A reliable, economical Japanese car for a fat man

[Jwan]

Hello everyone

I'm new here. I live in the Yorkshire Pennines (UK). It is very hilly and rains a lot.

I currently drive a leased Hyundai i10 (66 plate number). My lease of the Hyundai i10 was a big mistake, I did not do much research. It is too small for a family car and also it is NOT economical. The Yorkshire Pennines are very hilly, and I am super fat, so the car REALLY struggles going up hills (it is an automatic transmission).

I did some research and apparently those MPG numbers are all meaningless when it comes to going up hills.

For my next car, I want a diesel (better torque for hills), a good family sized one. I am not a car fanatic. All I care about is reliability (i.e. it doesn't break down every year) and economy.

My sister and her husband have a Seat Leon Diesel 2013 and they're getting much better fuel economy, he did a test once and £10 got him 120 miles. He says he fills up his car once every 10 days (fills it up by £30), this is even though they use their car more than us. So they spend roughly £90 a month on fuel. I drive a lot less, and spend £130.

I keep hearing that Toyotas made in Japan are of better quality than Toyota's made elsewhere. Is the RAV-4 made in Japan? If not, are there any Toyota cars that are sold in the UK that are made in Japan?

I would like an economical, automatic diesel that is reliable. What are my options? Cruise control is a must, and parking sensor would be nice. I am "poor", so cannot put down the deposit of a house for a car. My budget is between £5K and £8K (lower is better of course).

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. If I have missed information, let me know and I'll update the post 🙂

Thank you.

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

You're not going to get anywhere near to matching the claimed fuel consumption of the Seat with a Rav4 diesel automatic - https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/toyota/rav4-2006/22-d-4d-automatic

Larger, heavier, less aerodynamic car.

[Heidfirst]

3 hours ago, Jwan said:

I would like an economical, automatic diesel that is reliable.

You say that you want this but from the sounds of things you quite possibly aren't doing enough mileage for a diesel to be the best choice. What do you think that your annual mileage will be & is that composed mostly of short journeys or long?

Modern, emission-equipped common rail turbodiesels are not as reliable as the simple diesels of old because they are a lot more complicated & also a lot of people have bought them for usage to which they are not really suited. When they do go wrong the bills are typically large ... If you are doing only small annual mileage all your savings from fuel & more could be spent on repairs.

[Catlover]

Your profile implies you have a 2013 Avensis. How does that fit in to your driving?

[Jwan]

@Catlover I selected that on my profile because when I signed up, I couldn't figure a way of not filling that info. I don't actually own a Toyota yet, but I am eyeing up my toyota options.

@Heidfirst with my current car being a lease, I cannot put much miles on it, but when I own a car outright, we plan on doing family Europe trips (Germany, France, Spain).

@FROSTYBALLS what family sized car would you say is ideal, good torque for hills and econmoical?

[Catlover]

How big is the family?  Going on euro family trips, with luggage etc will need something more then a i10/Argo size car, but how much bigger.? Maybe looking at an estate car, or 7 seater. We don’t know, do you?

[FROSTYBALLS]

I think your requirements need a re-appraisal. 

What proof have you that Japanese built Toyotas are better than those built elsewhere - or, more likely, is it just a myth. Reliability reports and surveys don't back this up.

The only Japanese built Toyotas in recent years are the Prius, Rav4, Urban Cruiser, Verso S, IQ GT86 and Landcruiser.

Without knowing what size family and an indication of whether offspring are now children, teenagers or adults, it is impossible to say what vehicle may or may not be suitable. Are any child seats needed?

The Auris was built in the UK or Turkey (3 door), Verso and C-HR in Turkey, Avensis in the UK, Hilux in South Africa, Aygo in Czech Republic, Yaris in France, etc. So most family sized cars are ruled out by the Japanese built requirement.

 

[Jwan]

Good question about family size. We're a family of 3. Me, wife and daughter who is nearly 4 years old.

@FROSTYBALLS I don't have proof, it is just things I've read online. Thanks for the info about where each is made, that's nice to know.

I find the Toyota Avensis a good size (I see them around my town), not sure how they do on economy though, also, what should I be careful of when buying a used Avensis?

