Hi all,
I'm changing cars and also getting a new car for the missus.
We need to change her car as the one she has at present is falling apart. We need something that's reliable, cheap to run, doesn't drink too much fuel, is nippy enough and can safely get her from home to work on her 16 mile round trip on urban A roads. At the minute, we're leaning towards a 3 year old Yaris with a 1.3 petrol engine. We have some friends who say their previous Yaris' have been a dream to own - would welcome any other feedback or suggestions on other models to look at. Budget max £6k.
For me - my current 1.2 petrol corsa is nice enough but the main problem is the awful fuel consumption. A £40 fill up will get me about 260 miles, which is no good for my 45 mile round trip to work on a mixture of motorway and A roads (and I don't have a heavy right foot). The car is also slow beyond belief and - this is only a minor niggle but it irritates the hell out of me - but every time a headlight bulb needs changing I have to take it into the dealer to remove the bumper! Would love a car where I could do the simple things like this myself!
So I'm after something diesel, reliable, cheap to tax and insure, cheap servicing costs and ideally astra/focus sort of size maybe smaller and upto 3 yrs old. Budget is £9-10k. Haven't test driven anything yet, but I quite like the look of the Mazda 3 1.6 diesel. Any advice or reccomendations would be great.
Essay over, thanks!
2 June 2012
Your wife would probably want to take a look at the Toyota Aygo - that's an excellent little car. It's reliable, nippy, cheap to run (it does over 60mpg and costs £10 a year to tax) and a good one can come in at well under budget. Also look at the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107 as they are mechanically identical.
As for your car, I think you should take a look at a Honda Civic 2.2 i-DTEC or a Toyota Auris 2.2 D4-D T180. They're economical diesel hatchbacks of the sort of size you're looking for and they have decent performance too. Or how about a Mercedes A200CDI. They're very rare, but quick, economical and well-specced, as this engine was only available in higher trim levels.
9 March 2012
Welcome to the forums! :)
I think your wife should get a škoda fabia VRS - very nippy- 53.3 MPG and i remember someone on the forum said it was the best car they ever owned and were sad they sold it!
Founder and owner of driverscar.co.uk
9 March 2012
Or how about a Mercedes A200CDI. They're very rare, but quick, economical and well-specced, as this engine was only available in higher trim levels.
Do you mean a 180??, you would be have to be stuped 109 HP from a 2.0 thats 5h17!
Founder and owner of driverscar.co.uk
9 March 2012
For you i would recomend a BMW 120d 180BHP and 60 MPG is a no brainer! With your budget you should be able to get a top spec with less than 40,000.
Founder and owner of driverscar.co.uk
3 June 2012
Thanks for the suggestions guys. Think the missus is set on a Yaris now - 1.3 petrol. I suggested the Aygo when we were at a Toyota dealer the other day and pointed out how economical it could be - but she said she didnt like how it looks! Have also suggested a Hyundai i10, think thats her 2nd choice after a Yaris.
Did have my eye on a 10 plate mazda 3 - but it sold, quickly. so I'll keep looking. I like the idea of an auris or a civiv - but their emissions mean theyre more than £30 a year tax and on paper fuel consumption on both of those is worse than the mazda. I'll keep looking out for mazdas and will have a think about hyundai i30s and kia ceeds as they both seem quite solid and should hopefully last for years.
3 June 2012
Forgot to ask! I don't know a lot about diesels, but many of them seem to have high mileage for their age. How high is too high? I'll be doing 12-15k a year ish and want to keep whatever I do buy for 8-10 years. Can a modern diesel last that long and still be going strong with 150k on the clock?
19 December 2008
there is no doubt modern diesels can easily go the distance, but if you are really keen on keeping a car that long and over those miles, personally i would make sure it was Japanese. There are an awful lot of very expensive bits to a diesel engine which can fail and often seem to as a car gets older, and the Japanese still build the cars with the best reputations regarding longevity.
5 June 2012
They're very rare, but quick, economical and well-specced, as this engine was only available in higher trim levels.