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Zippy Car to share with Younger Driver

andyoz

andyoz

pfm Member
We've come to that stage in life where our eldest lad is about to get his license...

I don't work much anymore or need to lug three kids around so my big estate will be getting sold off and my wife's car with be our main car.

So looking at option for a wee car for me to buy and put our lad being on the insurance for his first year or two (then it would be my daughters turn).

It seems to be a bit of a lottery as to how insurers rates this type of car in each situation (depends on their previous years stats on any particular car model). I'm wondering if there's older cars that may actually be worth looking at ...as in 15+ years old...as I don't mind working on cars myself etc. Lighter cars with smaller 1.0 - 1.2 litre engines that can still be zippy. Lots of fun can be had ringing out a wee engine on our roads.

Although, maybe I just buy a 5 year old Fiesta with the least powerful engine!
 
Thing is I'm basically downscaling to do this so maybe I just blow that money on his insurance for a few years and at least buy something 'fun' for me.

He's not an idiot sort either...I'll reserve that for my youngest son in 5 years time who clearly will be a danger on the roads.

I reckon there might be a few cars that fly under the insurers radar (as in the uptick in performance doesn't correlate with the insurance uptick) and it's finding them.
 
Our kids drive a 9 year old 100bhp fiesta and a 10 year old Fiat 500 (1.2 63bhp). Both are great city cars, my son (FIAT) also carries a kayak on the roof which is hilarious. The Fiat is also very cheap to insure, he is on his second year of a full licence and pays £600 fully comp as a 21 year old.

The Fiesta is the better car, much easier on faster roads/motorways, bigger and lots of fun to drive. Highly recommended.
 
cutting42 said:
Our kids drive a 9 year old 100bhp fiesta and a 10 year old Fiat 500 (1.2 63bhp). Both are great city cars, my son (FIAT) also carries a kayak on the roof which is hilarious. The Fiat is also very cheap to insure, he is on his second year of a full licence and pays £600 fully comp as a 21 year old.

The Fiesta is the better car, much easier on faster roads/motorways, bigger and lots of fun to drive. Highly recommended.
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So is that the 1.4 petrol Fiesta then?
 
How about a Volvo C30? The brand is generally beloved by insurance companies, but it's a (fairly) cool coupe in the Audi TT mould, nice inside, well built and reasonably sprightly.
 
Insurance company’s decisions are very odd at times. A friend has my old 109hp C30 and couldn’t insure his 19 old daughter on it but they were happy to offer her insurance on a 130hp VRS Skoda!

I would get a three door UP! as even the low powered ones are nice to drive.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
How about a Volvo C30? The brand is generally beloved by insurance companies, but it's a (fairly) cool coupe in the Audi TT mould, nice inside, well built and reasonably sprightly.
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Hey, that's a great left field idea as I always liked the C30 shape.

My old S60 and V70 were some of my best cars ...although they were proper granite era Volvo's
 
Snufkin said:
Insurance company’s decisions are very odd at times. A friend has my old 109hp C30 and couldn’t insure his 19 old daughter on it but they were happy to offer her insurance on a 130hp VRS Skoda!

I would get a three door UP! as even the low powered ones are nice to drive.
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Yes, guy I was talking to at Admiral basically admitted the same. He said get some example car rego's, ring them up to quote and see what the lucky dip gives out...
 
I have a Honda Jazz which is surprisingly good fun to drive. Great build quality and faultlessly reliable. Hugely roomy too for a small car.
 
andyoz said:
So is that the 1.4 petrol Fiesta then?
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No, 1.0l turbo triple Ecoboost, fantastic engine. Beware of much internet trolling around it. US Ecoboost engines in 2.3l 4 cylinder form have a terrible reputation but completely different engine. The 1.0l had a recall very early in its life for a cooling issue, a plastic pipe needed re routing in hot countries but it was a free recall so all should have been done and it was back in 2012. My dad has the 125bhp version in his Focus as well.
 
andyoz said:
Hey, that's a great left field idea as I always liked the C30 shape.

My old S60 and V70 were some of my best cars ...although they were proper granite era Volvo's
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Not sure of your budget, but this one popped up recently and I'd be tempted if I was in the market (automatic gearbox, though).
2012 C30 D3 2.0-litre diesel Geartronic. 35k. - Volvo Owners Club Forum (volvoforums.org.uk)

Or this, which seems like a very good deal for somebody
2012 C30 2.0 petrol R-Design for sale - Volvo Owners Club Forum (volvoforums.org.uk)
 
The C30 is, mechanically speaking, a Ford Focus, but somehow manages to be less comfortable on the road (both it and the S40 are very un-Volvo like in having really hard suspension tuning). Ford's dual-clutch transmission (which is what is used in the "Geartronic" Volvos) is not great to drive, and like all DCTs it can have horrendously expensive faults.

For a smaller car, consider a Skoda Fabia rather than VW Polo - cheaper, and better built. Regarding the Up, most VW Up models started their life as rental cars. Hertz bought huge numbers of them, so they might be cheap, but you could get very unlucky. Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo are mechanically identical, and cheaper, but more likely to have been owned by a private buyer.

If you're in the very small car market with the Up, the FIAT 500 TwinAir models have a surprising amount of pep in them, but it may be too small for your needs (headroom is not an issue in 500s, but rear-seat and boot- space is). Panda is less fun, but it's very practical: bigger inside than the Up, and these FIATs are rock-solid.

Staying Italian, if you're seriously considering a C30, have a look at an Alfa Giulietta too. More comfortable to drive than the Volvo, more go, better looking (my opinion) and two extra doors. In chose one over the C30 or S40, and got years of trouble-free driving from ti.
 
The geartronic in the C30 in question is a full-auto (it specifically says so in the ad, it's not the Ford DCT), but otherwise I take your points. I still like them, though. The Giulietta's a nice car, but I reckon insuring a new driver on it could be a little more problematic. Not a small car, either.
 
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