New car for the little lady?

Associate
Joined
31 May 2007
Posts
2,399
Location
Bristol
Afternoon all,

My wife has recently got a new job, and we are looking to upgrade her 2003 Yaris to somthing a bit nicer.

She'll be doing a round trip of 35 miles to and from the office, plus spending time commuting around North Somerset for client visits (although she will only be working 3 days a week).

The Yaris is a decent enough steed around the city, which is currently what it is used for, however the new commute will be on mainly 50mph/NSL roads, plus motorway, so I think something with a bit more poke would make the journey a bit more pleasent.

So main criteria are: Around 8k miles a year, mixed buisness and social domestic use. As much comfort and refinement as possible, she is big fan of heated seats! Maybe an auto would be good for this type of use? Doesn't need to be practical as we have the mondeo for doing all the sensible stuff.

Budget is not high, maybe £6k, possibly an absolute max of £8k if it offers anything significantly better?

Thanks all
 
Soldato
Joined
7 Feb 2004
Posts
8,096
Location
North East
Skoda Superb?

Can't think of much that will give you something better refinement for the budget, whilst still being reasonably new/cheap to run.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classi...rom=6000&model=SUPERB&postcode=sw1a1aa&page=1

Though i'm a little confused by these statements

As much comfort and refinement as possible

Doesn't need to be practical as we have the mondeo for doing all the sensible stuff.

Refinement generally goes hand in hand with practical.
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Jun 2013
Posts
9,315
Skoda Fabia? My wife loves hers, they are a lot of fun to drive with the more powerful small engines, very roomy for a small car. Ours has been pretty economical and reliable. If you get one with DSG, it would make the drive nice and easy.
 
Caporegime
Joined
26 Aug 2003
Posts
37,493
Location
Leafy Cheshire
Skoda Yeti? I've just replaced the wife’s Polo with one, massive step up in refinement, still a relatively small footprint, and the seating position is very comfortable. The DSG box also seems smoother than the one in the Polo though I'm pretty sure they were the same dq200 box, so the difference must be down to newer software (MY 2016 Yeti vs MY 2010 Polo).

Should have bought one ages ago, they are great all rounders.
 
Soldato
Joined
7 Feb 2004
Posts
8,096
Location
North East
Cheers, I just had a chat with her it turns out she doesn't want anything very big, sort of Focus sized as a maximum.

In that case, you won't really get refinement (though it will be significantly more refined than a Yaris!), but you might find some "luxury" tech if you're lucky. However, some of your spec, such as heated seats, are much easier to find in bigger cars. Something like a Focus Titanium X wouldn't be a bad shout.

Not really, the most refined cars around tend to be saloons with no folding seats as the sealed load bay helps with noise and body strength - which are not brilliantly practical as a result.

I'd still say a saloon is relatively practical though. Admittedly, the boot is a bit limiting, but if I think of impractical, I think sports coupe, 2 seater, convertible etc.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
13 Oct 2006
Posts
90,821
however the new commute will be on mainly 50mph/NSL roads, plus motorway, so I think something with a bit more poke would make the journey a bit more pleasent.

An aside not a recommendation hah (as I drive a pickup) but I was quite surprised home much difference on a commute that is a mix including smaller roads/villages and faster roads how much less stressful (and I didn't really realise it was stressful before) going from a (relatively) small manual engine to a big automatic made. I think I would struggle to go back.
 
Soldato
Joined
9 Dec 2009
Posts
5,163
Location
Bristol
If she wants something focus sized, how about a Focus?

Zillions to choose from and it won't have to be top of the range to be a big step up in refinement from a Yaris.

Basically if my OH said she wants something focus sized it means she wants a focus.
 

233

233

Soldato
Joined
21 Nov 2004
Posts
13,500
Location
Wishaw
focus or if she likes the yaris what about a corolla?

or god forbid hand her 6/8 grand and tell her to go buy herself a car
 
Soldato
Joined
19 May 2004
Posts
3,840
Does she want to still keep it small? An i10 1.2 has enough poke for motorway driving, is small and very practical.

The higher end models can come with a lot of kit like android auto, apple carplay, heated steering wheel etc.
 
Man of Honour
Man of Honour
Joined
23 Dec 2002
Posts
9,979
Location
London
Civic 1.8 petrol automatic.
No it won't be the most refined or economical car. It is however the right size, reliable and the autobox will make her wonder why she never had one before.
 
Caporegime
Joined
21 Jun 2006
Posts
38,372
Toyota auris. Hybrid - good for city/town driving. Has plenty of poke when put into sport mode (assuming it's similar set up to lexus). Won't have heated seats unless top spec I'd imagine.

Tbh you are asking for a lot for £6K. Even £8K. Things like heated seats are normally only put on cars with leather and leather is normally only on premium cars. Maybe new cars come with it but i'd imagine not many of them have dropped down to £6k.

It's probably the same size as golf. It's also reliable with it being toyota.

If you can up the budget a little look at the Lexus CT200H. Avoid the F Sport model due to stupid big alloys and sports suspension. However it's refined and reliable and full of gadgets with it being a lexus.

otherwise a civic would do.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
13 Oct 2006
Posts
90,821
Tbh you are asking for a lot for £6K. Even £8K. Things like heated seats are normally only put on cars with leather and leather is normally only on premium cars. Maybe new cars come with it but i'd imagine not many of them have dropped down to £6k.

This is where you need to go a bit left field really to get things like heated seats without the premium - the vehicles that are slightly unusual or whatever where fully loaded spec has little impact on the price.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
31 May 2007
Posts
2,399
Location
Bristol
Really appreciate the feedback guys, I realise I’m asking a lot for the budget, but in the back of my head I thought heated seats were more common, I think the Mazda3 has them. Anyway, it’s not a must have by any stretch, in fact I’ve been informed that sat nav is more of a priority! It’s just having them in the Mondeo is so nice during the colder months :).

Civic is a great shout, hadn’t really considered this before, are the autos any good? Also the mini is a good suggestion and what I was originally thinking until I wondered about getting an auto.

I think the Yeti is a great car, but may be a bit excessive on the size front considering it’s mostly going to be used to transport 1 person. The I10 I think would be a little too small and cramped to be spending any serious amount of time in. The Fabia is a good shout, again like the civic I never saw it as a contender, I didn’t even realise they did a DSG box for it.

The Leon and the Auris I know nothing about really, so I’ll go and take a look. I also half thought a Prius may get a look in as well.

Aside from that I’ll also keep Golfs and Focuses in the mix, it may be a case of finding the best spec car for the money.
 
Back
Top Bottom