Spec me a smallish car with big boot

Mr Badger

Mr Badger

Mr Badger

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Joined
27 Dec 2009
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Looks as though it's time to investigate a new car. I currently have a 2 litre Toyota Avensis which has mostly been sat stationary since early last year due to lockdown etc. Going forward I think I will still be doing fairly low mileage - not using it every day and nearly all journeys being under 10 miles. Considering the lack of mileage, Vehicle Tax of £280 per year for my current car and the impending launch of a local Clean Air Zone impacting petrol cars made before 2005, I'm thinking a move to something smaller would be a good idea. Although I do still want decent cargo space as I will hopefully be getting back to playing gigs and will need to carry my gear. So something smaller "cleaner" and cheaper to run, but with similar storage space to the Avensis boot.

Searching the net I've found a few potential candidates e.g. Volkswagen Golf/Polo, Seat Ibiza, Honda Jazz, but I've hit analysis paralysis with all the different models, years and options and could do with some external input, not least because I seem to have gone from a largish car to what seem like rather small ones without finding much in between!

Some criteria:
  • Good value! I suppose I can stretch the budget to £4K to £5K but would much prefer to come in under that (I've had a good record of picking up used bargains in the past, but I've not had to take into consideration factors such as a Clean Air Zone making some vehicles unviable).
  • Reliable with sensible running costs (I don't mind if it's a few years older and has done some mileage as long as it's going to be reliable for me and my more modest demands and not have expensive maintenance bills).
  • Manual transmission.
  • Petrol engine that's not completely gutless (I'm assuming 1.4L or 1.5L no 1.0 litre nominations please).
  • Good storage space as described above.
  • Lower insurance group than my current car (21) and not something that is a magnet for thieves.
Any suggestions please?
 
For £4-5K new your not going to get any decent 1.4-1.5L petrol engine! Why not used few years old your budget will go way further?
 
you need to clarify this point :

decent cargo space as I will hopefully be getting back to playing gigs and will need to carry my gear.
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what is 'decent' ?

and what/how much 'gear' do you have ?

surely this is a critical bit of infor required to give any advice here ? because anything from a micra to a volvo estate could be what you need
 
My 1.0l turbo has more oomph than my old 1.4l na, nothing wrong with the current ecoboost type engines in terms of power from small lumps.
 
whitecrook said:
you need to clarify this point :



what is 'decent' ?

and what/how much 'gear' do you have ?

surely this is a critical bit of infor required to give any advice here ? because anything from a micra to a volvo estate could be what you need
Click to expand...

As I think I alluded to in my post, a similar amount of storage space to the Toyota Avensis (family size 5 door hatchback).
 
A bit on the high side of your budget but the Nissan Pulsar is reasonably roomy and the higher trim levels are reasonably equipped - but the engines are a bit meh - 1.2 gets good economy but anything other than running around town it will leave you wanting more and though the 1.6 is more reasonable it measures up poorly to the standards of other 1.6s in small cars. The 1.5 diesel is a bit better but then that is a diesel.

EDIT: Though according to Google has less boot space than the Avensis. I'm a bit surprised by that as it wasn't my perception but I guess it is due to the difference in shape skewing the impression.
 
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Mr Badger said:
This did crop up as an option when I was searching, although again it doesn't seem to be achieving much size reduction from my 5 door Avensis.
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What's the actual driver for a smaller car?

the lack of mileage, Vehicle Tax of £280 per year for my current car and the impending launch of a local Clean Air Zone impacting petrol cars made before 2005, I'm thinking a move to something smaller would be a good idea
Click to expand...

Those things aren't really related to the size of the car are they? You can achieve lower tax, ulez etc. in all sorts of sizes.
 
Rroff said:
A bit on the high side of your budget but the Nissan Pulsar is reasonably roomy and the higher trim levels are reasonably equipped - but the engines are a bit meh - 1.2 gets good economy but anything other than running around town it will leave you wanting more and though the 1.6 is more reasonable it measures up poorly to the standards of other 1.6s in small cars. The 1.5 diesel is a bit better but then that is a diesel.
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Diesel and old (pre 2006) petrol cars are definitely out due to the impending local Clean Air Zone - will cost me an extra £9 every day I use it as cars apparently have to be be Euro 4 and above to be exempt.
 
Kenai said:
What's the actual driver for a smaller car?



Those things aren't really related to the size of the car are they? You can achieve lower tax, ulez etc. in all sorts of sizes.
Click to expand...

True. I suppose in part it's thinking that having a (comparatively) big car sat around most of the time and only doing fairly short trips is a bit of a waste and that a smaller engine in a smaller vehicle would make more sense and prove to be cheaper to run, as long as it has enough space inside to do the job. It's not that I particularly love small cars (for the record the smallest car I've ever owned was a Ford Escort) and I am open to ideas if it turns out that there are better options that mean there isn't really anything to be gained by my downsizing after all.
 
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