Urbz who Know About Cars - help me pick one

[Steel Icarus]

Parameters:

New (paying with some sort of finance)
Upper limit around 20k
Supermini

Priorities:

Economical
Spacious cabin and boot
Green
Safe
Nippy for town driving but occasional longer motorway journeys no issue

So far narrowed down to:

Seat Ibiza
Toyota Yaris (we've had one for 11 years)
Skoda Fabia
Honda Jazz
Ford Fiesta
Renault Clio
Peugeot 208
Dacia Sandero
VW Polo

Anyone own any of these? Or similar? Suggest alternatives? Stick to the guidelines, I don't need to hear about why we should spend £25k on a second hand Merc saloon or w/e

 

[magneze]

VW Polo?

 

[Steel Icarus]

Added to list

 

[platinumsage]

The Sandero is in a whole different class when it comes to safety so you can strike that off.

 

[Steel Icarus]

The Sandero is in a whole different class when it comes to safety so you can strike that off.

Yeah, the price is why it's on the list at all tbf

 

[danski]

Honda Civic? Too big?

 

[platinumsage]

The others are all much the same and meet your criteria thanks to regulations. It comes down to price, how you define spacious, and any specific preferences you have (you might find a particular seat uncomfortable, or the centre console controls annoying, or whatever). You need to sit in some cars in showrooms for a start, and narrow down your options for test drives.

 

[Griff]

First thing I thought was Honda e, the cool looking new electric one, but looking at the prices, they're £27k cheapest second-hand.

 

[Steel Icarus]

The others are all much the same and meet your criteria thanks to regulations. It comes down to price, how you define spacious, and any specific preferences you have (you might find a particular seat uncomfortable, or the centre console controls annoying, or whatever). You need to sit in some cars in showrooms for a start, and narrow down your options for test drives.

Oh, for sure, but I'd be happy to discard a car from the list to be seriously investigated with test drives etc if someone has first hand knowledge of one of them.

 

[Steel Icarus]

Spacious - can occasionally get a six foot one seventeen stone fella in the front passenger and a six foot teenager in the back without us struggling to get in and out or banging our heads on the interior roof

 

[Steel Icarus]

Honda Civic? Too big?

Yeah, mainly it's just going to be my wife driving to Stoke or Durham etc plus the usual shopping trips with me

 

[Sasaferrato]

Hyundai i30.

 

[Steel Icarus]

Hyundai i30.

Too expensive, too big

Colleague has an i20 and I found it cramped

 

[weepiper]

Used to have a Skoda Fabia estate and found it very spacious for a small car.

 

[Riklet]

Yaris or Mazda 2

 

[Sasaferrato]

Too expensive, too big

Colleague has an i20 and I found it cramped

1368cc 112 bhp 6 gears, nippy, economic (55 mpg at 65 on motorway).

 

[Poot]

I really loved my Corsa. In fact my next car will probably be a Corsa. They're nice to drive and dependable and safe and surprisingly spacious.

 

[platinumsage]

Oh, for sure, but I'd be happy to discard a car from the list to be seriously investigated with test drives etc if someone has first hand knowledge of one of them.

The thing is they’re all much the same as regards the basics, so any reviews or first hand knowledge will just be personal preferences or isolated anecdata, and might end up being stuff you’d disagree with.

Yeah, mainly it's just going to be my wife driving to Stoke or Durham etc plus the usual shopping trips with me

If she’s going to be hoofing it up the A1 for four hours and you’re just doing shopping trips maybe she should set the priorities as regards size and comfort?

 

[Aladdin]

Cant go wrong with a Yaris.

The hybrid claims to do 3.9 litres per 100km.
The conventional claims 5.2 litres per 100km

My 2019 conventional one does 4 litres per 100km. Which I think is fantastic.

Plenty cabin space.

Boot is not massive but fits a decent amount in it...I can fit 2 wheely suitcases (mid size range) and 2 small rucksacks tucked in either side. Mind you I use the backseat too for carting stuff around.


Eta. Toyota seats are extremely comfortable and speaking as someone who has an iffy back, their seats are ace.

