Without looking I would have thought a jazz may actually smaller than a i20?

In terms of length and width, yes, current and last i20 is (slightly) bigger than a Jazz. But the Jazz is taller and has more interior space, both of which possibly create the illusion of it being bigger than it is.

The Note?, well your budget would cover the nicest and youngest 1st gen cars, but would also overlap into the 2nd gen. 1st gen are generally regarded as being more reliable, especially so as an automatic where the CVT on the 2nd gen doesn't have a great reputation.

Thing is, automatic versions of small cars, especially nice, well looked after examples, go for crazy money. So I'm not sure £7k is going to go as far as you think!. Because of this,(assuming average or lower miles and no ins write-offs) you need to accept the the car isn't going to be very young and concentrate instead on getting the best example (in terms of condition and how well the car has been looked after) rather than the youngest.

Thanks Paul and badbusdriver, great info as always.

I'd never thought of leading, that's an option I'll look at!

The jazz and note were older cars in the budget I've got, 10/12 years, but well below mileage and FSH, 2 Owners etc.

Any thoughts on Corsas? Or Fiestas? Not sure if fiestas had powershift issues like some mondeos? Anything else to look at if I stretched the budget to 20?

Thanks again.

Apologies! was a typo. 10k :)

Apologies! was a typo. 10k :)

Ah, I did wonder!

£10k is still pretty good news on the electric front (still no comment for or against?) with the aforementioned Corsa (which has a 50kWh battery) along with the Nissan Leaf (2nd gen 39kWh), and the Renault Zoe (even with the bigger 52kWh battery) available as young as 2022.

As for others?. Well £10k will get you into a 2017 3rd gen Jazz, or a Toyota Yaris of the same age (including the hybrid*). If your wife prefers a higher car, you might want to look at the Hyundai ix20 and Kia Venga (these are the same car barring minor styling and trim differences). They are small cars (only about the same length as a Fiesta), but are remarkably spacious thanks to their height, which also results in a decent size boot. The 2014 facelift saw the old 4sp t/c auto changed for a 6sp one making it nicer and more responsive to drive, and (slightly) more efficient (still quite thirsty though). And they are reliable. Sticking with something taller, your budget is also (just) enough to get into a Suzuki Vitara.

*There are a lot of imports kicking about though, so make sure you know what you are looking at. These will often (but not always) have a square front number plate. Also, as far as I can tell, the front seats of imported Yaris' have integrated head restraints, on UK cars they are seperate (and removable).

Thank you everyone for the replies, you really are all so helpful. BBD, SLO76, ig john etc, massive thansk.

Will be looking at Suzuki! never thought of it and I just just be tempted to go fully electric, Ive got a drive way and my car is a 530e but charge from the mains, takes 3 hours as its only a 10kw battery with the petrol engine. The Leaf, Corsa and Yaris I'll have a good search on auto trader....also i'll double check the Nissan Note. Id never considered Electric but thats all she really needs. 100/150 miles tops will do her.

So did she pass her test..........

FAILED. Only 2 minors and a major for being in the wrong lane on a roundabout!!! apwart from that pretty flawless drive. Now to try and get another test cancelation as the next available one is APRIL 2nd 2025!!!! Shocking.

The previous gen Toyota Yaris CVT or Hybrid makes for a reliable if dull small car, ditto its bigger brother the Auris. The hybrids aren’t worth paying fortunes extra for as in real life use out of town they’re not that much better on fuel than the conventional petrol autos.

Before I bought my 2024 Suzuki Swace (same as hybrid Toyota Corolla Touring Sports) I thought this as well re hybrid economy but in reality in all conditions I've never experienced less than 60mpg on a tank full of fuel. On a fully laden camping trip (that's why I need a big boot!) from Yorkshire to Malvern with a lot of the journey at motorway speeds (M62, M1, M42, M5 etc), some stretches of slower roadworks and local journeys around Ledbury etc it averaged 67mpg (measured by Spritmonitor). On a less laden A road journey between Yorkshire and Norwich it averaged over 70 mpg! The only time it's got close to 60 mpg has been on multiple recent cold start trips 2-3 times a day sadly too and from a local-ish hospital over a few weeks.

Overall economy comparing my 2014 Skoda Superb 1.4tsi manual to the 2024 Suzuki Swace 1.8 hybrid with same driving style/ journeys (well not the hospital trips!) had been 46mpg(Superb) compared to 66mpg(Swace) overall average.

Main criticism of the Suzuki (er Toyota) has been that road noise is higher than my previous Superb but this might be because it just has a pull out boot space cover compared to a proper parcel shelf or it could also be the tyres.

Would I recommend a Toyota hybrid - oh yes. Beware imports though. PS latest Mazda 2 is a Toyota hybrid in drag as well.

PPS If a cheaper non hybrid older automatic is desired the mkI Nissan Note 1.6 auto is fabulous with a proper robust Nissan engine and reliable torque converter gearbox with overdrive - but the latest are about 63 plate.

Edited by Big John on 20/10/2024 at 22:49

Hopefully the Swace / latest Corolla does not suffer from the same CAT security issues that its immediate predecessor the Auris (and the 2nd and 3rd gen Prius, but what about the Lexus CT 200h?) suffered from.

Very different close coupled design re CAT for recent Toyota hybrid based cars inc Swace & Corolla - whereas the Auris, earlier Prius's and mkI Jazz had downstream CAT's that can be accessed easily from underneath. A friend of mine with an Auris has had an aftermarket plate fitted to protect the CAT after his original one was stolen.

My Swace is currently insured thorough LV.

Edited by Big John on 21/10/2024 at 16:34