Economical small city cars

buglawton

The smaller the car, the smaller it's manufacturing carbon footprint (which can be huge). I also think they reduce congestion, road safety and parking issues compared to view-blocking and parking space-shoving SUVs.

Shame on the govt for not rewarding small car owners through their annual car tax fee.

worried_jim

WobblyDog wrote: »

I'm not really answering the question, but small cars are not always the most fuel-efficient models in each manufacturer's range anymore. I guess that's because the latest fuel-saving technology is reserved for larger models where consumers will be prepared to pay extra. For example, the most efficient petrol engined versions of 3 Ford models:
Ka : 48.7mpg
Fiesta : 49.6 mpg
Focus : 50.4 mpg

That said, smaller cars probably have lower costs in other areas such as tyres, and those mechanically-complex fuel-saving technologies could increase maintenance costs of the larger cars.

Not exactly gas guzzlers.

barbiedoll

I had a Kia Picanto (leased) from new, and I currently drive a 9 year old i10. The clutch on the Picanto was awful, although I got used to it eventually. The 1.0 models are sluggish, you won’t get up a hill in anything other than second gear, especially if you have passengers and shopping in the car. Not that you’d get much shopping in the tiny boot anyway

I much prefer my lovely little i10. It’s a 1.2 so it’s not a racing car but it’s ok if you need a bit of speed to overtake. The boot seems much bigger than the Picanto, I can get much more stuff in mine. It’s quite Tardis-like actually, we dismantled our garden shed and took it to the tip in only two trips. I drive between 15-25 miles each day, often in heavy congestion and I’ve just had the clutch replaced at almost 70,000miles (probably due to my habit of riding the clutch, can’t really blame the car). I struggle to squeeze £25 worth of petrol in each week, tyres are cheap to replace, tax is £30/year, what’s not to love?

onwards&upwards

barbiedoll wrote: »

I had a Kia Picanto (leased) from new, and I currently drive a 9 year old i10. The clutch on the Picanto was awful, although I got used to it eventually. The 1.0 models are sluggish, you won’t get up a hill in anything other than second gear, especially if you have passengers and shopping in the car. Not that you’d get much shopping in the tiny boot anyway

I much prefer my lovely little i10. It’s a 1.2 so it’s not a racing car but it’s ok if you need a bit of speed to overtake. The boot seems much bigger than the Picanto, I can get much more stuff in mine. It’s quite Tardis-like actually, we dismantled our garden shed and took it to the tip in only two trips. I drive between 15-25 miles each day, often in heavy congestion and I’ve just had the clutch replaced at almost 70,000miles (probably due to my habit of riding the clutch, can’t really blame the car). I struggle to squeeze £25 worth of petrol in each week, tyres are cheap to replace, tax is £30/year, what’s not to love?

Definitely a few votes for the i10, your argument sounds convincing!

I might have to go and have some test drives, I know that would be newer models but it’d give some idea of the ‘feel’ hopefully.

I think the ones on the shortlist are the citigo, the i10, the picanto and possibly the VW Up.

username901

I loved my old toyota iq, turning circle is hilarious, can fit in spaces no i10 or picanto could squeeze in to. Abused it from new for 5 years and it never missed a beat.

fred246

I looked at them all in 2015 when my children were learning to drive. They all looked very cheap and nasty to me. We got a brand new 5 door Fiesta with everything we wanted from drivethedeal.com for under £10k. Luckily I chose the tried and tested 1.25 engine. It's been a great car. It's actually my first German car and it's well built. The Bluetooth voice recognition is very good and it's also got the heated front windscreen. Very stable on the motorway too. You could pick our car up for £5k now I reckon not that I am selling.

onwards&upwards

fred246 wrote: »

I looked at them all in 2015 when my children were learning to drive. They all looked very cheap and nasty to me. We got a brand new 5 door Fiesta with everything we wanted from drivethedeal.com for under £10k. Luckily I chose the tried and tested 1.25 engine. It's been a great car. It's actually my first German car and it's well built. The Bluetooth voice recognition is very good and it's also got the heated front windscreen. Very stable on the motorway too. You could pick our car up for £5k now I reckon not that I am selling.

Hmm, you’re right. I had assumed a Fiesta that was new enough with low enough mileage would be out of budget but there a few on autotrader.

All private sellers though, I haven’t bought a car from a private seller since I was 21 and only spending £300!