Small car quest

[MercedesDriver]

The time has come to look for something
Small for daily city, school and tube runs.
Boot space must be big enough for two reusable shopping bags, you know the one for £1 from supermarkets, and 12 pints.
Fun, this is a MUST (high revs, short gears)
Petrol or Diesel, I don’t care as long as it achieves 40(50) mpg
Cheap (low tax, low insurance, low maintenance costs)

The only one I’ve found is Fiat Panda 100HP
Can you suggest any or do you have any good experience you could share?

Budget is up to 3k

 

[PobodY]

The problem may be that cars in this category are generally not "fun", they're "functional".

We had a Hyundai Amica for a while. - Cheap to run, mechanically simple, small (although it still had four doors), but completely lacking any character.
It fairness to it; it was a perfectly fine "city runabout", but not great on the motorway (although it could do motorway speeds.... eventually). - You could try running it hard, but it's like the engine isn't really paying attention; you stomp the loud pedal, and it says "oh, sorry... did you want something?".

 

[Wheelsnuts]

Same here: we have an Hyundai i10. Cheap as chips to run, comfortable and utterly reliable but lacks enough power to be a fun car.

 

[gaz_l]

I ran a Panda 100HP for 5 years, so if you've got any questions sing out. It's a good little car but they're not exactly thick on the ground and I'd imagine quite a few of them have been thrashed so be careful and do your homework.

They're certainly quick enough to keep up with the traffic but they don't produce much torque so you need to keep the revs up to make progress. If you're driving in the city a lot be aware the turning circle isn't great and the suspension is rock hard so you'll feel every pothole directly through your spine. You certainly won't get 40 mpg around town, 25-26 mpg was normal. It's not too difficult to get 40 on a run if you stick to the speed limits.

You can get a reasonable amount of shopping in the boot, 4 carrier bags no problem. The rear seats don't fold flat as the squabs don't fold up. It's also strictly a 4 seater - the regular Pandas have a option for a 5th belt but not the 100HP.

They're fairly well equipped - front electric windows, climate control, bluetooth phone. Parts aren't particularly cheap, mine was reliable until last December when one of the electric windows failed (£200, £120 of which was the regulator) and then three weeks later the clutch went, kiss goodbye to £700 although that was at a main dealer. Tax is about £180 IIRC, insurance was pennies 'cos I'm old.

Anything else you need to know either post on the thread or PM me.

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[Charles Morgan]

Suzuki Swift sport? Fun, big enough, economical enough, findable in your price range?

 

[MercedesDriver]

The problem may be that cars in this category are generally not "fun", they're "functional". We had a Hyundai Amica for a while. - Cheap to run, mechanically simple, small (although it still had four doors), but completely lacking any character. It fairness to it; it was a perfectly fine "city runabout", but not great on the motorway (although it could do motorway speeds.... eventually). - You could try running it hard, but it's like the engine isn't really paying attention; you stomp the loud pedal, and it says "oh, sorry... did you want something?".

Same here: we have an Hyundai i10. Cheap as chips to run, comfortable and utterly reliable but lacks enough power to be a fun car.

Thanks guys, I've checked some i20s but all looked too much "functional".

 

[MercedesDriver]

I ran a Panda 100HP for 5 years, so if you've got any questions sing out. It's a good little car but they're not exactly thick on the ground and I'd imagine quite a few of them have been thrashed so be careful and do your homework. They're certainly quick enough to keep up with the traffic but they don't produce much torque so you need to keep the revs up to make progress. If you're driving in the city a lot be aware the turning circle isn't great and the suspension is rock hard so you'll feel every pothole directly through your spine. You certainly won't get 40 mpg around town, 25-26 mpg was normal. It's not too difficult to get 40 on a run if you stick to the speed limits. You can get a reasonable amount of shopping in the boot, 4 carrier bags no problem. The rear seats don't fold flat as the squabs don't fold up. It's also strictly a 4 seater - the regular Pandas have a option for a 5th belt but not the 100HP. They're fairly well equipped - front electric windows, climate control, bluetooth phone. Parts aren't particularly cheap, mine was reliable until last December when one of the electric windows failed (£200, £120 of which was the regulator) and then three weeks later the clutch went, kiss goodbye to £700 although that was at a main dealer. Tax is about £180 IIRC, insurance was pennies 'cos I'm old. Anything else you need to know either post on the thread or PM me. Cheers, Gaz

