Cant Find First Car!

Larnica

Larnica

Larnica

Associate
Joined
8 Jul 2006
Posts
1,509
Hiya.

Well, I'm having trouble finding a a first car, that I actually like the look of. With a budget of about £3.5k I thought Id be able to find something, Ive looked at the following (off the top of my head) but non have really caught my fancy.

Volkswagen Polo/Lupo/Golf
Vaxhaul Corsa
Renault Clio
Seat Ibizia/Leon
Toyota Yaris
Ford Fiesta / Focus / KA

I do like the Renault Clio's but the "Bubble back" im not a fan of, and I keep getting to the stage of I know i want one but then seeing the backs and change my mind. Anywho, any suggestions? (Im not fussy, but would like 3dr's / smallish)

Thank You
 
Larnica said:
Hiya.

Well, I'm having trouble finding a a first car, that I actually like the look of. With a budget of about £3.5k I thought Id be able to find something, Ive looked at the following (off the top of my head) but non have really caught my fancy.

Volkswagen Polo/Lupo/Golf
Vaxhaul Corsa
Renault Clio
Seat Ibizia/Leon
Toyota Yaris
Ford Fiesta / Focus / KA

I do like the Renault Clio's but the "Bubble back" im not a fan of, and I keep getting to the stage of I know i want one but then seeing the backs and change my mind. Anywho, any suggestions? (Im not fussy, but would like 3dr's / smallish)

Thank You
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VW are well built and reliable, although everyone would find the lupo too small
leave the corsa alone ....
Seat should have about the same standard as the VW but be slightly cheaper, nice little motors
Yaris is nice, pokey-ish and reliable, although rather too small i fear
KA is a go kart, quite litterally, and very basic, you would want to upgrade from it sooner rather than later, fiesta is nice handling little motor, but the sport version is better
Focus would be my bet ... not sure what you would get for that money though ....


fox will tell you mondeo

:)
 
My sister was looking at the same kind of thing earlier this year, two other suggestions would be a Skoda Fabia (pretty much an Ibiza/Polo I think) and a Rover 25 (what she bought in the end). The 25s for this budget should have the headgasket issues sorted and the later ones have quite a bit of MG styling and look pretty good.
 
Astra SRi :p .

DSCF0082.jpg


Yes i do pimp these in every new car thread. Its basically a Focus that doesn't look gash, and yes it is insurable as a first car in 1.6/1.8 guise.
 
Scuzi said:
Apart from the fact that the Focus is a better car in almost every way?
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In what ways, perhaps marginally better handling? When i test drove a Focus i didnt really have the opportunity to throw it around so couldnt comment.
I found the driving position in the Astra infinitely better and just preferred the car in every way!
The Astra's are faster (equiv engines, not saying theyre rockets but the 1.8 astra is quicker than the 2.0 focus iirc), look a lot better and the interiors are a lot nicer, im not saying its a 'nice' interior but its not puke inducing like the focus.

They are imo, a perfect alternative to a focus. Admittedly, they look gash in 5 door guise.
 
Chris1712 said:
equiv engines, not saying theyre rockets but the 1.8 astra is quicker than the 2.0 focus iirc
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There's nothing in it really, have never noticed anything between them.

(a 2.0L Focus and 1.8 Astra are sat on the drive right now).

I personally prefer the Focus (never got in particularly well with Mk4 Astras, and find the look a bit barryboy in non-standard form) but they are a good alternative.

Chris1712 said:
the interiors are a lot nicer, im not saying its a 'nice' interior but its not puke inducing like the focus.
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In what way? I admit I am talking about the sxi, but the entire interior is just black plastic (admittedly the sri has a silver centre console). It's so boring that my housemate went out and bought silver replacement parts to liven his up a bit (definately works).
 
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Abyss said:
In what way? I admit I am talking about the sxi, but the entire interior is just black plastic (admittedly the sri has a silver centre console). It's so boring that my housemate went out and bought silver replacement parts to liven his up a bit (definately works).
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Yup, just plastic i much prefer to the maze of angles and weird, faded purpley bits on focus interiors. Silver replacement parts do make a difference for sure, but even standard i prefer the look of the interior. I'm not saying its a 'nice' interior, just that its nicer than the focus. I don't like the way the focus dash kind of floats in front of you, never coming down to the transmission tunnel etc.
 
The Focus is better built, the handling is sharper and it generally feels like a better quality product. The only thing the Astra has over the Focus is it has more conservative styling inside and out.
 
Astra is better value (most have A/C, ABS ect) but notorious suspension problems, new cambelt needed every 40k, Focus may cost more to buy but costs a lot less in the long run.

Ive just bought this TDCI 115 PS (145PS with re-map) IMO looks better then astra 3 door in everyway. I agree the astra is more conservative but its looks plain and dated now.

AETV36252500_2b.jpg
 
Abyss said:
In what way? I admit I am talking about the sxi, but the entire interior is just black plastic (admittedly the sri has a silver centre console). It's so boring that my housemate went out and bought silver replacement parts to liven his up a bit (definately works).
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Tell me about it, as a front seat passenger I have to put up with looking at it for an hour twice a week in my mate's car (02 1.4 LS). They are pretty good value for money though.
 
[TW]Fox said:
The Focus is better built, the handling is sharper and it generally feels like a better quality product. The only thing the Astra has over the Focus is it has more conservative styling inside and out.
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Damn, cant argue with that. I did not notice build quality, to me they both felt fairly average and both examples i looked at were to new/low mileage for signs of build quality to appear i guess.

I think my argument pretty much stays, it is a great alternative to the Focus.
 
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