Eurofolks, please help me choose a vehicle!
 

Ok my old Volvo does like 10l/100 so it's just got to go.

So I am in the market for another car. I am going to be driving for my work, to the UK and back to Finland quite often. This is 3000 mile round trip! Many times a year! So eco is my priority, but to add to the dilemma it has to be quite big to fit a lot of crap in. I don't want to spend much money because the crazy milage will devalue it, so I am just going to spend about £1500 on it so I am pretty much looking at 10 year old vehicles.

There is not a lot of engines out there, basically the VAG 1.9tdi or PSA 2.0 HDi are the 2 most efficient engines I can find. And I am opting for the Hdi because the Citroens and Peugeots seem better value.

So I am thinking Citroen Xsara Picasso 2.0 hdi. Yes its tall, but for 3000 mile journey it has to be comfortbale. Fuel figures are:

Imperial Urban (cold)
40.4
Imperial Extra Urban
61.4
Imperial Combined
51.4

Metric Urban (cold)
7
Metric Extra Urban
4.6
Metric Combined
5.5

Cd: 0.31

Example:
http://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewik...t_20080103.jpg

(Interestingly the Xsara non-picasso achieves 65.7 imperial extra urban, basically 5mpg more.)

Anyway, my target would be 4l/100 or 70 MPG IMP @ 60mph / 100kmh. Do you think that is do-able on the Picasso? Or should I compromise comfort for a wagon ang better MPG's. I have been debating this for too long it is giving me a bad headache hence why I am am asking for your advice.

The other alternative is get non-hdi engine that can run SVO because I live on a farm and could process a couple hundred litres of pure sunflower oil per summer for free, but then in winter when I can't run on SVO the MPG would suck, so I think the efficiency of HDi engines is the compromise..

The Xsara and Xsara Picasso are two totally different cars, aerodynamically at least. The Picasso version has just soooo much more frontal area. Compare:
Xsara Break:
http://carblueprints.info/blueprints...sara-break.gif
Xsara Picasso:
http://www.tutorials3d.com/blueprints/wpicasso.jpg
The Picasso is at least 10mm wider and 217mm taller, while both have a drag coefficient of 0.3 from what I've been able to find. The Picasso is almost 30% heavier (1388kg vs 1080kg).

With the milage you're doing, even a small difference in fuel consumption will quickly add up. I'd ditch the minivan and get a stationwagon. If you can fit your crap into the Xsara, then go with it. Also, the Xsara will probably allow better aeromodding.

If you are willing to invest a bit more, then I'd propose the car I have, a Peugeot 307sw (or 307 wagon, without the "SW", should be slightly cheaper). Its height is between the Xsara Break and Picasso, its 1.6HDi engine is more efficient (and lighter) than the 2.0HDi, it has already been tested with aeromods (see my thread and fuel log), and is very functional when packing. For example, I've hauled the following configurations (among others):

• 7 people,
• 3 people plus 4 bikes plus stuff,
• 4 people plus 3 bikes plus stuff,
• 5 people plus lots of stuff,
• 2 people plus even more stuff,
• 1 person and way more than half a ton of stuff,
• 4 people plus 210cm-long skis,
• 1-3 people plus Ikea boxes 220-240cm long.

The down side is that its weight is closer to the Picasso, and Cd is 0.33:(

My dad has a 2.0 HDi Xsara Picasso and he can't fault it except for the omnipresent nature of the model. He has had no issues with it but uses it for the complete opposite nature to you (8 mile total daily commute) and a monthly long-distance drive.

It is a comfortable vehicle, it is relatively cavernous (though not compared to our Previa) and does appear to be a reliable vehicle.

That said, I would probably put more faith into a VAG 1.9 TDi unit as it is the taxi cab of choice, far more numerable in this use than any PSA vehicles.

You can get an Octavia estate 1.9 TDi for £1.5k with about 120,000 miles on it.