recommendations for a small car with auto gearbox please?

vikingaero

There was an article in Autocar by James Ruppert a few weeks ago in which he discussed automatic gearboxes and their failures. Anything with a 4 or 5 speed box was OK and fairly durable. Anything with 6, 7 or 8 speeds were likely to fail after the warranty period. The outlook for anything with DSG/MMT wasn't good. The ones to totally avoid were the original Mercedes A Class and other Merc models of that era which had the gearbox ECU inside the harsh environment of the gearbox itself rather than mounted in the car.

The autobox specialist he spoke to said that the only decent automatics to buy were: "anything Japanese" (and anything Korean I presume).

zzzLazyDaisy

Wow! Thank you so much for all the helpful replies.

To those who said to stick with the civic.... well I know you are right, as it was only after lots of test drives that I eventually conceded defeat with the small cars and went for the civic - that was five years ago though, and I had hoped things might have changed. There is nothing wrong with the civic, far from it, but it is rather too big for what I want/need, and it is a pain (literally) trying to turn it round in my drive.

I'll have a look at the new look Honda Jazz - thanks for the heads up on that.

I also have the chance of a fiests zetec auto - does anyone have any views on its gear box?

many thanks again

Daisy

zzzLazyDaisy

update....

A little research has revealed that the new style jazz does not have the CVT auto of its predecessor - it has what Honest John has referred to as 'a poor excuse for an auto' and the reviews from people who own or have driven it seem to back this up. It is a semi-automatic that (it appears) can only be driven effectively in low gears by changing to manual. Not what I am looking for, I'm afraid..

So its back to the drawing board for me (and sticking with the civic for the time being)

picasso2

If its any help i drove an automatic KIA Picanto 1L. Lovely car , nice smooth ride and transition through the gears. Boot very small though.

Now have a polo ( after a brief experience with an old style mazda 2, semi auto , horrible).
The polo again is a lovely drive, mine has a 1.4 engine - not sure if they do a smaaler engine , this was an ex demo model. Very pleased with this one and don't think i'll change it for some time.

HTH

flyingscotno1

I agree with the comments on automatics as not totally bullet proof. I'd like a nice 7 speed DSG box, sounds brilliant but I'm unconvinced I won't have a 1500 bill when something goes crunch.

In terms of diesels a DM Flywheel failure you can live with, and have replaced, but a DSG box ouch. If VW had confidence give a gearbox warranty for 7 years/100k miles.

Saying that the CVT stuff in the Hybrids from Toyota and Honda must be alright?

saver2000

With regard to the fiesta, is it a durashift/or normal auto? The durashift ones seem to be quite unreliable from what I read. I was considering one as they were so cheap - there's a lot of cheap low mileage ones around, but I think people are trying to offload them before they fail.
I think the normal autos are fairly good, although I never had a chance to try one.

iolanthe07

I have driven automatics for the last 20 years, and would always go for a traditional torque converter type. The technology goes back decades and they are generally reliable, and not hugely expensive to fix if they do go wrong. These semi-autos, DSG and CVT and automatic clutch variables are designed to eliminate the greater fuel consumption and higher CO2 emissions of an traditional auto, not always very successfully. I am happy to accept paying a premium for the convenience and relaxation of driving an auto.

sunshinetours

Some suggestions already made so maybe try driving a few of the smaller Kia's or Hyundai's. Wife has a similar Civic to you by the sounds of it and the 1.6 matched with the proper auto box makes it very nice indeed to drive. I think personally you will struggle to find something as nice if you go smaller.
great little cars and keep their value really well aswell (especially the auto version maybe for the reasons explained that there is so little else out there as good even now)