Don't know which car to buy!

MissMonkeyMoo

Hi, I'm hopig that some kindly readers can help me! After having my little girl, the time has come to get a family friendly car but I am flummoxed by all the choice! Traditionally, I have always thought a 1.6 engine and upwards was best but have been told that the new engines in some cars (like vw & seat) have been reduced to 1.2/1.4 but are equivalent to an old 1.6 in power. Is this true? Would anyone be able to advise on a decent car for me, the key points are as follows:
* don't want brand new, but would prefer something no older than two years
* budget is £ 10 k max
* most driving will be done round town/local, but will be doing motorway driving on infrequent basis
*needs to be child friendly!
*hatchbacks preferred
* would prefer low car tax if possible

Any recommendations greatly received!

forgotmyname

You can get a 1L focus with 125bhp or a 1.6 with 180bhp.

Although the reviews rave about the torque on the 1L engine. Its in a small band. Quite a peaky engine. So you need to work the gears to keep the turbo on boost.

Mostly local you want a small petrol engine. 1.2 or 1.4 will be fine.

I only have a big car because i tow a caravan.

tony6403

forgotmyname wrote: »

You can get a 1L focus with 125bhp or a 1.6 with 180bhp.
.

OP would be lucky to find one for £10k

steve-L

Despite the newer engines delivering the power they are not built to last.

Despite that as forgetmyname say's around town a petrol 1.2 or 1.4 or more than adequate.

I'd seriously recommend an estate .... they fit prams without folding AND the shopping and/or another mum and childseat ..... and as they get older trikes, bikes and scooters etc.

If your back is OK then no prob otherwise SUV types actually are easier to lift the child in/out than a lower car.

LEATHER seats.... are a serious plus unless you like the smell of poop and puke and as they get older mud/snow etc.

MissMonkeyMoo

thanks for the replies; I hadn't really thought about when DD gets older, so didn't think about trikes and bikes! That's definitely something to consider! I may give the new 'eco friendly' smaller engines a miss then - OH was keen to get something in a low tax band but I pointed out that whilst we may save a hundred quid on tax in a year we would probably have to fork out a couple of grand more up front! I'm leaning towards Ford Focus at the mo - have spotted on that is 2 years old, 1.6 titanium, about 10k miles on the clock for £9k. But did a quick online insurance quote using the reg and the value came up automatically as £7.5k?

Will have another look and consider estates and SUV's as suggested, thanks again and feel free to keep posting recommendations! :T

27col

In your situation I would definitely buy an estate.

steve-L

27col wrote: »

In your situation I would definitely buy an estate.

Yep, its amazing just how much stuff you accumulate with the first kid!

Even when mine was a nipper we visited grandma and before you know where you are the estate is full ... travel cot, toys etc.

MissMonkeyMoo wrote:

I may give the new 'eco friendly' smaller engines a miss then - OH was keen to get something in a low tax band but I pointed out that whilst we may save a hundred quid on tax in a year we would probably have to fork out a couple of grand more up front!

If you do low milage then its only £100 difference a year.... but if you do higher milage then perhaps the MPG economy might make it worth while over say a Focus 1.8 Petrol..... if you were to do over 10,000 miles a year then time to seriously consider a diesel .....

So all in all the small eco's with big turbo's are IMHO only really worth it when you're doing a reasonable amount of mies mainly in town. They might develop a decent amount of power due to turbo's but that just strains the intrinsically weaker smaller engine... (it has to be weak as it needs to weigh less) whereas the reasons diesels last so long is because the way they work it doesn't matter so much about it being heavier....

(simple explanation without mentioning too many technical terms like Torque)