Spec My Ride!

Peño

Peño

Peño

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Joined
17 Jun 2005
Posts
1,080
Location
London
Hi All,

Unfortunately on the weekend I was the victim of a drunk driver and my car is a write off. Thankfully my passengers and I only suffered minor head injuries, bruises and tissue damage. I now need some suggestions for a new car!

Just a bit of background:
  • Previous was my first car, a VolksWagen Golf (Mk4) which I owned for 5.5yrs
  • Average about 5k miles per annum, mainly A and B roads
  • Handy with a wrench - I liked learning how to fix small things on my car and had a VAG specialist mechanic to do the bigger work
  • Generally used for SDP and to carry up to 4 adults, relied on the big boot and fold-down rear seats a lot for transporting large items

Now I'm no car enthusiast by any means - I generally take the train to work but I did like to take care of my car and just gutted it's now gone, otherwise I would have kept it til it was no longer economical to maintain. I paid £3.5k cash for it at the time and it's been relatively affordable to own and insure (£500 FC).

Here are my requirements:
  • Hatchback, 5 doors, preferably small family size
  • Manual, petrol - at least 25MPG
  • SAFE! The accident could have been a lot worse, my Golf took a pretty bad beating and I think saved my friend from being paralyzed
  • Preference to German (VAG), Japanese and Ford
  • Good and practically sized boot
  • Sunroof (nice to have!)
  • Budget up to £5k

I'm based in SW London and willing to travel up to 100 miles. Just in case you haven't concluded, I'm a boring, practical driver that likes to own good quality cars for a long time ;)

The obvious cars that come to mind are: VW Golf, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Seat Leon, and Audi A3. The Hyundai i30 and BMW 3-series are also interesting. I have also considered going a size up to the Mondeos etc. but it makes parking (especially in London) a bit more difficult.

If you can provide direct links that will save me a lot of time! I've had to take today off work to sort out everything and finding the perfect car can take a bit of time :)

Thanks!
 
I have just bought an 05 plate Mazda 6 for a fraction of your budget. The only thing it does not have is a sunroof!

Pretty sure you can pick up the slightly smaller Mazda 3 as well for your budget. So give them a little look if you can get on with the styling.
 
Elise.

Just sit the extra passengers on the rear wing or on the front canards. You could even fit a couple of babyseats on the rear diffuser if you make it big enough.
 
Either an A3 or another Golf. Personally I would get a Golf and everything you said leads me to believe you were happy with your previous one :)
 
86JR said:
Golf Mk4 2.8 4motion. Treat yourself :)
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As awesome as the V6 is id be tempted to stick with the plain jane 1.8t.

Much smaller costs if it wants suspension or a clutch and the guy can spanner himself. If youre half good with a spanner a mk4 golf is stupidly cheap to live with
 
I'd just pick up a golf or an a3 tbh, you already know your way around the mechanics and are happy with the space etc on offer.

If you want a change the Mazda 3 is a good alternative as is the Mondeo if you can stomach the mk4 interior. Accord and civic petrols also worth considering.
 
The Mazda 3 isn't rubbish at all that's just nonsense, its a perfectly decent hatch.

Would I have one over a golf or a3 with a decent engine? No chance, but for someone who suggests they like vag or an alternative of Japanese/fords its a perfectly credible car.
 
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Finally sold the one my sister had. I'm sorry but it just isn't that great, I never did see the appeal of them. The interiors are really quite horrible, they don't handle particularly brilliantly, just not exactly sure why you'd pick one over anything else? The only great thing about it was how gloriously silent the engine was at idle.
 
Interior isn't great but perfectly acceptable for the type of car imo and is at least on a par with its ford cousin, handles tidily enough so I'm not sure what was wrong with hers ( I've only driven the boggo 2 litre hatch excluding the mps if it makes any difference) and doesn't have a tendency to fall apart - for your average buyer looking for an aversge hatch it fits the bill tbh.

Nicer all rounder than a focus for me and I'll be easier to find a good one for the money than the civic, though i would say the Honda is a better car.
 
[TW]Fox;25418660 said:
Finally sold the one my sister had. I'm sorry but it just isn't that great, I never did see the appeal of them. The interiors are really quite horrible, they don't handle particularly brilliantly, just not exactly sure why you'd pick one over anything else? The only great thing about it was how gloriously silent the engine was at idle.
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Did your sister have a poverty spec one? I had a 2.0 sport model and the interior was miles better than a focus, and extremely well specced with climate, bose, auto lights/wipers etc etc.

It's based on a focus so I thought it handled pretty well actually, and mine was utterly reliable despite having over 160k on the clock.

If there was a nice MK5 Golf or A3 at the same price, I'd probably take one of them over the Mazda, but they tend to command a premium, so if I was in the OP's position I'd probably go for a facelift 2.0 sport, and maybe pocket £1000 as you can pick up a mint one for £4000 nowadays.
 
Yup, it was a 1.6 TS so about as poverty spec as it comes but I'm hardly comparing it to a Golf GTI. Just dodgy plastics everywhere, rattles, squeeks, etc. I'd rather have had a Focus despite the similarities.
 
Dodgy marked plastics, rattles and squeaks everywhere are more in lime with my experience of every focus I've had, even the one that was brand new. Tbh i can see that being the case with either the ford or Mazda ( or quite a few others) at this age.

One thing the Germans seem to be good at is keeping interiors sturdy enough and packed with enough foam not to start rattling away once they're a few years old. I'm saying that my civic was perfect in that respect too butthere's a huge difference in weight and just how hard it is to get the likes of a BMW or vw door card off which must help.
 
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Thanks for the input so far guys. It's true I have a preference towards VAG but that's only because of familiarity - I am open to any manufacturer so long as it covers my requirements.

I spent my afternoon browsing to get a feel of the market and this Audi A3 2.0 TFSI sounds like it's been well looked after and good value for the money (mileage doesn't scare me if it's been well cared for). Thoughts?

Also what's the best A3 (engine, trim etc.) I could get for my money?
 
That's an SE, they don't even have a trip computer, even though they do come with auto dim mirrors etc. Then you have sport which come with the computer but no auto dim or cruise control. Then you have S-Line which mostly have everything. Mine is a sport but a lot of ticked options, if I were you I would go for a 8P1 3.2 3 door S-Line.
 
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