Spec me a first car at 23 years old

Furton

Furton

Furton

Soldato
Joined
9 Aug 2003
Posts
2,712
Location
Liverpool
Since passing my test at 17 I've always had access to mum's car whenever I've needed it (within reason), but now that I've got back from travelling and looking for jobs in the Manchester area I'm in need of my own car for travelling from N.Wales area.

I quite fancy a small car (always drove big cars, carisma & Civic) and pref a Diesel for the long distance I'll be doing for the first 6 months. I've heard the 2.0Ltr Diesel Engine in the 206 is pretty good, any truth in that?

Will have about 3k to spend (give or take) and ideally the cheaper the insurance the better.
 
yes probably the best modern diesel you can pick up for that cash is the HDi as used in the 206. get it in 306 or Xsara form however. the latter is certainly the better value for money. :)
 
Can you estimate your mileage at all?

If you're planning on high mileage, a small car may not be such a good idea.
 
We need more info.

What do you mean by long distances?

I've always been of the opinion that small diesel cars are totally rubbish becuase:

a) If you do enough miles to benefit from diesel, you dont want to be cooped up in a shopping trolley aimed at women going to Tesco

b) If you don't do enough miles to benefit from a diesel and you thus would like a small car, why not get a nice small petrol engine, not a clattery diesel.

Diesels belong in big cars.
 
She's with Direct Line and I've never had a claim, so roughly 3 years NCD (never had an accident, don't think Direct Line did no claims Discount for named drivers until a few years ago).

It would probably be a 100miles a day until I move to Manchester. Just out of interest, why do you think a small car is bad for long distance?
 
Becuase 100 miles a day is a lot of driving. Small cars are designed for zipping around town and short journeys. They will, for example, have more emphasis on saving space for parking than giving you space for comfort. The seats will be designed for short term comfort not long term comfort, etc etc.

When doing 100 miles a day the car you use can have a huge bearing on how tedious the commute is. I did 100 miles a day for a few months in the 5 Series and to be honest it was absolutely great. Big, relaxing, comfortable.
 
Okay, so considering your advice what would be a good car to get that's comfy for long journeys? Could probably spend 4k if I had to push the budget.
 
The Edge said:
What about a xantia or 406 HDi?
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may aswell get the Xsara, same engine, newer etc etc.

the 306/Xsara is not a small car, its a small family hatchback. theres a difference. the interior is spacious and more than adequate. for 100 miles a day aswell, diesel is the right choice.

diesels have moved on these days, just people dont seem to realise it.
 
[TW]Fox;10952699 said:
essential equipment like cruise control.
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Essential for who exactly? I do 75-80 miles a day and haven't once "wanted" CC. I had CC for a month when I had a stupid Nissan X-Trail 2.2DCi, and after the novelty wore off from playing with using it to soley control the car all the way to and from work, I didn't bother with it.

Only time I have wanted it recently is doing weekly trips to Southampton, but thats >200 miles each way.
 
It's absolutely excellent I use it every time I go anywhere near a Motorway or a Dual Carriageway. It's very useful indeed and I'd not want a car without it. I understand you are trying to convince yourself its useful, as your Leon is poorly specified, but once you've used it properly on a reasonable trip you wont want to go back. It's even useful for holding speed through silly-low speed limits in roadworks etc.

If you are the sort of driver who must drive any Motorway in maximum attack mode at 100+ mph, flying up behind the car in front then flying off again when it moves out of the way then yea, I guess its less useful, but on a daily 100 mile trip I found it absolutely brilliant.
 
I'm more the kind of driver that avoids the motorway whenever possible ;)

And its not "poorly" specified, its specified more than adequately for what it was designed for ;)

I could say your BMW is poorly specified because it doesn't have brakes that will stop you on a sixpence... horses for courses.
 
[TW]Fox;10952699 said:
Xsara is a poor choice - the Mk2 version is a very ugly car, and they lack essential equipment like cruise control.
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wasnt as standard no, but some came with it actually :p

it was optional anyway, put it that way.
 
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