What to choose?

Mrs quink

Mrs quink

Mrs quink

Associate
Joined
31 Jul 2012
Posts
2
I have been reliably informed by a certain Quink that you guys are very nice and will offer me some sensible advice.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin :D

I am currently driving a 1.6 Focus Zetec Climate, which is nice but we bought it when Little Quink was even smaller and had lots of stuff that had to be carted everywhere with her. Now, I mostly use the car for getting to work and back and as Mr Quink's car will soon be back on the road (as some of you might be aware) I don't need such a big car any more. I heard the cries if 'It's not that big!' from here but I do find it too big.

I am after something small, maybe a bit quirky, but that can handle a 25 mile trip of country back roads and dual carriageway (at a reasonable speed). Fuel consumption isn't that high on the list but better than the 35 average I'm currently getting would be nice. Anything that saves me money is obviously good, so a cheaper tax bracket, cheaper insurance and cheaper fuel would be a bonus. I'm not fussed by the make but would like something fairly reliable. Option wise - electric front windows, remote central locking, intermittent rear wipe are things I've got used to but could live without.

I'm looking to spend about 4k maybe 4.5k max.

Thank you for reading this essay of a post and I look forward to reading your suggestions.
 
One of the little citycars perhaps?. Peugeot 107, Citroen C1 or Toyota Aygo? They meet the 'quirky' criteria, are cheap as chips to run and are quite fun to drive ( within reason of course ).
 
Toyota Aygo is quirky, reliable, great MPG, £20 tax and faster then you would expect for a 1 litre engine.

It is noisy on a motorway, I wouldn't like to sit in one for an hour at speed.

Open the bonnet and there is a bit of Lego sitting there, so nothing much to fiddle with or go wrong. The C1 and 107 are the same thing, just not as nice I reckon.

The boot takes about three bags of shopping.

Edit.
Oh, snap :D
 
Last edited:
Aygo will get 60+mpg, so light years ahead of your 35+mpg request, and is fun to drive. However wind noise does drone on you a little.
 
Quink said:
And she wants Air-con;):rolleyes::D
Click to expand...

You will find either of those 3 mentioned with aircon if you look hard enough, it was an option. My wife's little 107 has it. The wind noise isn't too bad and even the engine noise is fine at motorway speeds but you have to put it in perspective. It's not going to waft along the motorway in silence and complete calmness like a Beemer 7 series will. :p

All three of the makes have common issues which are well documented. Some cars from around 2006 can leak like the proverbial sieve can. Door seals, rear lights, hatch seal and roof aerial can all be culprits. Clutches can be fragile although with regular adjustment which can be done in 5 minutes they are fine. The 3 cylinder engines are noisy little units, top end can rattle as can the VVT system. Good quality oil of a particular viscosity will limit this but again, don't expect complete silence in the cabin. The little 3 cylinder engines rev very freely and are quite nippy around town and surprisingly good on A and B roads up to a point, more so than many who haven't driven one would imagine or give them credit for. Gear changes can feel like stirring a bowl of porridge in some cars but this issue usually goes hand in hand with a poorly adjusted clutch.

Other than the above, they are utterly reliable. The list above are the main issues which tend to crop up regularly over on the Citybug forums.

Inside, they are fairly sparse but more roomy than you would think. Ours has aircon as mentioned, electric windows, CD head unit with USB/MP3. There's no fancy dash or trip computer and a rev counter was an option. We have a kids child seat fitted in the back of ours with ease ( its a 5 door ) and believe it or not I've had a mountain bike in the back with the rear seats folded. You can get a kids buggy in the front passenger side easily or if you split the rear folding seat down it fits in one side there.

Cheap to run?. Definately - 60mpg+, £20 a year road fund licence, tiny tyres and cheap servicing costs. Quirky?. Check. Fun to drive?. Yes, for their class.

A 25 mile commute would be fine in any of the above. I wouldn't want to drive hundreds of miles on a motorway though. But then that's not what these are for. :cool:
 
Thanks for your thoughts - pretty much what i was thinking to be honest. Before the Focus we had a 107 and I loved it, but they seem to be a bit expensive round here. I am looking at a 57 plate or newer.

I know there are cheaper alternatives out there - Picanto, Matiz etc. Does anyone have any thoughts on these?
 
If you like the Focus, buy a Fiesta. It's smaller than the Focus but a million times better than the 107, Picanto, Matiz, and all the other utterly diabolical tiny cars in that class.
 
Howard said:
If you like the Focus, buy a Fiesta. It's smaller than the Focus but a million times better than the 107, Picanto, Matiz, and all the other utterly diabolical tiny cars in that class.
Click to expand...

It's really not, other than being bigger - but then it's not in the same class either.

Certainly worth a look though, I found it a perfectly pleasant little car despite the horrible dash (and woeful engine - but that'll be irrelevant here).
 
I simply cannot see the appeal of the 107 (and Aygo/C1). I can't think of anything good about them aside from the cheap running costs. And yes I've driven them. :)
 
I think we've been here before on the C1 etc - I disagree with that view but at the end of the day that's fair enough, if anything shows that it's best to actually go and drive everything/anything that you fancy buying I guess.

I often find myself having a preconceived idea about a particular car because of other people liking/hating it or good/bad reviews and finding when I drive the thing I actually hold the opposite view!
 
I love to look at things impartially and always like to try out different types of car to compare them and whatnot. However the 107, to me, didn't do anything well. Slow, rough engine, noisy around town and at speed, not a very nice gear-change, no real handling to speak of, not very comfortable to sit in. Surprisingly spacious in the back, however. I feel even the Ka is much better.



Compared to a Fiesta, it falls way short. But then that's to be expected as it's in another class. There isn't really any reason to pick the 107 in my humble opinion.
 
Just thought I'd mention the Suzuki Swift for consideration as no one else has.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom