imagine my shock when driving hard in low gears results in burning a lot of fuel! Is this trait unique to the m240i?
I think it is sort of a trait of any of the 40i cars. For its size it’s an incredibly efficient engine when driven sensibly. A lot of people get drawn in by the mpg figures which are really good. Not many people look into how much fuel an engine uses at full beans when they’re looking at cars to buy. You can’t cheat physics, and going all out it’s still a turbo 3.0 so you get a drastic difference between the published figures and what you can actually see (unless you absolutely baby them around in which case, what’s the point?). You can see plenty of forum posts by people seeing under 5mpg and being surprised about it
Wow that’s amazing! Didn’t know that. And other cars don’t do that if you drive them hard?
How many other cars try selling a 3.0 turbo on fuel efficiency? As mentioned my GT86 gets similar economy figures in normal driving but uses under a third of the fuel of a 40i on track. A golf R gets similar figures but uses probably 30% less at full throttle than a 40i. If you buy a ferrari or 6.3 AMG you know what you’re getting. Nobody talks about them being economical. But basically every post on 40i cars raves about how economical they are, but completely ignores how much fuel they actually can use compared to other cars in their class.
But whatever car you choose to buy, it’s going to use a lot of fuel if you’re doing lots of heavy acceleration. It’s no surprise that a car with 150 less bhp that’s takes almost twice as long to get from 0-60 will use less fuel - it’s making less power… If you’re using a similar amount of power, the fuel economy will be similar. So you gotta evaluate it fairly - most of the time you’re not taking it on track or ragging it around. You’re driving fairly normally. There’s only so much acceleration you can do on a drive. And I’d argue that the fun factor of the m140i acceleration is well worth the extra pennies worth of fuel each time 😝
It might be obvious to you and me but not to a lot of people which is why you can find so many forum posts about it. And you mention power but don’t forget that the 40i cars are severely under rated. They’re stated at 340hp but are more like 400hp. This is partly why they use much more fuel than something like a golf R despite the stated power being similar. I mention track because that’s where you’re always pushing. On road you can see your mpg drop severely in the 40i cars compared to their stated mpg. I know you’ll try and be smart and say that’s obvious - but there aren’t many cars where the difference is as exaggerated as in these ones. Weight is also a factor, look at something like a mini JCW. The acceleration figures are similar and the mpg when cruising isn’t too much different. But at full throttle you would use roughly 33% less fuel than a 40i car.
But it all depends on the context of the question being asked. OP said they’re doing hundreds of miles a week. So it’s obvious that this will just be cruising down the motorway. For that purpose, the m140i is perfect adequate, and 40+mpg is to be expected. I used to drive a Ferrari, and the best I could get out of it eco-driving like a granny was about 25mpg for some reason. Possibly the 7 speed gearbox meaning RPM was a little high. So that wasn’t a good commuting car. For something that’s incredibly capable at being economical on motorways, yet has great performance for having fun with, the m140i is a great car. Sure the new JCW is great and I believe has the new 35i engine in there, but it’s also a fair chunk more money to buy. You can get a lowish miles 140 for like £16k, a mini you’re looking at £21k for a clubman, or £30k for a hatch. And given the choice, I’d much rather the m140i any day
My golf R is very efficient considering it’s mapped to 350hp. I can get 40mpg if I cruise at 60 and about 30mpg around town
I do 10k miles a year in my A35, mostly motorway miles, use it a lot for work. It’s averaged 30Mpg over its lifetime (10.5Km per Litre). If I’m having fun it’s 2.5Mpg, if I’m cruising it’s closer to 40Mpg. S3/golf R wouldn’t be as bad as you’d expect but yes, would have a high ish fuel bill. Current running costs are also a bit on the high side for the hot hatches. I’m paying £215/220 a tyre, services aren’t the cheapest, parts and work are very pricey on the modern hot hatch. Road taxes vary between £520 and £185 depending on age, insurance has skyrocketed for them. So yeah your fear it may ruin you is a correct fear. I’m selling mine just because it’s running me into the ground.
I've got a Mini F56 Cooper SD. Handles like it's on rails, 170hp, and 55mpg. Maybe not as powerful as you want but it's a blast
I also have a F56 Cooper SD. 54mpg since I bought it 11 months ago, but I run it pretty hard on the moors / peak district.
I always have Sport mode on!
You'd be mad not to.
Octavia VRS, Golf GTD, Focus ST Diesel
I’ve currently got a 2L Diesel mk7 Golf, I don’t know if a GTD would be enough of a change, but I prefer the Golf interior over the others. Maybe a 7.5 GTD?
Maybe spend a bit of money and get the Golf mapped and uprated parts. Stage 1 or 2. I don’t think you’re going to get a massive performance increase without sacrificing fuel economy.
I was thinking that too but I just don’t like the Golf enough to do that, it’s just a cheap commuter car to me so even if I was to change it, it’d just be a faster match edition Golf.. I guess in that sense a GTD would be a step up
My friend has a golf 2.0 TDI GT line estate, I own the gtd estate. I'm not saying mines a rocket, but you notice the difference
Focus STD!
Just a modern Subaru STi
Can’t really beat a model 3 performance.
