What car do I buy to replace mini?

I_Love_Shoes

Hi,
My beloved Mini has been causing me very expensive problems and I may have to sell it.
I think I can probably get around £6-8k for it.
Im looking for a car that is similar in character, ideally german as they are known for have good reliable engines. Another smallish car (maybe with a bit more boot space than the mini!) Diesel and quite powerful with good handling.
Does anybody have any recommendations?
Ive looked at the BMW 1 series and the Audi A3s but they just seem to be lacking character.
I could probably spend a max of £10k, dont want more than about 80k miles on it or anything older than 5 years.

Herzlos

If you go for a German car you'll need to put up with the lack of character, it's just not something they do well.

What about a Clio (great driving cars) or another Mini?

Or even just sticking with the current Mini if you've already fixed all of the problems.

motorguy

Citroen DS3?
VW Beetle?

The germans arent well known for building cars with character - even the mini you are driving was a Rover design from when BMW owned them.

I_Love_Shoes

Clios are a bit boring, and the french arent known for reliability either.
Does anybody know what the citroen DS reliability is like?
I love mini but this is my second one and the two cars have cost me about £3k in repairs in 3 or 4 years, surely this isnt normal? Or have I just had bad luck with them?!

I_Love_Shoes

Im not tarty enough to drive a Beetle, plus they feel like driving a tin can!
I love the oumph of the torque and 150 BHP of my cooper diesel, just not the cost any time it goes near a mini garage!

LittleMax

I love my Fiat 500 - loads of character (not German, I know). But it wouldn't have enough boot space for you. However might be worth having a look at the new 500L ... not quite as funky as the 500, but gives you the extra space. Don't know what it drives like.

RDG

Alfa Romeo Mito or Giulietta lots of character and very reliable diesel engines as they have the Fiat JTDs. Mito is Mini sized but with a bigger boot and the Giulietta is Golf/A3 sized.
Alfa Romeos arent as unreliable as they used to be Ive had my Mito 3 years and had no mechanical problems.

londonTiger

Herzlos wrote: »

What about a Clio (great driving cars)

This is a joke right? French cars are boring as hell to drive and have relaibility issues. Theyn only thing good abotu fgrench cars is their safety. But even then - there's just too many compromises to make for a little bit of extra safety.

If you want a safe car - get a volvo, it will also be reliable and drive good too.

OP. german cars don't have a lot of flair to them. Look at the vws and audis wich are very simple. Bit I have a golf and IMO the design is understated and timeless. A lot of the french cars like the clio, pugs etc are more "fashion" focused and look very dated after 5 or so years.

The bmw mini is a fantastic looking car, it will be hard to get a german car with such a big fashion statement. But if the size is alright for you and you are so inclined get a polo gti or a lupo gti. They're roughly bmw mini sized and will be a ideal switchover for you.

Golf is a bit too big of an upgrade. But if you're willing to make the jump in size the golf or audi a3 would be a reasonable upgrade.

German cars have great engine reliability but the problem comes with the electronics and a few small things like that. But a TDI engine will run like new even up to the 200K miles range if you service it properly.

I_Love_Shoes

I dont really like the Fiat 500s, they are a bit too small too!
I wouldnt mind a gold size car but they are just boring!
Im looking at the Citroen DS3 but its only 90bhp and my mini is 150bhp for the same size engine (1.6) so that worries me a bit, plus the fact that its French!

RDG

londonTiger wrote: »

If you want a safe car - get a volvo, it will also be reliable and drive good too.

Volvo C30 might be a good shout as its got character and is a little bigger than a mini.

motorguy

I_Love_Shoes wrote: »

Im not tarty enough to drive a Beetle, plus they feel like driving a tin can!
I love the oumph of the torque and 150 BHP of my cooper diesel, just not the cost any time it goes near a mini garage!

Hey dont shoot the messenger, just throwing options out there!