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The idea car for my wife - suggestions gratefully received

Make that 'IDEAL'!

I admit to knowing not a lot about cars. They just don't interest me, however...

My OH is in the market for a 'new' (i.e. used) vehicle. She does a fair amount of round-the-town driving but also the occasional long distance run. Small to medium size would be about right. Otherwise, the requirements are:

1. Economy on mpg

and, only slightly less importantly

2. Reliability/cheapness of spares

and finally, to suit the needs of her business

3. Availability as a 5 door version.

Any ideas/suggestions/thoughts please?
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Comments

  • carly
    carly Posts: 1,455 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Toyota Yaris....
    had one for 10 years and it's never let me down.
    versatile, cheap to run I get average of 60 mpg mixed driving conditions.
    I wouldnt like to spend all day everyday on the motorway though
  • vikingaero
    vikingaero Posts: 10,920 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Sounds like she's an ideal candidate for a Hyundai i10, i20, i30 depending on size of car or the Kia equivalent.
    The man without a signature.
  • Inactive
    Inactive Posts: 14,509 Forumite
    Agreed, a Hyundai Getz 5 door, or possibly a Kia Rio would be good value cars.
  • Thanks for the ideas. Keep 'em coming, folks. I promise each will be given due consideration.
  • kwaks
    kwaks Posts: 494 Forumite
    More info required I think, some of the cars above are pretty small, so if the 5 doors is required as she carries passengers then its going to be a tight squeeze.

    Personally if the car was for business use, which it sounds it may be, I would be looking at reliability and would consider cars such as the Polo or Golf. Focus has to be considered (repairs cheap and anyone can do) and a car like the subaru forester would be an excellant choice for space/reliability & the bonus of AWD
  • Lum
    Lum Posts: 6,460 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Combo Breaker
    Subaru Forester for someone who wants a small car with good MPG and cheap servicing? :rotfl:

    The car is being mainly used for short local runs so a petrol, rather than a diesel, will be necessary to avoid high maintenance costs.

    I'd go with the Ford Fiesta or Focus depending on the exact size she wants.
  • Strider590
    Strider590 Posts: 11,874 Forumite
    Are there kids that need taking to school?

    If so you need a BMW X6 :p

    If not, the above mentioned cars sound good to me :)

    Just want to mention that small engined cars are a false economy if used at motorway speeds, also id rather my partner had a bit more protection than a small car can provide. The most economical "all rounder" engine size is around 1500cc to 1800cc.
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  • kwaks wrote: »
    More info required I think, some of the cars above are pretty small, so if the 5 doors is required as she carries passengers then its going to be a tight squeeze.

    Personally if the car was for business use, which it sounds it may be, I would be looking at reliability and would consider cars such as the Polo or Golf. Focus has to be considered (repairs cheap and anyone can do) and a car like the subaru forester would be an excellant choice for space/reliability & the bonus of AWD



    Good point.

    Her business is as a one-to-one, private, elderly care nurse. This entails travelling to and from clients' homes in our local area plus the occasional excursion, taking clients to places of interest.

    Therefore the car needs to provide a degree of comfort and accessibility (oldsters sometimes have difficulty getting into low-set cars) although total spaciousness and luxury is not a requirement.

    Children are not a factor.
  • Lum
    Lum Posts: 6,460 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Combo Breaker
    In that case it sounds like the "short" trips will be somewhat longer than what most people were imagining when you said short trip, ie. Tesco and the local primary school. Also sounds like there is a lot more of them in which case a diesel probably is more appropriate.

    I don't know this job but I would suspect that you'd need some decent leg room in the back and thus something like a Focus would be a minimum size rather than a maximum. Do you also need to cart around zimmer frames and motability scooters and things?

    A diesel Subaru Forester might be a good choice after all as the diesels are pretty good on MPG. I'd still be wary of the servicing costs though.
  • victor2
    victor2 Posts: 7,887 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    If you want something of a reasonable size, consider a Toyota Prius. It' a good 5 door and drives like any regular automatic, just have to get used to the engine stopping at junctions! With Toyota's reputation for reliability, an 8 year, 100,000 mile waranty on the "hybrid" bits, £10 a year road tax (zero if you get the 2009 1.8 model) and economy about town in the 50+ bracket, it's worth a look. Depends on your budget of course, but there are some around on the second-hand market now.

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