[TonyHSD]

Hi and welcome. 

The theory that Japanese Toyotas are higher quality it’s true and any car enthusiast knows that, no question. For your needs and budget I can’t think of any Toyota model that fits the bill, for reliability almost any car can be reliable if driven regularly and serviced on time and properly. You may try Avensis diesel or Auris diesel 2010-2015 models or may look at vw golf estate preferably 2.0 tdi dsg, these are really nice cars, only make sure you get some kind of warranty that covers gearbox fault including clutch kit and actuator replacement, otherwise the bill goes well over £5k. 

Regards 

[Heidfirst]

10 hours ago, Jwan said:

 but when I own a car outright, we plan on doing family Europe trips (Germany, France, Spain).

 

That should help but you might want to check what emissions rating you may need for certain cities etc. & that should cut down the models to look at.

Also, have a look on HonestJohn's site for reviews & particularly the known issues (e.g. VAG DSG transmissions) https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar?/  Whilst there also check RealMPG figures.

 

8 hours ago, Jwan said:

I find the Toyota Avensis a good size (I see them around my town), not sure how they do on economy though, also, what should I be careful of when buying a used Avensis?

Which Avensis, there are 3 basic models (T22, T25 & T27) plus intermediate facelifts? For diesel autos I think that we only got 2.2 D-CAT Autos which will be relatively thirsty - you would be lucky to average 40mpg overall.

[Jwan]

Thank you @Heidfirst, on Honest John's site, it displays a percentage on RealMPG, how am I to interpret that?

[Jwan]

Can a Toyota Prius go hup hills easily? Would it have enough torque with the electric motor (assuming enough charge).

The MPG on that seems lovely for long trips into Europe.

[TonyHSD]

Toyota Prius it’s lovely going uphill all you need is to push accelerator harder or just flick the power button so make it easier. There is enough torque to go anywhere where turbo diesel will go, also it’s the best economical auto on the market, plus most reliable, I could have start with that, but you had asked for a diesel, my personal opinion is that if you are looking for a diesel auto look something else but if you are looking for a petrol auto look no further then a Toyota/Lexus hybrid, any model. Prius might be a bit more expensive due to been widely used as taxi and you may want to look at Auris hybrid 2010-2012, Best Buy car for your budget,  it’s a superior car especially the T- spirit but slightly cheaper than the Prius and does have same drive train , efficiency, reliability and pleasure to drive. Only negative is the smaller boot but for a family of 3 it’s more than enough. 

Regards 

[Jwan]

Thanks @TonyHSD that is good to hear, the only reason I thought Diesel initially was because I was told it goes up hills really easily because of the typical high torque of diesel engines.

I'll research Auris Hyprids.

[TonyHSD]

No worries. It’s a good idea. We have two exactly the same Toyotas in my family for the same reasons I pointed. Also these cars are £0 road tax, all you need is to renew your license. 

Good luck with the search. 

[Heidfirst]

2 hours ago, Jwan said:

Thank you @Heidfirst, on Honest John's site, it displays a percentage on RealMPG, how am I to interpret that?

It gives the official EU test figures, the RealMPG figure derived from members of the public submitting their results & the % figure is simply RealMPG/Eu official test i.e. if the official EU test figure was 50mpg but the RealMPG figure was 45mpg then the % would be 90%. I would say ignore the % & just look at the RealMPG figure.

 

1 hour ago, TonyHSD said:

my personal opinion is that if you are looking for a diesel auto look something else but if you are looking for a petrol auto look no further then a Toyota/Lexus hybrid, any model. Prius might be a bit more expensive due to been widely used as taxi and you may want to look at Auris hybrid 2010-2012, Best Buy car for your budget,  it’s a superior car especially the T- spirit but slightly cheaper than the Prius and does have same drive train , efficiency, reliability and pleasure to drive. Only negative is the smaller boot but for a family of 3 it’s more than enough. 

Auris hybrid Touring Sport - small boot sorted. 😄

[Jwan]

The Toyota Auris looks lovely, it is currently my top choice.

I will be buying second hand, is there anything in particular I should look for whilst inspecting the car?

Also, I can't find out if any of the Toyota Aurises have Speed Limiters (not cruise control). Does anyone know if any of its models have a speed limiter?

