Nice People Thread No. 14, all Nice and Proper

chewmylegoff

Doozergirl wrote: »

I'm the queen of narrow country lanes.

A Mini. The paintwork hasn't been affected on any of them much by wedging into bushes constantly. I have had two minor scratches in eight years of driving to a school situtated on a narrow lane.

The car feels sturdy as well, not cheap just because it is small. The Clubman is a bit marmite but you'll get real people in the back - just about - and a bit more boot. "Lounge leather" seats are comfy like sitting on a sofa. Run flat tyres are the exact opposite. My Countryman is bigger and has always been fine down the lanes. Ultimately, you have to give way a lot and know how to brake, so it isn't really about size until you encounter Chelsea Tractors, which are annoying enough to make you wonder why they'd even want to drive them on those roads.

And of course, they handle like they're on rails so they're amazing fun on the wider lanes where two cars fit.

Plus if you only need to transport a max of two people including the driver then minis have a great boot...with the back seats folded flat.

zagubov

michaels wrote: »

I was about to suggest a Fiat Stilo and then I remembered your feelings about Fiats...do we get any clues on budget? Is insurance almost even more important than purchase price?!

You remember well!

Doozergirl wrote: »

I'm the queen of narrow country lanes.

A Mini. The paintwork hasn't been affected on any of them much by wedging into bushes constantly. I have had two minor scratches in eight years of driving to a school situated on a narrow lane.

The car feels sturdy as well, not cheap just because it is small. The Clubman is a bit marmite but you'll get real people in the back - just about - and a bit more boot. "Lounge leather" seats are comfy like sitting on a sofa. Run flat tyres are the exact opposite. My Countryman is bigger and has always been fine down the lanes. Ultimately, you have to give way a lot and know how to brake, so it isn't really about size until you encounter Chelsea Tractors, which are annoying enough to make you wonder why they'd even want to drive them on those roads.

And of course, they handle like they're on rails so they're amazing fun on the wider lanes where two cars fit.

I used to drive one when they were designed for Bruce Banner, now they look like they've taken steroids so the Hulk can use them. Just checked prices. Can't go over £5k. Not many for that price with a low mileage.

People tend to use them to death IIRC. When we traded ours in, it was so ancient I think we had to let it roll downhill into the dealership, but not so fast that it would loosen the sellotape holding the mirrors, wheels and doors on.

kabayiri wrote: »

The only thing I can think of is to avoid the model variants which appeal to the young and new drivers; the low insurance models; since they will be in high demand.

The Honda Jazz was a surprisingly good car; didn't feel as small as it was.

The appeal to the young is alas part of the requirement as DS needs to learn to drive.

silvercar wrote: »

Toyota Aygo and its variants. Nice to drive but I wouldn't want to take it on a motorway long distance.

Interested in that one. Any advice/further info?

ukcarper wrote: »

Nissan note not to bad on motorways also.

Thanks, have given that one a try.

The only one I'd not considered was the Honda Jazz, which surprised me as I have built up a respect for Japanese cars.

Many thanks guys and gals for all the food for thought. :think:

silvercar

Toyota Aygo is a lot smaller than the Honda Jazz.

The advantage to us, was that the Aygo was the lowest insurance group when we bought it 6 years ago.

The engine is a touch under 1l, but it feels quite nippy. (Whereas my Juke doesn't.) DS2 complains that he would like something with a bigger engine.

As far as Aygo/ Peugeot / Citroen C1 goes - at the time we bought it the Aygo had a variant with more airbags than the others and I was concerned about safety in such a little car. Ours only has 2 seatbelts in the back not 3, if that is important.

LydiaJ

vivatifosi wrote: »

I was going through the list of new non fiction books as I do every week and for the first time ever saw one on hoarding. Unlike other books on tidying etc, this one is about hoarding as an illness and how to get better.

It is interesting as it is quite unlike anything I've seen before and hopefully will help a lot of people. I think it is due out in the autumn.

Mentioning purely because hoarding has been mentioned a few times on here.

Interesting. If you get more details about it when it comes out, please do point us in its direction.

kabayiri

zagubov wrote: »

...
The appeal to the young is alas part of the requirement as DS needs to learn to drive.
...

Ah yes. I understand that problem. The 2 cars we have here are much too big to let DD learn to drive in them.

michaels

I always think something like a smart car with only 2 seats means you will never have the car full of mates drive too fast peer pressure thing (and you are less likely to be the driver on a night out as you don't have a suitable taxi) although I don't know how they fare for ncap? Presumably they are cheap to tax and insure?

When I was growing up having access to a car at all however undesirable was still a step up from most.

CKhalvashi

zagubov wrote: »

Lots of NPs know a lots about high performance cars but I'm looking for any NP tips on finding a reliable cheap small car for me to squeeze down narrow country lanes. Some posters here have mentioned some potential good examples. Any experiences worth sharing?

I know of a 2002 Focus ST coming up for about £1500 soon :cool:

I wouldn't sell any NP a car I've owned, as whilst it's been serviced properly it's been driven reasonably hard; why do you think I change the 'nice' car so frequently?

My honest advice (if not for a new driver) would be something like a Corsa.

If a new driver/you don't like Vauxhall, then probably a Skoda Fabia or Honda Jazz, as it should be cheap to insure, too.

I know nothing about small runarounds, as NP will probably agree when this is seen.

zagubov

Doozergirl wrote: »

Ultimately, you have to give way a lot and know how to brake, so it isn't really about size until you encounter Chelsea Tractors, which are annoying enough to make you wonder why they'd even want to drive them on those roads.

That's the daftest thing. I drive past wide shallow paper-thin houses which have inadequate garages but then cars that take up too much room.

Mind you I wasn't as worried about my old small car getting scratched as the drivers of the bigger cars were !;)

tom9980

zagubov wrote: »

Lots of NPs know a lots about high performance cars but I'm looking for any NP tips on finding a reliable cheap small car for me to squeeze down narrow country lanes. Some posters here have mentioned some potential good examples. Any experiences worth sharing?

Ford Fiesta super all rounder and drives really nicely and the VW Polo is nice too those are the top 2 in my book from various test drives over the last 3 weeks while looking for a new car.

Having said that i bought a Nissan Micra last week for the wife to replace our older Fiesta mainly because she didn't like the driving position of the newer model fiesta, and we got a lot of car for the money, not as nice to drive as our old fiesta especially up hills but it was not horrendous either. I think it really is the case of going with what you feel best suits you because there aren't too many cars around that you should definitely avoid.

kabayiri

PasturesNew wrote: »

I had to sort out and pay for my own driving lessons and get my own car. I was never allowed to drive dad's (not even new Yugo Zastava) ... except once when he was suspected of having a heart attack at work and was whisked away in an ambulance, so I was "allowed" to collect his car from the works' car park and drive it 16 miles home. That was also because mum never drove, so it was me or nobody!

I was given a Yugo Zastava as a courtesy car once.

It was *by a mile* the worst car I have ever driven

The indicator stalks had obviously been pressed out of those plastic pieces you got inside Kelloggs cornflakes.

The locking failed on me in the works car park when I was due to go home.

I had to climb in through the rear hatch in my suit, with briefcase in hand.

Luckily security captured this on their cameras and were only too happy to show it to me !