New car ideas for the girlfriend

Soldato
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Ipswich
My girlfriend has had her 2002 Audi TT 225 Quattro for about 9 months now but wants to change it.

It's pretty sound but has had a couple of minor niggles lately, she is frustrated with not having 4 usable seats and doesn't like spending £80+ to fill it up, even though she probably only does 5-6k per year.

The requirements are loosely:
- 5 doors
- reasonable economy
- £4-6k
- cheaper insurance and road tax than the TT
- small-ish

I have ruled out anything french full stop.
She has ruled out a 3 series (too big/old man), a Mini (poor ride) or a Focus (doesn't like them and her mum has one)

The only thing I can really come up with is a Fiesta at the minute...
 
doesn't like spending £80+ to fill it up

This is the most illogical thing ever and I will never understand it. How much your car costs to fill up has NOTHING to do with how much it costs to run. All it does is tell you how big the tank is. You could have a 20mpg car with a 70l tank or a 60mpg car with a 70l tank, they both cost the same to fill up!

It seems like half the country is bothered by this. People are amazed at how much my car costs to fill up and don't seem to understand that, actually, the more it costs to fill up the more fuel you can carry so the less often you need to fill up :confused:
 
[TW]Fox;19115423 said:
This is the most illogical thing ever and I will never understand it. How much your car costs to fill up has NOTHING to do with how much it costs to run. All it does is tell you how big the tank is. You could have a 20mpg car with a 70l tank or a 60mpg car with a 70l tank, they both cost the same to fill up!

It seems like half the country is bothered by this. People are amazed at how much my car costs to fill up and don't seem to understand that, actually, the more it costs to fill up the more fuel you can carry so the less often you need to fill up :confused:

for once ill agree with mr fox

let her look through the auto trader to see what she likes the look of because its going to be a lottery at what she likes
 
Oh I agree totally. I'll be getting a spreadsheet out to work out all the running costs so she goes into it with a clear view of what it will cost.

The main reason she wants to change is the lack of 5 doors. She actually said she kind of missed her old Clio which she had before the TT.
 
What's the ride like on the Mini if you have normal sized wheels and lose the run flats?
The ride is fine on the Mini. It's not *that* bad on a normal Cooper with RFTs IMO, so I suspect with normal tyres it'll be OK.

Just how usable do the back seats have to be though? :p
 
She needs to get her two sisters in the back, in the TT you can't fit humans, I had to lay down on across the two rear seats once.
 
How tall are the girls?

If it's going to happen on a regular basis for relatively long journeys, I don't think it's going to be worth the stress. However, if your GF and her sisters are quite short, then there could be enough room to sit comfortably, although the first-gen Mini is quite tight in the back.

How about a Seat Leon Cupra?
 
How tall are the girls?

If it's going to happen on a regular basis for relatively long journeys, I don't think it's going to be worth the stress. However, if your GF and her sisters are quite short, then there could be enough room to sit comfortably, although the first-gen Mini is quite tight in the back.

How about a Seat Leon Cupra?

Not that tall, just normal sized. It doesn't need to be that spacious, just be able to fit people in.

I'm wavering towards the Mini and A3 at the moment.
 
The increase in rear space going from a TT to a Mini will be pretty significant notably in terms of headroom. I'm around 5ft9 and the rear of a TT is impossible for me to sit in without manoeuvring myself over the two seats and placing my legs, arms, head in very specific locations and not moving, while being incredibly uncomfortable (only did it once) :p - the Mini in comparison is absolutely fine, so long as the driver and passenger are not too tall.
 
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