what car for a 19 yr female

Shifter_Hull · 18 Feb 2006 at 02:20

ok guys my daughter passed her test today 1st time and all that
22 lessons and she passed :-)

so i got a budget of about £2000 this does not include insurance

cars she likes are
micra
clio
fiesta
the corsa

anybody have any dealing with the above cars any pros or cons to the above
insurance quote for her today for a 1.4 cc car was £956 tpf+t

so budget all in all in £3000 including insurance
what year car can i get her

Princey · 18 Feb 2006 at 02:26

I really would go fully comp on the insurance, it just isn't worth the risk. Anyway I feel that a 1.25 Fiesta would be best suited. They feel solid, they are nippy and reliable. They are not cheap on the insurance though.

chopchop · 18 Feb 2006 at 02:34

fully comp would cost about £10-30 more.... gives you things like window insurance (VERY HANDY), legal cover e.t.c

cheets64 · 18 Feb 2006 at 02:49

Id say a 1.0 us enough, 1.4 is just using more petrol than she needs.

chopchop · 18 Feb 2006 at 02:56

cheets64 said:
Id say a 1.0 us enough, 1.4 is just using more petrol than she needs.

hell no, how on earth can you get out of trouble or overtake safely in a 1000cc car ? there would be little diff in the mpg...

cheets64 · 18 Feb 2006 at 03:55

chopchop said:
hell no, how on earth can you get out of trouble or overtake safely in a 1000cc car ? there would be little diff in the mpg...

Get out of trouble ? Overtake safely, you wait for the road to be clear and overtake. Its not like you need to overtake everyday.

rG-tom · 18 Feb 2006 at 04:23

urmm sorry cheets i have to disagree, with 3 of her friends in, a 1 litre will need a MAMMOTH gap to pull out of side streets on to main roads, will struggle to maintain speed up hills (a55 for example, even in a 1.2 clio by the time i reached the top of one of the hills between manchester and rhyl, i was at 50 and i had had to drop from 80mph in fifth to 3rd, with 3 adults, on a 70mph road, and that's not even that bad a hill), and it's practically impossible to overtake safely if you have to cross to the other side of the road. You have to give it beans to go anywhere so the fuel economy will be worse for anything other than tiny town trips.

a 1.4 is a far easier and less stressful to drive car.

Tom.

[DOD]Asprilla · 18 Feb 2006 at 08:27

For years my mum had a 1.0l and below engines and she was a very nervous driver. We are talking Fiat 126s graduating to a 996 Fiesta and cars of similar ilk.

She would never overtake and it took ages to pull out of junctions, also she would only travel on the motorway if I, or someone else would drive for here. She just want confident in the car because of the engine size. After 15 years of persuasion she finally got something different, a 1.8 Focus and it's made a world of difference to her.

I'm not going to say it's changed her life, but she actually enjoys driving and it meant that the could drive the 150 miles or so to visit her mother without having to get someone else to drive her.

It's a bit of an extreme case but unless you are an experienced driver living in central London I wouldn't recommend a 1l to anyone.

Sam · 18 Feb 2006 at 09:19

I agree with chopchop and RG Tom , Everyone seems to think a 1.0 litre car is a good first car because its "slow" and theres less chance of a new driver making a **** up in it but in my experiance its far better to own something with a bit of "grunt" so you can get out of situations which new drivers sometimes put themselves in. I had a 1.4 as my first car and by todays standards its slow but it was perfect for a first car

It would also carry 4 people quite happily unlike my friends 1.0 fiesta popular which when loaded with 4 passengers wouldent go above 5 MPH

Personally mate i would go for a 1.4 Fiesta Ghia X, she will get a cd player air con leccy windows and mirrors and some other nice bits. They also look quite nice with there alloys and small boot spoiler. £1500 should get you a decent one

Regards

Sam

233 · 18 Feb 2006 at 09:33

tbh theres not much to choose between them other than looks, maybe avoid the corsa unless its a 16v as the 8v isnt worth bothering about,

best bet and i hate to say it is to take her to a car supermarket and let her drive all of the above and see what she prefers. as she is going to be the one driving it day to day

William · 18 Feb 2006 at 10:22

Nah she needs at least 1.4 imho, it does not make a huge difference on the insurance, I am using a 1.8 16v and it made about £50 difference between that and the very slow 1.6 mondeo. I agree that you wait for the road to be clear but its a load off your mind that you have that grunt to make it if anything wierd happens.

Fiesta is a good solid car.

