help me choose a car!

Hintza

With farm tracks it is all about ground clearance. As I said in a recent post that is why we have a Panda (2wd) which has pretty good ground clearance.

Whatever you buy make sure it is not going to drag the sump over the potholes.

CreditCrunchie

What make of Panda do you have Hintza? And thanks everyone for the tips

F1F93

I wouldn't worry too much about winter as long as you use winter tyres. I'd rather have the Mazda with winter tyres on than the Rav4 with summers. As for the farm track, only you know whether it will be too low or not.

topdaddy_2

CreditCrunchie wrote: »

What make of Panda do you have Hintza? And thanks everyone for the tips

Fiats make pandas. You seem to have chosen three very different car types. Id say the fiesta is the one id choose but very difficult to compare to the other two. Rav4 was one of the worst cars ive driven.

CreditCrunchie

haha i know, hence why I'm finding it so difficult! I thought i'd decided on the Rav then today I changed my mind again. Looked at some newer fiestas but they're all SO expensive and I'm wondering if it'll be worth it if I cant even take it out in the snow! Think I need to go and view a few and test them out to see what 'feels' best.

Why didn't you like the Rav topdaddy?

Hintza

We have the 1.2 Panda with the non-interference engine (means if the cambelt goes the engine is not destroyed).

The car is as tough as old boots, has great ground clearance and takes one h.ell of a lot of abuse from us. Styling might not be to everyone's taste but it can carry a lot if that is required.

A friend of mine has just bought the 4x4 version and it will be even more capable but to be honest the only time I was ever stuck in our was when the snow was that deep the wheels were off the ground. I'm not sure the 4x4 is really necessary unless conditions are very extreme for extended periods of time.

InsideInsurance

CreditCrunchie wrote: »

Looked at some newer fiestas but they're all SO expensive

Whilst there is certainly a good element of diminishing returns with vehicles you do get what you pay for generally. Of cause its a personal choice if you think the extra you are getting is worth the extra money charged.

forgotmyname

Small hatchbacks are usually in demand. Cheap cars are usually cheap because of little demand.

Think of a slightly bigger car. A focus maybe cheaper to buy and a Mondeo cheaper still. But running costs maybe very similar.

On a run i can get close to 60MPG in my Mondeo.

topdaddy_2

I didnt like the clutch or the ride in the rav4.