Which one of these cars?

photome

MX5huggy wrote: »

Sorry OP but from your list I would go for the Suzuiki Swift (I know it's not on there but should be), all reports say its a bundle of fun to drive and not a corsa etc.

Snap but we are not allowed to mention any other car

UncleZen

The jazz for me everytime

agrinnall

I'm also going to mention another car, Fiat Panda. I did over 70,000 miles in mine in 4 years, including many motorway journeys of up to 500 miles. Never missed a beat in all of that.

forgotmyname

I also have a Mondeo and a back condition. No issues. I cannot go 10 minutes in a Golf, Passat or Vectra though. They kill me.

Quick spin in a Newish fiesta was OK, Maybe because it was a posh one and not the standard basic seats.

Horizon81

I don't care how fast the Aygo/Panda and other city cars are, they're too small for us - but I wouldn't have one anyway. In my eyes they're not proper cars as they've been stripped back too much plus goodness knows how safe they are. I was behind a 107 at the lights recently, full of students and the 3 back seat passenger's heads were practically touching the rear wndow.

Anyways... the Swift isn't a bad shout. I had looked at these along with the Mazda 2 but again they seem to retain their value all too much and for that money I'd rather have the Jazz. Can you tell I like Jap cars?! Just had a close look at a Note and I really wasn't keen. Didn't feel Jap at all inside, if that makes sense, possibly cos Nissan formed that alliance with Renault about 10 years ago.

Idiophreak

Horizon81 wrote: »

I don't care how fast the Aygo/Panda and other city cars are, they're too small for us - but I wouldn't have one anyway. In my eyes they're not proper cars as they've been stripped back too much plus goodness knows how safe they are. I was behind a 107 at the lights recently, full of students and the 3 back seat passenger's heads were practically touching the rear wndow.

The aygo only has 2 rear seats. If they had three sat in the back, it's no surprise they looked crammed in - but in any case, the boot is only about a foot deep, so your head is pretty much on the rear window. That said, it's amazing spacious in the back and it does alright (if not great) in safety checks.

I understand what you mean about them being stripped back, though, having the metallic shell visible on the inside is a bit jarring....but if you can get your head around that, they're a really nice, economical little that's cheap to buy and run. I know it's off-topic, anyway - but just in case anyone else reading the thread is interested...

LandyAndy

Horizon81 wrote: »

Please don’t suggest any other alternatives as I don’t want the usual Fiesta/Corsa/Polo.

1. Honda Jazz 1.2 preferably
2. Nissan Micra 1.2 or Note 1.4
3. Mitsubishi Colt 1.1 or poss 1.3 (not the Clear Tec)
4. Skoda Fabia 1.2 12v (70)

Looking at spending £4K max and 2007 or newer. All of these are pretty well rated and have timing chain engines. Tax is no more than £135 a year (Note) and insurance groups are relatively low. I’m not keen on the Skoda due to cylinder head problems with the 1.2 but sometimes you wonder how widespread problems are that you find reported on the internet. Like I read somewhere else recently, if you scour the internet looking for car problems you’d never buy any car!

Would be great to hear from actual owners of these cars rather than subjective comments like the ones I’d come out with.

I know you didn't want any others....


....but.....

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201303275971531/sort/default/usedcars/price-to/4000/maximum-age/up_to_5_years_old/model/mazda2/make/mazda/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/radius/1500/page/1/postcode/sp61ej?logcode=p

I have one. had it three and a half years from new doing exactly the sort of use you want it for. Done 42000 miles. Nothing has gone wrong. Fun to drive. Has handled 200 mile mway journeys with ease and in comfort. 45+mpg.
:cool:

Horizon81

Yes LandyAndy I remember you mentioning your Mazda 2 in the past and I did mention it a couple of posts up. They're a pretty rare sight on the roads round my way, even more so on the second hand market, although that link you provide seems on the money.

Horizon81

And going off topic a bit, what are people's thoughts on the Honest John site? They offer a half decent review for all cars, what's good, what's bad etc and give an overall rating. However I've just looked and they give the Grande Punto a 4 out of 5! The T&S has taken a shine to one but I'm trying to persuade her it's a bag of bolts.

LandyAndy

Horizon81 wrote: »

Yes LandyAndy I remember you mentioning your Mazda 2 in the past and I did mention it a couple of posts up. They're a pretty rare sight on the roads round my way, even more so on the second hand market, although that link you provide seems on the money.

I read your post after I'd posted :cool:.

They're pretty common round here, probably because the Mazda dealer is by far the nearest one.

I can genuinely recommend them though. Do at least give one a drive if you get the chance.;)