Small-ish Diesel car, around £5k

Wooden

Hi, Looking for a small-ish 5 door diesel car for my dad for around £5k. Had a look on Autotrader ect, and short listed a few, all 1.4 diesel - £30 a year road tax - 56/07/57 plates - all do 60+mpg - low insurance groups ...
Skoda Fabia
Peugeot 207
Citroen C3
VW Polo
Ford Fiesta
Toyota Yaris

Had a good few diesel Peugeots in the past and they've always been pretty reliable so kinda swaying towards the 207 / C3, but just wondering if anyone else has reccomendations ?

Thanks alot.
Rich

mikey72

That was about our shortlist, looked and test drove them all, the C3 was the clear winner, and it gives at least 60mpg on short journeys and stop start urban.

laurel7172

I drive the Yaris-it's a nice little car. So was the Citroen I test drove. We might have bought it but for the suspension-Citroens are notoriously unaccommodating towards those who suffer from motion sickness. However, what I didn't realise is that Toyota parts can be pretty expensive. I don't know about Citroen, but it's something I'd take into account next time.

Weird_Nev

We ran a 1.4 Tdi Fabia for 4 years and 50k miles. It was a really excellent car. I drive the frnech offerings at work and IMO they're not a ptach on the fabia.
The skoda is nice to drive, feels a "class above" with lower road noise and better seats and control weighting, and it cruises nicely at speed without ever getting thrashy. It returned 60Mpg mixed use and 65+ on a clear run for us.

£5k should see you in an older shaper 2006 one with reasonable miles.

andygb

The Skoda for me as well. Great build quality, but factor in a DMF change back to SMF (around £700) to keep you running happy.
Actaully, the £700 or more could apply to any diesel with a DMF.

mikey72

I didn't like the Yaris, really large high dashboard, to the point it blocked the drivers vew. The Fabia was just poorly made inside, very tinny thin doors, uncomfortable passenger seat with a really thin armrest, and a headrest that pushed your head forward, and just no way to get comfortable. We intend to use it for long journeys, to the point where we'll share the driving, and there was no way I could sit in that seat. The C3 has no dmf, no dpf, and over 60mpg. And it's comfy, even as a passenger. And C3 parts are dirt cheap, if you ever need any, and very easy to work on, so servicing isn't costly. And the boot is huge.

UncleZen

andygb wrote: »

The Skoda for me as well. Great build quality, but factor in a DMF change back to SMF (around £700) to keep you running happy.
Actaully, the £700 or more could apply to any diesel with a DMF.

I see its not long before a DMF naysayer turns up.

Bongedone

I've got a C3 and can confirm that I get at around 63mpg mixed use and 70mpg motorway

thegirlintheattic

Fiesta - I'd avoid pugs if at all possible. Mine had numerous electrical faults that were very common.

andygb

UncleZen wrote: »

I see its not long before a DMF naysayer turns up.

Plenty of us, lay people and mechanics alike, a bit of kit which is prone to failure. Plenty of people have swapped to a SMF and got well over 200K miles after with no problems.
If it aint broke, then it don't need fixing.

Wooden

Cheers, gonna go and have a look at a few this weekend.

Rich