Hi, I'm looking for a little bit of advice for my dad. He is looking to change his car some time in the next few months. He currently has a 1.4 Renault Megane (V reg) and is considering a Toyota Corrolla of no more than 3 years old. He wants a diesel this time around. He does around 10,000 miles a year (I think thats what he said anyway). He uses the car mainly for going to work and doing all the running around locally but it will be used for longer runs aswell, on motorways and country roads. Basically, was just wondering what people make of them and whether this would meet his needs.
Any comments would be greatly recieved.
Thanks
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Corolla is a good car, not especially exciting but well made, spacious, pretty safe and very reliable. I have driven one and didn't warm to it, but that's a personal preference. I can't think of anything that a Mégane could do that a Corolla wouldn't, so if he's happy with the Mégane then there's no reason for him not to get the Corolla.
The only reservation I would have is that he may not benefit from paying the extra that a diesel will cost, with his relatively low mileage. At 10k a year, he's only spending about £1k a year on fuel and switching to diesel will save him maybe £300 a year if he's lucky. However, he'll have to find £1,500 extra to buy an equivalent petrol instead of a diesel.
Probably the diesel will be worth more if he sells it in three or four years' time but there's not a clear financial case for spendning more on a diesel. Of course if he prefers the way a diesel drives, or may significantly increase his mileage, then he absolutely should go for a diesel, but if not, he shouldn't limit himself to looking at diesel versions.
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Thanks for that David. I just spoke to my dad again and he said he's not particularly bothered about it being a diesel, he's said a petrol would do him fine. He's looking at getting a 52 plate or newer in the Corolla.
Also, he's not really looking for an exciting car, more for the practicalities of family life, even though me and my sister are grown up now he still does a lot of fetching and carrying. He's looking for a car with plenty of space and a comfortable interior as he spends alot of time in the car on his breaks from work as well as driving it.
Any more comments would be greatly recieved.
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it might be stating the obvious but perhaps he should go for a test drive in the corolla. i had thought of a toyota for my next car; it added up on paper, had enough space and the reliability seemed a big attraction.
however after 20 minutes driving the thing (not a corolla) i couldn't give a stuff about its qualities - not nice to drive. even if he's only doing 10k miles a year that's still approx 250-300 hours behind the wheel.
as with everything in life it boils down to personal choice! one man's dream is another's nightmare..
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Hi, I did about 300 miles in one (hire car) and I was very impressed. it was a 1.4, don't know what trim level. The seats were superbly comfortable, the engine was smooth though I'd have preferred top gear to be longer, and the ergonomics were great. Very quiet, good on motorway / A roads / back roads. I'm trying to persuade my wife to consider one as she's thinking of replacing her car. Unfortunately she has it marked down as a pensioner's car !!!! :-(
John
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In my opinion the current Corolla 'does exactly what it says on the tin'. We paid £9400 for a new 1.4 T2 five door in Sept '03; it has been blameless so far. It is comfortable, has more leg room in both front and rear than my MkIV Golf and the ergonomics are excellent. As small petrol engines go, the 1.4 is quite powerful (98bhp). The only criticism I can think of relates to the course nature of the accelerator which takes some getting used to. Other benefits include a sweet chain cam engine, a full size spare wheel, remote central locking on all models. The handbrake is much better that many other similar cars; it uses a dedicated drum brake (with normal disc for main ABS braking).
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