Need some advice...
Has anyone ever driven a small engined automatic car such as a 1.3 or under?
Looking at the new 1.0 Charade, Sirion and the soon to be released 1.1 Picanto from Kia.
Are these cars unusable or are they simply slow? Could you get away with one from day to day if you don't go on the motorway?
Want to avoid bigger engines for the cheap insurance, road tax and mpg.
Cheers
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My wife has a Toyota Yaris 1.3 Auto which goes very well - it has 85bhp. Low 30's mpg in shopping trolley mode and high 30's to low 40's on a run. Keeps up with traffic with no problems.
Daughter has a 1.4l Polo auto with 60bhp and again that keeps up with traffic without problems. High 30's mpg on a run.
Small engined cars are cheaper to insure and tax. However 'spirited' driving in a small automatic is not a recipe for good economy.
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Intruding slightly on this thread may I ask if anyone can point me in the direction of a small(ish) diesel automatic? I have neighbours who aren't bothered about 0-60 times but want a small engined diesel automatic - is there such a beast, please?
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My girlfriend too had a Yaris 1.3 Auto and whilst it was never going to set the world alight in terms of raw performance, it was certainly acceptable, even cruising at 70MPH on the motorway.
I believe Citroen now do an Sensodrive variant of the C3 with the 1.4 HDi 16v diesel engine, this will operate as a full automatic with paddleshift if required.
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Thank you Quinny, I'll look into that one.
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Honda Jazz CVT-7 - 49mpg and fun to drive...
www.carpages.co.uk/honda/honda_jazz_cvt-7_01_08_02...2
Andy
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Drove two current model Corsas back to back last week. Both 1.2 chain cam engines, one manual and the other auto.
Liked the manual with a decent nippy feel, quite smooth and cruised OK. Hated the auto model. Car either bogged down below the revs at which the engine would pull...or revving away with little more progress.
Just my experience.
M.M
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If you are looking to buy new, (having driven a few small autos now) I would go for the Jazz. At the cheap end of the used market, the micra CVT is fun. For a car a couple of years old, the Yaris Auto should be a solid buy.
The other advantage of the above cars is they should be in (relatively) good supply, so you should be able to pick a good example.
If style is important, but size doesn't matter then the VW Lupo looks smart and is currently available with a grand off.
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If you are looking to buy new, (having driven a few small autos now) I would go for the Jazz. At the cheap end of the used market, the micra CVT is fun. For a car a couple of years old, the Yaris Auto should be a solid buy. The other advantage of the above cars is they should be in (relatively) good supply, so you should be able to pick a good example. If style is important, but size doesn't matter then the VW Lupo looks smart and is currently available with a grand off.
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If you are looking for the best deal on a new car, nothing matches up to the reductions on the Citroen C3. You can get well over £2000 off the price of the Senodrive versions. In addition to the 1.4 HDI, there is also a 1.4i petrol version with this transmission.
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I believe Citroen now do an Sensodrive variant of the C3 with the 1.4 HDi 16v diesel engine, this will operate as a full automatic with paddleshift if required.
I think it is the 8v, 70bhp engine and not the 16v unit that is available with Sensodrive, as I haven't seen any listings which says the 16v engine is available in this form. The 8v is a nice engine but, from the published figures, it seems to affect the initial acceleration quite a bit. Very economical though.
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Fiat are also doing Tiptronic-type auto versions of the Panda with the 1.2 engine.
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This problem does not seem to bother the Japanese, they have auto's as small as 600 cc.
But, speaking from experience, only problem I found was that you had to switch off the air con to drag the car up a steep hill!!!.
Mal.
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