Spec request - second car for daily commute

Dirk Diggler

Dirk Diggler

Dirk Diggler

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Looking to get the wife a car for commuting to her work. Needs to be 5 doors as she will have our daughter in the back from time to time and budget around £8k. Something with around a year's manufacturer warranty and maybe done around 20k miles.

I've been looking at Hyundai i20 as even with a 3 year old model it's still got 2 years warranty left. Could I do better than that?

We have a Kuga as our main car, so any shopping journeys or long trips would be done in that.

TIA. :)
 
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String said:
That's interesting, does the Hyundai 5 year warranty stay consistent? I think she's starting to get really interested in the i20.
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Yes it does. The warranty covers everything bar wear and tear components for the full 5 years, and transfers on sale of the car.

Kia do now cover for the full 7 years on new cars, but they didn't used to (it used to be 5 years bumper to bumper with an additional 2 for major components, so probably need to check when that changed)

https://www.kia.com/uk/innovation/7...yz0wAfmgqhPeNkasXVoaAjAdEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
 
String said:
That's interesting, does the Hyundai 5 year warranty stay consistent? I think she's starting to get really interested in the i20.
Click to expand...

Most don't cover 100% of the car after the first 3 years. E.g. if you have a problem with an interior part after 3 years you might have issues claiming.

Toyota also have 5 years, which can be extended for £250 a year. The Yaris is surprisingly punchy for a shopping cart. At least the ones I've had as courtesy cars were :D
 
£9K will buy you a nearly new i20 from Motorpoint.

The current i20 is really good for passenger space given it’s overall size, but the boot is very short. The 1.2 engine is absolutely gutless, and the 1.0T seems to be quite rare. It’s pretty refined overall for a small car, but the 1.2 I’ve driven wait spoiled by the noise from having to work the engine so hard. The dynamics are far from sporty but it’s comfortable for a small car.

On the basis of engine choice I’d probably go for the Fiesta with a 1.0 EcoBoost. It’s a fine car in all respects except the shorter warranty.
 
If the i20 is well specced with nav/ climate it looks quite smart and is probably where I'd go as it's a newer design whilst the fiesta has been around for the best part of ten years

That said our fiesta has been pretty faultless over the few years we have owned it, but it's a small 1.4 na engine not an ecoboost. If buying approved used from ford you'll get a one year manufacturer backed warranty so I'd look to spend a bit less. Also worth noting that the climate system in our fiesta is crap, can never properly balance the temperature
 
The Fiesta we've been looking at is 1.25 engine - I know the 1.0 ecoboost is much better but it's also much pricier.

I'm concerned about the engine in the i20 as I've read bad reports all over regarding that.
 
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You could get an early Fiesta ST mk7, which is 10x better to drive. They don't actually cost much more to run than the "eco" ones either.

It will be out of warranty, but the 1.6 is the most reliable of the lot.
 
You could pick up a used seat leon for that price, nicer looking I know that's subjective, big boot and the tsi engines are very nice imo and not sluggish
 
+1 for an i20. My mums just swapped hers for the ix20 as shes getting older and the extra height makes getting in and out easier. Hers was the 1.2 which was a little gutless but cruised well once up to speed. Her ix20 is the 1.4 and is a much nicer engine especially round town. i20 offers plenty of space, seats 4 adults easily. I can sit in the back in relative comfort and I'm 6'3". It felt very well put together but materials are a little cheaper feeling. Masses of the spec for the money, she had a basic SE which came with Aircon, cruise control, lane departure warning, rear parking sensors, bluetooth with USB and Aux In stereo. Great little car and has been 100% reliable. Local main dealer also offer excellent customer service.
 
Take a look at a Nissan Pulsar, I've driven a 1.5DCi a few times and it's genuinely a nice car to drive, good levels of kit and it's huge inside, I've never been in a hatchback with so much space both front and back.

It comes with a petrol offerings, 1.2T and a 1.6T
 
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