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Joe Hutch

Joe Hutch

Mate of the bloke
As this is not hi-fi related, I'm hoping it will be reasonably uncontentious.

Mrs H is looking for a new-ish car.

Must be: petrol, manual, no more than 3 years old, low mileage, not Vauxhall

Preferably: 5-door, blue

Maximum price £15k.

So, what do we think? We had a VW Polo for years, and Mrs H would be happy going back to one of those. Other possibilities are Honda Jazz or Toyota Yaris. Any other suggestions?
 
Mazda 2 or 3, Volvo V40 T3.

If Mrs H like the Polo, then a Skoda Fabia is worth a look.

[Edit] Go for a new Dacia Sandero - no MOT for three years and full manufacturers' warranty too. And save £5k.

 
Joe Hutch said:
So, what do we think? We had a VW Polo for years, and Mrs H would be happy going back to one of those. Other possibilities are Honda Jazz or Toyota Yaris. Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

Went through this mini-trauma a month or so back, spent far too long looking at specs, reviews, vids, etc ... settled for a top spec 2019 Yaris for 8k (spotless, 20k miles)
Absolutely no regrets at all, only minor annoyance being that bloody 'modern' safety feature that beeps if you park too near a flower or bunch of grapes.

Nearly got a Fiesta - nice looking and good nick but thankfully got warned off (apparently crap rep for electrics in newer models: ditto Peugots)
 
Late friday eve, oblig response-


(face it - the way such threads go, it'll make as much sense as any other response, in -thread-over all:

Your wife will need anything from a Series two SWB LandRover which you must immaculately restore first -
via 'nothing less than 4litres, petrol, v8' -

to, say, new Tesla P100 two-motor just for shopping duties.

Or at least an ex-MOD 6wd Alvis Saracen, just to be sure; you live in Bristol, after all...



- But don't you dare approach the performance each option might offer - the planet! oh; the planet...




tl;dr: utterly no help at all: and I'm glad to oblige, in getting all of that out of the way ; )
 
Fiesta with the triple 1.0l engine is a superb car, my daughter has one and my dad has the same engine in a Focus. Daughters car is 4 years old, dad's is 3 years old no idea where the electrics stories come from, probably the place as the massively overstated heater pipe problems that some like to trot out about Fiesta's. Yes there was an early problem with cars in hot climates but they were all fixed under recall and never affected most UK cars.

Fiesta is a great drive, light and perfect around town but can do motorway miles if needed. Cheap to buy, run and insure, there is a reason why it has been the top 1 or 2 best selling car in the UK since forever
 
Why must be manual? The days when auto meant 3 speed torque converter are behind us and most small cars are CVT gearbox now.
 
davidsrsb said:
Why must be manual? The days when auto meant 3 speed torque converter are behind us and most small cars are CVT gearbox now.
Click to expand...

Change the record, please.
Just accept that many Brits enjoy a manual gearbox, and you don’t need to question it.
 
You can’t really go wrong with the Polo especially if that’s what you had before (the newer 2018+ ones are a lot better). It’s about to be face lifted so there will be some ex-demo stock dealers will want to shift.

We were looking recently for a similar car, similar budget - we went for an Ibiza - same VW under the skin but much better spec, slightly bigger. The Polo just felt too sensible comparison and in Ireland has very basic kit by comparison (may well be different in the UK).

Good luck with the search.
 
Go Japanese. They are just better built and more reliable. A decent local dealer could be a deciding factor. Unfortunately prices are off the chart at the moment, unless she’s desperate to change it might be worth sitting tight until supply issues sort themselves out and prices soften.
 
Ponty said:
Go Japanese. They are just better built and more reliable.
Click to expand...

This is partly what she's thinking; her sister has had a Yaris for years, and it's never missed a beat. To be fair, the same was true of our old Polo.

Ponty said:
A decent local dealer could be a deciding factor. Unfortunately prices are off the chart at the moment, unless she’s desperate to change it might be worth sitting tight until supply issues sort themselves out and prices soften.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately it's reasonably urgent. She's been sharing a car with our elder daughter, who has just landed a new job, for which she'll need more or less exclusive use of a car.
 
martin clark said:
Late friday eve, oblig response-


(face it - the way such threads go, it'll make as much sense as any other response, in -thread-over all:

Your wife will need anything from a Series two SWB LandRover which you must immaculately restore first -
via 'nothing less than 4litres, petrol, v8' -

to, say, new Tesla P100 two-motor just for shopping duties.

Or at least an ex-MOD 6wd Alvis Saracen, just to be sure; you live in Bristol, after all...



- But don't you dare approach the performance each option might offer - the planet! oh; the planet...




tl;dr: utterly no help at all: and I'm glad to oblige, in getting all of that out of the way ; )
Click to expand...

The only two cars Mrs H has really wanted to own were:

1) A Saab, which a friend of ours owned. Sadly, the Saab in question was an early '60s model, as rare as hens' teeth and correspondingly expensive. (She doesn't like modern Saabs at all).

2) A Bristol saloon, which she saw, and fell in love with, at what was then the Industrial Museum. We could just about have afforded one if we'd sold the house and lived in the car.

Those two apart, it's been a case of reliability, economy and what's been available. She's never been tempted by anything SUV-like, or automatic, or diesel.
 
The Yaris is great, it’ll never break, the Jazz likewise. I’d seriously consider the Skoda and Seat alternatives. A brand new Dacia with a long warranty has to be worth considering. The new one is based on the current Clio I believe. Well worth a look for sure.
 
Another vote for Japanese, I've owned in excess of 70 vehicles in my lifetime and on balance Japanese vehicles have been the most reliable and cheapest to run by far. Out of all the marques I have found Hondas stand out, well engineered, hugely reliable and good resale value too. Currently have a Civic in the 'fleet', and like the others just well thought out and put together as well as being good to drive. You'll get a recent low mileage in budget (and there's a good few around in blue too :D) , but to be honest it all comes down to personal taste at the end of the day. Anyway that's my tuppence worth.
 
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