Thanks. I really like these Fiats but 25-26 mpg is a bit disappointing, my E240 is in that range in daily commute. I was hoping it was more in high 30s low 40s but mid 20s are too high for what I need it for. I better look for something "functional" :/

 

[KennyN]

Pug 107 / C1 / Aygo

£30 road tax , group 1 ins , plenty MPG`s , full service kit including discs and pads £85.

Loads of front internal space and the rear seats fold flat when required.

Whats not to like

Kenny

 

[MercedesDriver]

Suzuki Swift sport? Fun, big enough, economical enough, findable in your price range?

Interesting, thanks. How fuel economical is it being a 1.6 petrol?

 

[Charles Morgan]

Looking at Autotrader the average mpg figure posted is 39. I suspect if you hammer it, it will be a bit lower!

 

[st13phil]

Pug 107 / C1 / Aygo

£30 road tax , group 1 ins , plenty MPG`s , full service kit including discs and pads £85.

Loads of front internal space and the rear seats fold flat when required.

Whats not to like

Kenny

Financially, these make a lot of sense but having rented one for a couple of days I learnt that there's a lot not to like.

 

[brucemillar]

Ford Fiesta. Good fun, good looking, reliable, grippy, and you can play with it with a mass of aftermarket bits both exterior and interior. They are also reasonable DIY projects for the odd bit of spannering.

 

[st13phil]

^ Good call, Bruce. There's much to commend the Fiesta

 

[MercedesDriver]

Pug 107 / C1 / Aygo £30 road tax , group 1 ins , plenty MPG`s , full service kit including discs and pads £85. Loads of front internal space and the rear seats fold flat when required. Whats not to like Kenny

Thanks. All these look too small for 2 shopping bags and 12 pints.

 

[gaz_l]

Looking at Autotrader the average mpg figure posted is 39. I suspect if you hammer it, it will be a bit lower!

Those figures are works of some of the world's finest liars. The average figure for the Ypsilon is somewhere in the region of 75 MPG, around town it does less than 30. I can get 50 MPG on the motorway if I drive like a nun. The only time I get 75 (on the computer, at least) is driving it at 50 MPH through the roadworks on the M3 in 5th gear, when it sounds and feels like it's going to stall.

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[Yugguy]

Aygo? It'll never break, looks funky and should hold its value well. Big inside too, its as big almost as our 2009 yaris.

 

[PobodY]

Honda Jazz? - I don't have any personal experience with them, but my aunt had one that she thought was great; lots of load space for a small car.
I don't think she'd know what I was talking about if I asked about how fun it was to drive though.

 

[MercedesDriver]

Those figures are works of some of the world's finest liars. The average figure for the Ypsilon is somewhere in the region of 75 MPG, around town it does less than 30. I can get 50 MPG on the motorway if I drive like a nun. The only time I get 75 (on the computer, at least) is driving it at 50 MPH through the roadworks on the M3 in 5th gear, when it sounds and feels like it's going to stall. Cheers, Gaz

I remember your posts RE Ypsilon and made some AT searches because of it but nothing came up within a budget. What are your real life experiences with it?

 

[MercedesDriver]

Honda Jazz? - I don't have any personal experience with them, but my aunt had one that she thought was great; lots of load space for a small car. I don't think she'd know what I was talking about if I asked about how fun it was to drive though.

Jazz is very cute car but is a real Aunty car )

 

[No Biscuit]

I drove a 107 from new for 5 years until recently. I honestly could not fault it, never ever let me down, despite being abused/neglected service wise. Car did 250 miles a week, a lot of motorway work, think on average it worked out at about 11p a mile with petrol around 110p a litre. I never worked out the mpg. Good solid little cars.