New Car Advice

Orion21

Orion21

Orion21

Associate
Joined
20 Feb 2006
Posts
343
I am in the market for a new car and as a long term forum lurker thought I would seek some advice here.

Budget is a bit flexible depending on car, but generally between £20,000 to £30,000. It is my hope that for this I would want:

- New car up to about 2 years old
- Probably prefer manual gears and manual handbrake, and tech that can be switched off if it's intrusive
- Something with a bit of poke about it, so 'warm hatches' or 'hot hatches'
- Would prefer something Focus / Astra sized if possible, but can be flexible

Cars I had in mind include Hyundai I20N, Hyundai I30N (or possibly I30N-line or Kia version), Cupra Leon (and maybe Formentor if that is worth looking at), BMW 128ti, Mazda 3, Ford Fiesta ST and Ford Focus ST. If I can find one, given it was discontinued, I like the idea possibly of a new Hyundai I20N despite it being a size class down from what I am used to.

Grateful for any thoughts on these cars and car suggestions to look at and possibly test drive. Hoping to test drive 5 or 6 cars (at least 2 manual and 2 automatic).
 
Critical to decision is how are you going to finance the vehicle? Interest rates on nearly new can be crazy, depending on manufacturer new car finance deals can be high! Cars are a depreciating asset so consider leasing if you don’t do too a higher mileage.
 
ilc72 said:
Critical to decision is how are you going to finance the vehicle? Interest rates on nearly new can be crazy, depending on manufacturer new car finance deals can be high! Cars are a depreciating asset so consider leasing if you don’t do too a higher mileage.
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I can self finance or use finance of the dealer, whatever gets the best deal with lowest overall price paid factoring in any extras they might through in.

I should probably clarify that for most cars with the exception of the Hyundai I20N I would be looking more at under 1 year old used or up to about 2 years old.
 
MissChief said:
128ti is available as a (poor) automatic only.

I'd consider an i30n as it'll likely still have a good few years warranty. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202404098455035
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BMW is an outside choice for me, just happened to be one within top end of budget near me and about 6 months old and was another automatic option to test drive.

I like the I30N, probably the one without having test driven it yet that I would have at my first choice except for being conscious that I'd likely to have to get an older one and that it seems to be pretty thirsty on petrol. I'd be planning to run the car as my main car. I20N if I can live the size seemed a compromise to get newer and cheaper running costs. Hyundai also appeal due to warranty of 5 years. Cupra concerns me a bit as they seem to have done poorly in reliability tests (I usually favour Japanese or Korean due to my reliability perceptions), but that might be fixed and mainly relate to the infotainment system.
 
Orion21 said:
I can self finance or use finance of the dealer, whatever gets the best deal with lowest overall price paid factoring in any extras they might through in.

I should probably clarify that for most cars with the exception of the Hyundai I20N I would be looking more at under 1 year old used or up to about 2 years old.
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Suggest you check out drivethedeal as it offers some of the best discounts. It maybe worth taking the finance if you get a Finance Deposit Contribution as you can pay the finance off before the payments are due. Example Deal
 
Orion21 said:
BMW is an outside choice for me, just happened to be one within top end of budget near me and about 6 months old and was another automatic option to test drive.

I like the I30N, probably the one without having test driven it yet that I would have at my first choice except for being conscious that I'd likely to have to get an older one and that it seems to be pretty thirsty on petrol. I'd be planning to run the car as my main car. I20N if I can live the size seemed a compromise to get newer and cheaper running costs. Hyundai also appeal due to warranty of 5 years. Cupra concerns me a bit as they seem to have done poorly in reliability tests (I usually favour Japanese or Korean due to my reliability perceptions), but that might be fixed and mainly relate to the infotainment system.
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An outside choice would be the GR Yaris as one of the best hot hatches!
 
Honestly a car with goodd service history over the 2 year but under 4 would get you so much more for your money. Most care will lose 20-40% value in the first 2 years of ownership. If your looking 2020 onwards

FK8 Civic

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Not sure how good the MK3 onwards Focus ST is. It's an egoboom engine and loads of them went...well, boom.

The MK2 with the 5 cylinder Volvo engine was great fun. Tunes well too.
 
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xs2man said:
Is this criteria not screaming Golf GTI to anyone else?
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That's what I was thinking - doesn't have a "manual" handbrake though - although I thought I'd miss it, I prefer the electronic handbrake now.

Although some of the "tech" is a bit annoying in the mk8, can't always be switched off and some of the switches/touchpoints aren't great.
 
This money would get you a 2 year old M135, unfortunately they're only automatic but in the 3 years I had one never had so much as any issue with it, also only had 1 service in that time and now regret swapping it for new X1 as iDrive 9 is a bit buggy.

Not sure there's too much tech that can be switched off now days but know in the BMW you can disable a few bits like lane assist and auto stop\start
 
You can probably disable a lot of it with ECU options.

TBH going back to an older car without the tat, which only does what you tell it to is quite liberating.
 
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They are hassle when it comes to changing the brakes and they love to go wrong and refuse to release if the battery gets low. Also no handbrake turns :(
 
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Nasher said:
They are hassle when it comes to changing the brakes
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No they're not, at least not the ones I've had. It just adds a simple enough extra step, that's all.

The manual handbrakes I've had often needed adjustment, in a decade of owning cars with an automatic handbrake I've never had to think about it again.
 
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[TW]Fox said:
I don't know why people don't like electric handbrakes. They just work and are if anything more simple and less of a problem than a traditional handbrake.
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Absolutley. Plus they help with stuff like ACC and I'd guess hill hold and things like that.

That said, my T6.1 has a manual handbrake and ACC. Although I'm doing no handbrake turns in that. But I'd guess that's why I have to put my foot on the brake shortly after coming to a stop, as the handbrake isn't electronic.

My Focus has hill hold, and also a manual handbrake.

So I guess it's not required for any of these things.
 
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