Pajeh · 18 Feb 2006 at 11:14

I would have to say get a corsa. I had a 1.4 fiesta and I hated it, it looked horrible and was nasty to drive. My mother has a 1.25 y reg fiesta and it just feels cheap to me.
Anyway my girlfriend has an N reg corsa 1.2l and its lovely to drive but is not too confortable inside with no PAS and bad heating, I'm sure for 2k you would get a good one though.

Nozzer · 18 Feb 2006 at 11:17

rG-tom said:
urmm sorry cheets i have to disagree, with 3 of her friends in, a 1 litre will need a MAMMOTH gap to pull out of side streets on to main roads, will struggle to maintain speed up hills (a55 for example, even in a 1.2 clio by the time i reached the top of one of the hills between manchester and rhyl, i was at 50 and i had had to drop from 80mph in fifth to 3rd, with 3 adults, on a 70mph road, and that's not even that bad a hill), and it's practically impossible to overtake safely if you have to cross to the other side of the road. You have to give it beans to go anywhere so the fuel economy will be worse for anything other than tiny town trips.

I agree. When I drive the 1.2 Corsa I have, I simply don't overtake, as I don't want to die. However, this may be a good thing as overtaking in itself is usually a risky affair. Although we all know a new driver will want to try it.

Get her something that attractive women always drive, 206 (awful car though) or a Saxo.

moss · 18 Feb 2006 at 11:19

Pajeh said:
I would have to say get a corsa. I had a 1.4 fiesta and I hated it, it looked horrible and was nasty to drive. My mother has a 1.25 y reg fiesta and it just feels cheap to me.
Anyway my girlfriend has an N reg corsa 1.2l and its lovely to drive but is not too confortable inside with no PAS and bad heating, I'm sure for 2k you would get a good one though.

I'd recommend a Micra over a Corsa, its a better car in almost every aspect. The 1.3/1.4 16v(essentially the same engine) are quick enough (0-60 about 10seconds) and very reliable.

Big Chris · 18 Feb 2006 at 11:28

rG-tom said:
urmm sorry cheets i have to disagree, with 3 of her friends in, a 1 litre will need a MAMMOTH gap to pull out of side streets on to main roads, will struggle to maintain speed up hills (a55 for example, even in a 1.2 clio by the time i reached the top of one of the hills between manchester and rhyl, i was at 50 and i had had to drop from 80mph in fifth to 3rd, with 3 adults, on a 70mph road, and that's not even that bad a hill), and it's practically impossible to overtake safely if you have to cross to the other side of the road. You have to give it beans to go anywhere so the fuel economy will be worse for anything other than tiny town trips.

Bang on, you just described what it's like to drive my Escort and for all of the above reasons it's not that practical a car to drive, although the insurance is bugger all.

Deep · 18 Feb 2006 at 11:36

when i passed i had a 1.0L micra and it was fine for everything i needed. i drove on the motorway a roads everywhere, sometiems with friends in but most times with my brother or something.

so dont get her a 1.4 get her 1

zetec452 · 18 Feb 2006 at 12:06

My initial thought was a 1.25 fiesta. They are pretty nippy down town, good economy and its not hard to get parts etc. It won't however, be too hot on the motorway.

[TW]Fox · 18 Feb 2006 at 12:21

Pajeh said:
Anyway my girlfriend has an N reg corsa 1.2l and its lovely to drive but is not too confortable inside with no PAS and bad heating, I'm sure for 2k you would get a good one though.

It is impossible to buy a good 1.2 Corsa becuase they simply dont exist and didn't even 10 years ago when brand spanking new

You can do much better, IMHO a K11 Nissan Micra would be an excellent choice.

Pigeon · 18 Feb 2006 at 12:24

also look at it this way with engine size, a recent ish 1.2 Corsa/Fiesta puts out more power than the older 1.4's. That said my 1.4 Metro had less power but also a ton less weight which is both a good and bad thing.

all I can suggest for you if you do prefer a bigger engine size, try not to get the sportier trims so it just looks like any other Corsa/Fiesta/Micra, as this may help with the insurance a little.

Jez · 18 Feb 2006 at 12:28

What insurance company is that £900 quote with?

I ask as my GF just paid £409 TPFT with diamond, with 0NCB, at 20, on a '95 Golf GTI 2.0, womens insurance is generally very very cheap and should not be touching anywhere near a grand.

In terms of the cheapest long term option and the least hassle, i'd recommend a VW Golf. I just made £500 profit on mine with my gf having put 4000 miles on it. Was the easiest car i ever sold too as they are so popular.