Nice People Thread No. 14, all Nice and Proper

kabayiri

michaels wrote: »

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.

My mother, inspired by her partner no doubt, wanted me to give her money to buy a Smart cabriolet.

I suggested that if we added 2 poles to the rear; opened the roof; then it would make a perfectly serviceable wheelbarrow

(She had the last laugh - the alternative I paid towards was a Fiat Punto...dash )

Generali

We have a Toyota Yaris as our small car which I would recommend. It's reliable and it drinks petrol like a fairy sipping water out of a buttercup.

zagubov

tom9980 wrote: »

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.

Once DD was on her way we got a new micra. That was back in the early 90s when they were still nippy little cars with oomph. They were so economical you could get another 50 miles out of them by waving an oily rag over the engine. By God you're making me nostalgic now.

We got another one later, a 21st century one, but they were as lively as a dodgem car during a power cut.:rotfl:

CKhalvashi

I had a Dacia Logan as a courtesy car the other week when the Focus was in for service.

Cheap and unpretentious, I like it.

Spirit_2

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?

DD has A hyundai I10.\small, cheap to run, does motorways every day and narrow country lanes most days.SHe has had hers for 3 years and it has been very cheap motoring.

She is just about to buy my car. It is unsuitable for me now and I will need to choose a dfferent car when I can drive again. I am not inclined to gift the car to her, but will sell it to her at a friendly price.

We bought her 1st car for her, paid 50% of the Hyundai and loaned her thba;nce interest free. this time she will get a loan. I feel this is a fair progression .

tom9980

zagubov wrote: »

Once DD was on her way we got a new micra. That was back in the early 90s when they were still nippy little cars with oomph. They were so economical you could get another 50 miles out of them by waving an oily rag over the engine. By God you're making me nostalgic now.

We got another one later, a 21st century one, but they were as lively as a dodgem car during a power cut.:rotfl:

I am not a fan but it's not me doing a daily commute. This is a 2014 1.2 DIG-s engine with only 4k on the clock so does OK just not as nippy as the old fiesta.

CKhalvashi wrote: »

I had a Dacia Logan as a courtesy car the other week when the Focus was in for service.

Cheap and unpretentious, I like it.

Would love to test drive a Dacia, finding one around here is the biggest problem.

michaels

We have a 2014 polo as a courtesy car at the moment, seems tiny inside, small and thirsty with very little go and a reverse gear that is much too easy to select instead of first. It is better on the open road but surely a small car should feel nippy around town. We also very quickly miss the keyless entry start up, the ac is basic and underpowered...but the rear hatch opening handle is nifty.

In fact I think we preferred the 10 year old suzuki wagon r we ran for a few months....

gfplux

In answer to some questions.
I have been on money saving for about 8 years and had seen "nice persons thread" but never looked at it as the title did not make me curious. (Now analyse that!)
I am a Brit who moved to Luxembourg for Love. I have been retired for a long, long time.
My picture is of my Bike leaning against the Sainte Tropez road sign at the entrance to the resort.
As for small cars, my wife has a Fiat 500 petrol and I love it. It is the perfect car for Town as you can park it anywhere and is really zippy. I prefer it to my Chelsea Tractor for Town work. My daughter has a Mini one petrol and that "goes" like a racer. It is surprising how much bigger the mini is when compared to the Fiat.

SingleSue

I can't comment on small cars, the last small car (well small ish) I had was back in 1991-1993!

It's been big saloon cars and estates since then.....

silvercar

Hi gfplux, what languages do you speak? Was it hard to move abroad without speaking the language initially?