Also....very confortable car on a long drive and even at 100km per hour the car feels comfortable.
Hitting 120km motorway speed is ok once you get to the mark. Bit noisy but grand. I was used to a 1.8 litre engine and flying around on motorways at 120km..
So the Yaris is a change but copes well...it is probably at its best at 100km/hr or less though.
Coasting along at 80km is extremely comfortable and saves a lot on petrol.

 

[dessiato]

I'd look at anything from the volkswagen audi group so VW Skoda, Seat, Audi. They're not always good value for money, but are usually solid.

If they don't appeal then Honda. In my experience, owned three, they're solidly reliable.

In neither of the suggestions are parts/maintenance cheap. But, buying new, you shouldn't need much.

 

[Steel Icarus]

The thing is they’re all much the same as regards the basics, so any reviews or first hand knowledge will just be personal preferences or isolated anecdata, and might end up being stuff you’d disagree with.



If she’s going to be hoofing it up the A1 for four hours and you’re just doing shopping trips maybe she should set the priorities as regards size and comfort?

She has mate, I'm working on her needs and from her priorities, just doing the research so we can avoid doing too many test drives.

 

[Sasaferrato]

This is my second i30, I had the first one for 11 years, it was a 1600, but you really cannot tell the difference with the 1368. Engine technology hasn't half come.

Yesterday it informed me that the windscreen washer fluid was low.

 

[Sasaferrato]

Used to have a Skoda Fabia estate and found it very spacious for a small car.

Skoda really came on after VW bought them,

 

[Sasaferrato]

Cant go wrong with a Yaris.

The hybrid claims to do 3.9 litres per 100km.
The conventional claims 5.2 litres per 100km

My 2019 conventional one does 4 litres per 100km. Which I think is fantastic.

Plenty cabin space.

Boot is not massive but fits a decent amount in it...I can fit 2 wheely suitcases (mid size range) and 2 small rucksacks tucked in either side. Mind you I use the backseat too for carting stuff around.

I'm still in my pit, so no calculator, the 1368 i30 beats 4l for 100km. ( I think).

 

[mauvais]

The Sandero is in a whole different class when it comes to safety so you can strike that off.

It has a low safety rating because it hasn't introduced enough electronic aids like a good enough autonomous braking system, so it's been downgraded from 4/5 to 2/5 as the tests morphed to include those as requisites. Unlike structural occupant protection, whether this makes it holistically unsafe or not kind of depends on whether you are a shit inattentive driver or not.

 

[platinumsage]

She has mate, I'm working on her needs and from her priorities, just doing the research so we can avoid doing too many test drives.

I’d start with the cheapest ones then, and see which she finds most comfortable to sit in and fiddle with. Unless you have other preferences e.g. heated steering wheel or whatever.

I think even the cheapest Fiesta has LED headlamps these days, but they’re something i’d definitely recommmend that you wouldn’t normally notice on a test drive. Once you’ve had them you don’t want to go back to halogens.

 

[platinumsage]

It has a low safety rating because it hasn't introduced enough electronic aids like a good enough autonomous braking system, so it's been downgraded from 4/5 to 2/5 as the tests morphed to include those as requisites. Unlike structural occupant protection, whether this makes it holistically unsafe or not kind of depends on whether you are a shit inattentive driver or not.

No it scores badly on the basics e.g. “structures in the dashboard presented a risk of injury to occupants of different sizes and to those sitting in different positions, and protection for this part of the body was downgraded to marginal. Chest protection was also rated as marginal for both front seat occupants, based on dummy readings of chest compression.”

 

[Steel Icarus]

I think she was keen on a built-in route planner but from what I can see they don't come as standard so end up costing quite a bit more or needing the next trim up

 

[Aladdin]

I'm still in my pit, so no calculator, the 1368 i30 beats 4l for 100km. ( I think).

My Yaris is a 1 litre engine...well 999cc. It's really surprised me how comfortable and efficient it has been.

 

[platinumsage]

I think she was keen on a built-in route planner but from what I can see they don't come as standard so end up costing quite a bit more or needing the next trim up

Most people look for Apple Car Play and Android Auto these days, which means you can use Google Maps or the Waze app on your phone and have it mirrored on the car’s central console. All in-built SatNavs are pretty shit tbh.