I’m glad the majority of you see the sheer good sense in not ruling out those dirty diesels from your used car deliberations. Certainly, recent diesels have a pretty clean bill of health. Richard is one of you correct thinkers who liked my diesel saloon piece.
“A used diesel saloon really is a shrewd commuter car but an estate is even better!” he says. “My philosophy is to have a cheap-as-chips Citroën C5 diesel estate as the daily driver, which is economical, smooth, quiet and comfortable, and is the ideal calm and tranquil commuter. What’s more, it’s only worth insuring third party, and it’s no slouch on long journeys either. This lets me afford a luxobarge for the weekend and my Mercedes S600L fulfils that role to perfection.”
Richard is clearly doing Bangernomics right and I am glad that the C5 is serving him well. He’s dead right about estate cars. The SUV is apparently killing them off but just for now there are plenty around and, in practical terms, they are unbeatable. Not least because they are not carting around tons of extra metal, propshafts and other space-robbing, economy-sapping ballast.
I would be inclined to go for the nominally more reliable product with a Japanese badge, even though they are not fully on board the diesel train, because the engines are damned reliable. The Honda Accord may have a sloping roof, but here is one of the prettier estates in circulation. If we only want to spend £1500, then that will buy a 2006 two-owner 2.2 i-CTDi EX with 150,000 miles. The combined consumption is officially 47.9mpg, so it ought to do a solid 45mpg. Otherwise, a Toyota Avensis is the rather more blunt-fronted affair and, again for £1500, you will get a 2007 2.2 D-4D T-Spirit with 150,000 miles. The one I came across was all ready to roll with a full MOT from a dealer.
Then there is the Mazda 6. A 2004 2.0 TD TS2 with 106,000 miles and an absolute ton of history from a dealer was a tempting £990. Alternatively, a much more recent 2010 2.2 D TS with 165,000 miles is a realistic £1794.
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I knew this article would get some kickback
The kind of person who would be chooisng his next £1500 diesel is not weighing it up against a Jaguar i-Pace.
Electric is still not an option for a lot of people, although if i was looking at a car of this age i'd only really consider a diesel if it was going to be spending its time out of the city and on a motorway.
Diesel lung sludge and two skeletons in a dustbin
I am finding this column increasingly tragic.
Before the truth emerged about NOx and particulates, and before electric vehicles became viable, diesel made some sense for the economy-minded. Now it makes none.
On top of this, diesel has never been the petrol-heads choice. The clue is on the name after all. Rattling, vibrating, booming, graunching, clattering and smoking. Diesel is a fossil-fuelled fossil. Time to move on.
Belching smoke