Automatic small car for older relations

jpaul

jpaul

jpaul

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Relations currently have a 1.3 manual Yaris - nippy, reliable, good visibility, economic, reasonable handling FWD.
they'd like to swap to an automatic, for the perceived convenience & ease of use (can sometimes forget to shift up to 5th/6th too)

what should they be test driving, ideally want to spend less than 10K.

Yaris CVT - Anticipating that although reliable, maybe noisy, and, hesitant, leaving leaving junctions&manouvering, versus power you know you will get from a manual gearbox
(as an older person with probably poorer reactions, you don't want any additional encumbrance)
Honda Jazz auto - I don't know anything about it
308 EAT6 - probably nicest gearbox, up with the ZF, but the reliability (like chain in oil) of peugot maybe questionable.
Mazda 2 - 6 speed sky active which is apparently, an automated manual, with a torque convertor - could be nice ? (but few currently on Autotrader)
Polo/Golf - Only get DSG's wet gearbox in the UK enough said
Fiesta/Focus - Power shift ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
jpaul said:
Polo/Golf - Only get DSG's wet gearbox in the UK enough said
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We don't only get the wet clutch DSG in the UK but even if we did, it's the wet clutch boxes that have the better reputation for driveability and reliability.

For the sort of cars you're looking at, it's far more likely you'd be getting the dry clutch variant.

jpaul said:
Yaris CVT - Anticipating that although reliable, maybe noisy, and, hesitant, leaving leaving junctions&manouvering, versus power you know you will get from a manual gearbox
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The eCVT only comes on the hybrid version doesn't it? I'm sure you could level various criticisms at them but I wouldn't expect them to be hesitant given the electric drive system.
 
I've driven an auto Yaris hybrid (the one before the new shape) and it was fine, 1.5L I think. Didn't notice it was especially noisy
 
The wife had a Polo DSG (2011), it was fine to be honest. The 1.4 non-turbo doesn't have enough torque to trouble the DSG box, it was smooth, reliable and economical. I'd not hesitate to have another, but I'd want to do a fluid change on it if it had no history of one.

I bought my late mother a 2012 Honda Jazz, 1.3 EX with the CVT box. It was, again, fine. Very economical, and whilst it "felt" weird (CVT), if you just let it get on and do it's thing, it was very smooth and not a single issue. As with the Polo, it's that un-labored because of the lack of engine torque, I think you'd have to seriously punish one to get into real difficulty with the reliability.

Out of the two, the Polo was easily the nicer cabin, though the seats in the Jazz were more comfortable, and it has better visibility owing to a slightly more upright driving position.
 
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paradigm said:
The wife had a Polo DSG (2011), it was fine to be honest. The 1.4 non-turbo doesn't have enough torque to trouble the DSG box, it was smooth, reliable and economical. I'd not hesitate to have another, but I'd want to do a fluid change on it if it had no history of one.
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Very few such cars will have a service history for the DSG because the dry clutch variant found in lower torque applications doesn't have an official service schedule. Most dealers will tell you it simply can't be serviced, though there are specialists who will.
 
Kenai said:
Very few such cars will have a service history for the DSG because the dry clutch variant found in lower torque applications doesn't have an official service schedule. Most dealers will tell you it simply can't be serviced, though there are specialists who will.
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I'm well aware, but I've serviced three DSG boxes over the years, so my point stands, I'd get it done if there's no record of it being done. It's far more widely accepted that these boxes do require servicing these days and you'll find that some have now had fluid changes.
 
Kenai said:
The eCVT only comes on the hybrid version doesn't it? I'm sure you could level various criticisms at them but I wouldn't expect them to be hesitant given the electric drive system.
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d_brennen said:
I've driven an auto Yaris hybrid (the one before the new shape) and it was fine, 1.5L I think. Didn't notice it was especially noisy
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yes you are both right the e-cvt can come in around £10K and electric drive should iron out the potential purely mechanical cvt characteristics/concerns

The noisy engine concern is partly, with hearing that is not A1, both difficulty to hear one another, the radio, and the (e:most importantly) surroundings.
 
