Help please.
SWMBO recently decided to learn to drive, she wants to pass her test before her Provisional Licence is more than 26 years old!
She seems to be progressing really well and so now she is looking around for a car. We have a people carrier for the whole family.
So SWMBO's car must be:
New
As cheap as practical (maximum £9,000)
Sophisticated
Sensible enough for 100 mile motorway journeys, i'll use it occasionally
Capable of carrying three large and two small people rarely
Fitted with a CD player
Second problem eldest daughter will be 17 in a few months so car must also be:
Cheap to insure
Trendy
Wife likes the Aygo etc and hates the Panda, daughter hates the Aygo and loves the Panda, although daughter knows that she will lose. The joint favourite is a Corsa.
Any other ideas
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Probably the Suzuki Swift - which has quite a following on this forum - ticks most if not all of your boxes: so does the Fiat Punto which might be more acceptable than the Panda. This week's Auto Express has a group test including both: it's not the greatest car magazine, and it pays the Swift a lot of compliments only to place it bottom on the grounds of space.
It might be worth looking at the Ford Ka if you want to save money - it can seat 4 (three kids in the back would be possible); it's a hoot to drive, and it's surprisingly relaxed on the motorway. An ideal car to learn to drive on. The Aygo etc is a much more modern design but having tried one I would still prefer to drive a Ka.
You can get only the more basic Corsas for £9,000 even with discounts; lower-powered ones are sluggish and the current model is going to be replaced this autumn.
Good luck - let us know how you get on.
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Do you actually need a new car? There stands a fair chance that one of the new drivers will have some kind of accident in it whilst new to driving. On a cheaper older car it will be just another scratch/dent but on a new car you would be more compeled to having it fixed. This will either push the next years insurance up whilst gaining no NCB or force you to pay to have it repaired privately.
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You wont get 3 kids in the back of a Ka - its only got two seatbelts.:)
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Sophisticated..... .....The joint favourite is a Corsa.
Now there's an oxymoron! ;-)
A little more helpfully, although far from sophisticated in either cultural or technical terms, with two new drivers in the family the Aygo and its clones should be worth a look; I watched two cars reverse in to each other in a car park, one of which was an Aygo that just shrugged the knock off.
The Aygo and its clones also strike me as being as near to a "bolt on and bolt off" car that you'll get these days and are very simple (actually elegantly clever in places) in construction. Should mean insurance as low as it'll go.
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Kia Rio 1.4 Zapp petrol - £7,495 with a year's free insurance (although that won't necessarily apply to SWMBO, certainly not to daughter).
Well equipped, stylish, spacious, and very good to drive. Feels like a bigger car than it is, although visibility is fine.
Not sure how trendy it is but it looks nice apart from the badge IMO.
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Had to drive a Punto Grande this week,not a bad car if cost new was £4000 otherwise forget it.
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Thanks for all of your input.
SWMBO would like (which in SWMBO language means 'are you really going to say "no"') a new car, I'm not yet ready (or brave enough) to say 'no'!
It really needs 5 doors, for sensible access, so that rules out the Ka
The Swift is an interesting option, will be out later looking at one. The Punto is also worth a look.
I quite like the Corsa,`I drove a 1.4 for 200 miles or so last year and it was fine, I can also get very good deals, everything except the air-con SXI+ falls within budget. May be I can put it off until the new one is available ...
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If you both like the Corsa then why not? It'll do everything you want of it and is surprisingly competent on the motorway. Plus you'll get a cracking deal on a new current model one as there's a new one round the corner. I've had a 1.2 Sxi for 18 months and 13000 miles and nothing whatsoever has gone wrong with it. The only thing I would say is go for a diesel if your're going to be doing motorway trips as the petrols aren't very economical here (70 mph = 3700rpm in fifth!)
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we hired a deisel corsa a few weeks ago and it was great on the motorway..50mpg at 85mph for nearly 4hrs non stop..
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I'd say you were stark raving bonkers to buy those two a new car! Find a 2/3 y/o Fiesta for them.
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Have a '54' micra which ticks most of your boxes which I drive and also 18 year old son. Amazingly spacious inside having had two 6'+ men, two women + driver and a large quantity of luggage with no problem - easy access to the back too on the two door version. Quite enjoy driving the micra as a change from the x-trail and was delighted with both acceleration and handling on the motorway. Son considers it stylish as lik(ish) a new beetle. Low insurance group too.
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Forgot to say - it is ex-nissan owned car so was 8 months old with low mileage - makes more sense than the new car and still had warranty! Got all the bells and whistles too.
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Mitsubishi Colt, mine is fantastic and for 6k nothing can touch it ;)
But if you want a 5 door thats quite a bit more.
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