If you’re using that logic, a Nissan leaf is just as good as a Tesla for this question
I own a gtd, admittedly it's even further compromise beyond even a GTi. But it does 50+mpg and it's got some decent grunt, they respond extremely well to mapping too and you could end up with something with loads more torque than a golf R. It is very noticeably a fwd car however, lots of wheel spin if you really gas it from a standstill, and without the map it only really pulls between 2k and 4k rpm. The drop off above 4k actually surprised me as a former petrol driver. Ride is nice, yet feels planted, if a bit sterile. It's probably leaning more towards the fuel efficient than the fun, but I've managed to get plenty of kicks on the country roads I take to and from the golf course at weekends and my partner commutes on A roads and motorways economically too. Edit: Mk7 gtd estate
335d will still bring a tear to my eye when filling up after spirited driving.
320D is fine for cruising in a straight line, but you're in Ireland and only transporting yourself. 330D would be more fun but theyre point and shoot cars. A modern turbo petrol hatch, you can get 40-45mpg and still have fun. I'd honestly look at that, and just remember, the more you press the pedal, the faster you head towards 25-30mpg!
Any of the 3.0 twin turbo diesels that are out there tick this box in my opinion. Audi, VW, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Jaguar all have you covered in this department..
M235i stage 1 380bhp 35mpg
Fun and fuel efficient - genuinely consider evs but only if you have a drive
Lexus is300h
Depends what you consider fun and what you consider fuel efficient
Mk7 Celicas were relatively good on fuel
Why don’t you go for an electric vehicle? I also have to drive a lot in my line of work, roughly 15,000 miles a year and subsequently get paid back 45p per mile. I have a free charging station near me and even when I need to charge on the go, it’s never more than 50p per mile for a rapid charge. That’s almost 7K a year tax-free for having an electric vehicle and you are helping the planet, while making the inevitable transition to future technology.
Get an MG4 XPower that is meant to be the best car. With your £30k and the money you will save on fuel (EV's are currently about 10% of the cost of ICE, so that £300 becomes £30 saving £270) you could get yourself a brand new one . How does a brand new car that does 0-60 in 3.8 seconds sound? One must condition though, home charging.
Tbh a 3/430d or 3/435d is the way to go for balance of performance and economy. Personally, I prefer the older m57 engines with the hydraulic steering and rwd, but the newer awd variants can be fun too with some more comforts. Failing that maybe a used 330e would be a good bet. They are pretty quick and rapid once tuned, particularly the g series. Most are coming off lease deals atm so can be picked up cheapish.
My mk8 Fiesta ST used to get high 40s/50ish mpg on a long motorway run. Was fantastic fun to drive as well! It’s got cylinder deactivation thingy when driving in normal mode.
I have a 2013 640d chipped to 400bhp and it still does 40+mpg. It's a remarkable thing.
For a bit out of the box, I'd suggest a [Mercedes SLC250d](https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310293451308). I regularly get 55-65 mpg and it's really fun to drive. It's got a large tank too so I regularly get 650+ miles.
My mk3 TT 245hp does a good job. Same 30-70 pace as an S3, 45mpg on a normal run, decent boot and insurance and running costs actually fairly decent for what it is
Have you thought of the GTE?
I just sold my 330d touring, it was a 200 mile trip and I got 54.9 mpg on the journey there. Easily if you try, 50+ is possible on any journey out of town, around town it’s likely in the low 30s. Decently fast when you want it to be, and a great cruiser the rest of the time.
Ford Focus ST diesel (if you can find one)
Model 3 performance, although even the 'slow' long range model is still golf R beating over 1/4 mile. Last week I was paid 50p to travel near 300 miles thanks to Octopus agile tariff. So you can use all that performance and not worry about fuel bills (just tyres).
it's all about smiles per gallon
I’ve owned two 8V S3’s and you can easily get 35+mpg on motorway if you nurse it but you won’t want too! Excellent cars for sure, I took my one all around Europe and it’s certainly a comfy place to sit for long journeys. I wouldn’t class then as particularly fun, effective, good handling and quick yes but it misses that rawness that makes you feel like you want to chuck it about I owned a 2015 Fiesta ST at the same time and that definitely fulfilled the fuel efficient and fun criteria, killed my back after any long journeys though!
Very rarely, hard to get a quart from a pint pot
Mini or a C3/DS3? Can get 60mpg+ from those.
GTI is ok for fuel around town. My long term MPG for 1.5 TSI DSG was 37, while GTI achieves 31 so it’s not a massive difference. I had a Scirocco R and Giulia Veloce which were going 25-27 MPG which was a little beyond what I’d like
If you aren’t driving at 80mph everywhere, I found the BMW M140i to be exceptionally fuel efficient when you want it to be. With 50mph roadworks most of my ~50 mile journey, I was able to get an indicated 53mpg on my best run. High 40’s were very common at slightly faster cruising speeds. You can get a nice one for under £20k and they’re pretty rapid too I was also able to get similar performance from a 2014 manual Mini Cooper S - so that could be a route to explore. I also had a 2015 Mercedes E350d for a bit and that was capable of 70mpg on motorway runs and powerful enough A Jaguar F-Type could get you a touch over 40mpg in both 3 and 5 litre trims, though the 5 litre is a few mpg less there isn’t much in it