[Heidfirst]

22 hours ago, Jwan said:

The Toyota Auris looks lovely, it is currently my top choice.

I will be buying second hand, is there anything in particular I should look for whilst inspecting the car?

If buying a hybrid Auris, especially TS, that a taxi/ private hire car driver doesn't beat you to it ....

Again, if buying a hybrid, that the car has a full history of dealer services or at least Hybrid Health Checks (now called Electical Vehicle Service apparently) as this will have continuously extended the warranty on the drive Battery (up to 15 years now iirc?).

[furtula]

22 hours ago, Jwan said:

Also, I can't find out if any of the Toyota Aurises have Speed Limiters (not cruise control). Does anyone know if any of its models have a speed limiter?

Even my 2007 1st gen Auris has speed limiter, so yes, they have it.

[Avalon]

On 6/24/2019 at 7:55 PM, Jwan said:

Hello everyone

I'm new here. I live in the Yorkshire Pennines (UK). It is very hilly and rains a lot.

I currently drive a leased Hyundai i10 (66 plate number). My lease of the Hyundai i10 was a big mistake, I did not do much research. It is too small for a family car and also it is NOT economical. The Yorkshire Pennines are very hilly, and I am super fat, so the car REALLY struggles going up hills (it is an automatic transmission).

I did some research and apparently those MPG numbers are all meaningless when it comes to going up hills.

For my next car, I want a diesel (better torque for hills), a good family sized one. I am not a car fanatic. All I care about is reliability (i.e. it doesn't break down every year) and economy.

My sister and her husband have a Seat Leon Diesel 2013 and they're getting much better fuel economy, he did a test once and £10 got him 120 miles. He says he fills up his car once every 10 days (fills it up by £30), this is even though they use their car more than us. So they spend roughly £90 a month on fuel. I drive a lot less, and spend £130.

I keep hearing that Toyotas made in Japan are of better quality than Toyota's made elsewhere. Is the RAV-4 made in Japan? If not, are there any Toyota cars that are sold in the UK that are made in Japan?

I would like an economical, automatic diesel that is reliable. What are my options? Cruise control is a must, and parking sensor would be nice. I am "poor", so cannot put down the deposit of a house for a car. My budget is between £5K and £8K (lower is better of course).

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. If I have missed information, let me know and I'll update the post 🙂

Thank you.

 

I understand your predicament and you're asking the right sort of questions, but a few things aren't quite right:

£10 of fuel is not a meaningful way to compare real world running costs. For example, I pay £1.23.7/ltr for premium diesel, locally people pay 4.2p/ltr more for the standard stuff. It's even less meaningful if you don't do a lot of miles and as someone who has done about 350,000 miles in various VAG based diesels including a Leon and Altea, don't buy a recent diesel. VW/Audi/Seat/Skoda are all the same company, back when they sold the 1.9PD engine, it was a great buy, since the 2.0PD and later things have got worse, a lot worse. EGR issues are common if it doesn't get a good run regularly, timing belt costs are not cheap and you  need to be absolutely sure that the correct grade of oil is used to avoid cam wear, also fixed servicing is what you want, the VTS was a con to edge the numbers for fleet sales.

So, how many miles a year do you do?

If you fit in an i10 (awful car btw, did 6,000 miles in one around rural Northumberland and hated it), how much bigger would you like to go?

Why diesel? Just because the i10 is awful doesn't dictate a larger and more capable turbo petrol engine won't be much, much more capable.

RAV wise they were built in Japan, the petrol auto option is well proven, the MK2 is cheap now and the engine is chain driven so you don't have a timing belt to change. Size wise, my dad (6-8" and 18-22st) used to do 400 miles in a RAV no problem at all and is now on his 3rd. Last time round he tried a Landrover/RR Sport, Outlander, CRV, Tiguan, X6 and ML and then went and hunted down a 6 month old RAV as in his words: 'I could spend 4x as much, but other than a few more toys, or a more powerful engine, it's doesn't offer anything worthwhile and the dog's won't care.' As comfort is subjective i'd suggest trying one if possible. A MK2 is going to be well under your lower budget, so you're looking at MK3 onwards, but see how it feels for you first.