Car Choice

duggan1

Appreciate the advice given to me here before and hoping for a little more!

Am looking for my first car and have settled on buying a new Kia Rio. Am hoping to not have to change it for as long as possible so am trying to decide between trim levels. VR7 model has a smaller 1.25 petrol engine and the '3' model has a 1.4 petrol but with stop-start and some other 'eco' stuff (along with 17" wheels and cruise control etc).

Unlikely to breach 10,000 miles a year and mostly urban/suburban driving planned.

Question is, given people's experience, am I likely to regret a smaller engine in a couple of years? Am basically trying to decide if the extras are worth the initial outlay of an extra £1200 quid or so.

Model/Spec here.

Thanks.

DUTR

For me if you are keeping the car a while then £1200 becomes insignificant.

vansboy

I'd go for the bigger engine and more add ons, as you will appreciate the additional power now and again, without much loss of mpg

Have a look at this Honest John report

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/kia/rio-2011/

Vb

duggan1

That's what I'm thinking to be honest... but do I really need them?

Going to call round the local Kia dealers tomorrow and see what their best price on both are, and if I can get a free DAB radio upgrade..:cool:

vansboy

If you check on honest Johns website, cars for sale, you'll get an idea of what you should be paying, with all current discounts applied.

VB

RichardD1970

For your type of driving I would go for the one with the stop-start tech, around town, stop-start will come into it's own.

We bought a new Rio when it had it's first face lift in 2005 and it never missed a beat in 7 years of ownership, only changed it because we needed something which could take 6 people.

Can't comment on the new models but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Kias.

Oh, and you can't have enough toys .

DUTR

duggan1 wrote: »

That's what I'm thinking to be honest... but do I really need them?

Going to call round the local Kia dealers tomorrow and see what their best price on both are, and if I can get a free DAB radio upgrade..:cool:

I thought DAB was standard now?
What are the extras for the £1200 ?
Let me tell you about some options I had on my car
Sunroof >£900
Paint>£900
LSD>£900
Sat Nav >£900
Heated windscreen, advanced telephone connection keyless entry >£900
and there was some other stuff too :eek:
Some things I don't use every journey but I know I would kick myself for not selecting them rather than have the money in the bank .

duggan1

No standard DAB on Kia Rio unfortunately, but Bluetooth is so swings and roundabouts.

For the extra 1200 or so you get a 1.4 l engine, stop start tech, cruise control, inch bigger wheels, automatic lights, rain sensing wipers, auto defog, heated seats, better speakers and some other stuff that looks mainly cosmetic.

Plus they do it in blue (don't want the basic white).

DUTR

duggan1 wrote: »

No standard DAB on Kia Rio unfortunately, but Bluetooth is so swings and roundabouts.

For the extra 1200 or so you get a 1.4 l engine, stop start tech, cruise control, inch bigger wheels, automatic lights, rain sensing wipers, auto defog, heated seats, better speakers and some other stuff that looks mainly cosmetic.

Plus they do it in blue (don't want the basic white).

That's a no brainer from my seat then, the 1.4 litre engine will probaly work out as economical if not more so, start stop reduces the VED liabilty, not sure how much fuel it saves, larger alloys look better and that size is not too big to get kerb marks easily, automatic lights and rain sensor certainly add to the comfort factor, if they are like the VW, not only do they come on and off, the speed varies too, eg on the motorway passing a lorry in the rain, the wipers speed up from the spray and reduce back after you have passed, auto defog can be good, heated seats I can do without in a petrol engine car as the cockpit heats up quickly, sound pack is a must too, oh and cruise for the £1200 the extras are as good as free. It's not as if they are not features that will help sell the when the time comes.

DUTR

Have you done the maths right? or are you getting some sort of deal, as the difference in the two models is £2100 not £1200.
ETA
having a look further, there seem sosme strangeness with the VED bands
Rio '3' 1.4 107bhp 4-speed auto is in band F, same as the Golf GTI DSG which is 2 litre petrol 227bhp.
Now the VR7 with a £2100 price difference and £110 year VED difference is now looking more attractive.

duggan1

DUTR wrote: »

Have you done the maths right? or are you getting some sort of deal, as the difference in the two models is £2100 not £1200.
ETA
having a look further, there seem sosme strangeness with the VED bands
Rio '3' 1.4 107bhp 4-speed auto is in band F, same as the Golf GTI DSG which is 2 litre petrol 227bhp.
Now the VR7 with a £2100 price difference and £110 year VED difference is now looking more attractive.

That's based on discounts on things like drivethedeal etc. The Best worked out at £1200 or so difference. Whether I can get that locally or convenient is of course another matter.

You are right about the VED as well although the manual version is in band D, a little cheaper.