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just watched this a couple of days ago :

worth a watch :

i know its upto 5K, but he says which ones to avoid etc etc


 
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Kenai said:
We don't only get the wet clutch DSG in the UK but even if we did, it's the wet clutch boxes that have the better reputation for driveability and reliability.
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yes, what I meant to suggest was lack of non-dct type gearboxes in the UK for vw small cars, so,
you don't get a torque convertor to smooth out gear change/pulling away, (& avoid clutch wear)
 
Anything using the PSA EAT6 + Puretech 1.2 is worth a look too, and possibly a bit cheaper than others. They're a known quantity and should be reliable. Our C3 hasn't given us any issues in 4 years from new.

The belt issues are now mostly resolved using better materials so anything from 2016/17 onwards should be fine.
 
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MichaelAwkward said:
Our C3 hasn't given us any issues in 4 years from new.
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Thanks hadn't realised newer C3's now have the EAT, even though they're looking at ~£10K I want them to test drive best in class gearboxes.


A car is more than it's gearbox perhaps, but I see so many people dithering at roundabouts/junctions waiting for their stop-start car to re-start, or the car to pick-up, and often then driving off dangerously in frustration, don't need that for an older family member.
 
I bought my mum a 2017 Honda jazz cvt a few years ago, she's very happy with it.

It's a small car but feels much bigger inside. The seats are comfy and there's plenty of room in the back seats. I'm always surprised when I get in the back, it waaaay more spacious than our Skoda Fabia. The seats also fold in a way that makes a usefully large boot space.

The only thing that puts me off is the god awful infotainment system. It's horrendously unintuitive.

The cvt feels quite laggy to drive but it's not something that would put me off buying one. It's economical and pretty reliable.
 
jpaul said:
A car is more than it's gearbox perhaps, but I see so many people dithering at roundabouts/junctions waiting for their stop-start car to re-start, or the car to pick-up, and often then driving off dangerously in frustration, don't need that for an older family member.
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On most modern vehicles the stop-start restart is very quick - but it is super annoying you can't just disable it and leave it disabled by default without modding - I always disable it but you have to do that every time.

I've never found it works well ever - in rush hour traffic with lots of queuing, etc. almost never triggers except the odd time right as you are about to pull away again... when it is quiet like when I'm coming home off a night shift at work it'll decide to kick in every **** time I come to a stop... even just to briefly check it is clear at a junction, etc. and even when coming to a stop before reversing to park and so on...
 
ShiWarrior said:
that sounds very annoying

why would it kick in when you stop then hit reverse, that would **** me right off !
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First time I experienced start/stop I thought the vehicle had some kind of fault/calibration issue the way it behaved but it seems normal for most if not all vehicles with such a system?!?

I don't even see the benefits of it personally - even in rush hour traffic the benefits must be marginal even if it works perfectly.

EDIT: What doesn't help as well I do a lot of journeys almost the opposite way around to most people with working odd hours, etc. and the system seems to factor temperatures heavily into the equation monitoring AC use, engine temperature, etc.
 
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A Yaris is only nippy when facing 32deg South on a 4% downhill incline and the space is only usable if the people in the car have wiped themselves down with moist towelettes prior to entry.

Storing a pickle in the spare wheel well will increase fuel economy by 3.74% and shaving down the lid of the window wash bottle means additional storage.

obligatory random text in italics.

That about do it?
 
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Diddums said:
A Yaris is only nippy when facing 32deg South on a 4% downhill incline
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Not a Yaris but a Aygo but one of my colleagues recently had one as his first car - very quickly changed to a Fiesta when he was having to transport his parents around... the experience going up a steep hill with 3 good size adults in the car was not pleasant apparently.
 
Yaris 1.3 manual, they have, is surprisingly only 1000Kg (wasn't the original golf 700/800kg) so I guess I understand why its 100bhp feels nippy versus a ~1600Kg 3 series with 150 odd hp.


ttaskmaster said:
I thought the Vauxhall Corsa was the go-to small car for OAPs? The wife even inherited one when her grandparents headed for the care home!
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does look like newer corsas have a 6 and now 8 speed torque convertor box, https://www.corsaeforums.co.uk/threads/6-speed-automatic-transmission.3245/
I had thought they were still 4 speed autos like another relation had in their astras
 
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