Safe hatchback under £3500 (ish )

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Mon 6 Jun 2022 20:56
Safe hatchback under £3500 (ish ) - Johnfj

I will be travelling up the motorway once or twice a week and wanted a cheapish hatchback that of course will be reliable ( if any cheap motor is .. ) but also feel safe and solid on the motorway

I have narrowed the list to the following ( purely on price and what seems reviews on autoloader )

Hyundai I30

Ford Focus

Chevrolet cruze

Honda civic

Kia proceed

Mazda 2 and Mazda 3

I expect different answers but just interested what people think.. thanks

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Mon 6 Jun 2022 21:10
Safe hatchback under £3500 (ish ) - Xileno

Your budget does not go far these days with inflated car values. I would be looking at private sales, anything on a dealer forecourt at this end of the market will likely be a valeted dog-eared thing. I like the Focus (as I have one), the 1.6 engine is reliable.

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Mon 6 Jun 2022 21:12
Safe hatchback under £3500 (ish ) - Adampr

Any reason you favour a Proceed over a Ceed?

Not sure on the Chevrolet. Probably reliable, but quite a rare car with no dealer support anymore.

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Mon 6 Jun 2022 21:15
Safe hatchback under £3500 (ish ) - Johnfj

Any reason you favour a Proceed over a Ceed?

Not sure on the Chevrolet. Probably reliable, but quite a rare car with no dealer support anymore.

No real reason..I guess just a bit more style (haha).

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Mon 6 Jun 2022 21:58
Safe hatchback under £3500 (ish ) - Adampr

I think I'd probably keep it simple and go for the Focus. Kia or Hyundai if you can find one still in warranty. Consider a Toyota Auris or Yaris too - up to ten years old they give you a year's warranty with every service.

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Tue 7 Jun 2022 00:26
Safe hatchback under £3500 (ish ) - SLO76

At this end of the market condition is more important than anything else. Leave style, street cred and power to the bottom of the list and buy the least complex petrol engined mass market car you can find, preferably in a private sale. There’s nothing really wrong with any you’ve shortlisted but I’d add in the Toyota Yaris, Corolla and Auris plus I’d include the Vauxhall Astra which can be found in very good order for not a lot of money. Look for something from an affluent household that’s been owned long term. Tell me where roughly will you be looking and I’ll see if I can find anything worthy of a look on Gumtree or Autotrader.

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Tue 7 Jun 2022 09:08
Safe hatchback under £3500 (ish ) - Johnfj

Thats very good of you. Little place called Nantwich in cheshire

What do you think of the Dacia Sandero or Duster, you seem to get a lot of car for not a lot of money ?

Based on what people are saying I might be able to go to £4k ish

Forgot to say in original post..

PETROL not DIESEL

Edited by Johnfj on 07/06/2022 at 09:58

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Tue 7 Jun 2022 10:18
Safe hatchback under £3500 (ish ) - badbusdriver

What do you think of the Dacia Sandero or Duster, you seem to get a lot of car for not a lot of money ?

So you'd consider a Sandero, but you don't want a Kia Ceed (instead of a Proceed) because of a lack of style?

Incidentally, your stated budget is £3.5k, or half the asking price of the cheapest Proceed on Autotrader.

Not much wrong with the Sandero or Duster as long as you accept what they are, basic cheap transport. Both are based on the 3rd gen Renault Clio platform and this was a very safe car for its day, but that day was 2005. So if safety is a prime concern, there are better options in cars which may be older in age, but younger in terms of crash protection design. For reliability and running costs, the n/a 1.2 would be best in the Sandero and the n/a 1.6 for the Duster. Having said that, the 1.5 turbo diesel is pretty reliable, so worth considering if your usage is not all short journeys. Just be aware that if something were to go wrong in the diesel, it isn't going to be a cheap fix.

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Tue 7 Jun 2022 10:31
Safe hatchback under £3500 (ish ) - Johnfj

What do you think of the Dacia Sandero or Duster, you seem to get a lot of car for not a lot of money ?

So you'd consider a Sandero, but you don't want a Kia Ceed (instead of a Proceed) because of a lack of style?

Incidentally, your stated budget is £3.5k, or half the asking price of the cheapest Proceed on Autotrader.

Sorry, I didn't mean to put style as an important factor..I did see some proceeds for £3500 but maybe that was a dog..

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Tue 7 Jun 2022 10:42
Safe hatchback under £3500 (ish ) - badbusdriver

I did see some proceeds for £3500 but maybe that was a dog..

Just had another look, and I must have still had some criteria in place from a previous search. There are indeed Proceed's available in your budget, and no, they are not all dogs!.

But while the 2nd gen Proceed certainly has a more overt sportiness in its appearance compared to the 5 door, the earlier car, IMO, doesn't. Less practical but with no benefit in style.

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Tue 7 Jun 2022 11:48
Safe hatchback under £3500 (ish ) - Johnfj

Thanks

So is the auto ok aswell for the petrol Ceed's / Hyundai

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Tue 7 Jun 2022 12:56
Safe hatchback under £3500 (ish ) - Engineer Andy

Thanks

So is the auto ok aswell for the petrol Ceed's / Hyundai

If well maintained, they're probably fine, if rather thirsty. Good idea for you to have a look at such cars (in your price range) in the Reviews section of this website. Most older ones should still have the review (and owner review) still up, including sub-sections on specs (incl. performance, VED, mpg) and what's good/bad (including reliability issues) as well as the actual site test drive/report/verdict.

Bear in mind that often the overall score is normally reduced by 1 star as they get to about 10 years old as it takes into account longer-term issues and (compared to the latest cars) that they have lower specs.

In reality, if you avoid certain specs/gizmos or engines/engine types, you should be fine with most of those mentioned, except perhaps the Chevvy. I've owned a 2005-built Mazda3 1.6 petrol (TS2 mid spec) from new and it's been essentially fuss-free motoring.

As SLO etc says, it's all about condition (and not just cosmetic) for older cars - significant corrosion and/or mechanical/electrical problems will tell whether the car is worth buying or not.

Its why a thorough inspection and decent length test drive at a variety of speeds and on different road types (notice any odd noises, handling/performance strangeness or visual gremlins (warning lights not coming on or going off at start up or during the trip) to see if any issues arise.

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Tue 7 Jun 2022 13:00
Safe hatchback under £3500 (ish ) - badbusdriver

Thanks

So is the auto ok aswell for the petrol Ceed's / Hyundai

Yes, at this price point it will have a torque converter auto. Hyundai/Kia do now use a DCT box in the Ceed/i30, but this would have first appeared around 2015, and the youngest your budget (now £4k) would get you would probably be around 2012.

So does this mean it is an auto you are looking for?. That does change things, and not only because the car you get will be older, but you will find yourself among automated manuals from various manufacturers (including Toyota and Honda) which you need to avoid.

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