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Can you recommend a small car that's quiet on the motorway?

My partner is in the market for a small(ish) car to replace her SKoda Fabia 1.9TDi. Her job now requires her to has to make long journeys every week or so, and she's finding the Fabia is too noisy, both engine and wind/road noise, and a lack of sat nav and hands free functionality is also bothering her.

The rest of the time she commutes into central Oxford, so staying small is also desirable, as is heated seats etc. for the winter mornings. Last but not least, she'd like something with bit more go and (strongly) prefers a manual gearbox.

Can you suggest replacement options? I was assuming something more upmarket would tend to be quieter on the motorway runs, maybe a V40 or a 1 Series?

Asked on 19 April 2016 by putt1ck

Answered by Honest John
A new Fabia 1.2TSI 90 is a completely different car from the Fabia she has but it uses a smartphone type of sat nav and that hasn't been very good. We don't databank heated seats. A Peugeot 308 1.2 Puretech 130 is impressively quick and economical, but the sat nav does not readily take postcodes.

Honda's latest Garmin sat nav is the best I've used recently and you get it in the new Jazz and HR-V. The HR-V diesel is higher geared than the manual Jazz so is quieter. Michelin Cross Climate tyres quieten down any car and make the ride smoother.
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