Best Hatchback for £4000

BloodlessDawn

BloodlessDawn

BloodlessDawn

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[EDIT] Best SMALL Hatchback for £4000 [/EDIT]
And when I mean small, I mean... as small as a five door Ford Fiesta... Not as big as those massive Ford Focuses...

I'm looking to buy a hatchback for roughly £4,000.

Petrol or Diesel Engine, I don't really care.

It needs to be something that a 21 year old can insure for under £1,300.

Looking for something with plenty of mod/cons. I'm not necessarily after really modern, like sat nav or anything flashy. But a trip computer, electric mirrors and electric windows would be nice. Anything more than those things is a bonus.

Looking for what my manager would describe as a "Sleeper". Something which looks fairly normal but has a reasonable amount of power behind it.

I do a 50 mile round trip to/from work each day, so something that can comfortably cruise at speed on motorways would be great.

More than anything, it needs to be reliable.
It has to be able to start easily in Snow, Rain, Damp, Dry, Hot, Cold, etc. I've had too many problems with my current car. If I get another that requires TLC because the outside temperature falls below 20 degrees Celsius then I might just go insane.

Also, something that I can do the monthly shop in!
I've been looking at the Ford Fiesta ST150, but they only do a 3 door version. I know it might sound finicky, but I'm just used to having a 5 door car, so something along the same lines as an ST150 but with 5 doors would be awesome?

TLDR - Hatchback, £4000, Good Motorway Cruiser, Mod Cons (Electric Windows and the likes), Reliable, 5dr.

What can you recommend?

P.S. This is similar to my first thread, yes. But this one is much more refined and has better potential of finding something suitable... I hope...
 
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Fiesta ST isn't too bad with 3 doors, I have two kids and just about manage.

That said it's not brilliant on the motorway, really needs a 6th gear.

As said above Focus seems right up your street :)
 
Mazda 3 2.0L Sport.

Same power of the Fiesta ST (~150 BHP) but with 5 doors, the facelift (2006 onwards) version has a nice amount of toys by standard in Sport spec (fully electric windows, trip computer, cruise control, Bose speaker system), and should be easily insurable at 21 for under 1300 (Mine comes to 1600 at 18). The boot will easily swallow the monthly shop too.


£4k will pick you up a nice face lift example but with a bit of mileage on, the only catch is they're slightly harder to get a hold of than anything Ford etc.
 
MK2 2.0 Petrol Focus in Ghia spec. Comes with cruise control, heated front and rear windscreens, arm rest, auto lights and wipers and some other stuff.

It cruises on a motorway perfectly fine and will return 43mpg. It's got 140bhp and does 0-60 in under 9 seconds so it's quick enough. It's also a chain cam engine so no belt to change and is generally seen as a very reliable engine. It's the same one that's in the Fiesta ST I think.

The only negative is that it's got a shocking wallnut effect trim around the stereo. This can be changed for a few quid if required.

Edit: Something like this Focus Ghia
 
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Seriously don't overlook the Octavia because of the badge. You would be looking at the Mk1 with a £4000 budget, but you do tend to get quite a lot of car for your money.
 
Malc said:
MK2 2.0 Petrol Focus in Ghia spec. Comes with cruise control, heated front and rear windscreens, arm rest, auto lights and wipers and some other stuff.

It cruises on a motorway perfectly fine and will return 43mpg. It's got 140bhp and does 0-60 in under 9 seconds so it's quick enough. It's also a chain cam engine so no belt to change and is generally seen as a very reliable engine. It's the same one that's in the Fiesta ST I think.

The only negative is that it's got a shocking wallnut effect trim around the stereo. This can be changed for a few quid if required.

Edit: Something like this Focus Ghia
Click to expand...

This or the equivalent Mondeo. The Mondeo might be nicer on the motorways.
 
Well, I'm starting to think about maybe getting a VW Golf.

Something like the 2.0 GT TDI...

A bit of an old man's car, but it certainly shifts. And 40+ miles to the gallon minimum & 60+ on motorway?.... I'm totally game for that.

The insurance is a bit above budget. But think I'd recoup that in reliability and mpg...
It's definitely big enough, and it's 140bhp... 6 speed - so motorways shouldn't be a problem, all electric windows, heated mirrors... and my list goes on.

So, what do you all think of that option?...
 
BloodlessDawn said:
Well, I'm starting to think about maybe getting a VW Golf.

Something like the 2.0 GT TDI...

A bit of an old man's car, but it certainly shifts. And 40+ miles to the gallon minimum & 60+ on motorway?.... I'm totally game for that.

The insurance is a bit above budget. But think I'd recoup that in reliability and mpg...
It's definitely big enough, and it's 140bhp... 6 speed - so motorways shouldn't be a problem, all electric windows, heated mirrors... and my list goes on.

So, what do you all think of that option?...
Click to expand...

Hmm, do you do the miles for the diesel? If not it's a bit of a waste really - plus if it's town journeys you're running the risk of making components break earlier than they otherwise wouold.

It's not a quick car, but not slow either (certainly no sleeper) - you're unlikely to get 40mpg urban or 60mpg motorway (unless you do 100+ miles at say 60mph), more like 30-35mpg town and 45-50 motorway.

Plus, do you honestly, honestly want to be driving a diesel golf at 21??? I had my MR2 turbo when I was around 22/23 and it didn't cost the world to insure (around 600 at the time). You must be able to come up with something better than a golf
 
Well, yes I am young. And to some extent I can get whatever I want.
But it does specifically need to be something practical, and something with a low mpg.

Fast with mod cons is just an extra ... sadly.
 
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