Small city cars, any advice welcome!

[AnnieOakley]

Hi everyone
I know I've said it before, but this time I'm serious. It's time for me to find a new car (Calm down, I'm not getting rid of a surf... for those who don't know me, I'm the surfer-in-law ) (though not really in-law as we're not married...more like the out-law )

I drive into London everyday, 40 mile round trip so I need something economical and small. #1 priority is fuel efficiency and low running costs. Does anyone have any experience with any of these vehicles or have any advice on something similar that might be good? These are some I'm thinking of:

Vauxhall Agila
Hyundai i10
Kia Picanto
Suzuki Splash
Suzuki Alto
Toyota Aygo

I was originally going for the Aygo, but I've found the others are a little bit roomier without being that much bigger.

Hoping maybe some of you have second cars or know someone who has these cars. Any advice is welcome! Many thank yous!

[Albannach]

Suzuki Alto

[AnnieOakley]

Suzuki Alto

Thanks! I really like the Suzukis. Any particular reason?

[97T4R]

VW Lupo 3 banger diesel, or a MKIV Golf 2 door tdi 5 speed, 1.9l tdi

[Koi]

having been in or driven one


Smart fortwo
Ford KA
Toyota Yaris


Do you need rear seat room, a decent boot etc. If so then your looking more towards the Fiesta or Golf kind of cars.

[stormforce]

The Toyota IQ2 is a great car.We bought the wife one last year and its like a tardis.It has a 9' turning circle.It has 4 seats but no boot space unless you put the rear seats down.Its road tax free as its under 1000cc.It has higher spec than the Aygo,Yaris etc.I'm not one for small cars but this is a great little car.Better than a smart car and does about 65mpg.It has 9 airbags inc front and rear windows.The Aygo is a very tinny sounding car.It has more room but the inside is just so cheap and flimsey looking.The IQ2 is the only Toyota with top spec as with the Toyota Avensis.





I'll get a few better ones later for you and of the inside

[Doc B]

Hi Annie

I don't know if this will help or not but my wife has a T-plate Audi A4 1.9tdi and it is fantastic on fuel (50 mpg) and mechanically has never let us down. We've had it now for 6 years & I can't praise it highly enough. All it's cost us is routine servicing and tyres. It might be a bigger car than you're looking for but thy're reliable and still look good.

Maybe an A3 with the same diesel engine.....

[Kiter]

Hiya

maybe too big but what about the volvo c30 if you need a bit more space - drivE versions from 2009 onwards are 99g co2 - means no road tax. I've got the V50 with the same engine and I regularly get 60+mpg on a mixed run. Its got a bit of poke when you need it, loaded with safety kit and the seats are so good on a long run. I got rid of a Shogun LWb for this and it feels like it runs on fresh air in comparison. Volvo dealers seem to open to hard negotiation as well. Guess it depends if you like the look of the C30 - not to everyone's taste.

I also considered the Polo and Golf Bluemotions and Skoda Fabia Greenline - all under 100gm co2 as well - problem was the waiting list to get one and the Volvo had more space, better spec and they threw in 3 yrs servicing.

[gpz1100]

We part-exed the wifes vectra estate for a kia picanto 1.1 strike last year. Cheap insurance, £30 tax and now its clocked up the miles around 50-60 mpg. The clincher for me was the 7 year warranty!! It drives well, boots not a bad size,nice gearbox all mod cons. As they say does what it says on the tin, no hastle. She does 30 miles a day to work plus the usual shopping and it costs less than half than the vectra!!

[JUDWAK]

fiat panda diesel 4x4
cheap tax low running costs


its what iam thinking of for a small run about

[Overland Tonka]

fiat panda diesel 4x4
cheap tax low running costs


its what iam thinking of for a small run about

Judwak......you are spot on. Any panda will do. Great build quality with no probs. The new 2 cylinder model does 10000000 miles to the litre and is as quick as the 4 cylinder model.

[markp2]

Panda or Hyundai i10 would get my vote. Both economical and pretty comfy for not too much cash.
Mark

[JUDWAK]

Judwak......you are spot on. Any panda will do. Great build quality with no probs. The new 2 cylinder model does 10000000 miles to the litre and is as quick as the 4 cylinder model.

thank you
i have done a lot of reading on this of late
i need to travel to whole uk
then to norway
and thats the car that i came up with after weeks and weeks of reading
quite hard to find
priced from 3500 quid to 5000

[Albannach]

Thanks! I really like the Suzukis. Any particular reason?

When we were looking at a new car for Shirley, we drove a couple of cars on your list (Kia, Hyundai and the Suzis). The Alto was the best of the 4.

[AnnieOakley]

Many thanks to everyone who has posted so far, it's given me a LOT to think about! (more than I already am!)

I've probably got until the end of March to decide, so I think I'm going to just test drive everything I can before making a decision.

Failing that.... pulling a name out of a hat!